Strengthening Nursing Education thru Collaboration

In keeping with national recommendations to improve nursing education and practice and help nurses become well-positioned to lead change and advance healthcare, the University Of Florida College Of Nursing and the UF Health system’s division of nursing will collaborate more closely in education, analysis and patient care, UF Health president David S. Guzick, MD, PhD, declared in April.

As part of this collaboration, both Anna McDaniel, PhD, RN, dean of the College of Nursing and Irene Alexaitis, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, chief nursing officer and vice chairman of patient care services at UF Health Shands Hospital, will now hold positions and active roles within the wellness system and college, respectively. Aside from serving as dean, McDaniel will serve as the UF Health assistant vice chairman of academic practice partnerships and Alexaitis will serve as the College of Nursing associate dean of academic-practice partnerships. Moreover, nursing positions at UF Health are being created that combine obligations for teaching in the College of Nursing and active practice at UF Health Shands Hospital and other UF Health faculty office sites.

“I am pleased that our academic, research and clinical tasks in nursing will continue to forge strong partnerships through an established academic-practice collaboration,” said Guzick, senior vice chairman for health affairs and president of UF Health. “Strengthening the relationships between education, research and patient care is in maintaining with our overall strategic goal of putting patients at the center of everything we do.”

Joint appointments in the college and UF Health features will allow the college to better fulfill the academic needs of learners in the college’s academic programs, assist with UF Health nurse employment and preservation and enhance the link between clinical practice and nursing education. In addition, plans include exploring ways to offer advanced academic possibilities for nurses in UF Health facilities and aligning both organizations’ strategic goals and activities.

“We are pleased to further enhance the partnership between our college and UF Health and we are excited about many upcoming possibilities this will provide our nurses and faculty,” McDaniel said. “This move brings us back full circle to our pioneering culture as our founding dean Dorothy M. Smith was one of the earliest nursing leaders to completely incorporate nursing education, practice and research. By working more closely with UF Health, it confirms that we are teaching the next generation of nursing professionals completely prepared to fulfill the needs of our medical care system.”

Credit by Examination and Advanced Placement Credit

Advanced Placement Credit: A qualified person who has taken school level work in high school may get academic credit. Examinations used to determine advanced placement are the Advanced Placement Test of the College Entrance Examination Board and The Achievement Tests in English Composition and Intermediate Mathematics (Level 1). A last determination of credit is made after results have been assessed by the college.

credit_by_examinationCredit by Examination: College credits are generally earned through participation in scheduled classes. Then again, a few courses permit credit by examination. A student at presently enrolled, who presents satisfactory proof that he or she is qualified in a specific subject may get credits for a course by an examination (“challenge examination”) approved by the proper instructional department or through the College Level Examination Program (CLEP). Satisfactory proof may be and not restricted to, work experience, non-credit courses, course work taken at non-authorized establishments, or military courses. Such exams include:

  • College Board Advanced Placement (AP)
  • College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
  • International Baccalaureate Program (IB)
  • College Board Achievement Test (ACH)
  • Scholastic Aptitude Subject Test II (SAS)
  • Defense Language Institute (DLI)
  • American College Testing Proficiency Examination Program (PEP)
  • (DANTES)
  • GRU Departmental Examinations (DEPT)

A student may take challenge examinations before enlisting, yet will usually get credits for courses tested just after successfully finishing six semester hours. Courses in which a learner is or has been enlisted may not be tested and courses which require demonstration and provision of skills (useful, lab sciences and courses requiring field work or execution, for instance) may be tested just with the authorization of the director of the office offering the course. There is usually a $5 per credit hour charge for departmental “challenge” exams.

 

 

Positive Psychology Studies

In An Introduction to Positive Psychology, Dr. William Compton depicts positive psychology as looking “to make typical life more satisfying.” It uses the scientific method to comprehend the positive and candidly satisfying parts of human behavior. It is the study of what actions, interests and inspirations best contribute to the good life. These interests are accessible to us paying little heed to our heritage, background or socioeconomic standing. They are uninhibitedly accessible to any individual who decides to commit their lives to them. Here are some interesting positive psychology studies done by researchers.

