Nurses shedding light on the ugly side of the flu

The 2017-2018 flu season is breaking all records. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that the “overall hospitalization rate is higher than the overall hospitalization rate reported during the same week of the 2014-2015 season; the most severe season in recent years.” The most recent CDC report showed an additional 17 flu-related pediatric deaths, bringing the total to 53 this season with little relief in sight.

ER Nurse shares her humble thoughts

There is no doubt that the frontline nurses and healthcare workers are bearing the burden of this record-breaking year. One nurse, feeling the daily frustrations of fighting what appears to be losing battle, recently took her thoughts to the masses in a video that went viral.

Nurse Katherine Lockler posted a video to her Facebook page after a long shift in the ER, candidly expressing what most nurses and providers think on a daily basis but often are afraid to say.

Her simple but sassy message hoped to shed some light on the ways the public is not helping the current epidemic. In her six-minute video, she shares how simply the flu is passed but also how most are just not washing their hands. When working in an office, it’s easy to pass germs without knowing it. Germs can be everywhere, from the desks to the doors. This is why some offices decide to contact companies, like https://greenfacilities.co.uk/, to perform a deep clean in their office. This can limit the number of potential flu germs in the office. However, employees should also wash their hands regularly and keep anti-bacterial gel with them for extra protection against the flu.

Lockler reminds folks that the last place you may want to go if you do not have a true emergency is the hospital which is essentially “a cesspool of funky flu” these days. She sarcastically shares how folks are coming to the emergency room unnecessarily to visit friends and family — all unwittingly becoming potential new flu victims.

Although she shares her message in a humorous, saucy way, Lockler’s points are well taken and true. If we have any hope of containing this seasonal epidemic, we all need to do our part to prevent the spread. As she points out, do not unnecessarily expose family members, cover your coughs and sneezes — for which she does a fantastic demonstration — and especially wash your hands often.

Lockler also goes on to share the true experience of working in the ER during this busy season. She notes the overcrowding, limited resources and lack of breaks for nurses, while all being exposed themselves at high rates. It’s easy to forget that choosing a career in healthcare may also mean signing yourself up to a life of catching all of the various contagious conditions, but luckily there is physicians disability insurance so that you don’t suffer financial hardship if you have to take time off work.

She ends her video — which has been viewed more than 9 million times — asking the public to be kind and thank the healthcare workers who put themselves in harm’s way to care for others.

Nurse fired for calling in sick

So, with unprecedented numbers of infected patients, it is no surprise that healthcare workers are becoming sick themselves. Despite mandated vaccinations at most facilities, healthcare workers will inevitably get sick, especially in light of what appears to be an ineffective vaccine this year.

Recently, an Ohio nurse came forward stating she was fired for calling out while ill with the flu. Theresa Puckett, a University Hospital PRN (as needed) nurse was told she violated the hospital’s attendance policy due to calling out at the end of 2017 and being sent home early on a second shift.

Since she had missed two shifts in a 60-day period, she was terminated. Although she had a doctor’s note to not return to work, it was not considered excused under their policy.

In a strange paradox, the hospital had recently initiated visitor restriction “for the safety of our patients, staff and public.” They were restricting anyone who exhibited flu-like symptoms, yet Puckett apparently was supposed to present herself to work. Although the hospital adamantly maintains that they were well within their right to terminate Puckett, it certainly seems that their message is conflicting.

As the flu season continues to rage on, nurses and other healthcare workers will continue to do what they do — care for sick people, try to care for themselves and continue to try to educate the public so they can care for themselves as well.

So, wash your hands frequently, cover your coughs and sneezes, and try to minimize your exposure to prevent further spread. Be well and remember to thank a nurse!

Nurse managers urged to be active in promoting environmental sustainability

The RCN is lobbying healthcare providers to adopt strategies on environmental sustainability

• The NHS is the largest public-sector contributor to climate change in Europe
• A resolution passed by RCN congress requires the college to lobby healthcare providers
• Healthcare providers are urged to develop sustainable policies and raise awareness of climate change

Nursing managers need to be aware of sustainability and think about what it may mean in their workplaces, the RCN says as it addresses climate change.

Gwen Vardigans speaking at RCN Congress. The RCN wants nurses to lobby healthcare providers for strategies on environmental sustainability and raise awareness of climate change.

The college is taking action following a debate at its annual congress, in May, in which nurses spoke passionately about the need for it to lead on climate change.

Members passed a resolution putting the issue on the organisation’s agenda for future action.

The congress resolution requires the college to lobby healthcare providers to develop environmentally sustainable policies and strategies, and to raise awareness of climate change.

During the debate Gwen Vardigans, from North Yorkshire, cited environmental protests by schoolchildren inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, protests in London by the Extinction Rebellion movement and extreme weather events, as well as warnings from scientists and the World Health Organization.

She said action was critical and suggested that RCN representatives could become involved in their organisations, encouraging people to reduce waste, recycle and help reduce their carbon footprint.

‘Climate change is the biggest threat of our lives,’ Ms Vardigans told fellow nurses.

‘Sustainability is going to be with us for many years to come, and nurses are going to be at the centre of managing and supporting it’

RCN sustainability lead Rose Gallagher says that despite the many kinds of healthcare setting and nurses in the UK, there are several things that all nursing managers can do on climate change.

Nurses urged to learn about the sustainable development

She says: ‘The most important thing for managers is to be aware of the increasing priority of sustainability and think about what that might mean in your workplace.’

Ms Gallagher says work on sustainability has been growing for several years and urges nurses to familiarise themselves with the Sustainable Development Unit, which is funded by and accountable to NHS England and Public Health England.

Its job is to ensure that the health and care system fulfils its potential as a leading sustainable and low-carbon service. 

