All Entries Tagged With: "healthcare"
Let’s talk: Twittering nurses connect us all
Twitter, the social networking site that allows users to keep friends, family, and colleagues up-to-date on everything that is happening in their lives, is taking the world by storm. Healthcare providers are commenting on surgeries in real time, nurses are reaching out for experts on the latest clinical care best practices, and there is a constant flow of information and advice.
The information you can share is never ending and Twitter is starting to become a useful tool in the nursing world. Here are some ways nurses and nurse managers are using Twitter:
MRSA is not a scarlet letter
by Sharon L. Taylor RN, BSN, MS, CIC, CPHRM
MRSA is fast becoming a household word. It is seen in the national media on a frequent basis. Healthcare workers are being scrutinized by patients and their families for their infection control practices, especially handwashing. While this publicity is good in that it has increased the attention paid by healthcare workers to their practice, it also has a scare effect on patients, the public, and surprisingly some healthcare workers. While being afraid of “catching” something is good because it puts us on alert, it can also cast a stigma on those who have an infection or are colonized with bacteria such as MRSA.
I propose that it is part of the nurse’s role, as patient advocate, to be sure that MRSA patients have the information needed to live their lives while minimizing the risk of transmission. If the appropriate information is given to patients, situations such as the one that occurred last fall where a young elementary student was banned from attending class because she had a MRSA skin infection will not exist. She was subsequently allowed to return after the appropriate information was given to school officials, but had the damage already been done?
How can nurses help prevent these situations from occurring? First and foremost–by being a role model. Healthcare workers need to realize that what they do and say is deemed important in the public’s eyes. Also, by using teachable moments and scripting, patient teaching does not have to be burdensome. For example, you can teach your patient by simply saying, “I’m washing my hands after changing your dressing and before helping you to the chair to prevent the spread of the infection.” They learn by watching and listening to why it is important to wash their hands after touching or handling dressings.
For the patient with MRSA, (either active infection or colonization) and other multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs), there are many printed resources available free off of the Web. State Health Departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are all good resources. The state of Washington has a particularly good pamphlet available on their website entitled, “Living with MRSA.” This publication covers items such as cleaning, not sharing towels, disposing of dressings, etc. Pamphlets such as this can be printed and given to patients and their families. The same information is helpful to healthcare workers who continue to be worried about passing something on to their families.
Because we live in an era where MDROs are increasing in frequency–as well as is the public outcry about healthcare acquired infections–I believe nurses have not only a duty, but an opportunity to become known for their knowledge and ability to teach our patients how to exist in this new world without constant fear. While MDROs are real, are here, and are a serious health threat, nurses must use their knowledge to teach patients so it does not have to be a scarlet letter for them.
What other ways do you think nurses can help the public deal with issues such as MRSA?
Learning a new definition of health
Starting next week, I will be carrying two courses at a time, and I am told it can be done. I have spoken to several other classmates who have management jobs, families, etc., and some of them are actually taking a bigger course load. I don’t think I will ever go there. Just the thought makes my critical thinking skills kick in and ask, “Are you nuts?!”
The three credit course I am in the midst of is related to public health nursing, and I know what you are thinking-the same thoughts I had as I poured over the course objectives. With a bottle of Phenergan at my side, I was ready for boredom and nausea. What I found was an inspiring faculty member whose pointed questions got me thinking about healthcare and how it is delivered to the patient, the family, and the community. The course puts an emphasis on the effects of prevention on public health and assessing the health care needs of communities. Think of all the times staff approach you whining on and on about non-compliant patients. The course delves into the compliance obstacles for some of our population, such as making bad choices in their lives.
The most important questions we had to ask ourselves is to define the word health: What does it mean to each of us? Now I am asking you for your definition of health, and also your staff’s definition. Mine is printed below:
Health: A state of wellness for that individual
I anxiously await my grade for my mid-term paper, which brought back memories of why I do not work the night shift anymore. My final paper is due mid-June and no, I have not started it yet. For my final exam, I have to find a grant available for a vulnerable population we identify in our mid-term paper. Can someone please help me? I feel ischemia creeping into my brain. What was it I identified? Can Phenergan ever be used to help brain perfusion? Hmmm…..
MRSA me, what are we to do?
By Sheila Gerald, RN, CIC, CLNC
The average person trembles with fear when he or she hears the word staph or MRSA, and most healthcare workers are sick of multiple drug resistant organisms (MDROs) making their daily service more challenging.
Many infection control experts will agree that MDROs have rocked our world for the past 10 years in dramatic ways. We now have to use resources for increased compliance monitoring, surveillance, and tracking. And let’s not forget about the increased need for education. How many times must we say “gel in-gel out,” “glove/gown each time,” only to get those phone calls over and over reporting it not being done?
I have a question: Why haven’t hospitals addressed this problem? Why not simply tell the public, “No, you can’t bring that child in to visit,” “No, you can’t go in the room without a gown/glove/mask,” “No, you can’t come in if you are sick,” and “No, we won’t do your surgery until you have your blood sugar under control, have lost weight, and have stopped smoking,” which all increase the risk of a poor outcome. Can you imagine the outcry from the public if we put our foot down, instead of catering to the general public’s desire to be in control?
Would we truly see some dramatic improvements if the Healthcare Infection Control Practice Advisory Committee (HICPAC) came out with stern guidelines making contact precautions the new standard precautions? After all, when you start checking for colonization you wind up putting the majority of people who are admitted under the contact precautions umbrella. How much would we save in resources if we just put all admitted patients in precautions and forego the screening? Yes, the studies have shown these people get seen less often, but what if it became the norm to gown and glove upon entry to every room and continue the hand hygiene before and after contact with the environment of care?
I think it is time to change our norm and stop whining and moaning about it. Our germ cheese has been moved and we have hemmed and hawed long enough! If we are to survive and if we expect our patients to survive this germ war, we must change the way we practice healthcare.
How do you feel about current infection control practices? What changes would you make?
