Tag Archive for 'nursing students'

Nursing Students as Inventors

Published
by
admin
on August 3, 2010
in Nursing Career
. 0 Comments

nursing schoolThe world recently lost the most recognizable face in “direct response” television advertising, Billy Mays. From Oxi-Clean to Kaboom, Billy Mays knew how to sell unique inventions and was an inspiration to aspiring inventors on his television show “Pitchmen.” I mention Mr. Mays, as an example of the curious, problem solving spirit of the inventor.

A group of nursing students from Purdue University Calumet in Indiana, tapping into their own inventor spirits, have created a unique method of standardizing patient condition identification systems in hospitals.  Researching and building upon similar nationwide efforts, the students fine-tuned an existing system that identifies special patient conditions such as latex allergies, Do Not Resuscitate orders and other critical pieces of patient data.

Their goal was to decrease the number of patient-care errors that resulted from staff members lacking critical data on a patient. In the past, inconsistencies or miscommunications due to the existing color-coded wristband system have led to such errors. The Purdue nursing students noted this and created a written materials campaign to educate other health care providers about a more uniform system.

Nursing school clinicals regularly provide chances like this, to use your powers of observation and critical analysis skills and spot a potential problem, need for a new procedure or the opportunity for invention. This also applies to nursing new grads.  For instance, in my first hospital job, I noticed how two different medications – one a heavy-duty diuretic with cardiac implications, the other a much less serious medication with mild effects – came in virtually identical bottles.

I saw this as a potentially lethal medication mix-up waiting to happen and promptly reported my concerns through the proper channels. Nurses are the eyes, ears and advocates for patients, co-workers in other departments and the hospital as a whole. Nursing school is a prime time to hone your powers of observation and channel your inner inventor.

High Tech NCLEX Studying

Published
by
admin
on July 8, 2010
in Nursing Education
. 0 Comments

Technically, all of nursing school is a crash course in NCLEX exam preparation.  From your very first “welcome to the magical world of nursing” quiz all the way to your advanced pathophysiology, pharmacology and biochemistry exams.

After graduation, however, the real NCLEX studying fun begins.  It is almost as if on graduation day, towards the end of the ceremony, the dean of nursing is standing on the stage with a stopwatch, counting down…. 3, 2, 1… “Okay now you’re graduated, let the NCLEX studying begin!”

As I recall, I was the dork who had already purchased my twenty pounds of NCLEX study books, workbooks and CD’s before graduation day. NCLEX studying almost seemed like an extension of nursing school to me.

I had been studying like a madwoman for four and a half years (counting required summer sessions that made nursing students stand out from the rest).  A few more months of hitting the books couldn’t hurt.  Of course, I had to keep reminding myself of this as I was cramming more and more details from the study aids into my head as the exam date approached.

Fortunately, a nurse has created a website to help nursing students prepare for their NCLEX exam. AllNurses.net also serves as a comprehensive resource for nurses and student nurses to look up other vital pieces of data and clinical knowledge. This includes nursing guides, tutorials, disease references, lab values and medication information, all at the click of a button.

The site’s “PDA Reference Software” is a portable version of the website resources that nurses and student nurses can have with them in their uniform pockets as they see patients and handle often complex situations where running back to the nurse’s station for information is not an option.

There is a lot of information to be absorbed in nursing school and interactive tools like this can be a very helpful addition to the student and new grad’s resource kit.

Learn to Work as a Team in Nursing School

Published
by
admin
on May 5, 2010
in Nursing Schools
. 0 Comments

During nursing school, there is the tendency to live in a learning vacuum. The only interactions you have as a student are with your instructors, fellow students, and, if you are lucky to have them and can properly manage your time, friends from other majors and extracurricular activities.

Even on the bustling floor of a hospital during a clinical, when you are surrounded by a slew of other health care workers, it is easy to get a bad case of tunnel vision and see only your two or three patients, your instructor, and your fellow students.

This kind of tunnel vision is immediately shattered as soon as you hit the real world running. Suddenly, as a new grad, you are responsible for working in harmony with other nurses, doctors, nurse’s aides, lab technicians, unit clerks (the heart of every floor that you learn quickly to worship) and others on the health care team. The fact is, health care is a team sport and the sooner that nursing students can put this principle into practice, the better.

While you are still in nursing school, make a concerted effort to take the blinders off and observe how the finely tuned (most of the time) environment operates in hospitals, nursing homes, and other clinical settings. Each facility is different and there are valuable lessons to be learned in each of your clinical locations.

For instance, I learned during my nursing home rotation how the top priority of all the nurses and health care workers is maintaining a “homey” feel; it’s all for one and one for all when assisting residents (not patients) without such a strict “my patient versus your patient” delineation of care. In the fast paced settings of hospitals, however, the nurse is essentially the CEO of a care team for each patient.

Some savvy nursing schools are now implementing programs that teach nursing students how to work with other members of the health care team. Whether your school offers such an approach or not, this is still a learning experience that you can seek out for yourself that will ultimately give you an edge after graduation.