CampusRN Job Blog
Creating a Safer Workplace for Nurses
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Patient lifting equipment and safety needles are prevalent in today’s health care facilities, but a recent study from the American Nurses Association and statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor suggest that nursing remains a tough job, with opportunities to improve the work environment.
“Healthy and safe work environments allow nurses to provide the best possible care for the patients who depend on them,” said Jaime Murphy Dawson, MPH, senior policy analyst at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health for the American Nurses Association (ANA) in Silver Spring, Md. “Also, protecting nurses from hazards, such as sharps injuries, musculoskeletal disorders and workplace violence, prevents nurses from leaving the workforce prematurely.”
The ANA’s 2011 Health and Safety Survey of 4,614 RNs found 13 percent of the respondents indicating they had been injured three or more times on the job within a year, compared to 7 percent in 2001.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in November 2011 that of all occupations in 2010, registered nurses had the fifth-highest number of days away from work due to musculoskeletal injuries.
ANA’s survey showed 80 percent of nurses with neck, back or shoulder pain caused by the job frequently work, despite the pain.
The nursing association’s survey indicated greater availability of patient lift equipment and safer needles, with nearly two-thirds of nurses saying they have ready access to lift devices, compared to less than half of the respondents in 2001; less than a third of the nurses reported using the equipment frequently, however, suggesting the need for more education and an evaluation of the selection and placement of patient lift and transfer devices.
June Marshall, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, director of advancing professional nursing practice at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas, expressed concern that tired nurses may cut corners and not take the time to use the devices.
“It’s so important to make sure nurses know how to lift and safely move patients and have the lift equipment available,” Marshall said
Some nursing schools are placing a greater emphasis on safety. The Sinclair School of Nursing at the University of Missouri in Columbia has converted an unused locker room into a nursing safe practices room, with transfer stations and specialized lift equipment for students to practice using the devices.
But even with striking numbers of musculoskeletal injuries, that’s not nurses’ top concern, according to the ANA survey. Nurses’ top work environment concern was acute or chronic effects of stress and overwork, reported by 74 percent of respondents; followed by disabling musculoskeletal injury, 62 percent; and risk of contracting an infectious disease, 43 percent.
The ANA survey showed improvement in the availability of safe needle devices, with 96 percent of RN respondents indicating they are available, compared to 82 percent in 2001, something Dawson attributes to the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2000.
However, Dawson said that the survey indicated that RNs may benefit from a better understanding of their rights under the act, which requires that direct-care professionals participate in identifying and selecting safer needle devices. Of the ANA respondents, 62 percent either don’t know if nurses are involved in the selection process, or said they aren’t involved.
Providing lift equipment and safer needle devices are easier to address than relieving nurses’ stress and overwork. Many factors contribute, Dawson said, including professional and personal issues and staffing and shift work.
The ANA survey indicated that some staffing issues have improved. The percentage of nurses working more than 40 hours per week decreased from 64 percent to 55 percent, and RNs who work some mandatory or unplanned overtime each month decreased from 68 percent to 53 percent.
The ANA has established a “Healthy Nurse” program and plans to hold a conference this year. Dawson encourages nurses to be advocates for their health and safety.
“It’s important for nurses to address stress on a daily basis,” Dawson said.
The ANA survey also found nurses worry more about on-the-job assault now than in 2001, with 34 percent indicating that was a concern, up from 25 percent. At the same time, the actual number of assaults was down from 17 percent in 2001 to 11 percent in 2011. However, the majority of nurses still say they have been verbally abused or threatened on the job within a year, though the occurrence decreased since 2001 (57 percent to 52 percent).
posted in: National, news, Employer News
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Florida facilities implement plan to treat ED pain patients
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Laws targeting the state’s pain clinics have resulted in more people turning to EDs for pain medication, including those abusing prescription drugs, according to an article in the Orlando Sentinel.
