#nursing article

[inscolfornurses-blog]

How Do Nurses Deal With Death?

Dealing with death is a major aspect of any job in the medical field. It is exhausting for nurses to cope with loss, especially when patients get close to their heart. Dealing with death is painful, and if not dealt with properly, can lead to chronic burnout. 

Here are some valuable tips on how to deal with death, straight from veteran nurses–

Understand death is inevitable - Nurses need to recognize and accept the fact that nothing is immortal and all lives end in death. Nurses care for many patients and often get attached. As a nurse, if you find your patient’s condition is deteriorating, it is better to prepare yourself by acknowledging death as a possible outcome. By preparing yourself in advance mentally, it will be easier to cope with the death.

Let yourself mourn & grieve - Feeling sad for the loss of your patient’s life is a common emotion. In such a scenario, don’t hold back your sadness, be open about your feelings. Avoid keeping emotions inside. Instead, let yourself go through the grieving process. If you feel like crying, then it is better to let yourself cry. Let your feelings come out and you will end up feeling much better.

Interacting with the patient’s family - Nurses work hard to save their patients’ lives. When it ends on a death note, it is heart-breaking. If you are comfortable with it, give a warm hug to your patient’s family members. It will help you validate how much effort you put in to saving them. It will also give you much-needed closure.

Pray or meditate - Prayer or meditation is best for internal healing and gives you some peace of mind. Nurses see death more often than nearly anyone, and it can be daunting. Therefore, to clear emotional baggage, meditation is usually quite helpful. A good meditation session allows letting go of the sadness inside.

Give yourself a break-If recovering from the loss of a patient is proving difficult, then it’s better to take some time off from work. Give yourself a break and don’t take any extra shifts. This could lead to burnout or fatigue.

Do not dwell in grief- Facing death is part of the nursing profession. Initially,it might be overwhelming to deal with the death of your patients, but you need to keep going. You need to think positively by thinking about the patients that survived under your care and went home happy.

For more tips and advice from experienced nurses, read the INSCOL blog. INSCOL offers exclusive nursing programs for internationally educated nurses in countries like the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. If you are a nurse and want to make a career abroad, you now know where to start.

[inscolfornurses-blog]

How to Choose Between Acute Care and Ambulatory Care

The greatest challenge that a potential nurse has to face when choosing a nursing program isn't the shift hours, nurse shortages, the workplace hazards, or the compensation. It's the dilemma of choosing between Acute Care and Ambulatory Care. 

[inscolfornurses-blog]

Role of Nurses in the Treatment of HIV Patients 

The introduction of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)dates back to the early 1980’s. For years, it created shock waves around the world. Physicians and scientists had a tough time finding the cause of this new found deadly virus. Though many treatments have been developed 40 years later, no definitive cure for this virus has yet been found.

While a permanent cure for HIV is still elusive, a lot of progress has been made in the prevention and treatment of this disease.So much progress has been made that patients can now live normal and active lives.However, they need to make sure they are taking their medication to keep their HIV conditions under control, and to prevent it from turning into full-blown AIDS -- the poisonous progression of the disease.

Role of Nurses When Caring for HIV Patients

Nurses taking care of HIV patients are responsible in educating patients about the importance of taking medication and making them aware of the consequences of missing a dose. To highlight the importance of continuous medication for HIV patients, nurses inform patients about the consequences that can occur when they suddenly stop taking their medication.                       

Consequences When HIV Patients Stop Taking Medication

For effective HIV treatment, the patient needs to ensure continual medication, it must be a commitment. The medication given to an HIV patient helps the body produce white blood cells that help in fighting the infection. Missing even one dose can lead to drug resistance,making the treatment difficult.

Nurses play an important role in counseling the patient and educating them about the risks of stopping the medication or missing a medication dose. Nurses can give advice such as:

Setting alarms to ensure the dosage is taken at the right time

Keeping all medicines handy and telling family members where medicines are kept to ensure easy access in case of emergency.

Refilling prescriptions in advance

Writing notes as reminders 

As a nurse,it is your duty to counsel an HIV patient on your level first, and then refer him/her to a physician if they express the desire to discontinue therapy.

Symptoms of a HIV Patient

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a condition that develops at a later stage of HIV when a proper medication schedule isn’t followed. Due to the fragile immune system, a patient can develop a range of opportunistic diseases and infections. If the patient is suffering from AIDS,the most common symptoms are:

Dry Cough

Fever accompanied with fatigue

Neurological disorders & memory loss

Depression, Night sweats

Diarrhea

Pneumonia

Red, Pink, Purple blotches on skin

As a nurse caring for HIV patients, if you see any of the above symptoms, it is clear indication that there has been a lapse in taking medications. In your career as a nurse treating HIV patients,it is your first responsibility to ensure that patients are educated in the importance of continual medication.

If you want to pursue a nursing career abroad, you can join the specialized nursing program for international nurses at INSCOL.

[caitlinstripes-blog-blog]

Candy Striper

A candy striper is a hospital volunteer who functions under nurse supervision. The name came from the traditional uniform that volunteers wore, that looked like peppermint candy, although this outfit isn’t frequently worn today. Previous generations of female volunteers wore pink and white dresses, but the modern candy striper will wear a uniform short with pants, as well as a hospital ID that lists name and position.

The modern candy striper is between thirteen and eighteen years of age. The majority of candy stripers are female, because the job was originally created as a female job, but the number of men in the field is ever increasing.

These volunteers are integral to the success of the hospital, thanks to their interactions with both nurses and patients. Duties range, but are frequently constrained to clerical activities, as a result of insurance liability. Candy stripers usually work in reception, gift shops, and nursing and administration stations. Some candy stripers transport items between units, or visit lonely patients, but these jobs require more experience.

One of the candy stripers most important duties is attending to patients. Overburdened hospitals don’t have the resources to provide patients with frequent one-on-one care, past the necessary time spent diagnosing and treating. Candy stripers make a hospital visit pleasant by eating with, reading to, assisting or delivering items to patients. Though they fulfill many other duties, these are the primary jobs fulfilled by a candy striper.

Experienced candy stripers have a number of opportunities in a hospital to gain knowledge about the medical field. Seasoned volunteers clean rooms, transport records and drugs from unit to unit, and can bring in lab specimens for testing. Overall, older candy stripers will spend more of their time interacting with health care professionals than do younger candy stripers, who spend most of their time with patients.

Training to become a candy striper usually takes only a few days. Candy stripers are most frequently employed at teaching hospitals, because the volunteering experience allows pre-med students a chance to work with patients, while relieving the care staff of more menial duties. Many students volunteering at the hospital find the familiarity worthwhile, as it’s one of the rare chances for a high school or college student to get a hands-on learning experience in a medical environment.

Finally, there are a number of steps before you can jump into volunteering at your local hospital. You’ll need to complete an application, which includes references and parental consent if you’re less than eighteen years old, and interview. Should you be chosen to volunteer, you will need to take a tuberculosis skin test and undergo a physical exam. This ensures that you won’t infect patients under your care.

When applying to become a candy striper, it’s important to keep a dependable schedule. Be sure that you leave time every week for volunteering, as the experience is impossible to replace for those interested in the medical field.

To make your experience as a candy striper the best it can be, you must make sure that you maintain first-rate behavior at all times, because your conduct reflects on the institution you work for. If you are able to observe all hospital policies, you’ll be sure to get a great reference in the future.