5 Trends That Could Improve Healthcare

AR tools will see a massive boost in 2021 after a year in which its star grew. Here are some more trends that are poised to make 2021 a meaningful year for healthcare.

Covid-19 has impacted all of our lives and forced us to adapt – especially MedTech. Recent MedTech innovations have resulted in better communication and collaboration between medical professionals, improved virtual patient care, and a multitude of medical devices that are saving lives every day.

We’ve witnessed some massive shifts this year to combat the pandemic, and those changes are likely to stick around post-pandemic. As we look into the new year, armed with our 2020 experiences, we can see a few important innovations on the horizon that are shaping the way health care is practiced and delivered. 

1. Telemedicine and telemonitoring help doctors continue NonCovid-19-related treatment
Telemedicine is already well-known in healthcare, and the uptick in use has been readily visible throughout the year as physicians were forced to start making consultations remotely with both colleagues and patients. In 2021, we’ll likely see a shift in telemedicine focus to more fully encompass mental health issues in addition to bodily ailments and illnesses. The demand for mental health services for numerous conditions, such as major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, or drug use disorders, are expected to soar, according to a WHO survey. The number of people looking for help with anxiety has increased by 93% from January to September 2020. As such, mental healthcare demands will be a major driving force behind advancing virtual patient-physician consultations over the next year.

Beyond the ability to talk to patients virtually, an accurate diagnosis often requires knowledge of certain parameters. This opened the gate for telemonitoring. For patients with chronic illnesses, such as heart disease or diabetes, devices and apps have been developed to allow doctors to “check in” on things like blood pressure, blood oxygenation, or blood sugar levels from a distance. These at-home technologies make room for potentially life-saving interventions while isolation restrictions persist.

2. Facilitating Seamless Communication
Instant communication and messaging allow healthcare professionals to communicate according to their needs are required more than ever to meet the quickly changing demands. While internal communication within a hospital is critical and already fairly secure, external communication with neighboring hospitals has become increasingly necessary to treat patients. Healthcare will continue to look to organize itself into bottom-up networks that enable connectivity and collaboration. Flexible communication channels and the networks and contacts made through secure mobile messaging apps for doctors will continue to be indispensable for delivering comprehensive care as we continue to navigate Covid-19 and beyond.

3. User-centered technologies relieve overworked healthcare professionals
Although technology can support healthcare professionals in their work, the current crisis has shown us that during an emergency, humans still take center stage. Technology is only useful if it actually supports healthcare professionals in the work they do. This is why in 2021, we can expect technology innovation that focuses on improving the interactions between humans and machines and systems.

A prime example is Computer-assisted detection and diagnosis (CAD) algorithms and their ability to execute highly specialized tasks like cancer detection faster and with greater precision than individual professionals. This is useful in imaging-heavy domains, like radiology or pathology, and helps doctors to initiate treatments faster. As people age and require more complex care, we will need tools like CAD algorithms that can help us to be more efficient with a smaller healthcare force.

4. Augmented reality enables remote treatment
With the onset of the pandemic and the difficulties with transport and travel, being able to provide treatment remotely became more important than ever. This is why Augmented Reality (AR) solutions are witnessing a massive boom right now. AR can be used in anything from scanners for detecting a patient’s vein for intravenous injections to smart glasses that display patient data during surgeries. Understaffed and overwhelmed departments will be able to work more effectively and efficiently with AR support, so we can expect development to continue even beyond the pandemic.

5. Healthcare will operate in networks instead of silos
Communication can be the most dangerous procedure in the hospital given Covid-19, but constant communication with colleagues is the only way to ensure that everything goes according to plan. Right now, Covid-19 has provided healthcare with the perfect proving grounds for secure, mobile networks.

We quickly realized that healthcare professionals relied on secure networks that were both secure and fast-acting, and supportive of the creation and adoption of regional networks all across the Netherlands in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, to connect GPs, public health departments, and specialists to ensure rapid communication of new policies and protocols. The number of Covid-specific treatment groups has jumped to over 300 in March 2020, and in Germany they are facilitating ICU-specific groups to address the recent spikes in cases across the country. Bringing all members from different layers of healthcare together will continue to be immensely valuable as we look to quickly transfer information from one expert and healthcare professional to another. 

How can we prepare for a better 2021?
This year taught us that flexibility and adaptability are key to ensuring high standards of healthcare. How can we incorporate that into the technology we develop? Investing in the end goal—saving lives—is always our priority, and to achieve this we need to focus more on creating tools that can be adopted quickly because they are simple, easy to use, and entirely user-centric. Digital tools and services that put healthcare professionals at the center of their platforms are sure to grow in 2021, and we look forward to seeing what comes out.

Photo: Irina Tiumentseva, Getty Images

Content shared from Medcitynews

10 Nursing Podcasts to Help You Succeed

Everyone needs some words of encouragement from time to time. Life can be hard, and hearing stories and advice from someone in a similar position can often make a world of difference when things start to get tough.

Travel nursing is a unique profession and one that isn’t an exception to difficulties. On a daily basis, you face a dozen obstacles and challenges that the average person may never encounter in their whole life in a non-nursing profession. From the physical demands to the emotional strain, working as a nurse is not easy. Add on top of that the tedium of traveling once or twice a year, and you have yourself a recipe for some much-deserved self-care.

