Archive for the 'Nursing Seniors' Category

Job Market too tough? Stay in School

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on December 11, 2009
in Nursing Seniors
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nursing schoolAt the moment, many nursing school new graduates may not exactly have their pick of registered nurse jobs. I say “at the moment” because, just like the stock market, the overall job market and everything else currently in the midst of dynamic fluctuations, this too shall pass. And when it does, the need for new nurses will be unprecedented.  In the meantime, one option for job hunting new grads is to return to the classroom.

An increasing number of newly minted BSN nurses are going back to school for graduate degrees. A master’s degree in nursing is an excellent way to zero in on your preferred specialty area, gain teaching credentials and work towards a higher nursing career tier such as nurse practitioner, certified nurse anesthetist, nurse administrator, nurse midwife, clinical nurse specialist, or nurse manager.

While in an MSN program, you have the opportunity to gain targeted expertise in advanced nursing specialties including acute care, adult and family practice, geriatrics, neonatal, palliative (hospice related) care, pediatrics, psychiatric nursing, women’s health and more. There are accredited traditional classroom/clinical as well as online MSN programs in schools across the country to choose from.

Yes, you will need to eventually enter the workforce and gain the necessary clinical experience and on the job knowledge to meet clinical requirements.  However, returning to graduate school is a smart way of gaining the job searching edge and making yourself even more valuable as a bonafide expert in your field. And rest assured, while you are back in the classroom and diligently applying yourself to clinicals, the job market will continuing fluctuating and nursing job positions will continue to become available.

Resources to help you get started:

RNBuilder.com: Master Degrees in Nursing
Guide to Accredited Master’s in Nursing Programs: www.mastersinnursing.com
American Associations of Colleges of Nursing: www.aacn.nche.edu/Accreditation

Nursing Students Check Their Biases

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on September 4, 2009
in Nursing Seniors
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Check Your Biases

Nursing school is an excellent time for self-reflection and awareness of your beliefs, fears, prejudices and any other thoughts or behaviors that you may not be aware of now, but have a good chance of rearing their ugly head later in your career when you least expect it.

I know that all nursing students believe they are fair, just, open-minded, nurturing, unbiased, politically correct beacons of humanity. Yet somewhere between graduation day and years into their career, something happens and, in some nurses (not all), the cynicism switch is turned on.

Whether the cause is career burnout, a cutting sense of humor that helps them survive their shift, or they’re just “going along with the crowd,” the once fresh faced, innocent nurse finds herself saying things that would have horrified her in nursing school.  She finds herself labeling patients as “frequent flyers,” “drug seeking,” or sometimes worse depending on what she (or he) has heard from her colleagues.

One of the most common biases in health care is toward the elderly. An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)* stated that “Some studies have indicated that medical students perceive older people as being dull, disagreeable, inactive, and economically burdensome.” Potentially damaging preconceived notions about elderly patients or patients from any specific age group, ethnicity or other demographic, are not confined to medical schools either.

Nurses and nursing students need to examine their own beliefs and notions for potential warning signs.  This is even more true of nurses, since they spend by far the most amount of time in direct contact with patients and also experience a great deal of stress related to heavy workloads. Times of stress have a way of acting like wine, in the sense that “in wine there is truth.”  It is far better to be honest with yourself now and prevent an embarrassing and potentially career threatening situation later.

* “Ageism in the Preclinical Years”; Catherine Caruthers McCray; University of Kansas School of Medicine; JAMA. 1998

Preparing to Care for the Aging Population

Published
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on May 3, 2009
in Nursing Seniors
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America’s growing population of aging baby boomers means that as a nurse, you are likely to utilize some areas of health care knowledge more than others. The estimated 80 plus million aging baby boomers and older patients in general (65 years and older) face a targeted set of health problems unique to their age and heath history. A smart nursing student will anticipate the health care needs of this growing patient demographic and prepare to meet those needs as a nurse.

nursing senior citizensMedical research is finding that today’s baby boomers are sicker than the aging populations of the past (American Heart Association). This is a demographic of patients that will require intensive nursing care. Here are some specific specialty areas where baby boomers may require the most nursing care and expertise. The common denominator of this checklist appears to be abundance. Unlike their parents who survived the rations of depression and war, baby boomers have not wanted for anything, including an abundance of less than healthy foods.

Heart Attacks/Heart Disease: According to the CDC, more aging baby boomers are being hospitalized for heart attacks than patients the same age from previous generations. In fact, it is predicted that more baby boomers will face heart disease and its complications than any other condition by far. This means that more and more nurses will be needed who specialize in cardiac telemetry, who are trained to assist in cardiac procedures (such as in catheterization and angioplasty) and cardiology in general.

Diabetes: This has always been a major focus of nursing studies, particularly with its broad spectrum of multi-system complications, affecting everything from failing eyes to amputated toes. The same lifestyle factors that are causing the increase in heart disease are causing the same increase in the prevalence of diabetes in baby boomers.

Problems related to obesity: Speaking of those lifestyle factors, let’s not forget about the additional set of health problems resulting from obesity such as digestive system cancers, high blood pressure and stroke.  These are all excellent specialty areas for future nurses to focus their attention on.

Problems related to lack of health care coverage: Medical technology and the success rates of treatments are evolving in leaps and bounds. But what’s the point of all this progress if people don’t have access to health care? Lack of health care coverage, hospitals cutting back costs and the nursing shortage will inevitably be significant factors in caring for the aging baby boomers. Future nurses are likely to see an increase in advanced stages of preventable diseases, simply because people do not have access (or are not taking advantage of for financial reasons) to preventative health care. For these reasons, a foundation of solid patient teaching skills and public health knowledge is essential for today’s nursing students.

Their parents survived the great depression and world war. However the biggest challenge for baby boomers is not external at all, but rather their own bodies betraying them. Nursing students will be on the front lines of handling this and must start preparing now.