12 Tips for a Rewarding Nursing Career

Every once in a while it's a good idea to take stock of your life and your career, and take steps to get yourself back on track, or even change direction if that is what is needed.  

Here are 12 things you can do for yourself, as a nurse, to make your career more fulfilling and to avoid nurse burnout:

1. Nurse stress management is a must.  Learn techniques that work well for you and use them routinely.
2. Managing your time efficiently and effectively is vital.  Become organized, stay on top of things, and do not procrastinate!
3. Replenish yourself.  Make time for yourself and do it often!  Nursing is a demanding/giving profession.  If you have given all you have to give, then you have nothing left for yourself, and you can't continue to give - you'll have nurse burnout.
4. Nursing is a lifelong learning process.  Use your continuing education opportunities to stay up to date with your selected field and to learn and hone new skills.  Secondly, make sure to learn something about other fields of nursing whenever you can.  Know your options and keep them open. 
5. Nurses are overachievers.  Strive for excellence and set the bar high.  Do not settle for mediocrity.  Encourage others to do the same. 
6. Be a nurse mentor.  Help those around you to strive for and achieve excellence as well.  Always being a nurse mentor throughout your career is the key to providing excellent quality care with the best possible outcomes. 
7. Be a sponge.  Learn from others.  Pick up on their tips and tricks and then share them with others.
8. Always be a part of the solution and not part of the problem.  Get involved in strategic planning for your workplace and help to make it a better place.
9. Be a good TEAM player.  Be a nurse leader when you need to be and a nurse supporter always.  There is no “I” in TEAM.  Be good role model to others who “just don’t get it,” and help them to become team players too. 
10. Learn your limitations and how and when to say "No."  Respect yourself and always set a good example for others.  It’s simply not possible to say “yes” every time and not get burned out!
11. Remind yourself often WHY you became a nurse.
12. Encourage others to become nurses and to strive for excellence. 

Nursing is one of the most rewarding careers you can find, but it is also physically and emotionally demanding and draining.  Take time for yourself so that you have something more to give when it is needed.  And when you find yourself stressed and burning out, remind yourself why you became a nurse.

THE SEVEN S’S OF SUPPLY CHAIN

Recently, Constellation Research began a study on the Supply Chain.  They have identified 7 competitive elements of the Supply Chain and they all start with the letter ‘S’.  The opportunities identified are generally long standing but unachieved.   All told, I think Constellation Research and the study’s author Jeff Ashcroft have provided a very strong framework for companies to lay out the long-term strategy of their Supply Chain.

Without divulging the contents of the study which Constellation Research will finalize and publish sometime this year, I thought it would be interesting to get feedback from the ‘customers’ perspective.  Currently the report is gathering information from the ‘vendors’ perspective related to the technology required achieving each ‘S’.  To start the conversation let’s review the 7 elements and the  corresponding definition from Wikipedia:

Synergy - in general, may be defined as two or more things functioning together to produce a result not independently obtainable. The term synergy comes from the Greek word syn-ergos,συνεργός, meaning “working together”.

Standards – A technical standard is an established norm or requirement about technical systems. It is usually a formal document that establishes uniform engineering or technical criteria, methods, processes and practices. In contrast, a custom, convention, company product, corporate standard, etc. which becomes generally accepted and dominant is often called a de facto standard

Semantic – is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata.

Serialization – serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value. Common usage has expanded the term to refer to any unique alphanumeric identifier for one of a large set of

objects, however not every numerical identifier is a serial number; identifying numbers which are not serial numbers are sometimes called nominal numbers.

Synchronization – is timekeeping which requires the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. The familiar conductor of an orchestra serves to keep the orchestra in time. Systems operating with all their parts in synchrony are said to be synchronous or in sync.

Sustainability – is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well-being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of stewardship, the responsible management of resource use.

Social – refers to a characteristic of living organisms (humans in particular, though biologists also apply the term to populations of other animals). It always refers to the interaction of organisms with other organisms and to their collective co-existence, irrespective of whether they are aware of it or not, and irrespective of whether the interaction is voluntary or involuntary.

How do you see these elements impacting your Supply Chain?  Do you currently have processes or strategies in place that address these categories?  If you see opportunity for your company to improve its Supply Chain what are the barriers you expect – internally or externally?

Why Nurses Need Professional Liability Insurance

All medical professionals should have a good malpractice policy in place, including nurses. A lot of nurses think they are immune from malpractice claims; after all, it is doctors who are most commonly sued, right? Unfortunately, this is not the case. Nurses can be sued for malpractice as well, and a nurse who is not protected by a nursing liability insurance policy is in danger of losing his or her career and even being forced into bankruptcy.

