NLNAC | Distance Learning Systems (DLSI)

Important Must Have Patient Care Skills For Nurses

Providing medical service to sick and ill people is a delicate process. Patient care should be handled by highly skilled medical professionals like nurses. The procedures in patient care are not simple. Most of them are complex in nature. People handling patient care should be careful and precise in everything they do.

Nurses are formally trained and educated on the right method of handling medical care to their patients. Most of the nurses are equipped with right knowledge in handling different types of medical cases. However, some nurses may neglect improving and developing special skills that are important in patient care. Below are few of the important patient care skill that nurses need to develop and enhance:

Pain and Injury Management
Many patients in hospitals do suffer from pain and injuries. Nurses should be able to enhance their management skills in handling pain and injuries of patient. They should be able to acquire advance pain management skills and proper handling of injuries. This is important so that nurses can efficiently help patients managed their illnesses and medical conditions.

Drug and Medicines Administration
Another important skill that nurses need to develop is the efficiency in administering medications to patients. Nurses should be familiar of the different medicines use in treating patients. They must know the right dosage and the possible side effects of a particular drug.

Respiratory Management
Respiratory management is a special skill that is important for a nursing professional. Nurses should be able to know the important procedures in handling respiratory related treatments to patients.

Good Ethics and Professionalism in the Work Environment
Nurses should also provide professional etiquette in delivering patient care to their clients. Aside from superior medical skills, satisfactory patient care also requires good interpersonal relationship with patients. Nurses must always remember to be courteous in approaching and talking to patients.

Quick Guide for Providing the Best Hospice Care to Patients

Hospice care is a special type of medical care that focuses on terminally ill and very sick patients. People who are at the end of their lives need to acquire the best hospice care. A hospice care is important to support the medical needs of seriously ill patients. Hospice care is usually manage by highly skilled medical professionals like nurses. Nurses play an important role in assisting patients with serious conditions in hospice care facilities. Nurses help terminally ill patients managed the pain and symptoms from their diseases.

Providing medical assistance to seriously ill people is not simple. Nurses who provide hospice care to patients should be well equipped with special medical skills and knowledge. Handling serious medical cases needs to be conducted in a careful and delicate manner. Nurses should be able to acquire the right skills in managing delicate and complex medical cases. Here’s a Guide for nurses to help them provide the best hospice care to patients.

Enhance expertise in hospice care by attending seminars and training. Nurses who are currently providing hospice care to patients should allot a time to participate in skill and knowledge enhancement programs. Medical seminars and Training are regularly conducted to provide updates about new developments in the field of hospice care. It’s advisable that nurses attend these kind of events to enhance their capability in hospice care.

Nurses should be up-to-date with the latest techniques in handling serious medical conditions. The medical field continuously adapts new medical techniques and breakthroughs. New methods in managing different medical cases are discovered which improve the quality of treatment to patients. Nurses providing hospice care should be constantly updated with these new medical trends. Usually, this updates are disseminated thru nursing and medical organizations. Medical professional groups often inform their members about the latest medical advancement in meetings and scheduled meet ups.

How to Cope with Difficult RN Classes

Finishing a nursing degree is not easy. In fact, entering a nursing school and passing the admission test is already a big challenge to students. If you luckily pass the admission test and are allowed to enroll in a nursing school, the next thing you want to do is pass every subject in the course. Nursing subjects are different from other subjects in college. The topics and lessons in nursing subjects are focused on medical science, which are most of the time difficult and complicated.

A freshman nursing student might find it hard to adjust in such complex topics and lessons. But with determination and some effective study habits you can pass the subject and get a degree in nursing. Here is a simple guide to help you adjust to RN classes.

Listen to your professor and ask questions if you don’t understand the lessons.
RN classes are often handled by teaching professionals who have expert knowledge in the field of nursing. They can provide you with important facts and principle that is useful to a nursing career. You want to listen carefully to your professor during your RN classes. Keep your focus to the nursing lessons the professor is teaching. Don’t hesitate to ask questions if some ideas and topics are unclear to you. It’s advisable that you take steps in clarifying any misunderstood lessons to help you have a clear understanding about the topic. Full understanding of the lessons in a nursing subject is key to achieving a passing grade on the exam.

Take tutorial classes
Tutorial classes can help you cope with difficult nursing subjects. You can join tutorial RN classes to help you earn a greater understanding about specific topics and lessons. Enrolling in a tutorial center can increase your chance of passing the course and acquiring good grades.

Top Three Characteristics of High Quality Nursing Schools

Choosing the ideal school to earn your nursing degree is very important. The type of nursing school plays an important role in developing professional skills and knowledge needed to practice a nursing career. These Nursing Schools are the foundation of a person’s nursing ability to provide healthcare service to patients. On top of that, a lot of medical institutions opt to employ nurses that came from respected and prestigious nursing schools.

You should be able to distinguish well which school to consider. Among the many nursing school offering nursing degree choose a school that have these qualities. This will be your quick guide in choosing the best nursing school in your area.

