A Nurses' Value to Society

As I was leaving the hospital recently after a late day of meetings, crossing the parking deck coming in my direction was an elderly man with a very tired look on his face. Under his right arm was a long cardboard box with the words 1-800-flowers on the side. In that moment, I was struck by the humanity and personal challenges that all of our patients and their loved ones face when in our organizations across the country. This gentleman was visiting someone he loved, perhaps a wife, perhaps an older child, perhaps a sibling, but regardless, the look on his face was one of concern and sorrow. As I passed him, I said hello and wished him a good day, and he gave me a little smile which quickly dissolved as he headed toward the front entrance of the hospital.

I realized at that point how much of our work becomes just our routine work, how much of the pain and sorrow becomes routine. I felt somewhat guilty that I was leaving the hospital to teach an aerobic class and then spend the rest of my evening with my family, while others suffered so much. I also realized that nurses are the human component in the healthcare delivery system, uniquely prepared to reach out to those in need and fill the void of human caring created by clinical environments. We, as nurses, can never let go of that awesome responsibility that we share. As the most trusted profession in the world, it is our calling to be there for those in pain and suffering, those in fear and those that are moving on to worlds beyond us. It struck me that it is also critically important that we, as nurses, never allow ourselves to become hardened to those who need us so much, for what a waste it would be to miss an opportunity to emotionally be in the moment and reach out and help those we serve.
Take a moment to reflect on your role as a nurse and the importance you play in the lives of others. Relive those special moments when you realized a difference and the satisfaction that you felt knowing you were able to help. It is an honor and a privilege to serve in the capacity that we do and to possess the skills that are so uniquely nursing. We may have times that we are tired, drained, frustrated and disillusioned with our profession, but the greater good of what we do and who we serve far outweighs the episodic challenges. I am grateful every day that I am a nurse and, despite the challenges, I would never want to go through life as anything else.
About the Author:  Dr. Val Gokenbach has a true passion for leadership and has been in administrative healthcare positions for over thirty years. As a professional dancer and fitness instructor for over 40 years, Val has led a dual life as a fitness presenter, consultant and dance instructor. She has been featured as a health consultant and guest host on multiple TV shows and QVC. As an international speaker and author, her goal is to share her life's philosophy with all nurses and help them realize their value to the world.


http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/CareerArticles/CareerArticle/tabid/102/itemId/1869/A-Nurses-Value-to-Society.aspx

10 Ways to Rekindle Your Nursing Passion

Have the fires of your nursing passion fizzled out? Has your work become a job –someplace you exchange a certain set of skills for a paycheck?
What happened to your inner caregiver (maybe even your outer one)?

Did the changes do it in – you know, computerized charting, the pyxis, whatever else is new this week?

Do you feel alone at the bedside doing things administration can’t understand or imagine? Are you stretched thinner and thinner but doing more?

Or was it the personal cost – the emotional investment, the endless giving – that made you pull back?

You may have a hard time remembering the nurse you started out to be, but it’s not too late. You can get your nursing passion back.

Try these ten suggestions to rekindle the flame.

·         Try not to think of your patients as their diseases, procedures or room numbers. Make the extra effort to learn (and use) their names. Hospitals can be dehumanizing enough without our adding to the problem.

·         Remember your roots. Last week I heard a nursing student say, “I had the best day! I gave a shot and I cleaned up the same gentleman eight times.” When asked how this made for a great day, she said, “Well, he was pretty embarrassed about his medicine giving him diarrhea but I told him that happens to lots of people and convinced him not to feel bad about it.” She’s got the makings of a great nurse.

·         Offer grace. Nurses see people at their worst during very difficult circumstances. Overlooking grumpiness, showing patience with the confused – in general, cutting our patients a little slack – helps them enter the healing state and saves us aggravation too.

·         Don’t mouth empty words. It’s unfair to your patients and bad for your conscience. Yes, I know it’s hard to say the same things to different patients day after day. Be inventive – practice finding new ways to get information across.

·         Treat everyone with respect. And, yes, I mean everyone. You may be the only one who does and it may make all the difference. The Bible says, “Dignify those who are down on their luck; you'll feel good—that's what GOD does” (Psalm 41:1, MSG).

·         Nurses do have the best stories, but don’t use your patients as fodder for gossip or entertainment, even among yourselves. First, it’s illegal, what with HIPAA and all; second, it’s disrespectful to tell stories that show them at a disadvantage. Even though it’s hard, keep your lips sealed as a secret gift to the people you care for.

·         See – really see – your patients. Look at their faces; notice their expressions and their demeanor. That slightly confused elderly gentleman giving the call button a workout may be a World War II veteran, once handsome and brave; while the well-dressed but jumpy Junior Leaguer may be fighting battles at home that you can’t imagine. You may never know their stories, but you can be sure they have one.

·         Be present to your patients. Don’t hurry into their rooms on autopilot with a mental to-do list. Pay attention. Forget yourself. Take time to get “in the zone.”

·         Listen. To what your patients are and aren’t saying. Imagine yourself with “antennae quivering.” It’s rare for people to feel heard. Think of it as another gift you can give them.

·         Support life in your patients. Work to put them in a place where healing happens. Be sensitive to their emotional state and try to match it, offering hope, kindness and, above all, truthfulness. When physical life wanes, offer comfort and support their spiritual life and loved ones.

We, as nurses, are privileged to be instruments of healing. But, like in doing the “Hokey-Pokey,” we have to put our whole selves in.

That’s what it’s all about.

