NLN’s New Program for Nursing Students

The National League for Nursing or NLN declared the release of an important initiative of the NLN Center for Academic and Clinical Transitions. The center is reinforced by grants from Laerdal Medical, the innovator in healthcare education and studying equipment, and Wolters Kluwer Health, marketers of Lippincott nursing material. This unique collaboration of not-for-profit and private business will create collaborative programs to better prepare nursing staff for the progressively complex requirements of nursing practice.

“The requirements placed on modern practicing nursing staff are accelerating, with more sick sufferers, more complex treatments and digital medical records all including new levels of complexity to basic nursing care,” said Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, CEO of the NLN, whose members consist of more than 38,000 health professional staff and 1,200 educational institutions of nursing. “This center will build a link between those providing nursing education and studying and those guiding nursing staff in practice. Together, we can create the alternatives and resources modern learners need to succeed in this challenging field.”

NLN President Judith Halstead, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF declared that the NLN Center’s first program, Accelerating to Practice, will focus on building relationships to enhance the conversion of new nursing staff from education and studying to practice. A team consisting of major health professional teachers and medical center nursing directors will draw on active research to determine the specific capabilities that new nursing staff need to ensure job success.  Then, together with Laerdal Medical and Wolters Kluwer Health, the NLN will create an Accelerating to Practice programs and material, which will be available for implementation by 2015.

“Together we can make a consistent, affordable, and motivating way to help nursing staff be as successful as possible when they enter practice,” said Clive Patrickson, CEO, Laerdal Medical. Wolters Kluwer Health and Laerdal Medical have previously joined on product that incorporate digital health record studying resources with individual cases and manikin simulator, helping learners master the skills of patient record presentation, individual care and follow up certification. The integrated items link to Lippincott books, referrals and eLearning material, to enhance clinical knowledge and verdict, and make engaging student experiences.

Nursing Homes Quality

Ohio tax payers are paying large numbers to nursing homes that don’t succeed to fulfill minimum state specifications for looking after their citizens, falling short of a bar many say is too low. Even three nursing homes on a government watch list for high numbers of inadequacies over long periods, two in Cincinnati and one in Youngstown, met Ohio’s quality measures, which give a passing quality even if a service flunks 75% of state specifications. In all, $12.7 million was invested to take good care of sufferers living in nursing homes that did not achieve at least five of 20 measures for great quality care, according to research for the financial year that ended June 30 from the Ohio Department of Medicaid. Still, less than 1% fell short of that standard, only nine of the 926 nursing homes. One has since closed. None is in central Ohio.

“We’ve got some good signs, but the floor is so low everybody can fulfill those,” said Robert Applebaum, home of the Ohio Long-term Care Research Project at Miami University. He also served on the advisory board that released suggestions to congress for enhancing care. “We need to do a better job of getting rid of bad-quality homes, but we also need to do a better job of reimbursing the high-quality homes.”

Medicaid, which provides coverage of health to poor and impaired Ohioans, will pay for approximately 70% of nursing-home care in the state. On average, the federal-state program includes about 58,200 long-term-care citizens. Last year, in an effort to improve institutional care, the state started demanding features to fulfill at least five of 20 high quality measures to earn a full State Medicaid programs payment, which earnings $165 a day per person. The measures include giving citizens meal options, enabling them to choose when they get up and go to bed and the opportunity to customize their bedrooms. The nine nursing homes unable to fulfill the mark lost 10% of the payment, or nearly $16.50 of the per-resident daily subsidy. Those funds are to be allocated to the more than 900 facilities meeting the standard.

NLN and the Capacity for Nursing Education

The issue of expanding nursing education potential including staff, nursing resources and physical space to join and educate the scores of students needed to meet upcoming nursing demands remains critical. Responding to President Obama’s suggested price range, National League for Nursing CEO Dr. Beverly Malone indicated the League’s appreciation for the potential impact of this financing on the country’s health. “Federal financing is imperative to the formula between delivery of top quality nursing care services to the greatest number of People in America and nursing education. The Title VIII dollars asked for in FY 2014 for health professional employees development understands the reality that nursing staff are an extremely important component of our nursing care safety net.”