ED physicians and nurses are facing aggressive pill-seekers, who become threatening if they do not receive the drugs they want, according to the article. In response to this new wave of patients, Orlando Health and Florida Hospital officials announced they are implementing a chronic pain management plan to help ED staff better deal with the influx of people seeking pain treatment.
“We certainly support the additional policing of illegal use of prescription pain medication, but realized it was time for us to make some changes in how we handle the situation in our emergency department,” said David Goldman, DO, a Florida Hospital emergency room physician, in the article.
The new plan calls for physicians to help educate patients about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs and addiction and to refer patients to a primary care physician for long-term treatment. The plan also calls for physicians to refer patients to community resources such as rehabilitation facilities, if they need help for prescription-drug addiction.
About seven people die each day in Florida because of prescription-drug overdoses, according to the article. New state laws ban most doctors from selling pain medications out of their offices, and many local governments have placed moratoriums on new pain management clinics.
According to law enforcement officials, many rogue doctors operate out of pain clinics, where people can get large quantities of pain medications and sedatives with little to no medical evaluation or true need for the drugs.
posted in: Florida
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NJ Nurses Train to Coordinate Their Patients’ Care
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
A new crop of nurses is being trained as population care coordinators—nurses who serve as part coach, part health advocate to improve coordinated follow-up and preventive and wellness care.
The program is a collaboration among Horizon Healthcare Innovations (HHI) and its education partners Duke University School of Nursing and Rutgers University College of Nursing.
It’s attracting nurses like Janet Duni, who has been working for the past year as a population care coordinator at Vanguard Medical Group in Verona.
“I manage the most high-risk population in the practice,” she said, those with chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. “I reach out to patients who have had a hospital discharge or an emergency room visit, to make sure that they are at home, that they are settled, that their medications are correct. If they need a follow-up appointment with a doctor, I make it.”
Duni, with 30 years experience as a nurse, including in the emergency room and intensive care, began the new 12-week training course in January, a combination of online and face-to face-instruction that focuses on case management using databases, skills Duni will use for the care she coordinates for 5,000 Vanguard patients who are Horizon members.
The training is funded by HHI, a new company launched in 2010 by Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey. “We are creating a new nursing leadership role that will support New Jersey’s primary care doctors and deliver improved care to patients,” said Christy Bell, chief executive of HHI.
Dr. Richard Popiel, president of HHI, said the company has been funding the hiring of population care coordinators since launching a patient-centered medical home pilot program more than a year ago with eight primary-care practices. That pilot was expanded with an additional 15 practices in January, and now involves about 80,000 patients. The curriculum to train more coordinators grew out of the work that has already begun in the medical practices.
“This gives us a great opportunity to formalize the education around what they are going to be doing in these practices,” Popiel said. “This is something nurses have not been taught in traditional nursing schools.”
posted in: New Jersey
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Your 1st Year as a Nurse: Advice & Tips
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
What will your 1st year of nursing be like? Has school fully prepared you for everything? What do you need to know to have a great 1st year of practice? Here’s some quick info on what you can expect and advice on how to make your transition from nursing school to bedside practice successful.
Get ready! You’re about to embark on an amazing journey! Your first year as a nurse, especially on the floor, will teach you so much about teamwork, endurance, time-management and compassion.
I’ve been a pediatric nurse for 6 years now and it’s taught me a lot about myself, but I’ll never forget my 1st year! The tears, late shifts and missed lunch breaks showed me that the transition from school to practice is a whole new ball game.
So, what advice would I give you? I can’t go too in depth, but I will sum it up with the following:
Be teachable.
The more willing you are to learn, the more your seasoned nurses will teach you.
Be confident.
Patients can spot newbies. But your confidence will set their minds at ease. Don’t be skittish, especially about new skills. I remember when I set a goal to become better at starting IV’s and I asked a veteran nurse how to go about it. She looked at me and said very simply, “keep sticking”. I say the same to you. To become proficient, keep at the skill.
