...nursing care. I believe that I possess the qualities to become a good nurse, namely, compassion, intelligence and the ability to listen and find solutions to problems that arise. I have been interested in continuing my nursing profession since I came to the U.S.A. I was a Registered Nurse in my native country of Romania, for over 17 years. I am seeking clinical experience in Neuro-surgical field since I worked in Romanian’ hospital in the surgical intensive care unit. Some of my experience included drawing blood, performing EKG’s, hanging intravenous medications, dressing changes, participating in the extubation of clients, post-mortem care, checking blood sugar, priming an arterial and central line set up, and enhancing my ability to interact in the therapeutic relationship. There are a number of long-term and short term goals that I would like to achieve when will get in to the nursing program, which would assist me in my professional development as a surgical nurse. My long-term goals are as follows: * To gain a better understanding of challenging roles of nurses in the post anesthesia care unit or operating room. * To further develop my critical thinking and organizational skills by anticipating clients needs in this specialty area. * To gain knowledge and skills in providing nursing care to clients in the immediate postoperative period My short-term goals include: * To establish a caring, therapeutic relationship with the patients in my care * To...
Words: 507 - Pages: 3
...staffing issues, the possibility of exposure to infection, privacy issues, staff anxiety, the possibility of visitors witnessing resuscitation, and lack of education of families. The survey results show that more existing education is needed. Consequently, the current policy is posted in all waiting areas for families, and a mandatory in-service was created and presented to staff on how to communicate effectively with family members. Keywords: family visitation, staff attitudes, perceived barriers, PACU. Ó 2009 by American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses ALTHOUGH MANY EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS around the country are allowing family members at the bedside during resuscitations, there is resistance to family visitation in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). Family visitation benefits both families and patients,1 and at a time when competition for surgical patients exists, hospitals must continue to improve patient and family satisfaction. The PACU where this project was conducted had no formal visitation policy. Reasons for having no formal policy, according to staff, were lack of privacy, lack of space, fear of families witnessing resuscitative efforts, and staff anxiety. As empirical evidence...
Words: 2846 - Pages: 12
...Study on Backfill Assisted Voiding Professional Socialization December 2, 2008 Title and Description a. Research Study for Backfill Assisted Voiding b. Backfill assisted voiding is a procedure that is performed in the post anesthesia care unit. An indwelling catheter is placed preoperatively in selected patients in order for the procedure to take place. The “bladder was filled retrograde with room temperature sterile normal saline”. (Foster, RT Sr., Borawski, KM, pg. 627). Retrograde filling was stopped when the woman had a strong urge to void. The catheter was removed and the patient voided. c. A cause for concern was initiated by the surgical outpatient unit because a MD is currently ordering the procedure on post-operative vaginal surgery patients with no standard practice. There is concern from members of the Nurse Practice Committee and Infection Control due to lack of evidence to support it and data to show the patient does not have negative consequences as a result of this procedure. Professional Outcome and Related Competency a. The outcome of this proposal is to articulate the contributions of professional nursing to health care via research by defining the boundaries of nursing while gathering, organizing, planning, problem solving and reviewing in order to format an acceptable policy and procedure for standards of performance. b. As a nurse we are held accountable for our actions. We must...
Words: 894 - Pages: 4
...Budget Management Analysis for the Post Anesthesia Care Unit The budget management process is not an easy task. It is time consuming and difficult. There are some ways to overcome the challenge of managing budgets within forecasts. One way is to budget and report beyond the ledger. Data should be looked at beyond the company’s financial system. This will allow the company to create more accurate forecasts. Next the budget software should be user-friendly. If it is easy to use, the happier the employees are to use and understand it. Thirdly, the budget should have the options to incorporate a flexible financial model. Managers should be able to input information on how their particular department relates to other departments or functions. Next, the company must be able to adapt quickly to change because change is inevitable. The employees can respond to organizational, industrial, and global economic changes with re-forecasting or rolling forecasts. Improving collaboration between organizations, project teams, management, and department managers are another effective strategy to manage budgets within forecasts. Keep on task and submit tasks in a timely manner will help speed up the approval process. Last but not least always look to improve technology and software. One example would be cloud based software. This can decrease the cost for the company by decreasing the need for on-site IT infrastructure to maintain the information. My Manager is the Director of the entire Surgical...