Malpractice is defined as damage or injury to a patient that is the result of misconduct, negligence or breach of duty on the part of a professional in charge of the patient’s care. There are many reasons a nurse might be sued for malpractice, but the most common reasons include failure to follow standards of care, failure to communicate, failure to use equipment responsibly, failure to assess and monitor, failure to document and failure to act as patient advocate.

No professional would ever deliberately commit any of these acts, but everyone is human and everyone makes an occasional mistake. Nor do any of these offenses have to actually be committed; groundless lawsuits are filed every day. An accusation may be untrue, but that does not mean the accused will not have to pay to defend the lawsuit.

Nurse malpractice insurance protects the policyholder from having to pay the cost of defending a malpractice suit. It also ensures that the defendant will not have to pay any judgments. A nurse that is not covered by malpractice insurance will have to pay both of these expenses out of pocket. Defense costs alone can force many people into bankruptcy; paying a judgment is even more ruinous.

These problems can all be prevented by the purchase of a simple insurance policy. Like all forms of insurance, the cost of nursing liability insurance often varies due to the insured’s background, location and years of experience. Malpractice insurance also has a deductible and a limit to coverage, just like automotive or homeowner’s insurance. The policyholder can select the limits and deductible that is right for him or her. Naturally, the policy’s premium will change accordingly. The average cost of malpractice insurance for nurses is only a few hundred dollars per year. This isn’t a lot of money compared to the peace of mind that results from being insured and not having to worry about the consequences of a lawsuit.

CFO Healthcare Summit 2012

The CFO Healthcare Summit 2012 will once again serve as an arena for senior level executives to engage in clear and focused dialogue with their peers and examine their management objectives in a relaxed and vibrant environment.

In today’s economic climate, Financial Executives are under an ever increasing level of scrutiny and pressure. Nowhere is this more evident than the Healthcare sector, where CFOs are facing challenges like never before.

The increasing costs of providing and administering healthcare while managing reimbursements through the Medicare and Medicaid system mean that Healthcare CFOs are now, more than ever, being asked to do more, with less – to utilize their skills and limited resources to provide a world class service at a profitable cost for the organization.

To maintain quality standards whilst remaining compliant, CFOs must battle rising costs by investing in technologies and processes that allow them to ensure the success of the revenue cycle and administration for their entire organisation.

The CFO Healthcare Summit brings together CFO decision makers from across American Healthcare, offering an opportunity to meet with international solution providers who can help them achieve these goals.

Note:- The Summit 22nd - 24th May 2012

School Nursing New Trends

Different Leadership Styles in Nursing

A nurse leader, a nurse manager, a nursing unit, or a nurse executive, responsible for the entire patient may be responsible for nursing units. Just select a leadership style, an outstanding nurse leader rather than facing many situations usually is based on the styles uses.

Types

There are two basic leadership styles are free and unfettered. These styles can be further broken down into subcategories. A nurse leader who is an independent Democrat, for example, decides to engage their nurses and allows working independently. Directed an autocrat, on the other hand, without seeking input instructs and supervises the nearby nurses.

Situational leadership

An experienced nurse leader’s leadership style that works best in any situation chooses. For example, he is a Democrat approver his unit when it is time to buy new equipment can act as. Nurses want to arrange the purchase of equipment and then they can use it to freely allow. When there is an emergency code blue on the other hand, is that less experienced nurses for a directive autocrat who unilaterally instructs while he may be closely supervise their work.

Considerations

A nurse leader based on his age and experience level of nurses can change their leadership style. Veterans, born before 1943 as nurses, to share their hard earned expertise, but do not want or need close supervision. On the other hand, smaller and less experienced nurses Generation Y with plenty of guidance and feedback may benefit from surveillance.

Skills

When graduating from a school nurse and RN License earns, it usually leads to basic applied skills to direct patient care. As he advances to charge nurse, nurse manager and, eventually, the nurse executive, she will need to learn more about leadership. There are colleges and universities, vocational education courses are available through companies and hospitals. It is important for a nurse for advice and more senior nurse leaders who provide honest feedback about your leadership style can consult with.

Significance

Nursing management of a shared governance model that affect their behaviour toward the nurses involved in decisions has trended. In that model, a nurse manager uses a permissive democrat style, her nurses clinical decision-making activity and monitor their results in the patient encouraged to participate. Nurse Executive, in turn, uses the same style with the nursing staff nurses represented by the establishment of councils.