Facts About Nursing

Article shared from NurseTogether

Becoming a registered nurse is the ultimate goal for a lot of men and women looking to enter the medical field. Registered nurses work directly with patients to provide care and have a wealth of knowledge and skills to offer, but there might be a few things that you didn’t know about registered nurses. Without further ado, here are 45 fun, interesting and surprising facts about registered nurses.

Nursing Facts

1. Florence Nightingale, a British nurse, and statistician, is considered to be the mother of modern nursing for her influence on how nurses were educated and viewed by society.

2. Florence Nightingale shaped the healthcare industry during the Crimean War when she introduced the concepts of hand hygiene, fresh air for patients, cleaning tools between patients, and other sanitation practices which resulted in saving many soldiers’ lives.

3. Florence Nightingale lived from 1820 to 1910 and was born in Italy although she was raised in England. She established the first scientifically-based nursing school 1860 appropriately named the Nightingale School of Nursing at St. Thomas Hospital in London.

4. The symbol for nursing is a lamp. Florence Nightingale was famous for carrying a lamp with her at night as she made her way between the tents of wounded and ill soldiers during the Crimean War, and was often referred to as “the lady with the lamp”. She also made the white nursing cap, used to hold hair back, famous and synonymous with the nursing profession.

5. Nursing caps are now usually only worn in ceremonies, often during graduation ceremonies for new nurses to symbolize their welcome into the profession. The famous hats have stopped being worn due to the fact that they can collect microbes (bacteria and viruses) and become unsanitary.

6. Nurses are considered one of the most trustworthy and ethical professions in the United States. In the year 2020, nurses were voted the #1 most trustworthy and ethical professionals for the 18^th year in a row. The nursing profession beats out doctors, policemen, firemen, teachers, and even clergy.

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Learn more about Nursing:

• Become A Registered Nurse
  • Become A Registered Nurse
  • RN vs. BSN Degree: What’s the Difference?
  • Nursing Skills
  • Certified Nurse Midwife Career
  • BSN Job Opportunities
  • BSNs are Important
  • Registered Nursing Occupational Outlook

Nurses Do Make A Difference

If you’ve ever had the misfortune of spending some time in the hospital, you may know first hand how important nurses can be. When you’re feeling anxious, scared and sick, the care and compassion of a good nurse can soothe and help you feel calm and collected. In short, nurses can help make devastating and stressful times somewhat easier for patients and their families, all while providing valuable assistance to doctors.

Here are five additional ways nurses can make a difference:

Nurses Teach the Community

Unlike nurses who work in a hospital setting and care for a handful of patients on a daily basis, public health nurses can care for entire communities. In this capacity, they are able to educate large groups of people about health issues while improving the community’s health and safety and increasing access to quality care.

Public health nurses have many important duties such as advocating with local, state and federal authorities to improve access to services for those who are generally under-served in the community. They are also responsible for monitoring health trends and identifying risks that are unique to the local population, as well as designing and implementing educational campaigns and prevention events like immunizations and screenings.

Nurses Improve Quality Care

In recent years, America’s hospitals have begun numerous initiatives aimed at improving the quality of patient care, and nurses play an integral and pivotal role in these efforts. Nurses are at the front lines of improving patient outcomes by decreasing the lengths-of-stay, hospital-acquired pneumonia, pressure ulcers, deep vein thrombosis and mortality rates.

Nurses Act as Patient Advocates

Besides sharing and acting on their vast amount of medical knowledge, nurses also act as their patient’s advocate. In fact, there are three core values that help construct the basis of nursing advocacy:

Preserving Human Dignity

Every human being has the right to be treated with respect, and it is nurses that help ensure their patients receive the respect they deserve. Nurses make sure patients’ concerns are being addressed and cultural and ethnic beliefs are being respected, and remain considerate of patient privacy issues.

Patient Equality

Good nurses are a bit like saints in that they have the unique ability to provide the same level of professionalism and compassion for all patients, without allowing personal biases to influence their behavior or practice.

Freedom from Suffering

The desire to help other human beings is often the driving force for those who become nurses. By helping to prevent and manage suffering, whether that suffering is physical, mental or emotional, nurses can make the greatest difference in the lives of the patients they treat.

Nurses Provide Emotional Support

When patients are admitted into a hospital setting, they often need emotional support as they struggle with fears and anxieties. A nurse’s compassion, humor and willingness to listen can help provide patients with a level of comfort and security and may help make them feel they have more control over their challenging circumstances. This emotional support can be invaluable to a patient’s overall well-being.