Have a vent place.
Alot of times, my friends and I would go into the med room and let off steam. When things get hectic, find a spot to take some deep breaths and regroup. Speaking of hectic, if you’re having a quiet shift, DO NOT say it aloud. You’ll increase your chances of it staying quiet.
Show respect for your patients’ doctors, even if you are questioning a decision.
I know it might sound a bit trite, but I’ve seen patient care hindered by strained nurse/doctor relationships. Your role will be to advocate for your patients, but you’ll have to learn effective, respectful advocacy.
Ask for help!
As the new nurse, you might be eager to prove yourself to your peers. How quickly things can get crazy! Don’t drown in silence. If you are so busy to the point that patient care is suffering, let someone know. Don’t worry about looking needy to your peers. You’ll learn to fly on your own soon enough.
posted in: National, news, Employer News
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Nursing students train in new partnership program at local hospital
Monday, February 06, 2012
Low student-mentor ratio looks to improve education, job prospects
UNLV students in the school of nursing are getting firsthand experience in an innovative partnership with Summerlin Hospital Medical Center.
The Dedicated Education Unit (DEU), in conjunction with UNLV and Summerlin Hospital, offers students the opportunity to learn directly from nursing mentors and get hands-on practice with patient care.
The pilot project, is one of only 19 in the nation and the first in Nevada. It began at the start of the spring semester.
UNLV is the only participating institution in the state.
Carolyn Yucha, dean of nursing and allied health sciences at UNLV, said though the program has seen success in other cities, there had been reluctance from area hospitals in taking on the project.
“I’ve been waiting for a hospital to show some interest in trying [the project] with us because it really is an experiment,” she said.
Lynnette Ball, the chief nursing officer at Summerlin Hospital, ultimately decided to give the partnership with UNLV a go.
“[Ball] is more of a risk taker,” Yucha said.
The nursing program at UNLV consists of four upper-division semesters and students are admitted only after prerequisites have been met.
During each of these semesters, students are required to have clinical experiences in hospitals. The usual program assigns eight students to every one nurse, which can cause lack of cohesion in the clinical learning environment.
Students might not remain at the same hospital each semester, which makes it difficult for them to build stable connections and for nurses to keep track of student progress.
There are nine nursing programs that rotate through Valley hospitals.
Under the partnership with Summerlin Hospital, two students are assigned to every one nurse. Each nurse in the program completes training to become a clinical DEU instructor (CDI).
“They work with the same people week after week,” Yucha said, “so they get to know each other and the staff start to care about what the students learn.”
Professors accompany their students to Summerlin Hospital on either Wednesdays or Thursdays each week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to make sure course goals are being accomplished.
Mirandine Fitchette, an associate professor of nursing at UNLV, said her familiarity with the clinical environment helps her to be effective with the Summerlin Hospital nursing staff.
“I am here as a resource to nurses training the students,” she said.
Fitchette said faculty utilize their time better and students learn and experience much more in the partnership program than what is presented in the traditional classroom setting.
Tiffani Lewis, a junior nursing student participating in the project, said gaining experience in a hospital is rewarding but that it is also challenging, as she tries to handle coursework and maintain a good GPA.
“Trying to juggle everything — it’s a lot,” she said.
Lewis said convenience and affordability influenced her decision to study nursing at UNLV.
“Other nursing programs either have a waitlist or are really, really expensive,” she said.
Lewis said that she is not interested in staying in Nevada after graduation, though Yucha is hoping other nursing students will decide to remain, as she expects students’ ability to offer excellent service in their field will increase their likelihood of job placement.
“If [students] like the hospital and the hospital staff likes them, there’s a good chance that they’ll be hired,” Yucha said.
Christal Camama, a senior in the school of nursing, said her experience at Summerlin Hospital has been great so far. She said that she finds it better than the program she participated in last semester at Sunrise Hospital, where she and seven other students were trained by one nurse.