‘Sustainability is going to be with us for many years to come, and nurses are going to be at the centre of managing and supporting it, and bringing the public with us,’ says Ms Gallagher.

To learn more please visit World Nursing Congress 2020

New guidance for nurses prescribing via phone or online consultations

New guidance for nurses prescribing via phone or online consultations

NMC and other regulators set principles to ensure patient safety when accessing care remotely

Nurses who provide online or telephone prescriptions now have a set of guiding principles to follow.

The principles, jointly agreed by 13 healthcare regulators and professional bodies, including the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), are to ensure the safety of patients when they access services remotely.



What the prescribing principles cover

The new principles state that nurses who prescribe medication online or over the phone should:

• Raise concerns if patient identification and verification checks are not adequate.
• Understand how to identify vulnerable patients and take appropriate steps to protect them.
• State their name, job role and professional registration details, and explain to the patient how the remote consultation will work.  
• Explain that they can only prescribe if it is safe to do so. If not, they will refer or signpost to the appropriate services.
• Obtain informed consent and follow mental capacity law and codes of practice.
• Undertake a clinical assessment and access medical records.
• Give patients accessible information about all the options available to them.
• Ensure all information is shared with relevant colleagues and health and social care providers to support ongoing monitoring and treatment.
• Keep notes explaining and justifying the decisions made.
• Stay up to date with training, support and guidance on providing healthcare remotely.

The document also makes clear that healthcare professionals should continue to follow guidelines from regulatory bodies and take clinical guidance into account in their decision-making.

It says it is up to the employer and healthcare professional to outline when remote prescribing is not an option.

Maintaining the quality of care

Roughly 10% of nurses and midwives on the NMC register hold prescribing qualifications, according to the regulator.

NMC chief executive Andrea Sutcliffe said that the quality of care must remain the same in remote consultations as in a face-to-face care.

‘The Code already sets out how [nurses] can demonstrate they are appropriately supporting and protecting people seeking their care,’ Sutcliffe said.

‘I hope this guidance helps to clarify further what safe and effective consultations and prescribing practice looks and feels like.’

To learn more please visit Worldnursingcongress Brochure Download

Mandatory training in learning disabilities and autism for all NHS nurses

Mandatory training in learning disabilities and autism for all NHS nurses

All nurses working in the NHS and social care in England will receive mandatory training in caring for people with learning disabilities and autism from next year.

The training programme, backed by £1.4 million of government funding, will be named in memory of Bristol teenager Oliver McGowan, who had autism and died after being given an antipsychotic drug that caused him to suffer a rare side effect. His parents have campaigned for better staff training since his death in 2016.

Inequalities in care and premature deaths in people with autism and learning disabilities

His mother, Paula McGowan, said: ‘I believe my son Oliver died an avoidable death, and if the medics looking after him had had a better understanding of his needs, it may never have happened.

‘We have never had mandatory training like this before and I believe this is a very important first step in addressing the inequalities of healthcare and premature deaths in people who have autism and learning disabilities.’

A trial of the new training package for all health and social care staff will begin in 2020 and run until March 2021.

Data on inpatients who have learning disabilities or autism will also be published by the government as part of its commitment to ‘greater transparency’, the Department of Health and Social Care said.

But the chief executive of disability charity Sense, Richard Kramer, said: ‘For many young people with learning disabilities and autism, this is too little, too late.’

Case reviews for mental health hospital inpatients

The mandatory training announcement follows the government’s commitment to review the care of every mental healthcare inpatient with a learning disability or autism over the next 12 months.

Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock said the case reviews for all 2,250 inpatients will mean every individual is given a hospital discharge date or a plan to move them closer towards one.

The decision comes after a report by parliament’s joint committee on human rights, which said mental health legislation must be overhauled to stop the ‘horrific’ and inappropriate detention of young people with autism or learning disabilities.

The report said the human rights of many young people were being breached in mental health hospitals and called for the criteria for detention under the Mental Health Act to be narrowed.

How can LPNs make themselves more attractive candidates to potential employers?

How can LPNs make themselves more attractive candidates to potential employers?

Opportunities for LPNs vary from state to state, depending on the scope of practice. By and large, LPNs still have opportunities in long-term care, assisted living and rehabilitation facilities, as well as hospice and home care. Additionally, LPNs are also being used in schools, psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals/clinics, correctional facilities and a wide range of other ambulatory care settings, including medical practices, clinics, group homes, dialysis, wound care centers and more. LPNs also work for insurance companies doing pre-certification, in occupational health, nursing informatics, and quite a few other non-traditional healthcare settings. The job market is competitive for all nurses, so putting your best foot forward, activating and cultivating your professional network, and continuously expanding your skill set are all essential. For more specifics on marketing yourself well, read the articles “Put Your Best Foot Forward for Maximum Impact” and “Interview to Knock Their Socks Off.” 

It is important for you to join and get active in nursing associations too. It is through professional associations that we build community in nursing. Without community, you may survive but you will never thrive. Join and get active in the National Association of Licensed Practical Nurses. Also, check with your state chapter of the American Nurses Association to see if they have a membership category or special coalition for LPNs in your state. Many of them do. But even if they don’t, you can attend meetings as a guest to network and learn. Participation in professional associations expands your professional network, keeps you current with knowledge, information, and trends, and provides support throughout your career. Plus, networking is well known to be an effective way to find job openings and get interviews.

LPNs play a vital role in healthcare. Be proud of what you have accomplished and what you do. Convey that sense of pride when you network, interview and work. There are always opportunities for individuals who are passionate, professional and enthusiastic.

For further details please visit https://nursingcongress.nursingconference.com/about-us.php