150 Tips and Tricks for New Nurses

Balance a hectic schedule and get the sleep you need…Avoid illness and stay positive…Continue your education and keep up with medical advances

Kathy Quan

• Publisher: Adams Media
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9781440520457
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Careers

With long hours, huge responsibilities, and average pay, nursing is often as challenging as it is rewarding. By teaching new nurses what to expect, how to get what they want, and how to succeed in today's medical environment, this book is the one-dose treatment to prevent burnout. Written in an easy-to-read, direct, and honest way, this helpful handbook will teach new nurses what they didn't learn in nursing school. Veteran R.N. Kathy Quan offers readers information on how to:

• balance a hectic new schedule (for work, sleep, and life)
• deal with doctors
• avoid illness themselves
• continue education while working
• cope with death of patients (the first time, and after)
• and more

With this book, nurses get real-life advice on how to cope, perform, and excel in their field--one shift at a time!

Part One

The Responsibilities of a New Nurse

A nurse is a professional caregiver— someone who advocates for patient’s rights, promotes health, educates patients and families, and strives to eliminate pain and suffering. A nurse has a great responsibility for the care and treatment of her patients. Nursing is one of the most rewarding professions, and yet at times can be one of the most frustrating and thankless jobs. A nurse is a highly skilled individual who learns to combine the scientific aspect of health care with the fine art of caring.

1 Pick the Type of Nurse You Want to Be

A Registered Nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated with a diploma or a degree from a state-approved nursing program, passed the state board examination for professional nurses, and has been granted a license by the state to practice professional nursing in that state. RNs with advanced degrees and certificates will have increased options for their scope of practice. A Licensed Practical (or Vocational) Nurse (LPN/LVN) is a technical nurse who has graduated from a state-approved nursing program, passed the state board examination for practical nursing, and has been granted a license to practice in that state as a practical nurse. The LPN/LVN works under the supervision of an RN or a physician to provide patient care. With IV Certification, the LPN/LVN can perform certain aspects of IV care. The title of Practical or Vocational Nurse varies by state law, but the role is essentially the same.

2 Choose Your Nursing Role

One role is the practical nurse, sometimes referred to as the technical nurse. This is the LPN/LVN. The other is the professional nurse. This is the RN. Both play an essential part as members of the health care team. Their roles and responsibilities vary. An RN can perform any of the duties of an LPN, but the reverse is not true.

In some instances, an LVN’s skills at specific tasks may be more refined than those of her supervising RN. This can often be the case because the LVN has the primary responsibility for performing bedside nursing and tasks, while the RN is given a supervisory responsibility for the patient’s care and often forgoes the hands-on practice of direct patient care.

RN training involves more science, math, patient assessment, critical thinking, and theoretical aspects than does the training of an LPN/LVN. This includes the nursing process, which encompasses the whole patient and his response to his illness as well as to patient treatment.

3 Remember to “Do No Harm”

All nurses promise to do no harm to any patient and are expected to uphold fundamental responsibilities to help to prevent illness and restore health, to help to alleviate pain and suffering, and to promote health. Nurses should also follow a code of ethics for nurses as set and frequently revised by the American Nurses Association (ANA). The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has also written a code of ethics for nurses that expands on the ANA’s code.

Highlights of the responsibilities and guidelines for the ethical and legal practice of nurses as outlined in these codes are:

• The nurse is expected to provide care for a patient with respect for his human dignity and uniqueness as an individual regardless of race, creed, gender, socio-economic status, or the nature of the illness.

• The nurse is responsible for safeguarding the patient’s right to privacy by honoring the confidentiality of information related to the patient.

• The nurse is responsible for protecting her patient and the public from health and safety issues affected by illegal, incompetent, and unethical practices.

• The nurse is responsible and accountable for her own nursing actions and judgments, as well as for those she is supervising.

• The nurse is responsible for maintaining her own nursing competency.

• The nurse is responsible for making informed decisions about her own skills and abilities as well as for those to whom she might delegate the responsibility. The nurse is expected to seek consultation if necessary before accepting or delegating the responsibility for any aspect of a patient’s care.

• The nurse is expected to participate in the nursing profession’s ongoing efforts and activities to expand the core of research-based knowledge for nurses. The nurse is expected to participate in the nursing profession’s efforts to implement and improve the standards of nursing care.

• The nurse is expected to participate in the nursing profession’s efforts to maintain conditions of employment, including equitable socio-economic standards, which allow for delivery of high-quality nursing care.

• The nurse is responsible for participating with the nursing profession in protecting the public from misinformation and misrepresentations.

The nursing profession is not to be taken lightly, nor to be entered into on a whim. Nurses are the backbone of the health care team. Nurses render health care not only to the individual patients, but also to their families and to the community. Nurses are expected to coordinate the efforts of everyone involved to enhance the health and well-being of their patients. Nurses are responsible for respecting human rights. These include the right to life, the right to dignity, and the right to respect.