According to the NLN’s Annual Survey, demand for admittance to pre-licensure programs is constantly on the outstrip supply, with shortages of staff and nursing positions mentioned as the prime factors in constraining growth. Post-licensure, advanced degree programs, through which upcoming health professional teachers are prepared, have also revealed that adding staff would expand their acceptance potential.

Moreover, NLN research, mentioned in the administration’s suggested price range, verifies the need for more financing to support national and cultural community candidates to nursing programs in order to close the social gap between nursing staff and the different patient communities provided. It has been effectively demonstrated that wellness outcomes improve, in particular among under-served and financially deprived patients when care providers share their social outlook and background.

“The NLN is satisfied that the government Nursing Workforce Diversity Program will directly benefit from President Obama’s suggested Title VIII financing,” noted NLN president Dr. Judith Halstead. “The Group has long recommended diversity as one of its four core values driving the NLN mission to promote quality in nursing education to build strong and different nursing employees to advance the country’s health.”

Owning Nursing Homes

92% of county-owned nursing homes outside New York City lost money in 2010 and are struggling to survive, a report uncovered. Counties have been looking to leave the nursing-home business as expenses rise and as they face fiscal demands from flat tax earnings to pay for government operations. The report from the Rochester-based Center for Governmental Research said 33 areas own nursing homes, down from 40 in 1997. Eight, including Rockland County, are in the process of selling their features and five plan to put them on the block.

The New York State Health Foundation, a private Albany-based group, requested the research. “In the past few years, six areas have marketed or closed their houses, with mixed results ranging from improvements in proper care expressing closing of one poorly performing house,” said Donald Pryor, the study’s author, said in a statement. “Other areas have kept their houses but are dealing with an increasingly rugged landscape.” Counties traditionally considered running an elderly care service as a way to take care of its elderly, particularly those who are poor. Yet at a time of cost constraints, counties are finding the mission affected as more private houses are built.

Nursing-HomesWestchester County marketed its elderly care service to the Westchester County Nursing Center and the service was closed in 2009. Dutchess County sold its elderly care service in 1998. Monroe County has struggled with growing expenses of its nursing home and in Albany County; there has been a delivered debate about whether to sell its service. Broome and Chemung counties also own nursing homes. The troubles are expected to grow as the population ages, the research discovered. In the upstate areas with assisted living features, there will be 180,000 more residents older than 75 by 2030. The research said wages grew at all assisted living features 37 % since 2001 and were up 45 % at county houses.

While county houses are about 8 % of all assisted living features in the state, they represent about 11 % of all the beds in the state because they are among the state’s largest facilities. Many of the patients rely on State Medicaid programs, yet the payments haven’t kept up with the expenses by as much as $100 a day, the review said. State Medicaid programs represented 71 % of county-owned homes’ revenue in 20130, in comparison to 55 % for other houses. County assisted living features reported a lack of $201 million in 2010, double the decrease in comparison to 2005, the review said.

NLNAC Accreditation

The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) is a subsidiary of the NLN and is accountable for all actions relevant to the certification of nursing programs.  When seeking certification or re-accreditation, there are many ways to handle the procedure. Because of the complexity of the certification process of the NLNAC, it is crucial to consider how we may  apply technological innovation to help handle the procedure. Whether it is interaction with stakeholders, handling amount of work for staff, or offering large amounts of information to the targeted traffic, there are 100 % free and easy-to-use resources that can help make the procedure not only more controllable, but also improve the opportunities of a better result.

Using a distributed data file service (e.g. Dropbox or Google Drive) can really help staff with handling several editions being utilized by several authors. Using an online survey tool often allows gathering data that is more controllable for members and researchers. Often times, these resources are also 100% free. Having learners publish artifacts to an on the internet assignment collection device in the learning management program will help create one location where examples can be saved.

Having a flash drive ready for the targeted traffic allows with handling a number of different data file types, sizes and locations. Also, consider simple video clips as a means of describing and indicating how your program controls day-to-day functions. These video clips can also emphasize important features of your program such as simulator and group outreach. Using technological innovation does not have to be complex and it can really improve the certification experience for all involved. Whether it is NLNAC, CCNE, or Board of Nursing, you can apply resources at low price or no price to make your program shine.