And podcasts are a great way to renew your sense of encouragement and gratitude for your nursing profession.

What many nurses don’t know is how many podcasts are out there specifically made for those in the medical field. If you’re looking for something new and relatable to listen to during your travels or daily commute, read on for the 10 best podcasts for nurses!

#1. Daily Nurse – NurseCasts

Number one on the list of the best nursing podcasts is a show called Nursecasts. Episodes of Nursecasts can be listened to on the website DailyNurse. The podcast is hosted by Joe Morita, the senior acquisitions editor of Spring Publishing. Each episode features interviews with real nurses and discusses the daily life of working as a healthcare professional and their nursing experience throughout their career.

NurseCasts usually focus on a particular subject each day, whether it be about mental health,  travel nursing, or the nursing experience of a graduate. For example, the very first episode discusses why so many college students are studying to enter the nursing field. In addition to these interesting discussions, NurseCasts also offers actionable advice to listeners, such as:

• What are the best scrub brands
• Where to get the best shoes for nurses
• Why nurses should wear compression socks at work

Listen to new episodes of NurseCasts daily for helpful information and unique stories about working as a registered nurse.

#2. Good Nurse Bad Nurse

Good Nurse Bad Nurse is a podcast for those who love interesting stories about the healthcare field.

Hosted by two registered nurses, Tina and Sam, every episode has each of them tell a story about working as a nurse. One story, told by the “good nurse” will be uplifting and inspiring. The other story, told by the “bad nurse,” will typically explore the darker side of the healthcare field—such as complications, mistakes, and dangers on the job. This podcast discusses hot-button issues in the medical field and features special guests and interviews with other people with a nursing career.

The next time you’re looking for a gripping but fun podcast, with just the right amount of light-heartedness, check out Good Nurse Bad Nurse.

#3. The Nurse Keith Show

For nurses who want a podcast that focuses mainly on career advice, check out The Nurse Keith Show. Nurse Keith is a registered nurse, board-certified nursing coach, and specialist in holistic healing.

The Nurse Keith show helps nurses make the right choices for their own success and encourages listeners to advance their careers and find their own path. In addition to career coaching, the podcast also explores current topics in the medical field and interviews other healthcare professionals.

This is a podcast with a charming balance of being entertaining and informational.

#4. Nursing Show

Nursing Show is one of the best medical podcasts on the scene. For the nurse who wants a clinical skills podcast, Nursing Show offers educational discussions about the healthcare field. Medication usage, helpful tips on daily procedures, and information on medical conditions and modern medicine are all featured topics on this podcast that are accompanied by a lot of insider knowledge.

In addition to educational topics, Nursing Show also offers:

• Interviews
• Medical news
• General advice on managing and advancing your career

You can listen to Nursing Show on Stitcher. The podcast no longer airs new episodes, but there are over 400 episodes currently available for listening. If you are a graduate nurse, this might be a great listen to gain some valuable information on topics that range far and wide.

#5. Nursing Uncensored

Nursing Uncensored is not for the faint of heart. The podcast is hosted by Adrienne Behning, a registered nurse, and entertainer who believes in combining healthcare and humor.

Nursing is a serious profession, but that doesn’t mean you can’t laugh about it sometimes. Nursing Uncensored is one of the best comedic podcasts for nurses. With interviews, relatable stories, and the occasional curse word, Nursing Uncensored is for healthcare professionals who aren’t afraid to tell it like it is.

#6. Real Talk School of Nursing

The Real Talk School of Nursing podcast is a bit different from the other podcasts on this list. That’s because, instead of focusing on life on the job, it focuses on life around the job. This podcast is for nurses who want to hear relatable discussions about balancing their work as a nurse practitioner and personal life.

Real Talk School of Nursing also interviews professionals in the medical field and discusses people’s personal experiences in this line of work.

New episodes air every couple of weeks, and you can listen to them on the Real Talk School of Nursing website.

#7. Straight A Nursing

Straight A Nursing is a podcast that will help nurses and nursing students do their best at work and get through nursing school. This podcast is essentially a mobile learning lesson each week, but with more entertainment.

Hosted by Nurse Mo, this podcast series delves into educational aspects of the nursing field and offers helpful refreshers and much-needed new information about healthcare work.

New episodes of Straight A Nursing air each week, and you can find them on all your favorite podcast services:

• Apple podcasts
• iTunes
• Google Play
• Stitcher

#8. Stories of Self Healing With Nurse Kristin

Nursing podcasts don’t always have to be about succeeding at work. Stories of Self Healing with Nurse Kristin is a podcast for nurses who want to turn their focus inward and work on their own personal triumphs. Kristin’s podcast series focuses on life outside of nursing care and how to balance a career in nursing and your physical and mental health.

Nurse Kristin specializes in nutrition and offers helpful advice on eating right, feeling your best, and switching to healthy and plant-based foods.

This podcast is a perfect balance of remaining in the nursing field while also taking listeners’ minds off work. Stories of Self Healing with Nurse Kristin will help nurses take care of themselves, so they have the energy and focus to bring their all when working as a nurse or travel nurse.

