Pros and Cons Concerning Institutional Nursing
December 26, 2008 by Rn2b
Filed under Clinical Nurse (CNS), General Nurse Information, Types of Nurses
Pros and Cons Concerning Institutional Nursing
Nursing in hospitals and related health facilities such as extended care facilities, nursing homes, and neighborhood clinics, comprises all of the basic components of comprehensive patient care and family health. The concept of the modern hospital as a community health center where in-patient and out-patient care are continuous describes the goal of medical care in most general hospitals.
The educational qualification for beginning practitioners is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. The nurse, as member of the health care team, participates in all phases of patient care of the acutely ill, the convalescing and the ambulatory patient. The nurse cares for the patient in the hospital or in the out- patient department and plans for the nursing care needs of the patient about to be discharged.
Advantages of Staff Nursing in Hospitals
1. There is always a supervisor whom one can consult if a problem exists.
2. Nurses are updated with new trends in medicine and in the nursing care of patients.
3. They have a forty- hour week duty which provide for two days of rest away from duty.
4. More staff development programs are available in hospitals.
5. They undergo rotation to different units.
Disadvantages of Staff Nursing in Hospitals
1. There is a great possibility of under-staffing which may require nurses to put in overtime work and sacrifice some of their plans.
2. Because of the bulk of work, some staff nurses do not find time to improve their skills through continuing education programs.
3. Administrative problems and overwork may tend to dissatisfy the staff nurse.
What is a Clinical Nurse Specialist?
December 23, 2008 by Rn2b
Filed under Clinical Nurse (CNS), Finding Your Nursing Job, Nurse Programs
What is a Clinical Nurse Specialist?
Educators first developed the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) role because of their concern for improving nursing care. They believed that improvement was dependent upon increasing expertise at the bedside, giving direct and indirect care, and incorporating role modeling and consultation
The role of a CNS has evolved to include many specialties particularly in psychiatric care. The impressive development of this masteral program helped to initiate the other CNS specialty courses. Thus, clinical specialization in graduate education increased tremendously. Graduates would provide a high level of specialized nursing care and serve as change agents in hospital settings.
A good portion of time is spent in the hospital, in both staff and patient/family education. A clinical nurse specialist is also into developing protocols, standards and pathways that will guide nursing practice. A CNS also serves as a direct care provider, educator/consultant, researcher and leader. Areas of focus can encompass adult, pediatric and obstetric patients. Different medical departments like oncology, the cardiopulmonary system, the pulmonary system and others are also included.
What are the competencies attributed to a CNS?
• In-depth knowledge expertise
• Demonstrating clinical expertise in a selected area of clinical practice.
• Can be emulated by others professionally and personally.
• Serving as practitioner/teacher, consultant and researcher.
The past years had seen the influx of the greatest percentage of APNs as clinical nurse specialists. In order to achieve this specialization, one should prepare for a graduate nursing education program. This is primarily hospital based and can be consultative in nature.
Who enrolls in the University of Phoenix Online Nursing Programs?
December 23, 2008 by Rn2b
Filed under Licensed Practical and Vocational Nurse (LPN/LVN), Nurse Programs
Who enrolls in the University of Phoenix Online Nursing Programs?
Some think that online education is a totally individual or isolated effort. With the University of Phoenix Online Nursing Programs, this is hardly the case. The school implements teamwork where virtual teams of students interact and get to work with each other for projects.
Aside from any one student submitting his assignment, he is also encouraged to work with others in a team for a certain course-long project. The University of Phoenix (UoP) promotes teamwork skills by building collaborations among team members regardless of their location.
Most of the students targeted by the UoP for its online education programs are adults that have been working for around 5 years already. These people have been quite focused on their current careers for some time, and now they are considering pursuing their education by enrolling online.
The classes are designed so that the students are not required to attend on set times or schedules. This way, the UoP will be able to assist people in advancing their education despite their hectic work schedules. But not to be misunderstood, the UoP requires the enrollees to log in four times every week to participate in the classes or discussions. Assignments will also have to be posted every week. The flexibility lies in the fact that the students get to choose their own days and time.
People who usually take any of the University of Phoenix Online Nursing Programs are:
– Those who are in the health care industry already and would like to advance their careers
– Those who would like to continue their nursing education to pursue the career
– Those who are shifting careers or industries