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The Nursing Village around the World: How the US is Influencing Nurse Migration

Every nurse would agree that sharing skills, knowledge, experience, and technology to improve lives of patients worldwide is indisputably necessary. What is the role of US nursing in this unfolding phenomenon? With the effects of increased globalization the world is becoming a global village. How is the migration of nurses to the US affecting worldwide health care? A starting point for this discussion would be to evaluate the experiences of internationally educated nurses in the US. What has been their journey? Internationally educated nurses comprise a growing percentage of newly licensed RNs in the US, a trend that will continue. 68% of these nurses have at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing compared to 50% of US educated nurses.(1) The most common ways nurses find work are through either the placement model where nurses work for the medical center. Integration and wages are more likely to be equal to US educated nurses in the placement model. In the staffing model n

How to Care for Grandma and Grandpa? Nursing Innovations Forge New Paths

  To improve and refine the quality of health care that the elderly receive in America will require not only more health care workers but professionals that are trained in geriatric care and understand the specific needs of the elderly. Currently, only approximately 2% of nurses are trained in geriatric care. One participant in the geriatric care scene is the John A. Hartford Foundation a philanthropic organization which advocates on behalf of the elderly. Since 1996 they have been emphasizing the importance of nurses and nursing in elevating the care of the elderly. The foundation created a number of initiatives to increase the quality medical care the elderly receive. One is the Hartford Institute of Geriatric Nursing.   The vision statement realizes that education, research, and policy are key factors in moving best practice to standard practice but more importantly, education, research, and policy must translate or affect nursing practice. It is affiliated with the New York

Nursing Innovations Forge New Paths

Nurses enable health through both clinical judgment and technical knowledge. Yet their immeasurable skills such as the ability to support and comfort produce measurable results. For example, Nurses are teachers of theirs peers and patients. Good nurses look at the whole person or patient. Nurses communicate, execute, and innovate, all with an attitude of caring. Nurses are the most trusted of the health care professionals. Nurses apply their knowledge with compassion to a positive measurable end. These immeasurable skills that nurses possess will bring the solution to the next great challenge the US health care system faces: the aging of the baby boomers. Around 2030 there will be over 70 million people 65 or older. The fastest growing segment of the population is the oldest at 85+ years. Although people are living longer it’s not necessarily better. As they age they usually need more health care. Half of hospital patients are 65 or older. Two thirds of the elderly will need l

“Keeping a Wiser Workforce”*

Over 50% of workers are age 50 or over in the nation.(1) The graying of America’s working population is approaching and with it the understanding that knowledge transfer will be a much discussed challenge. Indeed organizations like the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) are looking at various industries and the impact the retirement of the baby boomers will have on the workforce. The transition in technical knowledge based professions will be affected the most which includes nursing. Although there is a current artificial unemployment situation in the nursing profession this is short term. Issues of profitability and companies wanting to stay financially viable means teaching institutions have reduced expenses. For hospitals, training new nurses costs money so there is a reluctance to hire. But it is expensive to replace a nurse who has long tenure. However, when demand for services and nurse retirement peak, medical centers may find themselves unprepared due to curren

The Unnamed Frustration, Fatigue, and Anxiety (1)

Consider these medical situations that nurses have been involved in: A child is admitted to ER with possible symptoms of abuse. A doctor allows the patient to be discharged despite the nurse’s intuition about the situation. The child returns to the ER 2 days later dead on arrival. (2) A patient was in severe enough pain to be crying out. Increased ammonia levels caused him mental confusion. The doctors wanted to monitor his mental state and ordered that pain medication be withheld. Twelve hours later he died. (3) Readers could list many more situations like this in the various settings where nurses practice. These situations involve peers, patients, caregivers, and administration. The resultant feelings of frustration and helplessness have given rise to the term moral distress. Factors included in this phrase are cognitive dissonance, and psychological disequilibrium. But behind those fancy scientific terms lie the real crux of the matter. The nurse feels helpless, angry,

Debrief, How to Handle All the Stress as a Nurse

Depending on where you work, the nursing career can be one of the most strenuous of all professions. ER nurses are no exception, in fact, unless the shift is quiet, it's a collision of chaos from start to finish. (And honestly, how often is there a dead shift?) The life and times of the career ER nurse is generally short. After all, it's much easier to have the predictability or the relative ordered chaos in some of the quieter units. Nonetheless, ER nurses, and all nurses in general, need to have some type of outlet. Let me rephrase that, a healthy type of outlet. Self-medicating problems or stress is a slippery downward spiral. If you're not mindful about the alerts in your body the stress can shut you down. And to get it out in the opening, regular (or heck just any) therapy qualified registered psychologist can do wonders to keep you sane and healthy mentally. Physical health is another key to ensure longevity and to extend, literally, the years on your life.

Have you ever, or how many times, thought about quitting nursing?

Let's be frank, you've seen a lot of $hit. And there are days when you just want to throw in the towel. High stress jobs that require a high level of competency routinely put people over the edge. In a case of nursing there aren't very many professions where wonky hours, high trauma, sometimes questionable pay, unruly patients, unruly coworkers, etc., all collide to make for a challenging career. It may be not be therapy, but what are some stories or scenarios that nearly made you end your career as a nurse?

Nurses Week 2016 Freebies and Other What nots

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Happy National Nurses Week to all of the selfless nurses on the interwebs. It's a special and resolute calling to become a nurse, so hats off to you on your week! (Let us know if it comes with a special check or something in the mail.....I guess accolades are enough, right....right?) If any of you were dying to know a brief history of National Nurses Week, check out this pdf . And here's a list of freebies for nurses (in the US) from Allnurses http://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/nurses-week-2016-1050706.html

Craziest Things You've Done to Stay Awake on a Night Shift

I'll go first, an anecdote a 'friend' told me, to stay awake on the drive home, roll your window up on your hair so if you doze off mid-drive you get a quick hair pull......YOUR TURN!

Someone call security

There's a dude with a mullet and a robe creeping on nurses. View post on imgur.com

Happy Valentine's

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It's not THAT bad.....ok it is.

Stollery Hospital Gives Doc a Day in the Life as a Nurse

Thought this was neat, it generated a lot of social media interest. A doctor at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, spent a full shift as a nurse. Ever thought about spending the day in another's shoes? Well today Dr. Laurance Lequier, medical director of the... Posted by Stollery Children's Hospital on  Thursday, February 4, 2016

Have a story to share about life in the ER?

'Make one up' and send it to us, we'll post it for all to gawk and read in wonderment. Submissions to ernurseyblog@gmail.com