Tag: Patient Care

Improving Patient Care

Every health care provider aims to provide the highest level of care for their patients. They are molded to become not only skilled in their field but also exhibit the utmost patient care as well as professional dealings. Medical professionals are always faced with the issue of how to improve patient care. They are aware that skills are not the only thing that matter to deliver the best patient care. More often than not, patients appreciate it when they are handled in a most human way.

Patients are now more aware of issues underlining the medical practices like malpractice and they fear being involved in one. This creates a reason for them to seek medical practitioners who will deliver the best patient care. They will likely go to someone whom they trust rather than someone who is popular because of being expert in their field. People will go for competent, affectionate and empathetic health care professionals. For this reason, professionals in health care system are now seeking ways to develop interpersonal skills as early as during their education. Patient care is now emphasized in educational curriculum.

The quality of patient care is not only quantified through technical and personal skills. The health care system needs to ensure that delivering patient care is at its best because of the new technology and infrastructure. The advancement of technology is a contributing factor in innovating new equipment and methods to efficiently get results from patients’ diagnosis.

Moreover, patient care needs to be accessible to the patients anytime and anywhere. This is a great challenge to all health care professionals considering that there are still areas around the globe that are far beyond reach.

 

 

 

Certified Patient Care Technician

The Certified Patient Care Technician assists nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals in providing direct patient care in a variety of health care environments. As a CPCT, you may carry out different tasks as assigned by the healthcare management. One of your responsibilities is to provide a basic patient care including bathing, feeding, and assisting patients to the ambulance. They are also assigned to acquire and distribute patient care supplies. Change bed linens and process dirty linens properly. You can perform safety checks to keep patient rooms clean, maintain clear paths in hallways and return equipments that are no longer in use. You might not be as big as nurses and doctors, but are necessary to make the procedures move swiftly.

Patient care technicians, also known as nursing assistants or nurse aides, perform basic care procedures in clinics and hospitals homes. Their duties include monitoring patients, drawing blood, checking vital signs, and conducting electrocardiograms, in addition to assisting patients with bathing, feeding and transporting. Some formal education is required. Clinical training as well as state certification is generally needed to work as a patient care technician. You need to have a high school diploma before pursuing a profession as a patient care technician. The majority of the employers look for candidates who have completed a patient care technician certificate program and are state certified; on the other hand, some companies will sign up students presently signed up for patient care technician certificate programs and have completed a training program offered through a hospital, an elderly care facility or technical center.

Hospital training programs generally last 2-3 months and mix classroom instruction and hands-on training. Some hospital training programs may be available to high school students that are then prepared to enter the work force upon graduation; others require previous experience as a nursing aide. For all those looking to complete a formal training course, there are many community and technical colleges that offer patient care technician certificate programs. Most programs take one year or less to accomplish and will make preparations for students to take a state certification exam; some programs require applicants to carry a CPR or EMT certification before they apply.

The National Healthcareer Association (NHA) grants clinical certification for patient care technicians, associates and nurse technicians. Completing particular training programs and experience is needed for you to go ahead and take a national certifying examination. Though certification is optional, some states require certification to ensure that patient care technicians are prepared to operate in a specific environment,  like nursing homes or hospitals.

 

Patient Safety and Quality Care

It is the utmost goal of healthcare providers to give their patients the quality care they need to recover from their illnesses or injuries. There are a lot of components to make the services or approaches in healthcare safe for patients. Any healthcare provider must be able to prevent errors in any procedure conducted with the patient, as well as learn from the errors that may occur and make sure that it will not happen again.

Patient care must be focused on reducing risk of adverse events related to contact to medical care starting from diagnoses until medication. There are still many procedures that are not effective and safe for patient. This calls for further studies to determine its effectiveness in preventing or reducing harm.

There are patient safety practices that may be used to avoid possible errors. These are the use of simulators, doing bar coding, programmed physician order entry and proper crew resource management. There are more and more research done to explore areas that could improve healthcare procedures and many more that need attention and further studies.

The safety of the patient is the keystone of the quality of health care. Nurses or other healthcare professionals must be at watch and observant to the most effective approach that will make the patient more secure and safe. They are more connected and in contact with the patient so they have the bird’s eye view on what are the things occurring with the patient during medication. There are still many things to be done to make the patent care perfect. In the mean time, making the patient well served and properly medicated will make them feel better and reach recovery faster.