Highly qualified faculty members

The school’s Teachers and instructors are the front liners towards molding you to an efficient and well knowledgeable nurse. Some nursing schools have more qualified sets of faculty members compared to other. Choose a school that have high-credential faculty members on their list. A good indicator is membership in the National League for Nursing.

Accreditation

You may want to belong to an educational institution that have earn the proper accreditation in the field of nursing. Accreditation Bodies like The Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), The Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) and the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC).

Nursing Board Exam Passing Rate

An effective nursing education program may be measured on the number of nursing board passers a school have produced. It’s preferable that you choose a nursing school that has a high rate of board passers in five consecutive years. Schools that have high percentage of passing rate often maintain high quality of education. You want to have this kind of quality nursing education to mold you to a highly qualified nursing professional.

How to prepare yourself for a Nursing career

Choosing a career requires careful thinking and right decision making. You want to have a career that will enhance your ability, skills and knowledge. A good career path should be interesting, enjoyable, and inspiring. You want to be in a career that makes you happy and enables to you have worthwhile experiences while working.

Among the many available careers, you have chosen to be in the field of healthcare as a nurse. This type of career is lucrative and highly respected. Proper knowledge and high quality of skills are required from healthcare professionals. On top of that, a nursing graduate should undergo the mandatory board exam that regulate and maintain the standards for this particular profession.

Although pursuing this type of career can sometimes be strenuous, it’s better to be ready and prepare for the long career journey ahead.

Choose which type of nursing career you want

Basically there are two nursing career you can take. One as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and the other as a Registered Nurse (RN). There is actually a noticeable difference between the two closely related careers. RN’s have more subjects and spend more time in school earning their professional nursing degree. While LPN’s earn a degree in practical nursing. RN’s have better opportunity in terms of high compensation and career growth.

Learn, Study and pass your course

The best preparation for a nursing career is by making a good reputation in your academic performance. These lessons you got while earning your degree in nursing are vital in your chosen career. It’s preferable to have basic to advance knowledge on the fundamentals of nursing which are very useful in your line of work.

Make sure you pass the licensure exam

Implement strategies that will increase your chances of passing the nursing board exam in your location. You can enroll in tutorial classes or spend a time doing self-review before you take the exam. Through the help of dedication and the right preparation a career in nursing will be within your reach.

Nursing School Accreditation: NLNAC and CCNE

The emergence of nursing programs everywhere is the way to answer the influx of nursing students. Nursing schools are struggling to accommodate the growing number of nursing students that is why many nursing programs seem to be popping up all over. With so many options, one way for students to identify a quality nursing program is through national accreditation. Nursing programs that have national accreditation are assured to have achieved established goals and meet expected standards and outcomes because accrediting bodies will hold them accountable.

While it is not required for a nursing student to be in a nursing program that is accredited by the NLNAC (National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission) or CCNE (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education) to take the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Exam), there are advantageous points for students to be in an accredited nursing program. Accreditation with either the NLNAC or CCNE can affect the student’s financial aid eligibility. If the program is not accredited, the student may not be eligible for federal or state financial aid, employer tuition reimbursement programs, scholarships, or grants.

NLNAC and CCNE have similar criteria and standards. However, the difference is the accreditation periods between individual schools and programs. The type of programs being accredited is also another difference between the accreditation organizations. CCNE only accredits bachelor and master programs while NLNAC accredits all types of nursing education programs. It includes undergraduate (practical, diploma, associate, and bachelor) as well as graduate (master and clinical doctorate) programs. The list of programs accredited for both NLNAC and CCNE is posted in their respective websites.

Knowing this information, it is important to use caution when selecting a nursing program to be in. Accreditation is one aspect you should consider in a nursing program. Which accrediting organization is the program accredited and why did they choose the particular body?

Importance of NLNAC to Nursing Programs

Choosing a nursing school is an integral part of your career. There are a lot of considerations to take into account, like the distance of the school from where you live and the cost of the program. One thing to consider is the accreditation of the nursing school. Nursing, like some professions, has more than one accrediting agency. The university is either accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

Let’s get to know the background of this accreditation agency. NLNAC was first created in 1893. When the new Higher Education Act made some changes in the accrediting requirements and processes, the NLNAC was not able to comply. This made way to the entrance of the CCNE in 1998. There are people who favor the NLNAC accreditation because it supports a larger mixture of institutional missions and therefore provides greater opportunities for students. Some say that it had an explicit standard addressing a program’s integrity, which the CCNE lacked. Having an accreditation basically controls the profession’s quality and standards. They are referred as gatekeepers to quality. Through accreditation, students will be guided on what program or school to choose, determining the more dominant program and the more competitive. The two accrediting agencies have their own focus and standards. Both have their pros and cons, but helps improve the quality and effectiveness of a nursing school.

