Oh what a beautiful morning… oh what a beautiful day…

February 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Exercise is the first stepping-stone for a healthy lifestyle. Exercise can prevent many different health conditions that can help you to loose weight and help you to get a better night’s rest. The mayoclinic.com website listed seven different steps that can help your life to be better and more specifically your health..

1.     Exercising can help your outlook on life: Working out helps to calm your nerves. Exercise stimulates your brain and leaves you smiling and stress free since working out. This physical activity will stimulate that you feel and look better and possibly even help with depression too.

2.     Exercise helps with the prevention of chronic diseases.

3.     Exercise helps to manage your weight loss and muscle gain: There are so many things that you can do towards exercising. When you are at any two or three story building, take the elevator instead of the stairs, walk a few blocks away instead of getting into your car.

4.     Exercise can help your energy level.

5.     Exercise can help you to sleep better at night.

6.     Exercise can help with your sexual libido.

7.     Lastly, exercise can be fun: Who knew? Exercise can be an opportunity to get together with some of your friends, to ride your bikes together, to even play a kickball game in your neighborhood. Not only are you helping yourself, but you are also helping the other people that surround you in means to their healthy lifestyle.

On the next beautiful day, start it out right, take a nice walk outside, enjoy the scenery…

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Higher Education in Health Services

January 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

For those who work in health care, sometimes it can be hard to pin down exactly what drew us to our jobs, because there are so many perks. We find our jobs satisfying not just because of the excellent pay, or the fact that our jobs are easier to find (even in a recession) than most others–the ability to help people every day is often what gets us out of bed in the morning. However, sometimes it isn’t enough–sometimes, for whatever reason, the time comes to further our education and look for a new job. If you’re looking to further your education and you know you want to keep working in healthcare professions, it’s possible that a Masters in health services would be the best decision you ever made.

The types of jobs you can find with a Master’s degree in health services are highly variable. Salaries range from the mid five figures (if you’re planning on working for nonprofits) and well up into the six figures for, say, an experienced hospital administrator. Of course, not all the jobs you can find with a degree like this are in hospitals. You may find yourself working on the business development end of clinics or nursing homes. Or, you may find yourself managing a medical supply company. If you’re interested in the stability and great benefits that usually come with government jobs, rest assured that various government agencies (and even some political groups focused on health care policy) have use for individuals with an advanced degree in health services. Other degrees might lead you to a career like being a physician’s assistant; this job had an average income over eighty thousand dollars in 2008. The health care field is rich and varied, and the rewards are many. The only question is which career path would be right for you.

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Military Nursing and You

December 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Have you considered joining the military? Well, then you are not alone! Approximately 1.4 million people were reported to be serving on active duty in 2009. With all of these people serving the United States, it is obvious that nurses will be in high demand. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nursing currently has the highest number of job openings in the medical field.

Since the Veteran’s Health Administration, also known as the VA, was founded in July of 1930, it has focused on the health and care for those who serve their country. With more than 150 VA hospitals nationwide serving more than five million, the VA is one of the largest hospital systems in the United States. With more than 60,000 nurses, the VA employs the largest number of nurses in the world.

Becoming a military nurse can certainly jump start a great career. As a military nurse you will have the added benefit of being able to see the world and make a difference. Whether you are stateside or travel with troops overseas, there are plenty of opportunities to help those who bravely serve. One of the benefits of serving as a military nurse is having access to some of the most advanced technology available.

Financially speaking, serving the military is a step in the right direction. Not only does the salary compare to or exceed civilian wages, as a member of the armed forces you will also receive 30 days of paid vacation. Along with a full retirement once you have served for 20 years, the military will take care of you. If you are already a registered nurse, the military may even have a loan repayment program available for you. Add on a signing bonus and the decision to join just becomes that much easier.

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Roles Within the Nursing Industry

December 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Nurses play a vital role in the health care industry, doing anything from bringing patients warm blankets to recording vital information that can save the life of a patient.

Nurses administer diagnostic tests and perform analysis, aid doctors in surgery, help coordinate wellness plans that outline nutrition and exercise programs, and perform dozens of other tasks that allow patients to remain healthy and comfortable.

There are a number of different fields that a nurse can go into. Neonatal nurses treat newborns and infants. Geriatric nurses take care of older patients, and in some cases even travel to the home of a patient to provide care. Agency nurses contract with outside agencies, choose their own hours, and work on a shift basis. Psychiatric nurses help those who suffer with mood, personality, or mental illness. Finally, cardiovascular nurses who assist people undergoing heart surgery or disease.