Patient Care: Engagement

Approaches towards patient care improvisation has been tried and tested over the years. There are strategies that worked well but many failed. One approach that shows good result is the promotion of engagement among the patient to their medication processes and activities. Engagement among the patient towards their own healthcare makes their recovery faster. The Healthcare Advisory Board named it as one of the three pillars for healthcare transformation in its recent Playbook for Accountable Care.

Many studies show that when patients become active participants in their care, they are more inclined and motivated to accept responsibility for managing their own health. When patients are more involved, they become more aware and the results are better for the patient. This program makes the patient spend less money on the hospital and medicines. The healthcare industry has dedicated a lot of time and resources on looking ways to convey more patient-centered care over the last ten years.

There are a lot of approaches that have been tried and tested. Some become successful, but many are not. Many of those efforts were concentrated on strategies around the patient. Approaches must be focused on making the patient feel his or her involvement in managing his or her own health. In this manner, the patient will be more willing to take medications and be able to see the progress of her recovery.

There is an evolving care delivery model known as Interactive Patient Care (IPC). This model is based on the premise that a more engaged patient is a satisfied patient with better outcomes.

The current era of the healthcare system has been focused on improving the quality of the patient care and fast improvement recovery rate. This includes finding solutions that promise performance improvement in both managing patient care delivery and in managing the health of populations – it is significant that we make patient and family engagement a central part of the strategy.

 

Patient Care Quality

Many view quality health care as the overarching umbrella under which patient safety resides.  Quality patient care, dedication to patient satisfaction and rigorous attention to patient safety are the best services a healthcare institution can offer. Because we believe that people can make better decisions about their healthcare if they have accurate information, there is an organization that made a commitment to report publicly how hospitals rank on a range of quality standards and benchmarks.

Maintaining and improving the quality of the Nation’s health care system is an important part of keeping patients safe. The aim of every healthcare institution must be to improve patient safety and health care quality in many areas of health care, reduce health care-associated infections and the adverse drug events

Patient or consumer centered care is health care that is respectful of, and responsive to, the preferences, needs and values of patients and consumers. Different definitions and terminology have been used to describe the concepts in this area, but key principles of patient centered approaches. Treating patients, consumers, care providers and families with dignity and respect is a must in a quality care.

The participation of the patient and family is encouraged in the decision making in every decision about healthcare. Communicating and sharing information with patients, consumers, and families is also a must.

The collaboration with patients, consumers, carers, families and health professionals in program and policy development and in health service design, delivery and evaluation is highly needed to upgrade the services of the institution.

Patient or consumer centered care is increasingly being recognized as a dimension of high quality health care in its own right and there is strong evidence that a patient centered focus can lead to improvements in health care quality and outcomes by increasing safety, cost effectiveness and patient, family and staff satisfaction.

Internationally, healthcare services use a range of strategies to promote patient centered care and partnerships with patients and their families. A range of organizations provide frameworks and tools to help implement these strategies.

 

Patient Care Technician

There are many exciting opportunities right now in the healthcare field. More and more healthcare professionals are needed every year due to an increasing aged population that need care, the number of retirees from the healthcare profession, and the upgrade of the healthcare industry which requires more professionals with specific training. One of the most exciting professions is the patient care technician, which is in high demand right now. It is a well-respected profession and can lead you to a great career path.

There are specific responsibilities a PCT plays, and help patients in so many different ways. One of their main roles is to aid patients in performing activities that they are not able to do on their own. These regular activities will include tasks such as bathing, dressing, motion exercises, etc. It is indeed very stressful to visit a hospital, both on the patient and their family. It is the job of the Patient Care Technician to ease the stress by assisting them the best they can.

The training for PCTs includes many different activities that occur in medical services. This includes checking the vital signs of the patients and collecting specimens. The PCTs are also well oriented with the use of diagnostic equipment. Like nurses, they will be managing the patient’s medical records and charts. During the physical exam, the patient care technician will be assisting the physician.

It takes a lot of determination, of course to be a PCT, like any other healthcare profession. To be able to get a job in this field, you need to find patient care technician schools to complete your required course. You will learn about the duties of a health care technician in a more detailed manner. You will be more oriented in how to deal with your patient and how to have great patience. Proper communication will be learned during the course, which will be very helpful in the future.

