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The idea of being a registered nurse sounds alright however the idea of being a registered nurse working in the school clinic or infirmary may either make you smile or it may dampen your emotions a bit. Mentioning the idea of being a registered nurse working in the infirmary or clinic of a high school may sound even more daunting or exciting. It depends on how you take it, do you see yourself enjoying making sick kids who are misunderstood at their age feel better when they are not feeling well or have a problem or do you see it as being stuck in a room all day with teenagers who whine too much and only think that no one understands the way they feel. Hormonal and trying to find a way out of their classes right?
Being a high school nurse can be a difficult task no matter what kind of attitude you bring with you to work. Sometimes you can be left feeling like there is nothing that you can do and you can be left feeling hopeless because there are some problems that you cannot help people with. Also your small office or infirmary can become packed with even no place for people to even sit down especially around flu season. Other problems like school illnesses can get passed around and you will end up having to take care of just about everyone. Being a school nurse requires becoming an RN and being able to work as school staff. This can require a lot of effort and patience but nurses heal and the job can be very rewarding in the end. There is just a lot of patience needed an a lot of understanding for high school aged kids and adolescent who are going to need more patience and understanding than adults would because they are halfway over the fence between adult and child.

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The nursing profession is a very fulfilling and a very rewarding career. This is even more so if you are a registered nurse. Though nursing graduates can work in the health care setting without a license, there are many advantages to being a registered nurse. Below are a few of them.

Competitive Salary

Salaries of nurses vary from region to region. The average range, however, is from $30,000 to $40,000. Some may even go as high as $70,000 to $90,000. This may even go up to a six-figure income if the nurse has an advanced degree (e.g. Certified Renal Nurse or Certified Nurse Anesthetist). Aside from the salary, registered nurses are also offered various benefits that are worth thousands themselves.

Job Autonomy and Broad Job Responsibilities

When you are licensed to practice your profession, there is no limit to the number of responsibilities that you can do. Unlike a nurse who is not registered, a registered nurse is able to carry out several and significant functions that make a difference in their patients conditions. Examples of such responsibilities are drug administration, carrying out special nursing procedures, documentation, and assisting the physician in medical and surgical procedures. Aside from the obvious broad range of responsibilities given to the registered nurse, he also has the autonomy to do his job. The doctors are the ones who orders for treatments, but the registered nurse has the autonomy to decide whether to carry out those orders or not depending on how he sees his patient’s current status and condition.

Opportunities for Travel

Aside from the above mentioned advantages and benefits, the registered nurse is also presented with several opportunities to travel to other places and to see the world. This is especially true for those working in the travel nursing industry. Aside from medical benefits and a shimmering paycheck, they are also offered with other great benefits like housing, loans, travel expenses and the like.

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What is ADHD in children and what are the symptoms? That is a question that is common among parents with children that are hyperactive. ADHD in children is more than hyperactivity, though.  There are many more symptoms that need to be evaluated in order to get the correct diagnosis.

ADHD Symptoms Explained

ADHD is a behavioral disorder affecting approximately ten percent of children that are school age. Girls are three times less likely to be diagnosed than boys are, though the reason for that is still not clear. Children that have ADHD are hyperactive and act on impulse, more so than the typical child. An ADHD child will do things without giving the first thought about what they are doing. Though all children act out at times, it is important to note that this will be something a child with ADHD does over an extended period of time, for years, and may do in any setting in which they are present.

Children with ADHD lack the ability to focus, causing issues for them in school, both academically and socially. They are often unable to sit still for any period of time and following simple instructions may be very difficult for an ADHD child because they will often lose their focus right after given the instructions. ADHD children also often have difficulty going to bed easily, often getting up or tossing and turning for a time before they are able to actually fall asleep. ADHD children are often disruptive in a class setting and are unable to pull or keep their grades up because they lack the ability to concentrate, making learning very difficult for them.

Does Your Child Have ADHD?