Words: 1369 - Pages: 6
...involves child abduction from the surgical unit of Nightingale Community Hospital on Thursday, September 14, 2014 at approximately 1230hrs. The patient, a three-year old female, arrived accompanied by her mother, for an outpatient surgical procedure at 0800hrs and proceeded to registration where all currently required documentation was completed and signed by the mother; this included the authorization forms for the surgery. After registration, the patient and her mother were taken to the pre-op area for the preparation for the surgery. After completion of pre-op screening but prior to the patient entering the operating area, the mother stated that she was leaving campus to address a personal matter involving her other child while the patient was in surgery. Contact information was obtained from the mother prior to her leaving the hospital grounds. After this discussion, the patient proceeded to the operating room. After a successful and uneventful surgery, the patient was taken to the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) for recovery. At this time, the mother was paged overhead to the PACU, but was found to have not yet returned to the hospital. The recovery process was completed and the patient was transferred to the post-op discharge unit pending pickup. The patient was at this time exhibiting anxiety and was distraught from not having a parent present. Another attempt was made to contact the mother by paging her overhead to the discharge unit but had still not returned to the hospital...
Words: 3209 - Pages: 13
...were no longer married but it was still devastating. So I began to think about what I could do to make myself more available for my daughter and find a job with a more flexible schedule. I knew many nurses and thought, “I can do that.” It was in the back of my mind and I didn’t know how important that decision would be. In June of the same year, my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. At stage 4 and no surgical options available, she was given months to live. My world was changing rapidly. I quit my job to spend as much time as possible with her – she died just 3 months after receiving her diagnosis. In my frequent visits, I heard stories from both my mother and father of how wonderful the hospice nurses were and what good care they were taking of both of them. Accompanying them to doctor’s appointments, I saw firsthand how nurses were making a...
Words: 3147 - Pages: 13
...the documents and interview provided, a child Tina was admitted into the hospital on September 14th by registration. Insurance and demographic information was collected by registration. The patient then went to pre op with his mother for outpatient surgery. The pre op nurse then prepped the patient for surgery by having the mother sign the consent form, changing into appropriate surgical attire, and starting the I.V. The pre op nurse told the mother the procedure would take about 45 min and then the patient would be in recovery for at least an hour. The mother had to leave to take care of an errand with her other children and had left her cell phone number with the pre op nurse. She instructed the pre op nurse to call her if her daughter was done sooner. The pre op nurse put down her number in her notebook. After the completion of the surgery, the patient was taken to the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). Upon arrival in PACU, the mother had not returned. The patient was becoming uneasy that her mother was not back, the PACU nurse had the mother paged on intercom but it was determine that she had not returned. The patient was then transferred to the discharge nurse who was informed that the patient’s mother had not responded to the pages. Several minutes later the discharge nurse was notified that the patient’s father was at main reception. She let him come back and the patient immediately recognized him as her father. After 30 min he offered to take the patient home and the...
Words: 1626 - Pages: 7
...scene flight for motor vehicle crash with double entrapment one May morning at 0230. Two of the three patients, are unresponsive and in critical and unstable condition. This is the first encounter our patient would have with a registered nurse providing and directing his care. The nurse possesses both acute care and pre-hospital expertise and would work collaboratively with police, fireman, good Samaritans, EMT’s and paramedics to access the patient, provide timely triage, life -saving interventions and rapid transport to the closest trauma center. Each team member has a pre-defined and respected role; the nurse is the senior health care provider and assumes the leadership role with a calm, confident demeanor that is reassuring to the team. This patient was a 25 year old man, unrestrained driver of a vehicle that hit a brick wall head-on at a high rate of speed. Of his two passengers, one of them is a brother, all require 20 minutes of extrication time from the severely damaged vehicle. After freeing our patient, the team works together to assess and stabilize him. His initial vital signs are worrisome, with a BP of 140/80, pulse of 160 and spontaneous respiratory rate of 8. The nurse assumes his care and quickly supports his respiratory rate by bagging and suctioning blood from his airway then inserting an ET tube to ventilate through. A team of 2 EMT’s assist to immobilize him on a spine board, stiff-neck collar, and CID blocks. The patient responds only by flexing...
