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AHA ACLS, AHA BLS, AHA PALS, All Services, American Heart Association, Featured This Month, Maternal Child Health, Neonatal Intensive Care NICU, New Grad Maternal Child Program, New Graduates of Nursing, NRP Skills, Nursing Advocacy, Orange County, San Diego, Specialty
How to Develop your Critical Thinking Skills
“Inquiring minds want to know” Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do. Nurses with critical thinking skills are able to understand the logical connections between patient adversities and treatment. To illustrate, a reciprocal connection exists between a nurse and his/her patient where the nurse is the patient’s advocate and the patient relies on the nurse to be his or her advocate. Moreover, nursing is an honorable profession, and nurses are the heart and soul of the healthcare system. It is the nurse that the patient spends the most time during his or her stay in the hospital, therefore critical thinking for nurses is a…
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AHA ACLS, AHA BLS, AHA NRP, AHA PALS, ICU/ER Track, Labor and Delivery, Neonatal Intensive Care NICU, NRP Skills, Nursing Advocacy, Orange County, San Diego
Klebsiella pneumoniae and Healthcare Acquired Infections
Do you know why Healthcare Acquired Infections are on the rise? One reason is Klebsiella pneumoniae. Actually, Klebsiella pneumoniae CAN be a friendly bacterium, especially to our environment and GI tract; but nurses don’t turn your back! These little capsule wearing, sticky suckers can cause serious havoc to the fragile lungs. To put it briefly, Klebsiella pneumoniae can be an opportunistic bacterium. In fact, it can cause a dangerous form of bacterial pneumonia in children, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Contact with feces allows people to serve as reservoirs and transmit the bacteria from person to person. Under those circumstances, these individuals can become severely ill or die from complications.…
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A Nurse's Story, AHA ACLS, AHA BLS, Article, New Graduates of Nursing, Nurses Self Care, Orange County, San Diego
Plantar Fasciitis: My Aching Feet
Do you feel shooting pain through the heel of your foot when you step out of bed? Does the pain go away after you are on your feet for a while? Does the pain return after you have sat for a while only to return when you stand again? You have Plantar Fasciitis. So many nurses suffer from Plantar Fasciitis. I too had Plantar Fasciitis and tried everything. I tried: Those Gel pads for your shoes Many weeks of therapy with an orthopedic sports specialist Ultrasound treatments Hot packs Cold packs Shoes from the Good Feet store Even magnets in my shoes. Nothing worked! Joe, the Orthopedic Technologist at our hospital,…
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Healthcare Reform and Nurses: Challenges and Opportunities
Healthcare Reform and Nurses: Challenges and Opportunities The Affordable Care Act (ACA) promises a broader and more important role for nurses the health care system. After decades of advocating for meaningful reform, the American Nurses Association (ANA) joined others in celebrating the signing into law of the Affordable Care Act on Marc;h 23 2010. This is the most significant piece of social legislation since the creation of Medicare, with many provisions that build upon the traditional and current strengths of the nursing profession. The key features of the ACA states that “nurses have key roles to play as members and leaders for a reformed and better-integrated patient-centered health care system.” …
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What every New Grad Nurse needs to know about Magnet Hospitals?
Magnet Hospitals outperform other hospitals in both recruiting and retaining nursing professionals, resulting in higher employee satisfaction and lower staff turn-around. The American Nurses Association and the American Nurses Credentialing Center formed the Magnet Recognition Program to maintain nursing excellence. Studies of the Magnet Hospitals showed that they were more likely to have nurses that are specialty-certified and to have employed more nurses with Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees than non-Magnet hospitals. As the percentage of nurses with BSN increases, so do positive patient outcomes. In fact, every 10% increase in hospital staff nurses with a BSN results in a 5% reduction in patient mortality. Nurses in Magnet…