#9. Nurse Talk Media

It’s no secret that healthcare is heavily politicized. Nurse Talk Media is a politically centered nursing podcast that covers news, work, and experiences from real nurses. Some topics discussed on this show include:

• Medical marijuana legality
• The cost of healthcare and insurance in the U.S.
• The pharmaceutical industry
• Nurse and patient relationship building tips
• Workplace safety standards

Nurse Talk Media is a podcast for nurses with strong political beliefs who are looking for engaging discussions and up-to-date stories about the current state of healthcare.

#10. Your Next Shift: A Nursing Career Podcast

Make each workday better than the last with this helpful nursing podcast that’s full of career advice. Host Elizabeth Scala presents new ways to approach problems you face working in the healthcare field and encourages listeners to bring a proper mindset into their work.

A wonderful combination of practical advice and psychological elements, Your Next Shift is the perfect podcast for nurses looking to feel good about their career and continue to make strides toward the life they want.

With new guest speakers each episode, and a ton of thought-provoking topics, you’ll find yourself itching to listen to the next episode.

Fortunately, new episodes of Your Next Shift air each week on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher.

There’s Plenty to Choose From

Travel nursing jobs are continuing to be readily available. Each year, more and more nurses enter the field—ready to do everything they can to help people feel their best. While the work is hard, and you may not always feel your best, you have to remember that there’s always someone out there who will understand.

Listening to nursing podcasts will help you feel more connected, provide advice, and entertain you with relatable stories for hours on end. Some of these podcasts can even help answer typical nursing questions such as what are the top compression socks for nurses or the best scrub brands.

Now that you have this list, you can start listening and find the perfect nurse podcast for you, and make life as a travel nurse all that much more enjoyable.

Check out more of our articles on healthcare topics to help you get all the information you need to tackle your job as a nurse or travel nurse with comfort and confidence!

Something to Listen to While You Travel

Are you a nurse who’s always wanted to travel the country? Does listening to these podcasts on a ten-hour scenic drive to your next 3-month hospital stint sound intriguing?

At Host Healthcare we strive to help professionals in the healthcare industry find their dream jobs and offer support every step of the way. Whether you’re looking for a job during the COVID 19 pandemic, or you want to switch from a perm position to a travel position, we have your back. Find the perfect position for you with Allied Travel careers. Consider becoming a travel physician assistant, critical care nurse, primary care nurse, or other medical professional.

After looking through these nursing podcasts, you might want to check available travel CNA jobs that you might consider in the future.

Salary Range for Medical Assisting

According to the NHA, Medical Assistants earn a median salary of $32,480 .

Source: Bureau of Labor and Statistics

Professionalism, verbal communication, and critical thinking are the most important soft skills desired by employers of Medical Assistants

Times School Nurses Are Not Enough

There is no better time than now to bump up the health resources for children in schools, experts say.

School children have had an especially challenging time navigating the tedious months of the pandemic, with recent reports showing that students fell four to seven months behind in math and reading compared to previous years, and with the most vulnerable students showing the steepest declines.

But while schools have typically tried to improve student achievement by focusing on academic testing and additional classes, they’ve too often neglected a major factor in their success: physical, mental and social health. This is especially true for children living in economically disadvantaged communities, who unlike their peers in wealthier communities often lack access to quality health care and resources.

There are many reasons such children often struggle to do well in school, but education specialists say there is no better time than now to devote more resources to their often-limited access to needed health services. Just as shouting doesn’t enable a deaf person to hear or better lighting a blind person to see, feeding facts and figures to youngsters with untreated health problems is unlikely to help them learn.

Charles E. Basch, a professor of health and education at Columbia University’s Teachers College, wrote in a special issue of the Journal of School Health in 2011: “Healthier students are better learners,” a fact he called “a missing link in school reforms to close the achievement gap.” In the report, he said that schools trying to enhance academic achievement should target their efforts on reducing health disparities that might impair a student’s education.

“The health needs of children have not been considered a central mission of schools,” Dr. Basch told me. “Yet there’s a clear connection between mental and physical health and the ability of children to learn.” And by not adequately addressing such needs, he said, “society is losing talent.”

Bringing health care to schools

Enter school-based health centers — facilities either in the school itself or nearby that not only tend to acute health issues like cuts and bruises, but also provide a suite of health services including primary, mental and dental care; substance abuse counseling; nutrition education and more. “They bring health care to where the children are, and they’re a very good way to provide health care to children who might not otherwise get it,” said Nicholas Freudenberg, a professor of public health at the City University of New York School of Public Health.

School-based health centers are a cardinal feature of community schools and other public schools that have increasingly recognized how difficult it is for many children to get their health problems adequately detected and treated. Such challenges may be especially acute for those living in low-income urban centers or rural areas. If a parent has to take time off from work or find a babysitter, or if transportation is unavailable or unaffordable to get a child to a medical visit, needed services are too often neglected until there’s a crisis, experts have said.

The nonprofit Paramount Health Data Project, which recently published a report on students’ health conditions in public and private schools in Indiana, found that the more often children visited the school nurse, the poorer their academic achievement on statewide tests, Azure Angelov, the project’s director, told me. The project’s data suggest “that students who are frequent visitors to the school nurse are simply unhealthy and frequently do not feel well during the school day,” Dr. Angelov and colleagues wrote in the report. “This is impacting their ability to learn.”