Nursing Homes Vacancy

At the House Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Simsbury, 17 of the nursing home’s 73 beds sat vacant last spring, a 23% opening rate that would have been unlikely five years ago. The home’s occupancy has decreased despite its above-average medical care quality ratings in the government national rating system. “There are a lot of aspects, a lot of projects out there now to keep people out of nursing homes,” said Keith Brown, the home’s manager. “And with the increase in home care, we’re seeing a weaker citizen population. So we have fewer citizens with greater skill.” The Simsbury home is not unique: Nearly one-third of Connecticut’s nursing homes are less than 90 % filled.

Of the 68 homes with higher-than-average opening prices, 20 were only 60-80% filled, leaving hundreds of beds unused. State-wide, even though 15 nursing homes have closed since 2008, at least 2,450 beds were vacant as of May. The state information show that occupancy prices decreased in all but two areas since 2004, falling from 96% to 88% in Tolland; 95 to 88% in Litchfield; 95 to 91% in New Haven; 93 to 90% in Hartford; 95 to 92% in Middlesex; and 97 to 93% in Windham. The exclusions were Fairfield County, where the occupancy rate stayed at about 92% and New London, where it increased from 88% to 92%.

Overall, Connecticut’s nursing home occupancy rate has tumbled in the past years, from 93.3% in 2003, the third maximum in the nation, to 89.8%, the Tenth maximum, according to March government information. The latest state Department of Social Services nursing home demographics put the statewide occupancy amount at just above 90%. Only 11 of the 230 certified nursing homes in the state were full to capacity as of last spring. Nursing home directors say the opening rate has been motivated by a number of aspects, including state projects to keep more seniors and impaired citizens in home and community configurations, as well as the ballooning assisted-living industry, generally controlled in Connecticut.

Respiratory Therapist Education Development

Noelle is a constantly expecting mannequin who lives at the University of Virginia’s School of Nursing.  She has a pulse rate and blood pressure, joint parts at the hip, eyes that open, knee and ankle, a uterus, a baby who has been delivered a lot of times and thanks to various laptop or software applications, she speaks. “My back is killing me.  I’m so weak.  Please, I need something for the pain! “ Noelle is one of seven high-tech mannequins at UVA.  She costs $60,000.  A male design, who sweats, has convulsions and is wi-fi, costs $90,000.  But the lab’s associate director Linda Peffley-Firer says it’s a smart financial commitment.

“Yes – knowledge is expensive, but you know what?  So are lives, so we train here.” And university student Leslie Murphy says practice is the key to competent care. “You do things over and over and over again and then it becomes more second nature, so that when we get into the hospital with actual sufferers, we do not have to think so much about, ‘Am I holding the needle right,’ or, ‘Is the blood pressure cuff the right size?’  Everything that you believed simple, like one-step procedure actually has 25 actions you did not observe them doing.”

Lab  Manager Reba Moyer-Childress contributes that university students learn to work as a group, since many professionals may be engaged in looking after for sufferers. “How do we make sure that they are where we want them to be?  How do we make sure that that mom who is in distress gets to the OR in a timely fashion?  How will the anesthesiologist and the respiratory therapist respond?  I mean Noelle has had sometimes 30 people with her in the OR, trying to help save her child and her life.”

“Please help me. One more push. One more push. Got a go.  You are almost there.  Shoulder area now.  She is here.  You have got a baby girl!” Each simulated medical scenario is noticed from a control room and documented. There’s a camera at each place, so learners can record themselves and go back and review it on their own and enhance their performance.” After each period, respiratory therapist learners sit with their teachers to discuss what went right, what went wrong and what could be done in a different way.

Nursing Education Diversity

When you think of a nursing professional, what exactly is the first image that comes to mind? Chances are, you think of a woman and for valid reasons. Many professional nurses in the U.S. are white females. In fact, only about 6 % of nursing staff are men and, considering men make up approximately half of the population and minorities are 30 %, there’s a major difference in the career.