About the Author: Suzanne Davenport Tietjen, RN, NNP-BC is a Nurse Practitioner, writer and shepherd. She takes care of tiny sick babies in the Neonatal ICU and a flock of natural-colored sheep at her family's century-old farm. Suzanne has written for nursing journals and Christian magazines, and has published two books, 40 Days to your Best Life for Nurses and The Sheep of His Hand. 

http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/CareerArticles/CareerArticle/tabid/102/VersionId/26189/modid/599/Default.aspx

No smoking signs 'encourage habit'

Signs intended to enforce smoking bans may have a counter-intuitive effect on people addicted to tobacco, according to psychologists.

And no smoking signs may have an “ironic effect” and actually be driving more people to light up, a study suggested.

It found the cumulative effect of messages related to smoking could ultimately increase the recipient’s craving for tobacco.

Researcher Brian Earp, from Oxford University, presented the findings at the British Psychological Society’s annual meeting in Glasgow.

He said: “You get ironic effects when you couple information that people perceive with negation. When I say don’t think of a pink elephant, I’ve just put the thought of a pink elephant in your head.

“A lot of public health messages are framed in a negative way: say no to drugs, don’t drink and drive, no smoking.

“No smoking signs in particular are everywhere. If you’re a smoker walking down a street you’re likely to pass five or six of these signs in windows or on doors. If you have a chronically positive attitude to smoking this could boost your craving.”

Some smokers, without being aware of it, react to the signs by thinking of and wanting cigarettes.

A group of smoking volunteers from a town in New England, US, were shown several photographs, some of which included a no smoking sign in the background or on the periphery, while others had the signs edited out.

Mr Earp’s team found that participants who had earlier been shown no smoking signs were more drawn to smoking-related images such as ash trays and cigarettes. “It’s a significant effect which we think would have real life implications,” he added.

http://www.nursingtimes.net/5029472.article?referrer=e26

Facts About Florence Nightingale

Facts About Florence

How much do you know about the lady with the lamp?

Test your knowledge about the founder of modern day nursing with some of these lesser known facts:  Nightingale's father was a pioneer in epidemiology and tutored Florence in mathematics/statistics, an area she excelled in later in her career. A gifted statistician in her own right, Nightingale was fond of using pie charts when presenting her statistics. Among many studies, Nightingale did a statistical analysis of sanitation in India. Nightingale was the first female to be elected to Royal Statistical Society. Florence Nightingale defied her extremely wealthy family and upper class conventions in choosing to become a nurse in 1845. Nightingale not only fought for better medical care, but also championed social issues such as reform of the British Poor Laws. Nightingale's first published work was on a German Lutheran religious community in 1851. Most famous for her care of soldiers during the Crimean War, Nightingale entered Turkey in 1854 with 38 nurses she personally trained. In Nightingale's first winter at Scutari in the Crimea, the death toll rose with more than 4,077 soldiers dying. Nightingale's first evidence-based practice research involved collecting evidence that poor living conditions were the cause of most soldier deaths during the Crimean War. The Times of London is widely considered responsible for labeling Nightingale "the lady with the lamp." The U.S. government consulted Nightingale on setting up military hospitals during the Civil War. As a woman, Nightingale could not serve on the British Royal Commission on the Health of the Army even though she played a critical role in its formation. What is now the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, part of King's College London, was established by her to train nurses in 1860. Notes on Nursing also sold well as a popular book in the 1860s. In 1867, poet Henry Longfellow's poem "Santa Filomena" further ensured Nightingale's image with the lines, "Lo! In that hour of misery A lady with a lamp I see Pass through the glimmering gloom." In the 1870s, Nightingale trained Linda Richards, the first formally trained American nurse. Nightingale died in 1910, but her family declined to have her buried in Westminster Abbey with kings, queens and other English nobility. She is buried in the churchyard at St. Margaret's Church, East Wellow, Hampshire, England. Nightingale's maternal grandfather was the British abolitionist Will Smith.  Nightingale is named after her birthplace, Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (Italy). http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Web-Extras/Online-Extras/Facts-About-Florence.aspx

Teenagers in hospital want to discuss sex with nurses

24 April, 2011

Young people want the choice of discussing sexual health issues with nurses while in hospital, according to researchers in Liverpool.

They surveyed 100 young people attending an outpatient appointment or being discharged following an inpatient episode.

Writing online in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, the authors said: “Although young people infrequently sought advice when in acute settings, they wanted to know there was a choice to discuss these issues with healthcare professionals.

Healthcare professionals need to be mindful of opportunities to engage.”

• Sanders C, et al. Exploring young people’s expectations and experiences of discussing sexual and relationship health with professionals in a children’s hospital. Journal of Clinical Nursing 2011; Advance online publication

http://www.nursingtimes.net/5029027.article?referrer=e26

Night shift napping boosts nurses' performance and personal health

21 April, 2011 | By The Press Association

Napping during night shifts benefits nurses and their ability to care for patients, according to a study carried out in Canada.

Restorative napping - defined as a purposeful, brief sleep period - was identified by nurses as a potential strategy to improve performance, safety and personal health.

A total of 13 critical care nurses with an average 17 years’ experience were involved in the study, which was undertaken in response to concerns that nurses on night shifts are risking sleep deprivation and increased stress levels, which in turn can threaten patient safety.

Ten of the nurses stated that they nap regularly during night shifts, although the ability to nap depended on the demands of patient care and staffing needs.

It was suggested that managers of health care facilities provide a safe and comfortable resting place for nurses working night shift, and ensure that nurses do not miss breaks.

http://www.nursingtimes.net/5029013.article?referrer=e26

Nurse's Prayer