Nurses Change Lives

Nurses can make an incredible difference in the quality of care given to patients all across the country. By educating communities, advocating for patients’ rights and offering emotional support in the most troubling of times, nurses don’t just help improve patient outcomes, they can literally help change lives.

Nurses Making A Difference and Touching Lives

Article shared from Daily Nurse The Pulse of Nursing

Nurses are givers, and most will agree that they didn’t join the profession for the high salaries, fancy clothes, sexy shoes, or awesome accessories. Instead, nurses are more likely to say they chose nursing because they wanted to help people. Some will tell stories of caring for a beloved family member and how that inspired them to a life of service as a healthcare professional. Touching lives is generally what it’s all about, and in doing so, nurses make an enormous difference in the world around them.

Touching Lives

In patient care in the acute setting, nurses are the ones with whom patients interact the most. While attending physicians, hospitalists, or specialists will stop in to examine the patient, write orders, and talk with colleagues, their visits are short in the scheme of things. Yet, the reality is that nurses are the ones who carry those orders forward and act as the eyes and ears of the physicians. After all, assertive and thoughtful nurses push back when an order feels wrong, or they disagree with the medical plan of care. In this way, the nurse is the patient’s strongest ally and advocate.

It’s not simply in the hospital where nurses touch lives — after all, only approximately 55 percent of nurses work in acute care. Nurses touch lives in schools, summer camps, occupational health, research, home health, hospice, public health, dialysis, urgent care, ambulatory surgery, case management, etc.

The nine-year-old child with a trach and g-tube could not properly receive their education if a nurse couldn’t provide the expert skilled care needed to keep that child safe and healthy. The family caregivers of a patient dying of pancreatic cancer would not be able to have their loved one in the home without the attention of a hospice nurse. A post-op nurse is central to a safe post-surgical discharge in the day surgery suite. The public health nurse involved in the pandemic is an indispensable asset. And a Legionnaire’s outbreak on a cruise ship can be expertly handled by the onboard nurse trained to respond to such urgent situations while at sea.

Many nurses can tell numerous stories about caring for their family members and neighbors and being called on whenever a friend needs medical advice. Nurses are frequently asked to examine sick children in their neighborhood and give their opinion on the urgent veterinary needs of the pets belonging to family members, acquaintances, and friends. And since nurses are the largest segment of the healthcare workforce in the U.S., they can frequently be first on the scene when a car accident occurs, an older woman suffers a stroke in a local diner, or someone falls and hits their head and breaks their arm at the mall.

The lives touched by nurses are legion, and the benefits bestowed by nurses on society are innumerable. Changing the world around them comes naturally to nurses, and touching lives with care and expertise is crucial to nurses’ power.

Making a Difference

Nurses make a difference through their knowledge, training, and compassion, whether at a school, on a street corner, in the ICU or ED, or at a summer camp for children living with cancer. 

Nurses have been called the lifeblood, the mitochondria, and the connective tissue of healthcare. Without nurses, the healthcare system would grind to a halt. Considering vocational/practical nurses, RNs, advanced practice nurses, and those with terminal degrees, the societal impact of nurses is incalculable. Yet, even without the annual Gallup poll telling us so, we know that the public trusts nurses, and for a good reason. This special group of citizens who join this praiseworthy profession are intrinsic to the health of individuals, entire communities, and nations. It’s a simple summation and indisputable fact: nurses make a difference, touch lives, and change the world. 

Daily Nurse is thrilled to feature Keith Carlson, “Nurse Keith,” a well-known nurse career coach and podcaster of The Nurse Keith Show as a guest columnist. Check back every other Thursday for Keith’s column.

Learn more about Nursing:

• Nursing Facts
  • Nursing Facts
  • Become a Nurse
  • Mobile IV Nursing
  • Flexible And Balanced Online RN To BSN Program
  • Types of Nursing

RN Versus BSN: The Differences

RN vs. BSN

Changes in nursing involve a major shift in higher education standards, requiring more nurses to hold a 4-year bachelor of science in nursing (BSN). The new requirements stem from research by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that showed significantly improved patient outcomes when there was an increase in BSNs.

BSN, ADN, RN: The Difference in The Letters

Of course, all nurses are rigorously trained to provide patient care. Let’s review the different levels of training for each position by taking a closer look at the letters that come after a nurse’s name. BSN means bachelor of science in nursing, ADN means associate degree in nursing, and RN means registered nurse.