1. From Wealth to Well-being – Harvard Business School, 2009. While there does seem, by all accounts, to be some association between happiness and income when fundamental needs are not yet met, individuals have a tendency to overestimate the impact of riches on happiness by 100%. Money does not lead as much happiness that individuals think it will.

2. Purchasing Experiences, not Possessions, Leads to Greater Happiness – San Francisco State University, 2009. This psychology study shows that experiential buys, for example, a dinner out or theater tickets, bring about better well being than material belongings. These experiences have a tendency to fulfill higher order needs, particularly the requirement for social connectedness and a feeling of being invigorated.

3. The Science of Gratitude – University of Pennsylvania, 2005. One of the best contributing variables to general happiness in life is the amount of appreciation we show. Furthermore, an observable contrast could be experienced with as little as three words every day (“Thank you for… “).

4. Trust, Morality, and Oxytocin – Claremont Graduate University, 2011. In light of research discoveries, psychologists believe humankind’s trust, compassion and ethical quality expand as their levels of oxycotin expand.

5. For a Better Day, Smile – Michigan State University, 2011. Individuals who smile as a consequence of developing positive thoughts can fundamentally and promptly enhance their mood. Simply put, one easy approach to enhance your state of mind at this moment is to recall pleasant memories and smile about it.

Being Active in Assisted Living Centers

A long time ago, an excursion to the doctor’s office for a senior housing resident in a wheelchair was frequently the only connection they had to the outside world. That was yesterday. Today’s message is that individuals living in assisted living centers and retirement groups can and do stay extremely active. Handouts and sites for elder care offices now promote their capacity to give transportation to hair stylists, shopping plazas, religious services, trips and numerous other every day exercises, even on short notice. Sufficient transportation empowers elderly inhabitants to live all the more autonomously and prevent feelings of disconnection. Hence, focuses are changing the way they manage and organize outside activities, giving occupants more decisions on what they might want to do regularly.

What separates one office from an alternate in helping active senior lifestyles can frequently be found outside the focal point, primed to take a gathering of seniors out and about. It’s the various minibuses and wheelchair-available vans, in numerous shapes and sizes that give this valuable service. Assisted living centers with a sufficient armada of shuttle transports and wheelchair vans are discovering that their vehicles are a noticeable difference. Families that help with assessing assisted living centers regularly look to transportation benefits as an indicator of whether their parent or grandparent is going to have the capacity to keep enjoying the activities they’re accustomed to.

From a marketing point of view, shuttle transports are moving billboards that give consistent, visual commercials of the senior living center to the community. For operational and restorative purposes, they are basic to the administrations being given. While numerous offices contract for medical ambulatory type outings, the flow and significance to client fulfillment in getting inhabitants to outside exercises has changed how associations see their transport limit. By expanding their transportation proficiencies and advertising offer with more movement alternatives, an office has a greater shot of keeping their units filled.

Focuses today can have a few multi-passenger vehicles out and about at any given time, transporting one or twelve inhabitants to and from different destinations. Almost all of these transport vehicles have a wheelchair lift and space for wheelchair travelers, a fundamental characteristic in giving versatility and opportunity to numerous occupants. A few vehicles can fit a few wheelchairs, while others can just fit one or two at once. All wheelchair vans have special tie-down frameworks set up for keeping wheelchairs set up and for traveler security.

Senior Care and Overall Wellness

Gone are the days when senior care was specifically about dealing with medical needs. Instead, the present day modern senior living facilities take a much more natural strategy, servicing the senior’s body and mind. In addition, senior living is constantly on the go from the standard elderly care facility servicing very ill sufferers, to independent living communities housing active and vibrant elderly people. As a result, the industry has adapted to offer an extensive continuum of care that focuses on the resident’s overall health and fitness.

