Nursing: Learn It, Live It, Love it!
By: Noel D. De Ocampo, MSN/ED, RN
http://thefilipinonurseforum.blogspot.com/
March 30, 2010
Four years in nursing school (two years to some, it took me seven). You learn the normal, the not so normal, diseases, cures for the curable, and options for the incurables. You did clinical rotations, you learn best clinical practices, you read books (lots), and prepared case presentations. You thought you have it all to be a successful nurse, but….
First year at work (if you find one) and volunteering at a government hospital was exciting. It’s really cool because now you’re working side by side with a nurse who used to be your clinical instructor. Now you’re colleagues, not teacher-student. It’s pretty awesome, too because now you can call yourself a professional. Are you sure?
You encountered a patient in the unit who is now becoming more anxious because of an impending invasive procedure. He called you and rudely said, “Hey, Bruce Lee, you look so young. Do you really know what you’re doing?” You reacted and said, “Shut your f…ing mouth!” In the Philippines, you may be able to get away with it, but not without reprimand. In the U.S., you’re lucky if you don’t get fired (I can’t speak about same cases in other countries). You became reactive. It is such a huge mistake that most nurses do. It is very much unacceptable. Completely ignoring how the patient is feeling at that moment.
Now you’re working with another nurse, a “ten year veteran.” You feel supported, but a bit threatened, and at the same time, you feel like this nurse is making you do all the work. You’re not able to speak up because you’re afraid of negative repercussions. You decided to tell the supervisor who didn’t do anything about it, then you found out the supervisor and the nurse you are complaining about are classmates in nursing school and have been friends since high school. Now you know that they’re talking about you. What do you do?
Every nurse will encounter many more surprising scenarios and many unpleasant workplace experiences. Nursing is not only about treating a patient’s known disease, but also knowing what other “hidden” needs they have. It is a game of anticipation, a game of utmost preparation. A sport that is almost impossible to win. Nurses must become skilled on how to be conscious of every word they utter and wary of every body language and gestures they make. It is not to say that nurses should let patients become abusive, but who should be defending the patient? Aren’t nurses the patients’ advocates?
Every nurse will also come across “problem coworkers”. Actual or perceived, these are expected and must be handled in a professional manner. Avoiding to address a problem with a colleague will not only result in a dreadful workplace, but also creates a negative atmosphere within a certain unit, thus creating a non-therapeutic environment which encourages poor quality of care. Let’s face it. Let’s work it. Talk about it and build a stronger work community. Be open, don’t be confrontational. BE PROFESSIONAL!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
IS YOUR NURSE A “REAL NURSE”?
IS YOUR NURSE A “REAL NURSE”?
By: Noel D. De Ocampo, MSN/ED, RN
http://thefilipinonurseforum.blogspot.com/
March 25, 2010
American Heritage Dictionary described a nurse as “a person educated and trained to care for the sick and the disabled”. So who deserves to be called a nurse? Is it appropriate to introduce one’s self as a nurse even if he or she is not licensed at the place where this introduction happened? Can someone say that he or she is a nurse just because she “takes care of people”? After all, once a nurse, always a nurse, right?
A few years ago I met this guy in Dallas and he said he’s also from Northern California. We’ve been talking about people we knew and I mentioned that I used to work as a registered nurse in this clinic. He said that he once dated a girl named Julie (not her real name) when she was working at the same place where I used to work. He also said that Julie told him that she is a “nurse”. I remember Julie as a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA).
On my way back to the Philippines last year, while waiting to board a plane in San Francisco, I met a Filipina lady named “Lucila”. She introduced herself as a “nurse” working in a dialysis facility in the San Francisco bay area. A friend of mine who currently works with Lucila in the dialysis facility told me that Lucila is not a Registered Nurse (RN), but a Medical Assistant (MA).
“A nurse is a nurse”. “Once a nurse, always a nurse”. These sayings will stay forever, but there are an increasing number of non-nurse disciplines using the term “nurse” to introduce themselves. This has got to stop. There are clear differences in training, education, and licensures. RN, LVN, Graduate Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, RPN, etc. You don't have to pretend. Just say it straight up.