Even law enforcement has a few branches of nursing fields. Forensic nursing, popularized by television shows like  deals with DNA as well as evidence collection and analysis. The evidence that forensic nurses are able to find can greatly affect a criminal case. Forensic nurses also care for victims and help them overcome tragedy. Legal nurses are also often used during criminal court proceedings. They often review medical records, interpret their findings, and testify for the courts.

It is expected that by 2020 most practicing nurses will have their bachelor’s degrees, and a fair amount will be seeking higher degrees. At present about half of working nurses have a bachelor’s degree. Nurse practitioners will soon be likely to work without being supervised by a physician. Nursing is now the biggest health related job field in the United states; at present there are nearly 3 million working nurses. This certainly makes nursing a very ideal job choice.

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Remembering Florence Nightengale

December 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Florence Nightingale, pioneer of modern nursin...
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Nursing has been around through the centuries. It has come from a service first preformed by Catholic monks, and then later by those who were being punished to what we now have as the conventional occupation of nursing. Florence Nightengale lead the advances of modern nursing into what it today.

Nightengale, who became well known for all her time spent taking care of wounded soldiers who fought in the Crimean War, felt that God wanted her to become a nurse. With 38 other woman, Nightengale went to the British camp in the Ottoman Empire. It was rumored that there were fewer deaths once after her arrival; however, to the contrary, the death rate increased to its highest rate. It was not until after her stay that she recognised the main cause of death: poor sanitary conditions.

After her service during the war, Nightengale focused her attention on the importance of sanitation in hospital facilities. Because of her focus, the standards of cleanliness within hospitals improved, which helped the health of the general public. Along with health improvements, the standards of cleaning within military facilities were dramatically changed as well, which helped improve the chances of survival for wounded soldiers.

Nightengale’s assistance during the war also helped begin a fund that was targeted at training more nurses. She was able to establish the Nightengale Training School, where young women came to study formally with hopes of become nurses. This was the first nursing school ever established. At the same time, she published a book called Notes on Nursing, that was a part of the core classes at the school.The school later became the Florence Nightengale School of Nursing and Midwifery. Because of everything she did for the nursing industry she has been named the founder of modern nursing, and will be remembered throughout history.

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The Nightengale Pledge

December 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Nursing is a popular profession among both men and women today. Since it’s formal beginning in 1959, the profession of nursing has been an honorable profession that many seek out. The founder of nursing as a profession, Florence Nightengale, was known for being a woman of God. She, along with a few other women, changed nursing forever.

Nightengale some time serving as a military nurse, after which she founded a school and published a guide to nursing. Because of her achievements and contributions to nursing, she had a pledge named in her honor called the Nightengale Pledge, which was written by a committee led by Lystra Gretter, a nursing professor at the Harper Hospital. The pledge was first taken by the 1983 nursing school graduating class.

The pledge outlined a code of ethics that nurses would begin to use as a standard practice. The pledge swore that a practicing nurse would not give a patient a drug that could hurt them. It also stated that the nurse was to do whatever was in his/her powers to take care of patients without allowing personal matters to interfere. Many devoted nurses around the world have taken this pledge at graduation.

The Nightengale pledge was adapted from the Hippocratic Oath. The Hippocratic Oath simply states that a physician will do no harm and perform his or her job to the best of their known abilities without compromising the health and well-being of their patients. Even some veterinarian schools practice a similar oath called the Veterinarian’s Oath. Of course, their oath promises the care of animals to the best of their scientific abilities rather than to the care of human life. From pet to owner, it certainly does seem that everyone feels a need to promise to do their best when caring about health.

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Nursing and Agnes Jones

December 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Many people around the world have taken a hand and given their lives to being in the medical field. Many more today are making the path into a number of these challenging jobs. Nursing is a field that has assisted the medical community since the beginning of time. The founder of nursing education was Florence Nightengale, who helped change the standards of sanitation for the medical community. Another impressive nurse, who studied underneath Nigthengale, was a woman by the name of Agnes Jones.

Jones was the first nurse at the Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary who was trained as a nursing superintendent. She was formally trained at the school set up by Nightengale in 1862. She was a very dedicated, hardworking, and intelligent student. Jones was such a dedicated student that she won special praise from Nightengale.

After Jones graduated, she was invited to the Brownlow Hill Workhouse to help lead an experiment by William Rathbone. She accepted, and in 1865 she went to help in the endeavor. The task was taking care of the poor people whose working situation was purposely made harmful to deter them from coming to work. The working situations were worse inside the workhouse than they were outside. Jones made an amazing effort to make sure the experiment succeeded, working herself to the bone to take care of the workers.