Qualities of a Patient Care Technician

Patient Care Technicians mainly aids physicians and other healthcare staff in providing patient care services. Most of his tasks include collection of samples, monitoring the health status, record health information while assisting in their personal needs. A PCT is under the supervision of a registered nurse or physician. He will depend on them on what action to perform or any particular nursing interventions during his working shift.

Hospitals, living/rehabilitation facilities and nursing homes requires their PCTs to have a training in patient care and mostly the experience in dealing with different situations that may occur. The Patient Care Technician must have a strong communication, time management skills and the ability to work under pressure. Part of their task is to ensure that the patient needs or request are well responded.

Candidates who want to apply as a patient care technician must have an attractive set of objectives on his resume to attract employers. While making it convincing, one must be very careful in choosing an objective statement to avoid rejection. Some statements might not be in accordance to the objectives of the health care institution you are applying.

A successful PCT must have sufficient knowledge to conduct standard patient care activities. They also must be empathetic to the patient and aware of their needs just like any other healthy individual. They must also have an eye for details. Some procedures might be risky for the patient if not properly done.

Passion is also a must and should always be the driving force of the PCTs to work harder. The working shift can be so tiring and stressful and may require physical toughness. So if you have no passion in assisting others, making patients feel at ease and better, and the willingness to serve, this work may not be suitable for you.

Patient Care Assistants

Patient care assistants carry out a variety of tasks such as observing patients, assisting with daily living activities, taking vital signs, charting changes in patients’ health or behavior, obtaining lab specimens, escorting patients among other tasks. These healthcare individuals work in hospitals clinics, nursing homes or other health care environments. They are generally under the supervision of a registered nurse.

Programs for patient care assistants are offered in vocational schools and community colleges. Training can be acquired through nurse technician, patient care technician or personal care assistant/technician programs. Requirements for admission may vary. Some programs may require that an aspiring patient care assistant be a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) or Certified Home Health Aide prior to admission. Others may only require a high school diploma or GED equivalent.

Such programs prepare graduates to perform their duties in hospitals, general surgery units, homes and nursing homes. Training usually consists of lectures, clinical rotations and lab work, including studies in in pre- and post-operative care, anatomy, physiology and nutrition. Students in medical assistant programs are also supplied with instruction in medical terminology, lab procedures, physiology and pharmacology. Graduates can either pursue the CNA credential or take other certification exams.

Employment for home and personal care aides are seen to grow by 70% between 2010 and 2020 – a growth rate much faster than many other job sectors. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) predicts that there should be an increasing demand for care in the growing elderly population and in-home setting.  The average salary for patient care assistants was around $20,830 as of 2012, while home health aides made an average of $21,830 annually.  According to the BLS, there are no certifications or licensure requirement for these types of jobs. Some may be required to pass a competency test to break into this field.

Team Approach to Patient Care

At the point when a critically injured individual is trapped in the crumpled steel of a vehicle, it takes a whole team of salvage staff to spare that individual’s life. Regardless of how huge or small, every community must be ready to manage basic injury and mass casualty circumstances. This obliges cautious planning and an exact recording of resources to help guarantee patient care personnel can quickly change gears from “schedule” activity to a sudden influx of critical wounds.

Extensive city clinic crisis offices are knowledgeable in triage, needing to reliably deal with a noteworthy number of people looking for patient care, some of whom have life-debilitating diseases and wounds. A recent example in the United States was the Boston Marathon bombing. Many innocent people were injured from the blasts and numerous received treatments for wounds regularly seen just in a combat area. At this present year’s American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) yearly meeting, we are blessed to have a board discourse on disaster readiness emphasizing a few PAs who staffed the Brigham and Women’s Hospital ED on that critical day in April a year ago.

PAs, in the same way as doctors and different clinicians, are ready to practice medicine when it’s required, as times of emergency. While they won’t be on the upcoming panel, the interests of PAs to venture in and quickly act throughout the Marathon bombing were as of late, covered in Runner’s World magazine. Reacting to an occurrence of mass losses is a sincerely and physically a difficult duty. The lessons that they’ve adapted all through their career have just strengthened the value of team based practice in all parts of patient care services. Throughout such staggeringly traumatic circumstances, it takes a decently composed group of doctors, Pas, attendants and other health and security work force to save many lives as possible.

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.”