November 21st, 2011  Posted at   Reference and Education

Licensed Practical Nurse Jobs can be extremely rewarding for those who love to work with people. These nurses are in demand at hospitals, Family Practices, other kinds of physician offices and in the field of Psychiatry. LPNs are also employed by Hospice programs, Retirement Homes and Assisted Living Facilities. There are numerous avenues in the medical field where LPN Jobs are available. LPN Jobs are throughout the world. A Licensed Practical Nurse can find work almost anywhere.

How does one become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) in order to become employed? In order to become a LPN, one must enroll, after completing High School, in a Nursing School or community college that offers an accredited LPN program. The LPN program must be accredited for the LPN student upon graduation to qualify for taking the required N-CLEX-PN certification examination in order to become a practicing certified Licensed Practical Nurse. There are two parts to the LPN training, in the classroom and on the job training supplied by the LPN program usually in conjunction with medical facilities that offer Resident Training for other medical professionals like a Medical School. This way the LPN student can learn directly the expected role of a Licensed Practical Nurse in a professional setting. Most LPN educational programs are in length about a year (for a hospital certificate) or two years (for an LPN degree). The LPN curriculum includes Anatomy, Physiology, administering of drugs, medical equipment usage and Psychiatric nursing techniques.

What is the role of these Nurses? These jobs usually are under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN). The LPN’s daily routine includes working closely with patients in a variety of health care settings to provide and maintain basic medical care. They take a patient’s vital signs and aide in simple medical procedures. These are the nurses whom a patient first sees in a doctor’s office; confirms patient symptoms for the chart so the doctor and registered nurse can review before seeing the patient. In a psychiatric ward, a Licensed Practical Nurse assists Medical Technicians in daily rounds to ensure the medication is dispensed and taken properly by the patients. At Assisted Living facilities they oversee the Care Givers and assist as necessary. Often times, LPNs are responsible for filing and updating each chart’s content maintained at an Assisted Living Center or Retirement Home. Read more… »

November 20th, 2011  Posted at   Careers Employment

Nursing is one of noble and fulfilling professions in the medical domain. Nursing as an occupation gives multiple career options depending on the nature and specialization giving you a scope for learning and enhancing your knowledge on a continual basis.

The various options are:

1. Hospital Nursing: This forms a major group of nurses. The nurses here are assigned to one of the divisions which could be surgery, maternity (delivery), intensive care, pediatric, obstetric, or rehabilitative and for many such other specific specializations the hospital is known.

2. Public / Community Health Nursing: This group of nurses are the ones working in government health departments and large private clinics more specifically in rural or countryside with a aim to provide basic medical services to the underprivileged. In urban areas they instruct groups of people with health care education, disease causes and prevention, nutrition guidelines and much more. They practically run immunization campaigns and other related medical screening.

3. Military Nursing: This is group of nurses providing their services to the armed force personnel, also serving the nation – a dual service.

4. Educational Nurses: You could be teaching course subjects to students pursuing nursing or medical administration programs.

5. Industrial/ Occupational Health Nursing: These nurses work under directives from industrial trauma specialist physicians, assisting them in drawing up safety plans and measures. Emergency care after accidents or mishap at industrial premises is something they proficiently handle.

6. Psychiatric Nursing: Working with patients suffering emotionally or having a psychological disorder or distress is psychiatric nursing. These nurses need to have lots of patience, devotion and perseverance and work in coordination with psychiatrists or specialist doctors.

7. Pediatric Nursing: Working with babies and children who are sick and taking care of them. Again this requires lots of affection and care.

8. Orthopedic Nursing: This is a rehabilitation nursing where one needs to have good knowledge of physiotherapy. Read more… »

October 26th, 2011  Posted at   Nursing

The top 10 industry associations in nursing cover all the bases – education, job searches, career advice, industry news, licensing information, links to discounted scrubs and equipment and much more. It is important for such a significant industry to have so many resources available for its practitioners, so they can better serve the communities around them. These following industry associations are great resources for nurses in all stages of their careers, the present students and those considering going into nursing in the near future.

1. American Academy of Ambulatory Care: This national organization is dedicated to professional nurses who work in ambulatory settings.

2. American Association of Critical Care Nurses: Since its founding in 1969, the AACN has evolved into the largest organization for any nursing specialty with 65,000 international members.

3. American Association of Nurse Anesthetists: The AANA, which was founded in 1931, is the professional association that represents Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists across the country.

4. American Nurses Association: The ANA represents America’s registered nurses (RNs). The association promotes a high quality of nurses, addresses ethics and other workplace issues and addresses the latest industry news and more.

5. American Nursing Informatics Association: This organization upholds the value of advancement, communication, education and networking for this specialized area.

6. The American Psychiatric Nurses Association: Visit the APNA to view its highly regarded journal and learn more about membership, jobs, news, resources and more.

7. National Student Nurses’ Association: The NSNA has approximately 53,000 members nationwide. Its goal is to “mentor the professional development of future registered nurses and facilitate their entrance into the profession by providing educational resources, leadership opportunities and career guidance.”

8. Oncology Nursing Society: All registered healthcare professionals involved in the area of oncology care are open to join this organization.

9. The ACNM Certification Council: This is the certifying body of the American Council of Nurse Midwives, which is a valuable resource for accredited midwifery and nurse-midwifery training programs.

10. Association of Rehabilitation Nurses: This professional association promotes the practice of rehabilitation nursing. Read more… »