Accreditation is very imperative for the forthcoming nursing student when choosing an entry-level nursing program. In the U.S., all nursing schools must have a license and an approval from the state where it is located. There are certain requirements that must be met by the school to be accredited. Whatever accreditation the school will use, it will enhance the quality of its nursing program which will create more competitive nurses.

National League for Nursing and International Nursing Programs

The Vision for the Nursing Education Pathway and the ADN is to be recognized regionally and worldwide for providing top quality, impressive, nursing education and for advertising quality in nursing practice. The Accreditation Commission for Nursing Education (ACEN) was formerly the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC). It provides specific certification for nursing education by assisting the interests of nursing education, nursing practice and the public. The ACEN claims that certification is a non-reflex, nursing instructor opportunities self-regulatory procedure by which educational organizations or programs meet or surpass requirements and criteria for academic quality.

The procedure includes an exterior review and an affirmation of values. Accreditation would also ensure ongoing top quality improvement by enhancing resources spent, procedures followed and results obtained. The certification program is not unique to all. All nursing programs whether a Degree, Associate, Bachelor’s or Master’s degree must follow the same program to be approved. The ACEN is the only company in the United States that grants certification to Practical, Diploma and Associate degree nursing programs. ACEN or National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission has given International nursing programs the opportunity to follow best practice guidelines for nursing education and to be included in the certification procedure. In order to apply for candidacy and following certification, the following must be in place: Positioning within a regulating company that is approved by an approved accrediting organization or maintains unconditional acceptance by the appropriate regulating organization that has legal power for education programs.

Placement within a regulating company that is approved to allow the certification granted at the completion of the program. Finally, the nursing program must have commenced; hence, the process for certification could not start until the program started in January of this year. The normal need for international programs is that the program has to be in operation for at the least, 5 years and have completed at the least, three classes of nursing graduates.

Accreditation Watch

Unaccredited nursing programs will gladly greet you, take your cash, and disgorge you into the job market where you will be at a serious drawback in comparison to graduates from approved programs. How does this work? State boards of nursing agree to educational institutions of nursing and have the power to shut down a nursing program. Their job is to protect the public, so if they are pleased that the university is doing an acceptable job of turning out certified, safe graduates who are passing the NCLEX at a good rate, they will agree to the program. This is done on a state-by-state level and approval is not the same as accreditation.

Two bodies take care of accreditation in the United States: the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission or NLNAC and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or CCNE. These bodies make sure national requirements and reliability of nursing curricula and are available completely to make sure the reliability of nursing education across the country. They do not have the power to shut down a college of nursing, but they can take their accreditation to sanction the system.

Why would a nursing university not be accredited? These organizations require master’s-prepared staff, and not all programs have enough teachers with this education, particularly programs for practical nursing staff. Accreditation is also expensive. The site visits cost the program money, as do the yearly account charges for the accrediting body. In addition, the university must often pay teachers for a longer period invested in planning for the visit by the accrediting body. And, of course, sometimes the university does not meet the national requirements established by the accrediting organizations for educational institutions of nursing.

Most nursing programs that are approved by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission say so noticeably on their publications or Web sites. If the program you are looking at does not say anything about accreditation, that is a red flag and should immediate investigation work. Do not be shy about asking, either. You’re about to spend a lot of cash on your nursing education and you do not want to reach the finish line only to find that it did not really count for anything.

NLNAC Accreditation, A Sign of a Good Nursing School

There are so many nursing educational institutions, so many degrees and so many stages to train and learn. In addition to educational costs, how can you tell which ones are quality nursing schools? Here are tell-tale signs to look for. The best way to discover the following details is to first look at the college’s web page. Some can be hard to get around. Use an online search engine if you cannot find a particular product. If you still cannot find it, contact them and ask for the admissions person. Use this record to “interview” your university. They should be beneficial and offer the details easily. If they are unhelpful or reluctant, that can be an idea to the overall culture of the school.

1. NCLEX Passing Rate – Every student health professional has to take a national examination known as the NCLEX to lastly get certified as a health professional. Examine the college’s rate of learners who pass the NCLEX. Every school should have it either released or revealed easily if you contact them. If they are reluctant to tell you, that is a red flag.

2. Accreditation – Accreditation is a nationwide “stamp of approval” for a college. A graduate from an approved university is able to transfer or continue their education in other educational institutions. It can also be an indication of the great quality of training and learning you will get. The two programs that accredit educational institutions are the NLNAC (National League of Nursing Accrediting Commission) and the CCNE (Commission on College Nursing Education). The CCNE is only for bachelor’s and master’s degree levels, while the NLNAC may accredit at any stage. Look at the college’s web page or ask them straight to make sure they are accredited by one of these companies.

3. Class Size and Retention Rate – Is it a big university or a small school? What is the common class size? And most of all, how many learners make it all the way through in one try? This is probably one of those things you will have to call and ask about. A higher failing rate can mean a few things. Nursing programs are usually challenging. That isn’t a bad thing, since you will be better ready for the NCLEX. However, be careful if they have too great of a failing rate. They might not be beneficial enough to their learners.