Words: 2268 - Pages: 10
...over. My first short term goal I want to accomplish is being a staff nurse III, in my unit. A staff nurse III position is considered a nurse who is known as a nurse leader in the unit. A staff nurse III, is the resource person in the unit. They are required to keep staff up to date with new information and participate in quality improvement projects. The next step in my professional goal is to become a clinical instructor. Clinical instructors are professionals that teach nursing students to apply knowledge in clinical settings (Koharchik & Jakub, 2014). A long term goal I want to pursue is becoming an neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP). NNP is an advanced nursing practice that utilizes extended and expanded skills, experience and knowledge in assessment, planning, implementation, diagnosis, and evaluation of the care required for neonates (Freed, Dunham, Martyn, Nantais-Smith, & Moran, 2013 ). I enjoy teaching, and the professional goals that I have chosen will give me the opportunity to teach others in a health care setting. Strengths, Ethics, & Values There were a couple reasons that I decided to return to school. First, I wanted to show my son that education is very important. If he wants to have a career, he needs a college degree. I want to teach him that knowledge is key to success. Second, I have been a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse for seventeen years. I was at a point in my life that I want to further...
Words: 1451 - Pages: 6
...Research Critique of a Quantitative Study The purpose of this research critique is to inform the reader of a randomized clinical study regarding the treatment of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). This writer is interested in the treatment of drug exposed infants and the goals of reducing babies’ hospitalization in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The study researches the adjunct therapy for treatment of NAS. The study will be broken down into the following units: protection of human participants, type of data collection utilized in the study, data management and analysis, findings and interpretation of these findings and finally the conclusion of the study and its findings. Protection of Human Participants This study’s goal is to differentiate the efficacy of clonidine versus phenobarbital in adjunct therapy with morphine sulfate in the treatment of NAS. One of the benefits of this study is the importance of standardization of a weaning protocol. The weaning protocol did not change from day to day and provider to provider as can be the case outside of the study. Another benefit is the predefined measures for each study group that were considered adverse events. These measures worked as a safety net to ensure the study was done safely and not causing harm to the babies. One noted concern/risk noted by the author was the potential for prolonged exposure to phenobarbital on a baby’s developing brain. The concern is the phenobarbital may cause behavioral compromises...
Words: 1043 - Pages: 5
...Chlorhexidine gluconate and neonatal skin integrity: A research critique Grand Canyon University Introduction to Nursing Research NRS-433V-0101 November 01, 2013 Chlorhexidine gluconate and neonatal skin integrity: A research critique The goal of this research study was to “determine the effects of chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) skin inflammation and stratum corneum barrier integrity at peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) sites among patients in the neonatal intensive care setting” (Visscher et al., 2009, p. 802). The benefit of this study was decreased central line associated blood stream infections, the risks of the study were very limited data on the use of CHG on neonatal skin and possible skin irritation beyond dryness or erythema, but a burn. The researchers of this study did identify that the mean gestational age of the infants in this study was 32 1/7 weeks, + 4.7. There were very few infants < 29 weeks gestation, so the researchers were unable to include that age group in the study. Some risks that were not originally identified and became apparent throughout the study was the trauma or irritation caused to the skin with the repeated removal of the tegaderm and the repeated use of CHG. The Institutional Review Board approved this study, and the parents/guardians of the infants provided written informed consent. Although the actual subject did not have the option to participate or not, the parents/guardians of the infants had the choice to participate...
Words: 854 - Pages: 4
...BRIEFING NOTE ISSUE: Bed crisis situation in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). REASON: Inundate of admission of pre-term babies in the NICU related to abundance of pre-term deliveries . Background • Our NICU has expanded from housing 24 beds to current 40 beds in 2013. • Our hospital, as the main referral center for newborn babies suffering from complex and high-risk medical conditions, managed about 400- 450 admissions a year- an increase of 30% compared to a decade ago. • An increase of about 14% in NICU admissions at public sector hospital over the past six years. Current Status • Overcrowding in NICU is housing- 42 premature or ill babies which exceeded the maximum 40 beds. • Risks of compromise infection control, standards of care and privacy. • All ventilators are in used in NICU. • Nurses from other units are deployed to NICU to help out this overwhelming workload. • Insufficient specialized ICU trained staff in NICU to cater the current high work volume • Adding pressure on the unit's resources and staff. • There are still many high risk pregnancy patients currently admitted in Delivery Suite for monitoring. • Hospital is still accepting referral of high risk pregnancy from private sector for further management. Recommendation(s ) 1. Stop accepting referral for high risk management from other hospitals till further notice. 2. Will update the Obstetric Team and departments involve regarding the NICU bed status on a day-to-day basis,...