If your child has a hard time keeping track of personal items, runs and climbs on things, even inside the home, tends to squirm when seated, is impulsive, acts out of line often, is disruptive in class and elsewhere, and has done many of these things for some time, it is certainly something you will want to talk about with a medical professional. There is no blood test for ADHD, but rather a parental description of the child’s behavior patterns is given to the doctor for evaluation. Most of the time, a school assessment completed by the child’s teacher will be needed, as well.

Having your child properly diagnosed is the first step to finding the right treatment that will help them to function normally. Treatment options are various and will need to be decided by the child’s doctor, but may include medication, a change in diet and an adjustment to their surroundings, including a regularly abided by structured schedule.

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The medical field always has openings for nursing assistants. This position is available to trained and untrained individuals. People who have successfully completed a nursing assistant course can take an exam to receive a certificate. When they poses a valid certificate they are referred to as CNAs or certified nursing assistants. CNAs will generally start with a higher hourly wage than uncertified NAs. Those individuals interested in getting into this field can be hired by certain companies and trained on the job. Nursing homes often hire untrained people and train them in the methods and procedures they use.

Becoming a nurses aide allows people to serve others in a rewarding capacity. The duties they perform allow the doctors and nurses to focus on the medical aspects of treating patients. These duties include taking vital signs, which are the blood pressure, pulse and heart rate. A nurses aide also assists patients with personal hygiene, which includes showers, baths and sponge baths. They also apply lotion to dry skin areas and change bandages. Patients who need assistance in getting around will also receive help from the nursing assistants in walking or being wheeled in a wheel chair.

In addition to nursing homes, these aides are also employed in hospitals and in government facilities. People who have certification will have more opportunities available than those who do not. A individual who has worked as an assistant for a while can take the exam without needing to complete a course. The certificate needs to be renewed on a yearly basis in order to keep it current. A CNA’s salary averages to be about twenty-six thousand dollars a year. Some institutions and medical facilities will offer grants for continuing education to those CNAs who want to advance in the field of nursing. The grants are offered with the stipulation that the individual will continue to work for the facility after completing the advanced course.

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Several years ago, the state of Idaho began a program that would stretch the money paid by Medicaid for mental health services.  This program involves the use of PaychoSocial Rehabilitation Specialists also known as a PSR.  Since the inception of the program in Idaho it has subsequently spread to several other states.

A PSR specialist may work with children or adults helping them to make adjustments for healthier living in the outside world.  The PSR worker may meet with the child for up to 5 hours weekly and with the adult up to 4 hours each week.  Each worker is guided by a service plan that is written by a licensed counselor and approved by Medicaid to determine the skills to be reinforced.

In Idaho, the requirements for the PSR specialist include a four-year degree in the social sciences or education.  The worker may confer with the counselor and works under the supervision of a master’s level mental health worker.  The work with the client may take place in the home or in the community.  In many cases the worker helps the client to find new and better ways to deal with anger.

Many adult clients may have experienced problems with drugs or alcohol. They may have completed a program one or more times, but now need to learn the social skill that were missed while their lives were clouded by substance abuse.

As health care costs in general and mental health care cost in specific continue to rise, many other states are considering following the plan that was first started in Idaho.  While the job of a PSR worker pays a living wage for the worker, the cost is less for Medicaid or private insurance companies than the cost or a licensed counselor, a psychologist or a psychiatrist would be.

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Debate about health care often focuses on controversial treatments and procedures with little regard for how preventive medicine can reduce the severity or even help people avoid serious or chronic illnesses. While there certainly should be procedures in place to handle accidents and unavoidable ailments, this should not be at the expense of effective preventive measures. Ironically health care and its relation to prenatal intervention and decisions regarding the end of life often take on a life of their own, leaving nothing left for the considerable number of years in between. Accordingly, emphasizing preventive medicine before birth and beyond may make for a better quality of life throughout.

Instead of using all available financial resources searching for cures, paying attention to preventive measures may save money and lives. While screenings are often helpful, something as simple as educating people on ways they can safeguard their health if they are at a particular risk may help them cope and keep them from becoming seriously ill. Prenatal education, for example, may protect the expectant mother as well as the unborn child, and the lessons learned may be carried out long after the baby is born. Smokers, once educated about the dangers of firsthand as well as secondhand smoke, may make changes that reduce health risks for their families as well as for themselves.

