Psychiatric nurses, also called psychiatric-mental health nurses (PMHN), provide mental health assessment and treatment to patients with psychiatric problems, cognitive issues, and behavioral problems. They also care for physically ill, injured, disabled, or infirm individuals in a variety of settings, including hospitals, mental health facilities and nursing care facilities. PMHN is considered a nursing specialty.
There are actually two levels (basic and advanced) of psychiatric mental health nurses. At the basic level, registered nurses (RN) work with a wide variety of patients, including individuals, families, groups and communities, assessing mental health issues, diagnosing nursing care plans, implementing the plan, and evaluating the nursing care.
Advanced registered nurses (APRN) require a master’s degrees in psychiatric-mental health nursing and fill the role of either Clinical Nurse Specialist or Nurse Practitioner. Beyond the functions undertaken at the basic level mentioned above, APRNs assess, diagnose, and treat individuals, families and groups with psychiatric problems/disorders or potential disorders, such as behavioral issues that haven’t been diagnosed. APRNs can also earn a doctoral degree, such as a PhD, DNSc, or EdD, and can work as professors, researchers, or hospital, agency or graduate program administrators.
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Nurse anesthetists, formally called Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA), are responsible for administering anesthesia assistance and services during surgical procedures, delivering babies, and numerous other applications. The steps for learning how to become a nurse anesthetist are pretty straightforward, so this article will discuss that, including some more specifics about what they do, education requirements nurse anesthetist programs, and some job search tips.
The main job duties of a nurse anesthetist include are quit varied and include working with other physicians and nurses during medical treatments that require local, epidural, general, spinal, or regional anesthesia. Treatments requiring these include surgery, obstetrics, conscious sedation of patients, or routine procedures such as a gastroscopy or colonoscopy.
This requires the CRNA to assess the patient requirements before the procedure by determining their physical and mental state, why the patient is receiving the medical treatment, and the best way to administer the anesthetic. If there is any equipment or drugs that aren’t necessary for use during the procedure, the nurse will be able to determine that. After administering the anesthesia, the nurse must continually monitor the patient’s condition to ensure effectiveness, that the patient is not suffering from pain, and is generally in stable condition. Lastly, the nurse must observe and monitor the patient after surgery to ensure they don’t suffer adverse side effects.
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While it is much more difficult to get an LPN job in today’s rough economic environment, it’s not as hard as you would think. How can that be, you say? Because the vast majority are incompetent… and by simply following directions listed in various job ads, you will set yourself apart from the herd.
Let me explain..
I’d like you to switch gears and place yourself in the employer’s shoes for a moment. Let’s explore how hard it is for employers to find qualified, competent, and even marginally intelligent employees to join their companies.
Andrea Pearman of Diversified Marketing Strategies, Inc. placed a job ad seeking an administrative assistant for her company, asking only three things of the applicants.
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In the last two decades, another specialty has evolved in the nursing profession–that of the traveling nurse. The primary reason for the development of this industry was because of nursing shortage in many parts of rural America. There has been a severe shortage of skilled nurses all over the country and the traveling nurse has been filling in this void. Traveling nurse is not a job for everyone. The majority of these nurses are single, have no commitments, perhaps not yet established and would like to see more of the country before they decide to settle down. It is hard for a married nurse with children to go wandering all over the country working in different places every few months.
Because of the nursing shortage, many hospitals now actively recruit traveling nurses. To entice nurses to come and work for a few months or longer, the hospitals offer many incentives. The wages are a lot higher than those of a regular nurse, primarily because the traveling nurse makes a lot of sacrifice to leave her hometown and personal life and come to an unknown desolate place. Secondly, these hospitals also offer relocation assistance. Others also provide furnished housing and bonuses. These incentives alone can amount to a staggering $5,000 – $10,000 for a 3-6 month period, on top of a high end salary.
There are many traveling nurse companies which cater to these health professionals. These agencies work as a middle men between the nurse and the hospital and do all the required paper work. The first time one applies for a job of a traveling nurse, there is a lot of paper work required . This involves verifying past employment, work history, license verification, skill evaluation and references. The agency then sends the paper work to the hospital and work usually starts in a few months.
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Nurses are some of the most important health care professionals in the healthcare industry. They are often the first person you come in contact with in any treatment facility or hospital. Nurses are trained in general and specialized areas including patient care and many other day to day tasks in these institutions. General Nurses include the nurse midwife, nurse practitioner, practical and registered nurses.