Jones worked extremely closely to the poor in Liverpool: close enough that, unfortunately, she contracted typhus fever and died at age 35. Typhus was a very extreme epidemic that impacted the poor during the time period. Nightengale later mourned the loss of her prized student. In Jones honor and in gratitude to what she contributed to nursing, a window in the Anglican Catherdral was devoted to her and a statue was built in the Oratory, remembering Jones as an amazing nurse who had an incredible impact on nursing history.

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Why people opt for Home care as compared with Nursing Homes?

December 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Home care and nursing homes have become an integral part of our lives. The home care services and nursing home centers in the society are helping the people needing support to cope well and to manage their demanding health and care needs. During our lives, we might need to get home care services or the nursing homes services either for ourselves or for our parents and grand parents. But sometimes, we might get stuck in deciding between the two i.e. whether we should be opting for home care services or should be going to nursing home centers to get the care and support that we need.

Different studies and surveys show that there is an increased trend of using home care services as compared with the nursing homes. There are many reasons that people may opt for home care services rather than leaving their elders or staying themselves in the nursing homes. Sometimes, people might not find it easy to leave their homes and to get accustomed with new place and surroundings easily. That’s why; most people prefer to be looked after at their own homes while being surrounded with their own friends and family members. It has been found that, people being treated at homes and being provided home care support show recovery speedily. Also, home care services are likely to be less costly as compared with the nursing home services.

Choosing between getting home care services and going to a nursing care centre to get the medical support totally depend upon individuals own preferences and needs. Sometimes, if the person needing support and care find it hard to cope well at home then they might think about going to a nursing home but most of the time people feel it good to be at home and being cared of through using home care services.

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Linda Richards

December 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Photograph of Linda Richards
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There are many people who have had a hand in the history of nursing. Linda Richards was the first woman to be educated as a nurse in America.

Richards decision to enter the nursing field was influenced by the death of her mother, and later the care that she would bestow on her husband who was wounded in the American Civil War a year later. Driven by compassion and loss, she took a job at the Boston City Hospital. However, after three months of working terrible hours without any training, Richards quit the job to search for other outlets into nursing.

She was the first student to attend the American Nurse’s training school at the New England Hospital for Women and Children in 1872. A year later she graduated and moved to New York and accepted a job at Bellevue Hospital as a supervisor. During the time that she worked there, she invented a way to keep track of the patients medical records, which has been used ever since by both the United States and the United Kingdom.

She later went to England, where she studied nursing for a second time. While in London, she also met with and trained under Nightengale. After her training she returned to the United States and established nursing schools all over the nation. After she finished the schools in the United States, she went and established the first nursing school in Japan, where she remained for five years.

Once she was back in the United States, Richards worked for twenty years before she retired at age seventy. In her time she also managed to write a book about her experiences, which was published and then republished. Richards passed away from a stroke in April of 1930, but she will be remembered as the amazing woman that she was for centuries to come.

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United States Navy Nurses

December 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

In 1908, the Nurse Corps was created by Congress as an addition to the U.S. Navy. At that point, 20 women were chosen to be the first to officially serve as female sailors, even though for almost 100 years prior to that both men and women had been nursing on naval ships and in hospitals.

Just before WWI, the Navy Nurse Corps had grown to 160 women. These women did more than just care for the sick and wounded. On top of their medical tasks, they were expected to train nurses, both land-based in the U.S. and overseas, as well as enlisted men serving as medics. Once the United States entered WWI, the Nurse Corp received a large expansion for both its enlisted and reserve officers.

By the end of the war, 19 nurses lost their lives. More than half died from the flu, which was deadly at that time. One thousand five-hundred and fifty nurses had served overseas and at Naval hospitals at home. Once soldiers were being processed home, the nurses were given assignments on board ships and on ground teams to aid the wounded. After WWI the number of Navy nurses died down to fewer than five hundred until the start of the second world war.

WWII brought nurses to serving regular service on hospital ships, and an educational increase was also impacted because of the status increases. They acted and spoken toward the same way officers would be, and wore similar attire to ranking Ensign to Lieutenant officers. In 1920, the Army first recognised nurses as regular commissioned officers, during which period the corps grew to almost eight hundred who served actively and nine hundred who were a part of the reserve corps. Any soldier will testify to how vital nurses are, especially during war time conflict.

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