By: Noel D. De Ocampo, MSN/ED, RN
http://thefilipinonurseforum.blogspot.com/
March 25, 2010
American Heritage Dictionary described a nurse as “a person educated and trained to care for the sick and the disabled”. So who deserves to be called a nurse? Is it appropriate to introduce one’s self as a nurse even if he or she is not licensed at the place where this introduction happened? Can someone say that he or she is a nurse just because she “takes care of people”? After all, once a nurse, always a nurse, right?
A few years ago I met this guy in Dallas and he said he’s also from Northern California. We’ve been talking about people we knew and I mentioned that I used to work as a registered nurse in this clinic. He said that he once dated a girl named Julie (not her real name) when she was working at the same place where I used to work. He also said that Julie told him that she is a “nurse”. I remember Julie as a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA).
On my way back to the Philippines last year, while waiting to board a plane in San Francisco, I met a Filipina lady named “Lucila”. She introduced herself as a “nurse” working in a dialysis facility in the San Francisco bay area. A friend of mine who currently works with Lucila in the dialysis facility told me that Lucila is not a Registered Nurse (RN), but a Medical Assistant (MA).
“A nurse is a nurse”. “Once a nurse, always a nurse”. These sayings will stay forever, but there are an increasing number of non-nurse disciplines using the term “nurse” to introduce themselves. This has got to stop. There are clear differences in training, education, and licensures. RN, LVN, Graduate Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, RPN, etc. You don't have to pretend. Just say it straight up.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Nursing in the Philippines: Moving Forward
Nursing in the Philippines: Moving Forward
By: NOEL D. DE OCAMPO MSN/ED, RN
Week 1-Thursday, March 11, 2010
In the past ten years, the quality of nursing education in the Philippines is in the decline. This is evidenced by the continuous downward trend in passing percentages in the Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination (NLE), as well as the US National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN). This decline may be attributed to the proliferation of many nursing schools offering substandard curriculums and unqualified teaching personnel. This issue is now a subject of debate among many of the Philippines' nursing scholars and stakeholders, as this decline may adversely affect the quality of care being provided to patients that all Filipino nurses serve. This decline may also contribute to the negative image of Filipino nurses in the international health care community, thereby affecting their marketability with employers in such places as the United States, Middle East, and Europe. It is imperative that stakeholders continue discussions of this issue and address the problems promptly.
The industry of providing nursing review programs is growing and this growth is expected to continue in the next ten to twenty years. In the United States alone, it is estimated that more than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed in the next six years (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007). Many health care institutions in the US remain in short supply of nurses. Many schools of nursing in the US are continuing to turn away prospective students due to budget shortfall, as well as shortage in teaching faculties. Although efforts are being made by the United States federal government to alleviate this problem, and programs to increase the nursing workforce are implemented in many states, the problem of nursing shortage remains and is expected to persist for a very long time. According to Dr. Peter Buerhaus, "the average age of Registered Nurse in the US will increase and the size of the workforce will plateau as many RNs retire. Because demand for RNs is expected to increase during this time, a large and prolonged shortage of nurses is expected to hit the US soon" (JAMA, 2008).
Although the number of nursing graduates in the Philippines is currently trending downward, the demand for high quality nursing review programs remain high. Studies have shown that demand for nurses around the world is increasing and is likely to continue its upward trend in the next twenty to thirty years. Due to this, nursing enrollment in the Philippines is projected to reverse its course and begin its upward trend in the next two years. Concurrently, there will also be an increase in nursing review providers, but the level of competition will become greater due to the anticipated government crackdown on fly-by-night nursing schools and nursing review centers.
Many nursing graduates have seen the proliferation of Nursing Review Centers in the Philippines. Many of these review centers are claiming to have the highest quality nursing review program in the nation and charge hefty fees for aspiring nurses to attend their programs. Many of these review centers are also offering NCLEX review programs and are claiming to have faculty members licensed in the United States. They also provide false NCLEX passing rates and statistics to entice future nurses in using their programs. It is crucial that before making decisions in choosing what nursing review programs to utilize, aspiring nurses must ensure the credibility of a review center's faculty members. Nurses planning to take the NCLEX can make use of web-based, electronic license verification systems to ensure that a review center's faculty member claiming to have US Registered Nurse licensure is in fact, licensed. These licensure verification systems are operated by most nursing state boards for quick verification of licensures. Many review centers resort to false advertising techniques to lure unsuspecting nurses, therefore it is imperative that nurses always check and consider not only the faculty members' length of clinical and teaching experience, but also licensures in other countries that they are claiming to have.