Words: 350 - Pages: 2
... The main problem I have seen with google scholar is that when trying to read the full text article, it often required payment. The second database I decided to explore was PubMed, http://www.ncbi.nlm.gov/pubmed/20334332 . I found this data to also be user friendly. Like google scholar you can go to advance search and put in the time frame of the publication. You could also check whether you wanted to only search full text and peer reviewed articles. The problem I had with PubMed is finding relevant articles in the time frame I needed them to be in. When searching with databases I had to use correct word phrases to get relevant articles. My topic is stridor in infants after intubation. We intubate infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) all the time. It is usually an emergency and we intubate as quick as possible, sometimes causing injury. The topic is an interest to me not only because I am a NICU nurse, but because I am a parent of an infant born at 27 weeks gestation, who was intubated at delivery. He had a difficult intubation where the Nurse Practitioner tried to intubate him four times until she got the tube in. I was looking on in horror. Caleb, my son develop stridor and was able to be extubated for one month. My son, now 2 years, has to have all liquids thickened. The article I found to support my topic is Predictors of difficult intubation in ICU: Are children and adults alike? It...
Words: 540 - Pages: 3
...Decisions, decisions. We all make them, don’t we? Mine is where to live. I live with my husband who is called Graham. At the moment we live in Texas. If you do not know where there that is, it’s in United States of America and it’s the Deep South of America. I mean Deep South of America. It’s more known for its hot weather and a lovely hospitality than Texas Longhorn. Time goes by, when you are having fun. Believe it or not, our initial three-year stay in Texas will be up in August, and the pressure’s on to decide what to next. There is more than a possibility we can stay longer, and the idea is not unattractive. But it really depends on Graham Visa as I got another year on my Visa as Graham only got till December. Everyone who I bump into, into in the streets, are always asking me these annoying questions like; what are you doing right now? Do you think you’ll stay in Texas permanently? Then people back in the UK especially friends and relatives ask these questions; how long does Graham’s contract last? When are you coming back to the UK? Sometimes you come to a crossroads in life. Sometimes you come to a mass of decisions that feels more like Swindon’s magic roundabout. Fort Worth certainly has its good points, that legendary Southern hospitality. People say “Howdy!” when you are walking down the street. Families you barely know invite you for Thanksgiving. Of course lots of sunshine. S-p-a-a-a-c-e. Did you know England has a population density of about 990 people per...
Words: 1280 - Pages: 6
...Megan McCracken 1/15/16 Professor McElrath English 202- 8:00am The NICU’s Symbolic Significance Symbols are pictures or objects that have different connotations based upon each specific person. Each person’s past must be acknowledged to determine whether the memory associated with the symbol is one of negative or positive influence. A symbol of great importance to me is the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). About 4 years ago, my younger sister was flown to mission to be placed in the NICU after birth. The thought of the NICU brings about an abundance of emotional responses. It was a nerve-wracking experience. The anticipation of knowing my sisters fate was almost unbearable and that time will forever leave a mark in my thoughts. The favorable experiences are not what made it memorable it was being terrified that something may have been wrong with my younger sister that made the everlasting impression. My outlook on the NICU has slowly changed from one of terror to one of passion. Not long ago I decided to pursue a career in nursing and specialize in the NICU. Specializing in NICU will give me the ability to relate with families on a personal basis. Although my thoughts on the NICU have transitioned, I know a close friend whose memories of the NICU will most likely haunt them forever. My close friend, Jenna, gave birth to a baby girl in 2006, and her baby was placed in the NICU hours after she was born. Jenna’s baby was born with a rare heart defect which needed many...
Words: 399 - Pages: 2
