What Nurses Should Know ... Oncology, Med/Surg nurses and other RNs who work with cancer patients may be the most cognizant group when it comes to statistics and controversy surrounding stem cell research and the transplants it facilitates. Bioethics is a subject that fuels content for incendiary, page-turning books (see footnote). Whatever your view, it’s hard to ignore the stats. In the U.S., diseases that can be treated with a stem cell transplant are diagnosed in about 30,000 children and adults each year. For those cancer patients who can be helped by stem cell transplants, full recovery hinges on excellent nursing staff—one that provides thorough information on new treatments, and methods of effective after-care. Learn more Stem cell transplants are nothing new. Bone marrow transplants began in the 1970s, and were essentially renamed “stem cell transplants�; no matter what you call them, patients have come to view stem cell transplants as just another a step in their treatment plan, similar to surgery or radiation. The decision to go through with bone marrow transplant is not to be taken lightly—a certified oncology nurse plays an important role in guiding patients during their treatment. Over the decades, nurses’ [+]

Why some nurses are becoming desensitized to hospital alarms Patient safety is foremost in providing excellent healthcare—which is why “alarm fatigue� is an alarming topic. The best way to increase awareness among the medical community, especially those in nursing jobs, is to educate them on what, exactly, nursing alarm fatigue is and when it is most likely to occur. Recently, a hospital in the northeast with a very busy nursing floor had an ill patient’s alarm sounding. Surrounded by constantly beeping monitors, nurses failed to respond to this heart patient’s alarm, signaling a drop in heart rate and ending in fatality 20 minutes later. Nursing Alarm Fatigue has been blamed; it happens because nurses become desensitized to round the clock beeping. You may be suffering from this fatigue, if, while performing your duties you hear so many ubiquitous alarms, you no longer react with the appropriate degree of concern or speed. In the case of the incident stated above, investigators found that the tragedy was due, in part, to the alarm’s volume adjustment by an unknown person; rather than scandal, investigators suspected the alarm was disabled simply because hospital staff sensed its potential to [+]

Read about technical vs. professional nurse training and why it matters Its been said there’s more than one way to skin a cat. The same might be true of seeking licensure as a registered nurse; those on track to a permanent or travel nursing career can achieve success in several different ways—the interesting part of that statement being, no matter your chosen path to licensure, the examination at the end of your nurse training is exactly the same. The options for students interested in nursing jobs break down into these avenues: you can get a four-year nursing degree, or bachelor of science (in nursing) and be deemed a “professional nurse�; you can get an associate's degree, which takes two to three years—or you can go to a diploma school for about three years. It so happens that community colleges produce more than half of the country's new nurses; not surprising considering it’s the fastest and least expensive way to become an RN; should you go this route, you are deemed a “technical nurse� and may not get the same preferential treatment in hiring as professional and graduate nurses. The encouraging news for those new to [+]

Right now the term “avatar� conjures up an image of James Cameron’s major motion picture. We’re asking you to shift gears and picture an avatar of another type—an ER nurse in crisp blue hospital scrubs, beating a path to triage where inclement weather and flu outbreak are creating a real pressure cooker—one that demands quick, prudent decision making on the part of ER nurses and doctors alike. For healthcare professionals working in ER nursing jobs this could be an ordinary day—or it could be a virtual training session that takes place on a computer. With a new millennium now well underway, hospitals are taking advantage of high tech software called “Second Life�, an online community computer program where participants create their own avatars and manipulate them using headsets, the keyboard and computer mouse. Training sessions mean you work inside virtual clinics and participate in their training drills. The possibilities are endless and the cost, surprisingly low. In fact, the software garnered the interest of Stanford and the University of Michigan, where medical training and education in the virtual world drove two very well-attended workshops. Why is the medical community so excited? Because costs in training hospital staff used to cost tens of [+]

In the late 80’s, a TV commercial starring the elderly woman who cried, “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up! generated wide-spread awareness that senior citizens are prone to nasty spills. We were relieved it was just an actress and that the pendant she wore, “Lifecall�, dispatched 911. Unfortunately, in real life, falls among the elderly are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries. It is estimated that 30% of people over age 65 will fall each year. New studies show that high blood pressure—a condition more likely to appear in older people—can alter the flow of blood in the brain and lead to falls. Fortunately, physical therapy is foremost among prescribed methods of treatment and rehabilitation for seniors. Because the elderly represent some of the most vulnerable patients, many of them receive help when physical therapists call on them at home in home health nursing jobs. Ironically, “home sweet home� can be a dangerous place for the elderly, as over half the falls treated in ERs report they occurred inside the victim’s house. Physical therapists can decrease these grim numbers by counseling their patients, and helping them fall-proof their homes. Here, we offer room-by-room tips on fall-proofing. In order to [+]

