Category: Nursing Education

The Purpose Of Nursing Home Activities

Aging is one of the painful realities that we cannot escape. All of us will become old and weak. Like our grandparents are already at the twilight of their lives. The sad part here is, some of our elderly people are not being cared for by their immediate families because of personal and financial reasons. That is why, they are recommended to enter in the nursing facility.

A Nursing home is for those people who do not need to be in the hospital but cannot be cared for at home. Most nursing homes have a nursing aide and skilled nurses who are available twenty-four hours a day. Nursing homes are not only for the elderly but also for anyone who requires twenty-four hour care. Most people think of nursing facilities as place that is soul-less, where residents either lie on bed or sit in the rocking chairs endlessly. However, what many people don’t know is that a nursing facility offers a lot of activities to make the lives of their patients colorful and fun. They have daily activities to keep both their bodies and brains active. In fact studies have shown that daily interesting activities contribute to a decline of depression among nursing home residents. It helps to keep their bodies and their spirits alive.

Stimulating regular activities for the nursing residents are vital to keep their mental and physical well-being in good shape. The staff, visiting family and friends can take part cheerfully in the activities that the nursing homes provide.

The Goal of the nursing home is to keep people both happy and healthy as possible, for their both physical and mental aspects. The activities should be varied and be interesting, as well as suited to the different disabilities. They should not only be fun but also a worthwhile activity that can help build a good relationship, develop new skills and keep up their fitness level.

Ways Math is Used in Nursing

Math isn’t a topic that would go along with nursing. Nonetheless, nurses utilize math abilities every single day they are on the job. Whenever a nurse supervises treatment, computes an individual’s height or weight, she must make use of mathematics. Math is essential in nursing and may dictate the efficiency of the treatment the nurses administer.

Medicine Estimate
Nurses who are employed in hospitals need to ensure that the appropriate doses of medicine are given to their patients. The physician’s order will generally require a dosage of medicine that the hospital’s pharmacy doesn’t bring. For instance, a physician may order 150 mg of a treatment that is made only in 100 mg capsules or 300 mg scored capsules. In the event the hospital’s pharmacy only provides 100 mg capsules of the prescription drugs, the nurse must determine the number of tablets should be given to the patient. A wrong computation may endanger the life of the patient.

Patient Weight and height
Nurses must determine patients’ height as well as weight. The measuring procedure is usually basic and requires only basic math skills, some healthcare amenities demand nurses to convert the weight in kilos to pounds and also the height in inches to centimeters to the patient’s chart.

Inventory
Regardless of the hospital the nurse decides to be employed, he or she must handle inventory of some sort. Hospital floor nurses who are accountable for major patient care also handle the inventory of their patients’ medicines. Operating room nurse practitioners are accountable for inventory of working room supplies, and wound treatment nurses are accountable for stock of wound care items. The math necessary in these situations is comparable to that of fundamental accounting.

The NLN Accreditation’s Significance

The National League for Nursing (NLN) compose a group of nursing advocates such as educators, agencies, and other member of the public, dedicated to the success of the nursing education. The NLN has another entity that is responsible for accrediting nursing schools and programs – NLN Accrediting Commission. Various nursing programs get accreditation.

Nursing schools thrive to have NLN accreditation since it assures their students that their programs meet a or exceed criteria and standards for nursing education. Aside from this, accredited schools have across the country have been known for the large percentage of graduates who pass nursing licensure exams. Thus, employers hire nursing staff from accredited schools since they know these graduates are highly competitive and acquire the necessary skills.

Although accreditation is a sign that a nursing school is in line with quality standards, they may have a chance to loose this valuable validation. That is why schools need to maintain their commitment to the nursing education success.

When considering a nursing school, it’s important to consider an accredited school. Non-accredited programs may not qualify you for financial aid. Also, when you graduate, your employment opportunities may be limited. Employers may hire a nurse from an accredited school, if they had to pick between the two of you. Also, graduates from non-accredited schools may not have a chance to work for the government.

You may wonder, where can you find nursing schools that are accredited? Searching online through the NLN’s official website may help you find a number of schools within your vicinity. Also try to search for schools with candidate status. Candidacy is the first step that leads to NLN accreditation. So when schools offer candidate programs, they’re preparing for accreditation.

The Relevance of Sociology in the Nursing Profession

Sociology is defined as a study of human behavior inside the societal context. Despite its huge importance in politics, organizations, and other statistical fields, nursing students struggle to see its relevance in their chosen career.

Basically, there exist two kinds of sociological knowledge in the nursing course: sociology in nursing and sociology of nursing. Both these knowledge give nursing a different light. It’s like students are given a new pair of glasses, and look at everyday occurrences in a whole different way. But how?

The practical relevance of sociology in the profession depends on how an individual perceive what nursing is all about. If they want to find ways to cater the needs of their patients, nursing students need to understand their experiences with health and illnesses, what’s their basis of health, what is it like to live with similar disorder, and how society views of these people. In short, if one thinks nursing involves critical thinking and patient experience, then sociology has a lot to give.