• BSN is a diploma from a 4-year program: A person with a BSN has graduated from a four-year nursing program at a college, university, or nursing school.
• ADN is a diploma from a 2-year program: A person with an ADN has graduated from a two-year nursing school.
• RN is a certification: A person with the RN designation has passed a national licensing exam—after graduating from a nursing program with a BSN or an ADN. The licensing exam is called NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination), and it’s a nationwide test required to license nurses.

So, if you’re an RN with a two-year ADN, are there reasons to go back to school and earn your four-year BSN degree? Well, that depends on you and your goals. But thousands of students and nurses are getting their BSN—and many of them are doing it in direct response to the IOM recommendation for more nurses to be BSN-prepared. If the IOM says that more BSNs are better for patient health, then nurses everywhere are going to respond.

Here are 5 reasons why you might want to pursue a BSN degree:

1. Open the doors for a teaching position;
2. Upward mobility and career development;
3. Salary;
4. Stand out in the applicant pool;
5. Be the difference and make a difference in patient care.

Sumner College’s new BSN degree program can be completed in less than 3 years. No prerequisites courses are required and we accept transfer credits. Learn more today by visiting www.sumnercollege.com

BSNs are Important

Article shared from TravelNursing.com

Cost vs. reward still a factor for BSN-prepared nurses

By Debra Wood, RN, contributor

When the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its Future of Nursing report in 2010, it set a goal of having 80 percent of registered nurses (RNs) in the United States with baccalaureate degrees or higher by 2020. They saw it as a key step in continually improving the level of professionalism in nursing.

Can we still reach that goal?

The percentage of BSN-prepared nurses or higher continues to grow, although slowly, and in 2015 reached 53 percent, according to the Campaign for Action.

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Why BSNs are important

“Nursing has changed dramatically in the 21st century; today’s nurses must be prepared to meet increasingly complex health care needs in all settings, serve in leadership roles, master advanced technology, contribute decisively on teams, and support the well-being of all,” said Susan Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN, senior vice president and director, AARP Public Policy Institute, and chief strategist, Center to Champion Nursing in America.

“Now, for the first time ever, more than half of working nurses have a bachelor’s degree in nursing or higher,” she said. “Having a strong and more highly educated nursing workforce is key to a healthier America, and it’s been thrilling to see nurses answer the call to further their own education.”

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing has long supported BSN as a minimal preparation for the professional practice of nursing. It cites the movement of health care from the inpatient to outpatient setting requires nurses who can function more independently. Additional education supports those additional nursing responsibilities.

A BSN demonstrates a nurse’s commitment to professionalism in nursing. A better-educated nurse also provides a better quality of care. Studies have suggested a correlation between RN education level and patient outcomes.

Researcher Linda Aiken, PhD, RN, at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues reported in a 2013 Health Affairs article that a 10 point increase in the percentage BSN-prepared nurses in a hospital was linked with an average decrease of 2.12 deaths per 1,000 patients. Studies also have shown that hospitals with a higher proportion of nurses with baccalaureate degrees experience a greater cost savings.

“We know [hospitals that] have a higher percentage of baccalaureate degree nurses have better outcomes,” said Cleveland State University Dean Timothy M. Gaspar, PhD, RN.

Is a BSN worth it for you?

Despite nurses realizing the connection between a BSN, improved patient outcomes and professionalism in nursing, cost remains a significant barrier to nurses returning to school for their baccalaureate degree, Gaspar said.

The nurses who go for it, however, find that the money, time and energy invested can pay off.

Hospitals increasingly prefer a BSN-prepared RN, but most do not require it, according to the IOM’s follow-up report in 2015. A BSN may open more doors and opportunities to the nurse, as it shows the ability to handle increasingly complex nursing responsibilities.

Additionally, BSN-prepared nurses typically earn more. Hospitals offer pay differentials and greater opportunities for advancement to registered nurses with BSN degrees. The IOM progress report describes a $10,000 gap in average nursing salaries between associate’s degree nurses and BSN-prepared nurses.

The Medscape RN/LPN Salary Report 2016 indicates that BSN-prepared nurses earn $8,000 more per year than RNs with an associate’s degree.

Nurses seeking travel RN jobs may also find that a bachelor’s degree in nursing opens up more possibilities for assignments and can impact travel nursing salaries.

Continue reading article by visiting Why BSNs are Important

Learn more about BSNs:

• BSNs are Important
  • Become A Registered Nurse
  • RN vs. BSN Degree: What’s the Difference?
  • Nursing Skills
  • Certified Nurse Midwife Career
  • BSN Job Opportunities
  • BSNs are Important
  • Registered Nursing Occupational Outlook

Nurses Nurture Personal Emotional Health

Article Shared from TravelNursing.com

By Jennifer Larson, contributor

“How are you feeling?”