That difference is shown in equal measure in nursing educational institutions, both in the student population and staff. Experts claim improving the diversity in nursing education will improve nursing care by developing more culturally delicate nursing care employees with improved interaction abilities, reduced tendencies and generalizations and fewer inequities, as well as increasing the variety of the nursing education faculty.

At a time when the healthcare system is faced with a nursing shortage caused at least partly by a lack of nursing teachers, some claim men and minorities signify a low competition resource for hiring new teachers. They believe that by developing new opportunities to entice typically underrepresented communities to the field, we can both fix the lack and create a considerable improvement to our healthcare delivery program. While minorities have made great progress in other typically white-dominated areas and ladies have done the same in typically men areas, nursing is one area where diversity projects seem to have been worthless.

In the case of men, much of the resistance to nursing as a career comes from a social understanding of nursing being a “female” career. Men say that while they enjoy the care giving aspects of the job, it’s difficult when others ask questions or make comments deriding their career choice. For example, male nurses report being asked why they did not choose to become physicians, with the connotation that they did not earn adequate grades or were too lazy to become physicians. In addition, men say that feeling left out of the career, with most training and expert development materials making reference to nurses as “she” and a female-centric approach to teaching and training.

LVN to RN Career Switch

For many people starting out in the medical care field, becoming an LVN provides a great probability to easily get into the medical field and discover an entry-level position at a local medical care service. However, because the LVN program provides only a newbie’s level of education in the area of nursing, LVNs sometimes end up having problems discovering possibilities to relocate their profession due to their deficiency of know-how. LVNs that are enthusiastic about improving their wage and LVNs that want more profession possibilities will do best going back to school and making their degree in authorized nursing.

Luckily, there are choices available to an LVN that will make shifting into their medical program fast and fluid. The LVN to RN programs which may be provided at certain institutions gives certified professional nursing staff to be able to take extra medical programs and get their nursing certificate in less time than it would normally take a college student to become a nurse. The two most common LVN to RN programs schools provide learners consist of the ASN and BSN degrees. Depending on the school or college that provides the conversion program, LVNs may be able to apply as much as 1 year worth of credits towards the LVN to RN program. Those who decide to get into the program may have to take a 1 credit conversion course, so that they can make the conversion as smooth as possible. LVNs may also be needed to take a number of requirement programs before being given access into the LVN to RN program.

Did you know that there are some benefits that you might want to consider that will make you think about shifting from an LVN to RN? First, an LVN cannot work without supervision by a physician or nurse. There is something to be said about having independence and power in your work. Also, while you can do a lot of the same techniques, you cannot do all the same things that an RN can. There are many factors that you will get when you make the change from LVN to RN. You will get a certain amount of professional independence, and, let us not ignore, professional courtesy. The income is better as well. This will require a little more compromise, but the benefits are well worth the effort.

Fundamentals of Nursing Overview

Once you choose to become a healthcare professional and serve humankind, there is no power in the universe that can stop you from offering this Godly assistance. There is a very popular requirement of nurses these days. The courses are extensive and easy to use with all the practical ideas in nursing. It has been determined that nurses get a higher pay in the nursing industry all through the U.S. The subject is as easy as what we study in business economics. And, more demand for nurses with fewer qualified will increase pay scale.

You have choices in selecting the course of nursing you want to study. If you just want to study the fundamentals of nursing course, you will just have to invest an average of one year in learning. The course is offered by Accrediting Institution of Health Information Educational institutions (ABHES), or Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). Once the course is finished, you have the choice to apply as a Nursing Assistant.

If you wish to proceed further, you can graduate and continue your profession as Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). LPN needs 2-3 years of professional course work by an approved higher education institute within the U.S. Further, if you become a Registered Nurse (RN), you get the best possibilities available. To become a fully licensed RN in the U.S., you are required to finish your course and get a Bachelor’s degree from an approved college. For nurses, it is usually a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing (BSN). You must continue learning until and unless you get your next permit. The nationally required certificate for all nurses in the U.S. is NCLEX-RN. Fundamentals of nursing test will show your capabilities and understanding of all factors of a patient health and care. There are different kinds of nursing publications available in the market to get ready for the RWAR. One of the guides to study is Fundamentals of Nursing, by Patricia Potter and Angel Griffin Perry, 7th and 8th Editions.