Many patient safety rules or goals are based on pure common sense. Some are more elaborate. Each institution will have variations of its own rules and goals based on mistakes others have made and their attempts to prevent a reoccurrence. Others will be based on preventing common errors based on data collected by organizations such as Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), whose goal is to advocate for quality and safety for all.

4 Avoid Legal Trouble

As a licensed nurse, your responsibility is to promote health and well-being. Under the Nurse Practice Act (NPA) for your state, you will find a section that deals with disciplinary measures. Here, you will most likely find that not only will you be punished by the laws of your state for the DUI, but that your nursing license is subject to suspension or revocation. This is true even though you were not on duty at the time of the DUI.

The commission of other criminal acts, not limited to malpractice issues or the illegal use of drugs, can also result in the suspension or revocation of your nursing license. These acts can include things such as writing bad checks, shoplifting, fraud, and so on. Remember, you are a professional person, and you are expected to conduct yourself in a professional manner at all times.

5 Know Your Scope of Practice

Each member of the health care team is allowed to perform certain duties based on the content and level of education received, the license granted, and the specifics of the laws and regulations of the state in which they are practicing.

No matter what level of nursing you are functioning at, it is always in your own interest, as well as the patient’s best interest, to understand each person’s scope of practice. If you are the aide or the LVN, you aren’t responsible for, nor expected to assess and analyze, the data. However, it can be in everyone’s best interest to have an understanding of what other symptoms might be important to report and why. This can be especially important and helpful in the event of short-staffing. Concise communication is vital to quality patient care. If you are ever in doubt, it is always best to ask for assistance or another opinion. To err on the side of safety is always best.

6 Read Your State’s Nurse Practice Act (NPA)

The Nurse Practice Act (NPA) is the group of laws in a state that protect the public health. It defines the scope of practice for nurses in that state. The Nurse Practice Act (NPA) also includes the requirements for education and licensing, as well as disciplinary and punitive measures for unsafe practice. It is the responsibility of every nurse to know the responsibilities and limitations outlined in the NPA of the state(s) in which the nurse practices.

It is the responsibility of each licensed nurse to read and to know the contents of his own Nurse Practice Act (NPA). The NPA will be different for RNs, LPNs, and APRNs (advance practice RNs). You will be held accountable for this information. Read the NPA and understand it. If you have questions, ask. Your board of nurses is there to answer your questions and to help you to understand your scope of practice.

7 Be a Nursing Ambassador

Remember that you represent the nursing profession at all times—whether at work or at play. Your attire, hygiene, actions, and demeanor are always on display. This can be an intense responsibility and unfair at times, perhaps, but something you must be aware of.

In addition to representing the nursing profession, whether on or off duty you represent your employer. How you appear and act reflects on the employer’s business. If you conduct yourself professionally and present a professional demeanor, you will command the respect you deserve from your employer, your coworkers, your patients, families, and community.

If you look and act the role, your patients will have much more respect for you as a professional. You will be much better able to convince them that what you are telling them is in their best interest. You will gain your patients’ confidence and be much better able to educate them and advocate for them.

8 Nurses Never Diagnose

Doctors have the advantage of having a longer-term relationship with a patient than most nurses. Doctors will see the patient from the initial diagnosis through to the cure or through the course of long-term treatment. Doctors receive their emotional rewards when the patient is cured or learns to cope with an illness and make the appropriate lifestyle changes.

Nurses are a part of this process as well, except that they never diagnose. (In some instances, nurse practitioners who have been specifically trained to do so can diagnose illnesses in patients, but as a rule, nurses do not diagnose.) They collaborate with the physician and coordinate the scientific information about the disease with the patient’s ability to cope, to understand, and to respond to the treatment. The nurse usually has a more limited experience with the patient according to where she practices. This might be a two- to four-day hospital stay and the nurse has a short time to participate in the care.

9 Remember Why You Became a Nurse

“Why not become a doctor?” This is the burning question that at least one of your loved ones or best friends will probably ask you, and not just once, but many times over. You may even ask it of yourself. The answer, however, will be a personal one. The health care team is composed of doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers, nursing assistants, pharmacists, and a whole ancillary staff of nonlicensed personnel. Why not become a doctor? Because you want to be a nurse.

“Why do you want to be a nurse?” This is another one of those nagging questions from well-meaning friends and loved ones. You can usually explain yourself and m...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Part 1 • The Responsibilities of a New Nurse
• Part 2 • Starting Off on the Right Foot
• Part 3 • Handling on-the-Job Issues
• Part 4 • Teamwork Works
• Part 5 • The Ongoing Learning Process
• Part 6 • Communicating with Patients and Their Families
• Part 7 • Communication with Doctors
• Part 8 • Take Care of Yourself
• Part 9 • Staying on Top of Documentation
• Part 10 • Keep an Eye on Your Future
• Appendix A: Glossary of Terms and Acronyms
• Appendix B: Additional Reading
• Appendix C: Websites