If the truthful answer to this question is something along the lines of “exhausted” or “fragile,” you’re not alone. As a nurse, your emotional wellness may be a little undernourished these days. The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on a nurses and other healthcare workers who are already struggling with burnout. As a result, the last 18 months or so have taken a toll on many nurses’ mental well-being.

During Emotional Wellness Month, and throughout the year, nurses need to focus on rebuilding and maintaining of their emotional wellness. It’s vital for your personal health, and to enable you to keep caring for patients and doing the work that you’re trained to do.

What is emotional wellness?

Emotional wellness for nurses has a lot to do with being self-aware and developing resilience and coping ability.

Consider this important point from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP):

“Being emotionally healthy doesn’t mean you’re happy all the time. It means you’re aware of your emotions. You can deal with them, whether they’re positive or negative. Emotionally healthy people still feel stress, anger, and sadness. But they know how to manage their negative feelings.”

In other words, you’re in control over your thoughts, feelings and behaviors–good, bad and everything in between.

But different people cope with stress differently, according to Grace Kwasman, MBA-HCM, BSN, RNC, CEFM, administrative director of women’s service and patient experience for Adventist Health Glendale. Your age, your particular job and your role at work can all affect your emotional responses to stress. And it’s important for individual nurses, as well as leaders, to recognize that.

“We are all in the same storm, but not necessarily all in the same lifeboat,” said Kwasman.

Make your emotional wellness a priority

Have you ever claimed that you’re too busy to take care of yourself? That’s a common phenomenon, especially among nurses.

“Often, nurses don’t take the time to take care of themselves,” said Charlotte Thomas-Hawkins, PhD, RN, FAAN, a nursing educator and researcher in nurse wellness with the American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA).

“Nurses’ emotional wellness is imperative not only during these unprecedented times but each and every day,” said Andrea Petrovanie-Green, MSN, RN, AMB-BC, national director of the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing’s Board of Directors.

That means that it’s not only not selfish to prioritize self-care–it’s absolutely necessary that you do so. It’s imperative for your professional success as well as your personal health.

“Making time for self-care will position you to be physically, mentally and emotionally present when providing care for your patients and their families,” said Petrovanie-Green.

Vicki Good, DNP, RN, CENP, CPHQ, CPPS, past president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), also urges nurses to remember that always putting others first does come with a cost.

“Give yourself permission to take a break!” she said. “As a nurse, we are natural caregivers, and we want to help everyone that comes to us with a need. This is an admirable trait, but it is also one that has to led to our emotional tanks being on ‘empty’.”

Thomas-Hawkins suggested trying a few of these self-care strategies:

• Mindfulness meditation
• Exercise
• Self-reflection through journaling

Something else to consider: use care in choosing your personal company, so you can be surrounded by people who genuinely care about you. Finding safe spaces and people with whom to share your feelings can help you nurture and improve–as well as maintain–your emotional-well-being, said ThomasHawkins.

Finding well-being resources and professional help

More people than ever are seeking professional help for their struggles with mental health and emotional wellness. In fact, the results of a survey recently released by the American Psychological Association (APA) show that psychologists are experiencing a significant increase in demand for treatment of anxiety and depression.

You, too, could possibly benefit from seeking professional help–from a psychologist, a counselor, or another person with expertise in helping people with mental health issues.

You might also want to check out the Well-being Initiative, a program launched by the American Nurses Foundation in 2020 to provide resources to nurses across the country who need support in managing the everyday stressors in their lives, as well as the unusual stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And if you’re a nursing leader, encourage your organization to offer help to nurses and other staff.

“Organizations also have a role in ensuring the environment nurses work in is a healthy one and in supporting the nurse in practicing emotional wellness,” said Good. “Support may take different forms, such as offering employee assistance programs, providing nutritional resources, and adequate rest breaks and ensuring time off.”

For additional resources, consider some of the AACN’s ideas for fostering self-care and nurturing emotional well-being in others, as well as the association’s repository of resources for Well-Being in Uncertain Times.

Related:
Self-care for Nurses: 6 Strategies to Maintain Your Mental Health

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Where Registered Nurses Work

Learn more about Registered Nursing:

• Become A Registered Nurse
  • Become A Registered Nurse
  • RN vs. BSN Degree: What’s the Difference?
  • Nursing Skills
  • Certified Nurse Midwife Career
  • BSN Job Opportunities
  • BSNs are Important
  • Registered Nursing Occupational Outlook