Camama said the project has opened her eyes to the real world of clinical nursing, which she said includes hazardous tasks and a significant amount of paperwork.
“You get more well -rounded and experience what a real nurse does,” she said.
The CDIs have an integral role in the running of the project.
“The nurses are all really helpful,” Camama said. “They’re always pleasant and willing to answer any questions that [students] have.”
Nurse manager Jennifer Millet said that the other method of teaching students was difficult and that she finds the pilot model more effective, as “it gives each instructor and student that one-on-one companionship.”
“When you see that light bulb go on, it’s so self-gratifying to know that you made a difference and you made [students] think in a different way,” she said.
Long hours were cited as one of the most challenging things students face, but most said commitment pushes them toward their goal of becoming registered nurses.
“With all of our classes and exams it gets tiring,” Camama said. “But it’s worth it.”
posted in: National, Nevada, news, Employer News
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Nurses play a vital role in schools
Monday, February 06, 2012
From providing first aid to dispensing medications and preventative screenings, school nurses play a vital role in a student’s education experience.
Read more: The Daily Home - Nurses play a vital role in schools
“Nurses are an essential part of our School System,” said Michael Barber, assistant superintendent of Pell City schools. “I can’t imagine not having them now. They fill an essential role, without a doubt.”
Barber said the Pell City School System has four nurses split between eight schools, one RN and three LPNs.
One nurse is based at the high school, and the other three float between schools as needed based on school population and student needs.
“Some schools have more students with greater needs that require nurse attention,” he said.
Barber said the nurses perform a variety of functions, including first aid, screenings and teaching.
“They will go into the classroom and do lessons on issues like head lice, if needed,” he said. “And they work with the student’s home with setting doctor’s appointments on an as-needed basis.”
Joan Ludwig, an RN with the Talladega City School System, said they have three nurses for the six schools in the system.
“I’m the RN and we have two LPNs,” she said. “Each nurse has two schools and we try to split time between both schools.”
Ludwig said the nurses do health plans for students with chronic illnesses.
“The parents fill out health assessments at the beginning of school,” she said.
Ludwig said conditions such as asthma, diabetes and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are considering factors. The nurses dispense medications, perform screenings, administer first aid and perform many other duties.
“We do teaching in the classrooms upon teacher requests,” she said. “We cover things like dental hygiene and illness prevention. And all three nurses are CPR certified. We’ve taught CPR at the schools before.”
Kelly Hubbard, student services coordinator for the Sylacauga City School System, said the system has four nurses for four schools.
“We have two RNs and two LPNs,” she said. “One is stationed at each school.”
Hubbard said the nurses deliver health plans for students’ medical needs and ensure those on a need-to-know basis are familiar with the plan.
“We are very lucky — we have highly qualified nurses in the schools,” she said. “I don’t know what I’d do without them.”
Hubbard said most school administrators do not have a medical background, so having a qualified school nurse is critical when dealing with a student’s health issues.
“It helps ensure the student gets the care they need,” she said.
Hubbard said the nurses participate in health fairs and classroom instruction on hygiene and preventative measures to promote wellness.
Laurie Lewis, system supervising nurse for Talladega County schools, said the School System has 10 nurses for 17 schools.
“I’m an RN and I’m based out of Lincoln Elementary School, but I travel to all the schools,” she said.
Lewis said the other RN is based in Munford.
“There are eight LPNs: four work for the nursing department in the schools and four work with special education students but most of the day they do special education instruction work,” he said.
Lewis said the four LPNs in the nursing department are based in Lincoln, Fayetteville, Munford and Childersburg. Some of those nurses cover multiple schools under one roof.
“We regularly do first aid and give all medications except blood products,” she said. “We give a lot of asthma medications, take care of diabetic students, monitor any seizure students and more.”
Lewis said the nurses are mandated by the Americans With Disabilities Act to meet student needs.