Following this pattern of senior, a recent blog on Senior Care Corner provided 8 tips for helping elderly people improve and sustain their memory. It points out that “the brain function of aging can begin when we are only 45 and that by age 80, average people have lost 40% of their memory.” Many of these recommendations replicated the idea underlining dimensions of health and fitness concept, elderly people need to be pushed and involved in a variety of activities. Some recommendations in the article are to:

  • Find ways to keep them active
  • Provide psychologically exciting activities
  • Engage them in social activities
  • Get your senior connected to family, friends and other networks

Most significantly, dimension of health and fitness play a crucial part in a resident’s evolving senior care plan. The powerful changes to various measurements may illustrate a minor decrease that may need to be analyzed by the medical employees and therefore may require appropriate changes to the care plan. Such simple changes in health and fitness and practical recognition of the same along with a proper good care plan, could save communities significant money (tied to demographics, improved ADL services, lawsuits, etc.). In summary, senior health is no longer about just offering the best medical care, but is about offering the best overall care.

Healthcare Problems

Charles Krauthammer provided us all advice when he recommended that we should neglect what President Obama says and focus on what he does. The reality is that very little that Obama peddled to America when he was attempting to gain support for the Affordable Healthcare Act was true. What is going to happen to many People in America in the next months and years is what individuals should be focused on. We might want to consider some of the following, because it may affect us all, one way or the other.

As many as one-half of all American doctors may refuse to join the healthcare transactions. Without doctors, it will be a very hard to make the transactions work and guarantees long waits to see a doctor.

The White House and surrogates say a few individuals will lose their healthcare coverage. The estimate of a 5% cancellation rate would signify about 16 million individuals, or about one-half the number of the uninsured that was originally used to rationalize this problem. Each cancellation provides with it a tale and for some, a complete loss of insurance plan and lack of ability to get treatment. And perhaps as many as a third of the population could be affected once the employer mandates kick in.

The government gets to decide on the details of healthcare coverage each resident will be needed to buy. An older woman may be needed to buy pre-natal coverage; a younger man may be needed to buy coverage for geriatric care. The Affordable Care Act does not differentiate between the needs of the younger and the old, or the sex of the policy-holder, or the needs and wishes of the individual. It is an all-encompassing, like it program, because there is no leaving it.

In order for the program to work, younger, healthy individuals must buy the government required insurance policy. Since most adolescents have no medical problems and the penalty enforced is much less expensive than buying the actual policy, many will no doubt opt to pay the penalty. The fact that previous medical conditions cannot remove one from buying insurance plan makes the choice to pay the penalty and wait until the need for healthcare insurance coverage occurs, a no-brainer.

Respiratory Therapist Education and Licensing

Respiratory therapist is one of the best profession choices in the United States because of its job perspective which is expected to be higher than the average. Moreover, they also generate roughly $55,870 yearly. Their demand will increase because of also the ever-increasing number of senior people who are going to need health services due to various respiratory conditions.

Here are some Respiratory Therapist education options. There are two possible academic choices to engage in your profession as a respiratory therapist. You can either finish an associate or baccalaureate degree course. An affiliate degree in respiratory treatment is a two year program that serves as an entry level academic need to sit for the licensing exam. This quick and cost-effective choice is good for an ambitious respiratory therapist who does not have financial assistance to pay for a baccalaureate course. On the other hand, if you want to engage in managing positions, you can take a baccalaureate degree in respiratory treatment. This will take you two more years to finish with extra costs in comparison to an associate’s degree. Additionally, you are more likely to get employed as most companies choose baccalaureate graduates than associate ones. You can further increase your knowledge and marketability by acquiring advanced clinical training programs in respiratory treatment.

With regards to licensing and renewal, the National Board of Respiratory Care or NBRC performs the licensing and certification procedures. Your academic degree in tertiary level works as a requirement to sit for the licensing examination. They also provide free practice tests for candidates. Your certificate is subject to be renewed once every two years. You can get in touch with NBRC for more information about the licensing and renewal process.

CLEP Preparation Steps

The College Level Examination Program is an arm of College Board, which provides a way for speeding up the completion of college courses. Based on the institution’s guidelines, CLEP assessments can help learners generate college credits or postpone certain specifications if they have already designed proficiencies in certain subject areas.

Here are some steps to adhere to help guide your approach.

1. Check out the CLEP website – Now that you have read through the CLEP website, it’s a chance to find out which test(s) you should take. On the home-page of the CLEP website, there is a “Search Institutions” bar. Do this! There are 33 CLEP assessments available, but each college/university has a different approval policy. You do not want to take a test that will not be accepted by your college/university. Instead of getting the test, save the $80 and put it to good use elsewhere.