Those in specialized areas include cardiac, public health, orthopedics, neonatal, hyperbaric, psychiatry, pediatric, holistic and gerontology. They work with people of all ages; from babies to senior citizens. The job of a nurse is certainly demanding and they have to possess the requisite professional, physical, psychological and emotional skills to perform, always, at an optimum level.
This particular career is very well known and exists in every corner of the world. It is also one of the integral fields that require streamlined governance and representation. This is where nursing organizations, play their role.
Every long standing and noble profession has a body that governs their ethical and general principles. They also represent their professionals in disputes, advocate for nurses rights and maintain the network within a region or country.
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After joining the nursing field and gaining some experience on the job for the first time, entry level nurses quickly become aware of the different attitudes floating around about various nursing specialties.
One stereotype among the nursing field is that “real nurses” are the ones working in hospitals. Another is that LPNs are inferior and not really nurses at all since they don’t require 4 year degree and have limited training. Certain specialty nurses who posses highly technical skills, such as ICU nurses, believe they are superior. Some believe the pediatric nurse specialty is somehow inferior. This is only the beginning, there are many other “class systems” within the overall nursing field.
But the fact is that ALL nurses are essential and contribute greatly to the healthcare system. Even though CNAs and LPNs are lower level nurses, sometimes they display impeccable bedside manner and can teach much more senior nurses a thing or two. The fact is, a nurse’s specialty has nothing to do with the quality of service and care they provide, or the success they will eventually realize in their career. There will always be those who are incompetent and those who are extremely valuable in any nurse specialty.
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Most everyone whose researched nursing as a career understands the tremendous benefits and challenges of becoming an LPN. Nursing is a very rewarding career with tremendous upside potential, including a high degree of upward mobility, high salary, and high demand – not to mention it is one of the most recession-proof careers. In fact, according to one study, the projected RN shortage will be 800,000 by the year 2020.
By joining professional nursing organizations and associations, one can greatly reduce the challenges of joining the Nursing field. Having a large network of like minded peers all sharing common goals and interests will be an aspiring nurses greatest asset on the path of professional development. But perhaps the greatest benefit to joining a nursing association is having one of the best sources of career related news and current events in nursing.
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Many baby boomers as well as those born before 1946 are living longer and more productive lives compared to 60 years ago when the average life expectancy was around 55 years of age. Because many of us are eating better and exercising more, we are living fuller lives which may include travel or taking part in recreational activities. A few people continue their healthy habits until they can no longer function on their own. However, this transition can be slow as many seniors and others can take care of some things on their own but may need a little assistance. This is where a home health aide normally comes in.
People who are a part of this population may have ailments that prevent them from functioning as well as they once did. While they may not be defined as sick, they may need a little assistance when it comes to doing things driving themselves, household chores like cooking or remembering to pay bills.
A home health aide may perform a variety of duties such as light housekeeping, lifting the patient, running errands and maintaining the patients’ personal hygiene. Some positions require that vital signs are taken as well making sure that medicine is administered according to their doctor’s orders. They may also operate ventilation equipment, assist with prosthetics or work with a physical therapist.
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The question of whether LPN’s have to draw blood or treat patients who are severely injured from a trauma situation is something that many people considering becoming a nurse wonder. Although healthcare is an excellent area of the job market to pursue, some people are not cut out for it. Especially those who cannot stomach the sight of blood.
That being said, whether or not you draw blood depends on the area or state you work in. In some states such as Texas nurses rarely draw blood, that is usually done by a phlebotomist in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. Nurses are more likely to start an IV then drawing blood.
However and other states LPNs draw labs and do IVs on a daily basis. Duties they are responsible for include drawing blood, giving blood, starting IVs, pulling out IVs, cleaning blood when patients rip out their IV, and many other duties that involve bodily fluids. So generally speaking, nursing requires dealing with lots of blood on a daily basis.
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Many nurses take time off from work for a variety of reasons, such as raising kids, caring for ailing parents, getting into a new line of work and many other reasons. However, after taking a break from nursing, many realize how much they enjoyed their career and want to get back into it.
It requires much dedication and determination to get your foot back in the door as a nurse after an extended absence, but with the current demand in nursing and shortage of nurses, you can once again become valuable in the marketplace. According to some experts, some former nurses believe they have to return to the same position they formerly occupied, however that is not the case. For starters you want to become as visible as possible during your job search by attending career fairs, and interview as many nurses as possible to become acquainted with the variety of nursing specialties and jobs available. Depending on how long you’ve been on your absence from nursing, there’s a high probability that many new nursing specialties have emerged, and some of them may be quite attractive to you.
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