Recognizing environmental contaminants and how to avoid them can also be an extremely beneficial form of preventive medicine. Good hygiene, with an emphasis on proper hand washing, can significantly reduce the risk for ending up with a cold or various types of respiratory illnesses. Accordingly, understanding and practicing safe food handling techniques may keep people healthier as well. A small amount of prevention may create a better atmosphere overall, and having to spend less time treating ailments may save money and time that may be better spent truly enjoying life.

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Being in the hospital and away from the people you are closest to can be stressful enough, but dealing with perceived insensitivities as you interact with hospital staff can make things even worse. As boundaries are now often less stringent and people of different backgrounds and cultures increasingly come into contact with one another, the need for cultural diversity training should not be overlooked. Without an understanding or acknowledgment of cultural differences, simple misunderstandings may accelerate out of control. This in turn may lead to a more difficult recovery time for the patient, frustration for the medical professional and unnecessary anxiety for all concerned. Making cultural diversity a part of medical training may make things easier for patients as well as for their attending medical personnel.

One of the first steps in medical treatment often involves having a talk with the patient to understand their symptoms. Patient feedback is still important even after a medication or therapy has been initiated, as this information may help gauge whether the treatment is making things better or worse. If your words, gestures, or approach upsets a patient because you have even inadvertently violated their cultural expectations, this may seriously hamper your ability to do your job as efficiently and as effectively as possible. Without cultural diversity coaching you may overlook this roadblock completely, but you will likely get to repair the relationship if you at least acknowledge your misstep.

Many doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel must speak to the families of their patients as well, and being sensitive to cultural diversity may make these interactions more beneficial as well. Just because you see a particular course of treatment to be logical, for example, does not mean that every peer or layperson will agree with you. Such situations may necessarily require acknowledging a different point of view, and doing so in a way that does not upset or hinder patient recovery.

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Much has been discovered about pressure ulcer prevention over the past 50 years, prior to which little was known. This knowledge would go on to be one of the main reasons for wound vac usage.

In the 1960s, scientists discovered that the pressure between the bed and the skin was a factor in bed sore development. Thirty-two (32) mmHg was determined to be the pressure that would cause a stop in blood flow in men. Then, researchers studied the pressure between a patient and a standard bed. For an average male laying on a standard mattress, the pressure generated was approximately 80 mmHg. A patients natural response to this pressure is to toss and turn during rest, thereby resdistributing the pressure. Certain disabilities, such as paralysis, make it so the patient can’t turn during rest and thus pressure uclers occur.

The terms “pressure reduction” and “pressure relief” stemmed from the studies performed in the 1960s. Pressure relief is a pressure below 32 mmHg, the pressure that causes bed sores.

The first methodology used for pressure reduction after the 1960s studies was eggcrate foam beds. Eggcrate foam was placed on top of a regular spring mattress; this method allowed for a little pressure reduction and aided in reducing the development of bed sores. This was also the era in which the first system was developed.

Around this time, a company called Support Systems International made the High Air Loss Therapy Bed. The design included a large tub-like structure filled with small beads. A blower was installed under the beads and air was blown into the mattress, passing through the beads and through a top sheet designed to allow air to flow through. The forced air would cause the beads to move, thus suspending a patient laying on top of the porous sheet. Thus, the first pressure relief product was born. This product allowed a pressure well below what would cause a pressure ulcer.

Despite their effectiveness for minimizing and preventing pressure ulcers, these bed systems had their issues. The foam solution did not last for more than approximately 30 days before the degree of pressure reduction decreased. The heavy and inefficient high air loss mattress also had its problems. Patients couldn’t sit up in bed. Also, the high air flow would cause the skin to dry out, which would yield further problems.

The first line of defense is to prevent the tissue damage from even occurring. Once it occurs, the wound vac system is an effective modality to aid in the healing process.