Although the majority of public schools have at least one full-time or part-time nurse, that’s hardly adequate to care for kids who often have complex and interrelated health problems that can get in the way of learning. For example, a child with poorly controlled asthma may avoid exercise and have trouble sleeping, which is when the brain consolidates memory. In addition to medication and routine follow-up, that child may need dietary and exercise advice and assistance in clearing allergens from the home.

10 Ways To Increase Your Focus in Nursing School

It’s frustrating sitting there staring at your textbook and losing focus. Every nursing student has been through it and you will feel like you’re wasting time. Here are some ways to help you focus better during your studying time.

1. Get Better Sleep

We have all been there as a college student and even as a working nurse. When we know we should be sleeping, we are not. Instead we are scrolling through our phones or catching up with the latest show.

It takes a lot of discipline for us to close our phone and go to sleep. By creating small habits, we can have better self-control. Put your phone somewhere far away before you go to bed. Only allow yourself to indulge in your shows after you finished studying for the week.

Getting better sleep is all about prioritizing your sleep over everything else. Have a routine that will prepare your body for sleep. Start preparing for bed 1 hour before bedtime. Avoid having caffeine late in the evening where it will affect how well you fall asleep.

This will take self-discipline at an ultimate level but it will pay off when you pass all your nursing exams. Give yourself small rewards along the way will make it easier. Rewards are something you enjoy such as hanging out with friends or treating yourself to a nice meal.

Maybe you just need a little to rejuvenate yourself. A nap will do you wonders if that’s what your body needs. Sometimes we feel guilty for wasting time napping when we know we should be studying. The lack of focus could be that we are pushing ourselves too hard and not giving your brain a break. Schedule in a power nap to rejuvenate your brain before studying. You will retain information better with a mind at 100% capacity then a brain performing sluggishly.

2. Have An Exercise Routine

Going from classes to clinical and studying gives us little to no time to exercise. You might find that you focus better at the beginning of the semester then you do towards the end.

The time you spend sitting for class and for studying is not making enough blood flow to your brain. You will learn in nursing school that blood is the delivery system for oxygen and nutrient. This means circulation is important to the organs in your body especially to your brain. Your brain needs proper fuel and oxygen to function and learn new information.

Make it a habit to include exercise in your weekly routine. If you don’t have much time, try to fit an intensive training (HIIT) exercise in 15-30 minutes once or twice a week. A low intensity workout like Yoga or Pilates everyday for 15-20 minutes is also an option. You will feel the difference in your mind once you have a good exercise routine.

You don’t need to exert too much effort to make exercising possible. Try using YouTube videos for a quick and easy workout that you prefer. Make the process easier being in comfortable workout clothes if it is appropriate. This way you will find sticking to the routine a lot easier.

If you need to be a better environment to work out, you can check out your school gym. There are inexpensive gym membership you can try to join. Plan your studying time strategically around your workout location for better productivity. You may find that you study better before or after a workout.

3. Eat Nutrient Dense Whole Foods

You will learn that fast food has a price when it comes to how well your body performs. We have all eaten food that makes us sleepy or hungry after an hour. These type of food are convenient but will get in the way of your studying.

It takes effort to be consciously aware of what we eat and how it benefits our ability to study and perform on our test. One way is to avoid food with empty calories such as carb based snacks. Start to identify what you eat everyday and replace it with whole unprocessed foods.

You may need to set aside time to prepare food to bring with you. We all know time is limited as a nursing student. Go for pre-portioned packaged food that you can take with you. Carry packaged nuts and/or healthy energy bars to help hold you over until you get home.

Eating nutrient dense food will offer plenty of fuel for your body to function optimally. It may be a hassle to bring food with you to the library or classroom but it will pay off in the end.

4. Have An Effective Study Schedule 

To be productive, you need to learn how to manage your time. Having a strategic study schedule will give you the edge you need to pass your nursing exams. You could be running around and wasting precious time if you don’t strategize your day. Put the initial effort required to create a study schedule and you will reap the benefits it has to offer.

5. Have Nursing Study Buddies

Being in a nursing program, you will find there are many challenges to overcome. Having a group of people who are going through the same thing you are will make things easier. The amount of information that you will learn in nursing school is a lot to handle by yourself.

Finding friends in the nursing program will help you get through nursing. You may need to be selective of who your study group will be. Not everybody who get accepted into the nursing program will graduate as a nurse. It helps to know that your nursing buddies are serious about studying. You will need the mental support from each other to make it through every semester and pass the NCLEX.

Offering support to each other will also include sharing ways to study. With so many mind working towards the same goal. You will learn better ways to motivate yourself and reach your goals.

You can easily drive yourself crazy by creating the fear of failing every exam. Having a group of nursing buddies will give you back some sanity when you find you are not the only one with doubts.

6. Find Your Secret Study Place

You need to know where you study best in order to have the focus you need to process those chapters in the textbook. It will be productive to hunt down your own little study area. This could be your little secret. The right area will offer everything you need to make you feel comfortable. You will realize how zoned in you will be once you are studying in your secret place.

Having a designated place to hide away from others will come in handy. Sometimes you will find that studying in a group could come with a lot of distraction. This will result in a less productive way of using your precious study time. You may find yourself thinking of a way to sneak off into your comfort zone for an hour or two to actually study.

This secret study space of yours will take some time for you to find. You will be happy knowing there is a place just for you that will increase your chance of passing your exams.