Most students are intimidated with this subject matter and find it difficult. At a glance, one cannot easily connect sociology to the current practical context of the nursing practice. However, when students engage in wider social issues, they develop reflecting skills. Having these skills let a nurse become a care provider rather than just being too technical with their job.

The remainder relevance of sociology lies on focusing on contemporary research especially in patients with learning difficulties. The significance of this research lie on changing the stereotypical perception of people with learning disabilities that they are incompetent, inadequately capable of speaking for themselves, and thus needs to be given care. It also gives students valuable insight to what these people are going under to have a better understanding of their needs.  Sociological research continues to expand and has become useful in the nursing profession.

Experiential Learning: An Effective Teaching Strategy for Mathematics

Mathematics is undeniably a hard subject. Even the great minds of the past such as Albert Einstein know for a fact that there are difficulties in learning the matter. No wonder Math teachers experience difficulties in the way they teach students. The lecture approach where teachers let students memorize mathematical facts has long been gone. Today, teachers are called on to teach new and effective teaching methods to develop not only mastery, but comprehension as well.

Mathematics requires experiential learning where students are involved in their own understanding of mathematical concepts and practices. Through this type of learning, students are able to identify problems, use constructive reasoning to make viable arguments, and applying mathematics in real-life problems.

On improving mathematical concepts, a recent study explained that problem solving in mathematics is not a natural talent, but learned. The teacher’s role is to guide students through practice, provide both routine and non-routine problems, and help them develop their own strategies in solving those problems. In addition, the study highlights the importance of including the students in developing skills in problem solving and sharing them through argumentative discussions.

Traditionally, math textbooks often just provide fixed examples without providing rich experiences in problem solving. Teachers too often review the answers immediately without explaining what strategies students use to solve the problems or if the solutions can be explained by the students themselves.

For teachers to build their students’ mathematical problem solving strategies, they need to provide instruction that explores new concepts through scaffolding. Scaffolding includes asking guide questions that lead to answers rather than supplying them immediately.

In regards to experiential learning at the high school level, teachers need to focus on reasoning and acquire a sense of using mathematics on their daily lives. This is because U.S. high school students have the inability to apply math to solve problems in a variety of situations. This trends needs to be improved through experiential learning.

STUDY TIPS FOR PASSING ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY TESTS

A passing grade on Human anatomy and physiology is a requirement to pass and get a degree. Thus, the success in this subject is both important and challenging to do. But by implementing good study strategies and techniques, you can be successful in the academe.

Do not procrastinate. A “last-minute” attitude during tests increases your chances of failing. So develop good study habits. This requires forceful efforts. Most of the time, students feel relaxed every after class session. If you have this kind of mentality, then start to eradicate as soon as possible. Start by being prepared for class by reading the material in advance or review the last lecture. You can accomplish these in small amounts of time. Remember, consistency is important here. So it does not matter if yo only give 2 to 3 hours a day in studying, as long as you do it regularly.

When reading books, break chapters into small sections. When studying anatomy and physiology, one challenge is going through a large pile of books that you need to internalize or understand. When reading through a book, break chapters into small sections. This will help you with understanding each chapter better. Use a marker to highlight important terms or thoughts.

Listen on lectures and lab discussions. Reading books can be placed secondary to listening to your teacher during discussions. Put down everything he says on notes because those will likely come out of the test questionnaire.

Utilize memory-enhancing tools. Flashcards can be of use when trying to memorize names and difficult terms. It works best with a partner. This leads to the last tip.

Ask your classmate(s). If you find it hard to concentrate when studying in groups, you can do it in pairs instead. Working with another classmate can help you with understanding difficult concepts. It’s also fun to study with someone who has the same goal as you do – to pass the exam.

The best thing to do with these tips is to start it strong. Don’t easily get discourage if you have an undesirable grade for different sections. You may be good at the skeletal system, but worst on learning the respiratory. Remember, different sections require a set of different learning skills. So, keep your eye on your overall grade, develop good study habits and move forward!

Fundamentals of Nursing: Depression, Loss and Grieving

Overview

As nursing students, you need to learn and finish the subject Fundamentals of Nursing. As part of the course, it will tackle Depression, Loss and Grieving. These subjects are very critical towards understanding patients, what they are going through when they are facing depression. Below is an overview of these subject:

Depression is one of the leading cause of death in the United States. There are a lot of depressed people all over the world. Most of them are teenagers who are victims of bullies, sexual harassment and family issues.

If you are depressed, you will experience severe sadness, disorientation and confusion. You will detach yourself in reality. You will also feel that no one understands what you are going through. In this article, we are going to discuss things about depression, loss and grieving.

In psychology, there are 5 stages of depression. There is a mnemonic called ‘DABDA’, meaning Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Anger.

First stage – Denial 

It is the stage wherein we cannot accept that fact that there is an underlying problem. It is the brain’s normal and temporary response that we detach ourselves to reality.

Second stage – Anger

Acknowledging the problem exist in this period. Meaning, we already know that there is a problem. And as a response, we show anger and we tend to blame others.

Third stage – Bargaining

This is the hardest part. We make a deal from the highest power and God. This is the stage wherein we want to delay the inevitable.