“We have to remove any barriers to keep students from getting an education,” she said.
posted in: National, news, Employer News
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$856 million school budget calls for more nurses, overhaul of Madison Park Vocational Technical High
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Superintendent Carol R. Johnson tonight will present an $856.5 million budget proposal for next year that calls for increasing the number of school nurses, overhauling Madison Park Vocational Technical High School in Roxbury, and continuing efforts to turn around underperforming schools.
Johnson will also announce at the School Committee meeting that two middle schools --- the McCormack in Dorchester and the Irving in Roslindale—will have their days extended next year so they can provide more robust opportunities for the arts and athletics, as well as additional instruction.
The extended day—the amount of additional time has not been determined—is being funded through a $2.9 million federal grant over the next three years and $600,000 in contributions from seven foundations and nonprofit organizations.
Mass 2020, a state affiliate of the National Center on Time & Learning, will assist the two schools in extending the day. The schools hope to replicate the success of the Edwards Middle School in Charlestown, where an extended day has helped boost test scores and has offered students more enrichment opportunities.
“We know that simply expanding the school day won’t necessarily lead to better results,” Johnson said in a statement before tonight’s meeting. “Having partners like Mass 2020 at our side as we recreate these school schedules and expand the academic and enrichment opportunities for these students will ensure that we are able to surpass all of our own expectations.”
The two schools will lengthen their days just after state education officials end funding for extended days at two other schools—Timilty Middle School in Roxbury and Umana Academy in East Boston. State officials believe the extra time was not used effectively enough to boost test scores, and funding will end this June.
The School Committee will also weigh a proposal to temporarily reopen a Dorchester school to accommodate a sudden influx of preschoolers who require special education immediately. If the committee approves the measure, Fifield Elementary, which closed less than a year ago, would open next week as an early childhood education center and could have seven classrooms in operation by the end of the school year.
The proposal is being put forward as the School Department faces a class-action lawsuit in federal court that asserts that the department routinely violates state and federal laws by denying evaluations and classroom placements for preschoolers with special needs.
The budget outlook for Boston schools for the next school year is much better than three years ago, when the nation’s economic crisis prompted the loss of hundreds of positions and other initiatives.
The latest spending proposal, which requires School Committee approval next month, is 3.1 percent higher than this current school year’s budget—an increase being provided to the School Department by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, as he crafts his budget for the City Council.
John McDonough, the School Department’s chief financial officer, called the increase “very significant” in an interview before the tonight’s meeting.
He pointed out that other big-city districts nationwide are contemplating massive cuts to balance their budgets. Los Angeles, for instance, is considering shrinking its school year to 168 days and San Diego may cut 1,100 positions, McDonough said.
But balancing the proposed school budget for next year in Boston was not easy, McDonough said. In spite of the increase, the School Department still faced a $28 million potential budget shortfall, primarily due to a reduction in state and federal grants.
The School Department was able to remedy the gap through a variety of measures, such as delaying building repairs and some textbook purchases, consolidating teacher training programs, and reducing an unspecified number of vacant positions. The Department also intends to pursue new funding through President Obama’s education agenda.
“One thing we are proud of is that we are able to move forward in a deliberate way to improve school quality,” McDonough said.
posted in: Massachusetts
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Maternity nurses see a rising demand
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Increasingly wanted: Loving, discreet, experienced professional willing to travel the world and work through the night, feeding, cuddling and changing lots of diapers.
The pay is very good — about $350 a day or more — though it includes 24 hours on call.
With a house in Sarasota and roots in Yorkshire, England, Carol Lee is part of a small but growing army of “maternity nurses” (Europe) or “newborn care specialists” (the United States).
While the quaint tradition of a baby nurse who moves into the house to care for newborns around the clock is alive and well in other parts of the world, the phenomenon is relatively new in America, and experienced candidates are in short supply.
A spike in U.S. demand over the last few years, say Lee and others, coincides with a higher number of older mothers and multiple births.