7. Study Smarter

A popular saying is work smarter and not harder. You are not guaranteed to pass your exams just because you studied long hours. It may be counterproductive by studying until you burnout. By implementing ways to study smarter, you will find studying more enjoyable.

Understand How You Learn

One way of studying smarter is to understand what type of leaner you are. There are visual, auditory, linguistic, physical, logical, interpersonal and intrapersonal types of learners. Knowing how you learn best will make things easier for you. Once you’ve understand what type of learner you are, you can explore ways to help you study better.

This article Different Learning Style will help you identify your learning type. This link will take you to Time4Learning.com.

Take Good Notes in Class

Taking perfect notes in class is another way to give your studying a boost. Most information discussed in class will be on the exam. A useful hack is to learn short hand writing such as abbreviation to help you take faster notes in class. You can also try using a voice recorder in class to avoid missing anything important. Getting permission from your professor may be necessary before recording the lesson.

Use Technology To Give You An Edge

Using smart devices will make it easier to study. Having a laptop can speed up the process of creating study notes by typing them up. A laptop will also give you accessibility to the web to look up information quickly. Utilizing a smartphone with a camera built-in for a quick snap shot of notes on the board to review later. The are many apps you can use to give you the edge you need to have the information you need at your disposal. You only need to be creative with what you already have.

8. Teach Others What You’ve Learned

Grab anybody around you and try teaching them what you’ve just learned. This is a way that you can help your brain process and understand information. If you understand something thoroughly, you will be able to explain it very well.

You may find through your explanation that you don’t quite understand it yourself. That is how you can pinpoint the information you need to review. You will find your mind focus better when trying to find the answer. Your ability to recall this information is better because of the energy you put into it.

Just try it and see how well it works for you.

9. Test Yourself

Testing yourself is another way of identifying what you don’t know. Questions from nursing study guides may cover information you are suppose to know. There are options that you can use to quiz yourself.

Nursing Questionnaire Apps

Free nursing apps are easily accessible if you have a smartphones. There are different apps created for specific nursing classes. Find a good app with further breakdown that follows the chapters in your textbook. This way you can avoid confusion of getting questions of topics that aren’t discuss yet. Start testing yourself a week before the exam to help you gauge how prepare you are.

Nursing Study Guides

Nursing apps might have a limit on how well you will understand the reasoning for the correct answer. You will find a good study guide will offer the complete package to help you understand better. It will highlight information you need to know and have questionnaire with rationales. Critical thinking questions are challenging because you need to find the best answer out of the option of good answers. You will want to understand why that is the best answer to help you learn how to process questions for future (the NCLEX).

The smart way to approach this is to not over test yourself and loose confidence in what you know. Instead use it to help you gauge what you don’t know or understand. The tip is to understand why you got that question wrong and use your textbook to clear up the information.

10. Ask Others What You Should Focus On

When you look at the mountain of information in your textbook, you could get lost on what to focus on. Sometimes even with good study notes, you are still not sure if you’ve covered everything. There is just too much information in the textbook for you to memorize it all. You need to find a way to narrow your focus to what is important.

A proactive measure is to actually ask what you should be focusing on. You can ask your professor, your study buddies and even nursing students who are more senior than you. By find out what you should look for will give you the hyper focus you need to retain the information. This will also save you a lot of time and energy.

Content shared from Nurses Fix website

How To Study In Nursing School For Success

What are effective study strategies that can help you succeed in nursing school?

Article and suggestions are shared from AllNurses.com

It’s the time of year when eager students are venturing into their first semester of nursing school. Most likely, they have been bombarded with advice from other seasoned students. However, starting nursing school is like jumping into frigid water. You know I is going to be a shock to your system and yet, you can’t comprehend just how much of a shock until you jump in. Fortunately, there are effective study strategies that can help students to make a smooth transition.

Effective Study Strategies

STEP 1 You Must Study … STUDY!

Unless you have a photographic memory or some other learning super power, you will have to study. I was one of the many nursing students who cruised through prerequisite classes and rarely broke a sweat. I realized early in my first semester that what had worked for me in previous courses, was not going to be enough. Most students have to “step up” their study skills in nursing school to be successful.

STEP 2 Lay a strong foundation

There is a way you can spend less time studying and still be successful. The secret? Put a consistent effort into all of your coursework. For example:

STEP 3 Attend class

I often hear students say, “I don’t go to class because they just read off powerpoints”. Even if this is the case, instructors place emphasis on important and “need to know” information. Attending class gives students an opportunity to hear the information and ask questions.

STEP 4 Listen in class

Pay attention, take notes and review your notes for a few minutes after class. It also helps to compare your notes with another student’s and see what they thought was important.

STEP 5 Rethink assignments

Students often lament course assignments as “busy work” that distracts from study time. It helps to reimagine coursework as additional exposure to information and an opportunity to test knowledge.

Schedule Yourself for Study

Time management in nursing school is crucial to your success. Studying will compete with personal, academic and social responsibilities for a valuable chunk of your time. Therefore, go ahead and schedule your study time. Here are a few tips:

STEP 1 Master the calendar

Just thinking about your nursing program, personal and work schedule can quickly lead to feelings of chaos. It is important to see the “big picture” of your schedule instead of trying to keep up with all the separate moving parts. Develop a master calendar plotting out all your scheduled activities (class, work, clinicals, appointments, family responsibilities) and then schedule your study time. Be sure to include due dates for exams, assignments and other important deadlines.