Fourth stage – Depression

In this stage, we already know that we are sad and depressed. This is the time where you can openly share your thoughts and problems to others.

Fifth stage – Acceptance

This phase is manifested by removal of grief and calmness. We have to remember that this is not a sign of happiness. It is just a sign of acceptance of the problem.

Treatment

Group therapy is the best solution to depression. We can overcome sadness easily because we recognize the fact that we are not alone.

Psychology in Medical Education

Psychologists have to acquire a much better knowledge of the fundamental biological sciences if they wish to engage in a much bigger position in educating medical students, and take part in study and treatment inside the health care process.

Health-related schools are switching from being organized on biologically based departments to multidisciplinary organizations, and that study funded by the National Institutes of Health is requiring a much more interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary strategy. These changes generate a chance for psychology to play a better role in medical instruction and health investigation.

The inability for making psychology highly relevant to the biological fundamentals of medicine can lead to psychology getting minimally highly relevant to medical education and practice. For instance, a psychologist who would like to work in an interdisciplinary treatment plan targeting cancer must provide expertise about a few of the behavioral aspects in the start of cancer – but should know something about oncology and defense mechanisms function, as well.

Definitely, in order to comprehend and educate about these topics, it is essential that we have a number of this fundamental knowledge. There’s a necessity for clinical health psychologists to understand more about anatomy, physiology and pharmacology. For college students studying to become pharmacists for example, psychology offers quite a bit to educate about patient decision-making, social support and problem management and self-care. For example, research has discovered that asking a patient, “Any questions?” when they pick up a prescription decreases the likelihood that a patient will in fact ask a question. By contrast, asking, “What questions do you have?” results in more connection between patient and pharmacist.

Psychologists may also provide important communication instruction on how to build a connection with patients – whether it’s working with children who won’t sit still in the chair or adults who become stressed when dealing with a dental appointment.

A lot more has to be completed to help make education and training possibilities readily available for psychologists within educational health centers.

National League for Nursing: Striving for Excellence

The National League for Nursing was founded with a vision to promote excellence in the nursing education. They encourage nurses to be educators of the new generation of nurses. NLN identifies itself to be a leader in the Nursing Education which strives to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce of the nation and the global community.

With this goal at hand, it is understood that the National League for Nursing wants to give those nurses in education several opportunities for advancement in their profession. By doing so, NLN  continuously designs and creates initiatives that will develop and promote the nursing faculty. This gives nursing professionals the motivation to work as a mentor to the new breed of nurses.

The role of the nurses in the health institutions does not revolve around the patients alone. They also have responsibilities that encompass the facilitation of  learning of the nursing students. Every profession in every generation needs a mentor. And to become an effective and inspiring mentor, a certain organization is needed to make opportunities for development. The NLN has seen this and has responded to the need of the nursing educators. Hence,  they have established objectives for the betterment of the nursing faculty and the nursing education institution.

When nursing educators affiliate with NLN, numerous opportunities await them. Other than faculty development programs, NLN has become the voice of nurse educators and support them in  their interests  in politics, academic and professional practice. NLN also initiates to promote evidence-based teaching practices which opens privileges for further study and research. Presently, the National League for Nursing has outlined numerous professional opportunities for nurse educators like educational research grant, write or review items for NLN tests, immersion programs, courses and workshops and many more. Check on their website to learn more about the National League for Nursing.

Clinical and Non-clinical Profession

The main difference between clinical and non-clinical jobs is pretty simple. Simply because you work in a clinic or healthcare facility doesn’t suggest that your function is “clinical”. If you take care of patients or supply direct patient care of any type, in which particular case your job is considered as “clinical.” Types of clinical functions in healthcare are:

  • Physician (ER doctors, hospitalists, surgeons)
  • Nurse (CRNA, LPN/LVN, RN, CNS)
  • Pharmacists
  • Medical Lab Technologist
  • Therapist (Physical Therapist, Radiation Therapist)
  • Techs (Ultrasound Tech, Radiology Tech, Surgical Tech)
  • Medical Assistants
  • Dietician

Non-clinical roles are the ones that do not offer any sort of medical attention, or testing. It consist of medical billing and coders, receptionists, hospital executives, transcriptionists, and anyone who works as a support staff at a hospital such as Human Resources, IT, administrative assistants, etc. Some non-clinical workers do interact with patients, but don’t essentially offer medical care. There are plenty of additional non-clinical roles in the health care industry like pharmaceutical reps, medical gadget sales, medical recruiters, biomedical engineers, biostatisticians, case workers and patient advocates. Other examples of non-clinical hospital jobs:

  • Case manager / Social Worker
  • Human Resources & Recruiting
  • Accountants
  • Executives
  • Administrative Assistants
  • Information Technology

If you appreciate dealing with people and do patient care, working in a hospital may very well be appealing to you. A typical hospital has countless workers, along with patients coming in and out on a daily basis, it brings new challenges. Also, because healthcare is really a growing industry, hospital jobs are comparatively secure when compared with corporations which may be more unstable occasionally.