According to a Centers for Disease Control report issued last month, one in every 30 babies born is now a twin, compared to one in 53 in 1980. More than a third of all births are to women 30 and older, up from just one-fifth in 1980. Fertility treatments aside, older mothers always have been more likely to have multiple babies.
Nancy Hamm, an officer with the Newborn Care Specialist Association and owner of the Exclusively Baby Nurses agency in California, said requests for help from parents of twins have more than doubled in the past three years.
“There are not enough qualified people to service the growing number of multiple jobs here in the U.S.,” she said.
Lee, who specializes in caring for twins, has worked for “British royalty, rock stars and footballers” on 12-week contracts, as well as middle-income families who employ her for the first week or so after birth.
Her workplaces have ranged from palaces and luxury hotels to “a very small, IKEA-type house in Copenhagen.”
“You’re like a bird in a gilded cage because you can’t go anywhere,” she says. “The furthest you can get is to take the baby for a walk in its buggy, if the parents allow it.”
One thing most of her clients have in common, Lee says: They are high-profile, can-do people with plenty of disposable income but not so much energy for those 4 a.m. feedings. Often they live far away from families who might offer support and advice.
posted in: National, news, Employer News
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Nurses needed
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Nurses and other women with a history of working night shifts can join a study investigating the causes of breast cancer and how to prevent it.
The Army of Women, a program of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, seeks volunteers for a study that will look at breast tissue samples from women who have not had breast cancer and who have worked night shifts. The goal is to understand whether wake/sleep cycle disruptions increase the risk of developing breast cancer.
Participants should:
• Be women between ages 30 and 65.
• Never have had a diagnosis of breast cancer, including DCIS. A history of other cancers would not make someone ineligible to participate, however.
• Not have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. Women can participate if they do not know whether they have the mutation.
• Have worked night shifts for at least five consecutive years at some point in their lives. Rotating night shift workers, meaning at least three night shifts a month in addition to day and evening hours, are eligible.
posted in: National, news, Employer News
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Where the jobs are: Health care solid, hospitality strong, nanotech horizon
Monday, January 30, 2012
Julie Wells, 43, of Mohawk, was looking for a career where she would be able to find a job, have benefits and enough income to support her family.
Want job security in the Mohawk Valley?
Become a nurse.
Julie Wells, 43, of Mohawk, was looking for a career where she would be able to find a job, have benefits and enough income to support her family.
She decided to go into health care, a field she has worked in for 23 years. Wells is a nurse manager of maternal child services at Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare.
“I knew in nursing I would always be able to find a job,” Wells said. “I think there are still opportunities in health care. In some fields it’s very difficult, if this is where you want to live, for jobs.”
Wells is right on target.
In the Utica-Rome area, other than government jobs, health care is at the top of the list. Manufacturing, and hospitality and entertainment, also employ large numbers of workers, said Dave Mathis, director for Oneida County Workforce Development.
These major industries don’t seem to be changing anytime soon.
Businesses in health care industries, for example, employed 22,205 workers in the Utica-Rome area in 2011, a number that increased 113 from 2010, according to data from Mark Barbano, state Labor Department regional analyst.
And the prediction is health care will continue to grow as the population ages.
Jobs have been a major issue across the nation, with the unemployment rate standing at 8.5 percent. In the Mohawk Valley, unemployment rates and industries have not seen drastic changes.
“This area has been kind of interesting because we never get to the big highs in terms of jobs, or big lows,” Mathis said. “We get along steadily.”
The annual average unemployment rate in the Utica-Rome area was 7.9 percent in 2010 and remained the same in 2011, compared to 8.6 percent statewide in 2010 and 8 percent in 2011, according to state Department of Labor data.
Total jobs in all area industries decreased 1.4 percent from 2010 to 2011 during the January through June time period, according to the data. It was down mainly due to a decrease in federal jobs because many temporary workers were hired for the census, Barbano said.
posted in: National, news, Employer News, New York
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