All nursing schools offering nursing licensure review programs and all nursing review centers have the responsibility to assist future nurses take the guesswork out of any licensure examinations to help alleviate anxiety over those examinations, as well as to guide aspring nurses in their course of study. Nursing review centers employing quick marketing schemes and resorting to false advertising maneuvers should stop using those tactics and instead focus on the real reason why a nursing review center is operating. Every nursing review center should be motivated not by the revenue it will generate, but by the notion that nurses are to be developed into becoming what they are trained to become; professional, knowledgeable, skillful, competent, and truly caring individuals.
By: NOEL D. DE OCAMPO MSN/ED, RN
Week 1-Thursday, March 11, 2010
In the past ten years, the quality of nursing education in the Philippines is in the decline. This is evidenced by the continuous downward trend in passing percentages in the Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination (NLE), as well as the US National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN). This decline may be attributed to the proliferation of many nursing schools offering substandard curriculums and unqualified teaching personnel. This issue is now a subject of debate among many of the Philippines' nursing scholars and stakeholders, as this decline may adversely affect the quality of care being provided to patients that all Filipino nurses serve. This decline may also contribute to the negative image of Filipino nurses in the international health care community, thereby affecting their marketability with employers in such places as the United States, Middle East, and Europe. It is imperative that stakeholders continue discussions of this issue and address the problems promptly.
The industry of providing nursing review programs is growing and this growth is expected to continue in the next ten to twenty years. In the United States alone, it is estimated that more than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed in the next six years (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007). Many health care institutions in the US remain in short supply of nurses. Many schools of nursing in the US are continuing to turn away prospective students due to budget shortfall, as well as shortage in teaching faculties. Although efforts are being made by the United States federal government to alleviate this problem, and programs to increase the nursing workforce are implemented in many states, the problem of nursing shortage remains and is expected to persist for a very long time. According to Dr. Peter Buerhaus, "the average age of Registered Nurse in the US will increase and the size of the workforce will plateau as many RNs retire. Because demand for RNs is expected to increase during this time, a large and prolonged shortage of nurses is expected to hit the US soon" (JAMA, 2008).
Although the number of nursing graduates in the Philippines is currently trending downward, the demand for high quality nursing review programs remain high. Studies have shown that demand for nurses around the world is increasing and is likely to continue its upward trend in the next twenty to thirty years. Due to this, nursing enrollment in the Philippines is projected to reverse its course and begin its upward trend in the next two years. Concurrently, there will also be an increase in nursing review providers, but the level of competition will become greater due to the anticipated government crackdown on fly-by-night nursing schools and nursing review centers.
Many nursing graduates have seen the proliferation of Nursing Review Centers in the Philippines. Many of these review centers are claiming to have the highest quality nursing review program in the nation and charge hefty fees for aspiring nurses to attend their programs. Many of these review centers are also offering NCLEX review programs and are claiming to have faculty members licensed in the United States. They also provide false NCLEX passing rates and statistics to entice future nurses in using their programs. It is crucial that before making decisions in choosing what nursing review programs to utilize, aspiring nurses must ensure the credibility of a review center's faculty members. Nurses planning to take the NCLEX can make use of web-based, electronic license verification systems to ensure that a review center's faculty member claiming to have US Registered Nurse licensure is in fact, licensed. These licensure verification systems are operated by most nursing state boards for quick verification of licensures. Many review centers resort to false advertising techniques to lure unsuspecting nurses, therefore it is imperative that nurses always check and consider not only the faculty members' length of clinical and teaching experience, but also licensures in other countries that they are claiming to have.
All nursing schools offering nursing licensure review programs and all nursing review centers have the responsibility to assist future nurses take the guesswork out of any licensure examinations to help alleviate anxiety over those examinations, as well as to guide aspring nurses in their course of study. Nursing review centers employing quick marketing schemes and resorting to false advertising maneuvers should stop using those tactics and instead focus on the real reason why a nursing review center is operating. Every nursing review center should be motivated not by the revenue it will generate, but by the notion that nurses are to be developed into becoming what they are trained to become; professional, knowledgeable, skillful, competent, and truly caring individuals.
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