Single and in her fifties, RN Gerri loves travel nursing ... Gerri just dropped us a line from Baltimore and is having the time of her life. Traveling with American Traveler going on three years now, the Telemetry / ICU expert is enjoying a brief, eight-week assignment in the ‘Monument City’ where trips to “Little Italy� and the city’s Inner Harbor have made for incredible first time experiences. Lady Luck in Atlantic City has tempted the Southern Belle more than once and the Big Apple is on her list of things to do before her assignment is over. Originally from Milledgeville, Georgia, this 54-year-old nursing dynamo loves to travel and has her heart set on assignments in California and sightseeing along Route 66. At first she thought she was too old to travel, but her American Traveler Consultant, Janet Burrell, quickly dispelled that myth. “I hooked up with Janet and it’s been great. We have an excellent rapport and, because of her thoroughness, traveling has been uncomplicated and wonderful,� she said. The 30-year practitioner said American Traveler's free private housing is always above standard and she likes the way everyone at Corporate knows who she is, even [+]

Question I am a Senior Nursing student in a BSN program and graduate next week. I am just curious if you currently have any travel nurse jobs available in Alaska? I want to travel nurse to Alaska within the next year. I'm just curious what the next step is in the process? Thanks, Tyler. Tyler thank you for your question and congratulations on your upcoming graduation! In order to start your career in Travel Nursing you will need to have completed one full year working as an RN; see our graduate nurse information page.  It's preferred that the majority of your experience be in an acute care setting, as that is where you will find the most availability for your specialty. The first step to getting started is to apply online at www.americantraveler.com .  Once your application is received you will be contacted by a consultant to discuss your plans and travel nurse career goals. Although you might not be looking at starting till next year, it's never to early to fill out the application and begin the process. The application skills check list is a great tool to use to see what [+]

Nurses, this one’s for you! National Nurses Week 2010 gets underway on May 6, providing an opportunity to acknowledge the hard work and selfless care of  RNs throughout the country. This year’s nurse week theme, Caring Today for a Healthier Tomorrow, “exemplifies nurses’ caring and professionalism -- be it at the bedside or in the halls of Congress,� said ANA President Rebecca Patton in her National Nurses Week message. The theme seems particularly fitting in this era of sea change and unprecedented growth in the health care industry. And perhaps no one has experienced these changes more than the travel nurse, who is on the front lines of providing health care everywhere -- from hospitals to schools, clinics to home settings. “Nurses give so much to this society, and our travel nurses really step up to provide a crucial service,� notes  Deborah Bacurin, RN, clinical resource manager at American Traveler. “Nurses Week reminds us all to stop, and take some time to show our hard-working nurses their due appreciation.� These little celebrations are part of a movement that has been almost 50 years in the making. National Nurse Week was first observed in October 1954, but did not [+]

Other states are watching California closely as mandated nurse-patient minimums in the state begin to redefine the standard for quality patient care in America. Surveys completed by 80,000 RNs over a two-year period aimed at gauging the effectiveness of California’s minimum nurse law showed that that an increase in RN hours per patient day could lessen patient mortality by as much as 14%, reduce the number of hospital falls and result in fewer hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, report University of Pennsylvania researchers. In addition to a spike in positive patient outcomes, said Clinical Coordinator Deborah Bacurin of travel nursing agency American Traveler, RN staffing has increased substantially in the state, alongside the average RN wage for California nursing jobs. “Nurse-patient minimums are good for patients and nurses,� said Bacurin. “They work to reduce the number of deaths following common surgeries, eliminate heavy workloads and improve job satisfaction. They also boost the reputation of preferred travel nurse hospitals.� In response to a decades old nursing shortage, Congress in 1993 called on the Institute of Medicine to investigate the impact nurse-patient ratios had on patient care. At the time, findings turned up insufficient evidence to support nurse minimums. Since, [+]

Here’s a heads-up to NEURO and ER nurses everywhere: Did you know that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 1 million emergency-room visits per year for traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion?  Worse: “Each year, U.S. emergency departments treat an estimated 135,000 sports- and recreation-related TBIs, including concussions, among children ages 5 to 18.� As an ER nurse, you probably do know that many of these brain injuries go ignored far too long, resulting in complications, hospitalizations and even death.  To help get the word out about the seriousness of concussions and TBIs, the CDC has launched a Concussion in Sports Web page. This Web page is loaded with useful information and statistics for consumers -- coaches, parents and others -- including the basics of how to recognize a possible brain injury or concussion or what to do if a concussion occurs. But the site is also an invaluable tool for the ER nurses and other healthcare professionals, too. Let’s say you just took an American Traveler assignment for a pedriatric ICU job in Cincinatti, or for a critical care job in Hudson, FL (these jobs are actually available right now!) -- and a suspected brain-injury [+]