2. Verify your facts – It is not sensible to make presumptions about college policy based on third party information. Now that you are equipped with some baseline details, cross reference it with your institution’s course catalog and double check the registrar’s office to make sure the details found on CLEP web page is up to date.

3. Get ready for the test – When taking CLEP assessments, it’s important to plan in advance. It does not appear sensible to get $80 and not know what you are getting into. The College Board provides several 100 % free resources, many of which can be found in the internet.

4. Sign-up for the test – Registering for a CLEP test is probably the most convenient part of the process.

Not every college will promote their CLEP policy where it is readily available. CLEP tests can help learners facilitate their course completion, which could result in less income for the college, a fact that some organizations would like to cover up. CLEP tests can also be an affordable solution to taking summer classes, but it all depends on the college’s policy.

RN Classes and Training Online

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nurse is among the top 10 professions with the largest job growth. A registered nurse (RN) requires a large base of knowledge used to evaluate, plan and get involved to promote wellness, prevent disease and help sufferers deal with illness. When providing direct patient care, nursing staff observe, evaluate and record symptoms, responses and progress, which provides the basis for proper care planning and involvement. They are wellness teachers and supporters for sufferers, families and communities.

The RN nursing programs are requirements of recent times, as the certification they offer to the nursing staff are essential for them to progress later on. Many individuals like to go to universities for study, while in the present busy world, individuals aren’t getting enough time for them to go to the colleges. Hence, online RN classes are a trend currently. Nevertheless, there are individuals who believe that universities provide the quality of study that’s unmatchable in comparison to study which is offered on the internet. This completely relies on the idea of individuals. Hence, online RN classes are really a good way through which a health professional turn into a registered nurse and can improve their degree. Through this, a health care professional needs to be present at the evaluation known as National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX).

The way of functioning of an RN health professional relies on the ecological situation of the medical center and on its work structure. Nevertheless, RNs have been considered as the absolutely most important unit of the entire health system. The very first thing that must be done by a nurse is to put up an efficient course of action for their sufferers, since this technique helps in the appropriate nursing of the patient. Some activities included by the plan, such as the appropriate checking of the doses, avoiding too much interaction and providing appropriate dose of medicines to the sufferers. Therefore, these activities are being considered as the main area of an efficient strategy of an RN.

National League for Nursing New Director of Accreditation

The National League for Nursing has appointed Judith A. Halstead, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, to lead its new accreditation department, effective July 1, 2014. Said NLN President Marsha Howell Adams, PhD, RN, CNE, FAAN, “I can think of no better person to direct this trans-formative initiative. With Dr. Halstead’s management, the NLN C-NEA will consist of accreditation services that are permeated with the League’s primary principles of caring, reliability, diversity and quality.” “The NLN’s objective to advance the health of the nation cannot be obtained without a dedication to the best nursing information possible,” said Dr. Halstead, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF. “I am excited and recognized to have the opportunity to provide leadership to this important initiative.”

Currently professor of nursing at Indiana University College of Nursing and director of IU’s Office for Online Education, Dr. Halstead was praised by School of Nursing dean, Dr. Marion Broome: “Judy Halstead delivers a lot of experience to this position. She has more than three years of experience in nursing education, management experience at both the college of nursing and university level, a system of co-workers with skills in this area across the nation and strong knowledge of requirements in nursing education. This unique education and expertise set will allow Dr. Halstead to cause this essential new initiative in ways few, if any, other individual could.”

Dr. Halstead is co-editor of the commonly referenced Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty. Her several awards include the MNRS Advancement of Science Award for the Nursing Education Research Section and the Sigma Theta Tau International Elizabeth Russell Belford Excellence in Education Award. Dr. Halstead is a fellow in the National League for Nursing Academy of Nursing Education and the American Academy of Nursing. Her work to promote quality in nursing education is commonly published nationwide and worldwide in more than 50 journals and 100 presentations and she is a frequently desired consultant on the process of nursing education. Dr. Halstead served as National League of Nursing president from 2011-2013.