STEP 2 Be realistic

Scheduling yourself only a few 20 minute study sessions a week will most likely result in very intense cramming sessions. Schedule adequate blocks of study time, but be sure to work in breaks. Studying without breaks leads to fatigue and poor retention of information.

Take Good Notes

After scoring low on exams, students would often show me pages and pages of detailed notes and ask with obvious frustration, “What am I doing wrong?”. When it comes to note taking, quantity is not always equal quality. Here are a few tips:

STEP 1 Read before the lecture

Having a general awareness of the material before you attend the lecture will put you a step ahead. This doesn’t mean reading in detail all 200+ pages to be covered, but it does help to have an idea of the topics that will be presented.

STEP 2 Get organized

There are many different note taking strategies and it is important to find the method that works for you. Remember, you may need to change what you have done in the past. A few methods for you to explore include:

• Outline Method
• Boxing Method
• Cornell Method
• Mapping Method
• Charting Method

You can read descriptions, pros and cons of each method here.

STEP 3 Handwritten vs electronic notes

Research has shown handwritten notes have an edge over electronic notes when it comes to retaining information. However, there are pros and cons to both depending on student preferences and learning style. Here are just a few:

Laptop Notes

Pros:

• If you are a good typist, laptop notes are quicker and may allow you to take more detailed notes.
• You can easily search for additional information, examples and access helpful resources.

Cons:

• Typing could translate to “mindless” note taking and not really thinking about what is being said by the lecturer.
• Easily distracted internet sites or social media.

Handwritten Notes:

Pros;

• Better engagement with the lecturer and presented material
• Research has found increased retention when compared to electronic note taking

Cons:

• It is easier to miss or leave out important information
• Requires excellent organization skills for effective handwritten notes

The bottom line- finding the note taking method that is best for you. But first, you need a commitment to explore and put different strategies to test.

 

Author J.Adderton, BSN, MSN

New Career In Medical Assisting

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Free up to 3 hours of doctors’ time daily with smart use of MAs

What would you do with three more hours each day? Trained medical assistants (MAs) integrated into your medical practice can free up to three hours of physicians’ time daily—if they take on the right tasks.

Medical assistants are under-utilized in most medical practices, according to Marie Brown, MD, director of practice redesign at the AMA. Dr. Brown is a professor emeritus at Rush University and a practicing physician in internal medicine. She presented tips on recruitment and retention of medical assistants during a recent session that is part of the AMA STEPS Forward™ webinar series that focuses on physician well-being, practice redesign, and implementing telehealth during COVID-19.

The series also provides various toolkits that off real-world solutions, success stories and downloadable resources that address common practice challenges.

Dr. Brown said many of the daily practice tasks that physicians perform do not require a physician’s level of expertise, such as record keeping, medication review, pending routine orders and identifying care gaps. These can be performed by another member of the medical team, such as a medical assistant.

Properly assigned medical assistants can free up to three hours a day from a physician’s schedule by taking some of the administrative and clinical tasks and allow a physician to focus more time on direct interaction with patients, she said.

However, making best use of medical assistants can pose some challenges. Staffing can be difficult, she noted. “There’s just not enough of them. The ideal staffing ratio may be two MAs to every one physician or clinician. But what I hear from around the country is there are not enough assistants to hire.”

Dr. Brown said in order to recruit and retain MAs, practice managers need to understand the various ways employees can become MAs, determine the best role for MAs in a certain practice, make a good business case for MAs in a practice, and then develop a plan to onboard and retain trained MAs.

While MAs generally do not need to be licensed or certified by law, their scope of work and state regulatory requirements vary from state to state and practice to practice. Types of certification include the certified medical assistant (CMA), registered medical assistant (RMA), and certified clinical medical assistant (CCMA).

Medical assistants can qualify in several ways to sit for a certifying exam.

• Apprenticeship, usually lasting five years (High school graduate with on-the-job training, with the physician attesting to their role).
• Formal MA training programs that take nine months to two years.
• Military training.
• Experience as an MA instructor.

MAs can be involved in pre-appointment agenda setting, documenting the chief complaint and history of present illness, reviewing medications and helping physicians in the exam room. Many MAs around the country—following protocols—help identify care gaps such as a need for a screening mammogram, routine blood tests such as hemoglobin A1c, and pend these orders.

It is important to match individual MA skills to tasks, because training and background varies so widely. Case studies indicate that practices using MAs saw time to provide care go down and patient and physician satisfaction go up—along with revenue, Dr. Brown said.

When you have recruited, trained and integrated an MA into your practice, it is important to develop a plan for continuous professional development and a career progression ladder with different titles, levels and skill sets, she added.

Return on investment increases as MAs progress along a defined career development and job title path, she said. Titles can be simple stages such as MA I, II and III or more descriptive, such as team care coordinator and lead MA.

Pursue your next career as a MA by enrolling today at Sumner College’s Medical Assisting program. Classes start soon.

Managing Your Time In Nursing School

Whether your semester has just begun or your classes are in full swing, it’s never too late to revise your strategy and give your time management approach a reality check. Nursing school can be overwhelming and push you in ways you didn’t know you could be challenged. Getting to the finish line will not be easy but a clear and deliberate plan of action will help you get there unscathed.

TIME EFFICIENCY

In nursing school, everything else becomes secondary to studying. Create a daily and or hourly schedule and stick to it to be the most efficient. An hour by hour plan will help tremendously in keeping you on track to hit your daily milestones. In addition, it will be helpful to get conditioned to studying first before everything else. On days when on site classes are held, commuters should consider staying on campus to complete studying for the day instead of wasting precious time in stop and go traffic. If you stay on campus, avoid trips back and forth between classes to the your room and use small breaks to stick it out in the library. Keep flash cards on hand for quick study breaks when your schedule allows. Downloading audio lectures can be helpful for learning on the go and can be accessed on your headset or in the car. Parents should try to maximize time when children are sleeping or at school and use this time to study also. Lastly use weekends to meal prep, do house chores, prepare for the week and of course study!

STAYING ORGANIZED 

Getting organized can drastically change your nursing school experience for the better and create more time for focused learning.. Allocating specific folders, binders and bags for each class or day of the week will help you tremendously. Printing the syllabi for each course, outlining major deadlines and noting all test and assignment dates can be lifesaving. Large calendars are also great for providing a monthly view of classes, assignments, tests and clinicals. Small planners  can provide a great weekly view of your obligations and phone reminders can be essential. Organization will allow you the space and peace of mind to study. Preparing class and clinical materials ahead of time can be lifesaving.

DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE STUDY STRATEGY

Undoubtedly, studying is the most time intensive task in nursing school. There’s an exorbitant amount of info to read, digest and retain and seemingly not enough time in the day to tackle it all. Study at times that you are most energized and receptive. Create a dedicated area in your home that’s conducive to studying helps to set the tone and environment for optimal learning that’s free of distractions. It is also  important to master the skill of intaking and dumping information. Unlike your pre-nursing courses, being super detailed oriented could actually work against you in nursing school. After your first test, there should be an analysis of the materials you covered as it relates to what you were actually tested on. Let this information guide your future study habits per course. Your learning style may be auditory or visual; however, most people study best in groups and are able to grasp concepts from peers more concisely. Lastly, grab a few classmates with similar schedules to form a study group and test your knowledge by explaining and teaching one another.

KEEP SOCIAL TO A MINIMUM

“Do what you have to now  so you can do what you want later.” While cliche, the aforementioned expression holds true. Nursing school is no joke and is a real life commitment and sacrifice of time. Depending on the rigidity of your program, you may want to consider minimizing social outings for the duration of your program. This does not mean that you can’t have a life or shouldn’t see your friends and family; however, it does mean you should be doing so a lot less. Remember, self-care is a huge component of keeping your sanity during this challenging time.  Be sure to prioritize time for things that make you happy, recharge your energy and allow you to step away for mental breaks. Schedule your social time in advance to be sure your interactions are not becoming distractions to your focus and productivity. Also, it may not be a bad idea to limit time on social media as well. You can use various apps to track and limit your usage.

ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER

In nursing school you have countless assignments, deadlines, tests and obligations. In this environment a hectic schedule can get the best of them despite proper planning and time management. Therefore, having a human reminder  can really go a long way. Identifying a buddy in the program will be gold and in addition to helping you stay on top of all your deadlines, they can provide moral support and encouragement which can improve your nursing school experience drastically.

Tips and content shared from The Nurse Link

How to Study in Nursing School: 8 Tips from an Expert Nurse Educator

Blog shared from Nurse Jannah’s Osmosis webinar on successful study habits every nursing student should adopt. 

As you’re about to enter into an awesome and powerful field, you’re probably wondering about how to study in nursing school so you won’t get overwhelmed. Adopting smart study habits early on in your education will set you up to be a successful learner, test-taker, and practicing RN. Why not get them right from an expert nurse educator?

Why getting into nursing is a big deal

Did you know that, according to AACN Fact Sheets, nursing is the largest healthcare profession in the United States, with 3x as many RNs as physicians? This really speaks volumes about the big role nurses play in healthcare, but also about the challenging road to becoming one.

Nurses work in so many different settings and are in charge of a lot of things. They collaborate as a team, but they operate independently of medicine or other fields.

No wonder there’s tons of information to master in nursing school!

All of this can be overwhelming and confusing to any student: maybe it’s too much to learn in a short time, or maybe you’re not sure where to start. Maybe you feel like things aren’t sticking to your memory, or you don’t know what to use to learn, with so many resources available.

As our expert nurse educator shares in our Osmosis webinar: “This happens to a lot of us”. Here are 8 key tips that Nurse Jannah recommends on how to best study for nursing school.  

→ Watch the full webinar.

1. Get a head start on your course material

Try to stay ahead of the game before you even have a lecture. Read the chapters or watch videos and get familiar with the content—whatever the preparation looks like, it’s important to do it ahead of time.

The reason is that it’s really hard to catch up with the study in nursing school, as there’s a lot of ground to cover, and it goes by fast.

Some of the material you’ll learn is easier to understand than others, and that’s OK. Putting in the work ahead of a lecture is the most important part, as you teach your brain to set the right foundation for gaining knowledge. And even if you don’t understand everything, you build on that and let the lecture or next piece of learning help fill in the gaps.

2. Try making concept maps

Instead of going with the classic way of taking notes—highlighting text and rewriting pages of notes—concept maps are one fun and easy way to study for nursing school.

A concept map is a visual representation of knowledge on a subject that helps you to organize your thoughts on it. Besides being much easier, it’s also an efficient way to understand the information (rather than memorizing it).

Start with the topic you want to learn about and, first, build on it with what you learned. After that, use your notes, videos or other resources to fill in the map and get the whole picture of that topic.

3. Meet your learning objectives

This is something that probably many often ignored as students, which you definitely shouldn’t. When you stumble upon your learning objectives (LOs), paying attention to them is one smart way to study in nursing school.

Although it seems just like a list, LOs act much like your guide to studying, because they outline exactly what you should be able to do or competently discuss after successfully learning about them. This is a really good guide to follow especially when you have a lot of content and don’t know what you’re supposed to focus on.

You can find more practical and visual examples of these tips in our webinar.

4. Make a schedule (and stick to it)

Another tip Nurse Jannah has for you is making a schedule that really sets you up for success. This means one that is realistic and adjusted to your life, your time, your responsibilities.

There’s no standard timeframe for the best learning, so the key here is to focus on quality rather than quantity. If your daily schedule allows you to study for nursing school two hours in the morning or three hours in the evening, both are fine as long as it’s according to your real attention span.

Another important thing here is to make sure you can stay committed to your schedule for studying just as you commit to other obligations in life, in a practical way. This will keep you accountable as well.

5. Teamwork makes the dream work

Speaking of accountability, another tip on how to study for nursing school the better way is finding a study partner: a friend, a tutor, or joining a study group to keep you connected.

The best thing about study groups is that you can listen to different perspectives while discussing a topic. Actively listening to how other people think and apply knowledge helps you hone your critical thinking skills. This is one important skill to have in nursing school, as you’re taking different tests and answering different types of questions.

6. Find your learning style

Everybody learns differently: some students are visual learners—and Osmosis makes that easy with 1800+ animated videos for you!—while others learn better by listening to lectures or doing activities.

Try to practice a bit of self-reflection to discover your learning style and find resources that represent it, as primary learning tools. The earlier you discover how you learn best, the easier it becomes to study and not waste your time the wrong way.

7 Practice, practice, practice

Of course, it is also about practicing NCLEX®-style questions during nursing school. Not only it challenges you to apply all the knowledge you gain, but also your ability to think at a high level and analyze data in different ways.

NCLEX®-style questions are unlike any other type of questions you’re used to seeing, which is why practicing them helps to reinforce your understanding of a concept and prepares you for the final exam: the licensure examination.

8. Don’t forget the basics

Understanding the basics is the biggest starting point in your studying. You need to have a solid understanding of foundational sciences first, such as anatomy and physiology, because all the knowledge you learn in nursing school is based on these and it’s also what makes learning more complex concepts along the way much easier.

And finally… you got this!

And don’t forget to watch the full webinar here: Study for Success: Habits Every Nursing Student Should Adopt.

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Content shared from Osmosis

Public Health Nursing 101

In an era of increasing challenges for public health, nurses have the potential to make a dramatic difference. The American Public Health Association defines public health nursing as, “the practice of promoting and protecting the health of populations using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences”.¹

 

As individuals, nurses directly influence the health and wellbeing of patients every day. Through frequent contact, nurses are best placed to encourage lifestyle changes in communities and offer education on healthy living – particularly to the most vulnerable in society.

Uniting to improve public health

By working together, nurses can make a great impact on public health as a whole. The American Nurses Association (ANA) builds on individual nurse contributions to public health, by supporting policy, advocacy, and education at the highest levels. These areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Immunizations;
• Infection prevention;
• Environmental health; and
• Opioid crisis response.

Preparing nurses for public health crises

Nurses must be prepared to respond directly to public health crises; from outbreaks of disease to natural disasters. ANA keeps nurses up-to-date on emerging public health issues, to help nurses to make the most informed treatment decisions.

ANA has supported nurses’ work with resources on:

• Ebola
• Fluoridation of public water drinking systems
• Quitting smoking
• Climate change

Public health nursing’s scope and standards of practice

ANA empowers nurses to perform to the full extent of their expertise, for the benefit of public health. By facilitating the review and revision of public health nursing’s scope and standards of practice, ANA ensures that nursing responsibilities evolve at the same pace as the demands of public health.

The Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations

ANA supports the work of the Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations (CPHNO), which strives to improve the health of communities through excellence in nursing education, practice, leadership, and research.² Its membership has changed since it was established in the early 1980s, and now includes:

• Association of Community Health Nurse Educators (ACHNE)
• Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN)
• American Public Health Association (APHA) – Public Health Nursing Section
• Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE)

The goals of the CPHNO are to create innovative models for public health nursing practice; identify and support the emerging roles of public health nurses; and to develop leadership skills for public health nurses at all levels.

Recent ANA actions for public health

• ANA Opposes Graham Cassidy Proposal

Take more action

Want to know more about public health nursing?  Contact any of the above Quad Council associations. If you’re interested in obtaining the Advanced Public Health Nursing-Board Certified (APHN-BC) credential, visit the ANCC Certification section to learn about the assessment method for ANCC board certification.

References

Article shared from the American Nurses Association

 

Four Ways to Become a Standout Nursing Student