Since patients in healthcare facilities need around-the-clock care, nurses in such settings usually work in rotating shifts covering all 24 hours. They may work nights, holidays, and weekends, or be on call. Nurses working in outpatient facilities that don’t offer 24-hour care usually work regular hours.

Surveys indicate that 70 percent of nurses work 12-hour shifts for three days and get 4 days off. Many nurses actually prefer these shifts compared to 8-hour shifts with fewer days off, plus patients don’t have to familiarize themselves with too many faces within a 24-hour period.

Nature of the Work

Working 12 consecutive hours in a high-stress, fast-paced, mentally and physically demanding environment, sometimes on two or three consecutive days can be extremely exhausting, especially when you factor in another 1-2 hours in time to prepare for work, commuting time, and shift transition (finishing up and handing over).

On top of that, many nurses have to skip their meal breaks, and rarely get the time to take even short breaks during their shifts – to rest and refresh, because they simply don’t have the time. That said, there is no typical day in a nurse’s life, considering they have to be prepared for emergencies, changes, and the craziness that make up a nursing shift, though they follow a certain routine during shifts.

What to Expect on the Job

1. Pre-shift ritual – Nurses usually get to their workplace before their shift starts to review their assignment and examine the history of the ending shift on PC. This helps them to better compose themselves as they prepare to take care of their patients in the coming hours. The report they receive from the nurse ending her shift helps them get important details about the patients.

2. The nurse then goes around introducing herself to the patients on her assignment while performing preliminary assessments, taking into consideration their main complaint.

3. Every shift has a med pass that can take quite a bit of time depending on the number of patients on assignment. It helps to check in on patients, ensure they’re stable, and get them the medication they need for that part of the day.

4. After passing meds, the nurse starts charting on the assessment findings, as well as any emergencies that happened during the shift. It is challenging at first, but gets easier as you learn the job.

5. The rest of the shift involves doing whatever occurs when it arises as you take care of your patient, and may include imaging tests, physical therapy, call lights, emergencies, and new orders from doctors.

6. At the end of your shift, you prepare a report informing the incoming nurse of events that took place during the shift so you can get them up to speed with the patients. Taking good notes on the assessment data and emergencies arising during your shift can help you prepare a better report of events that took place in the past 8-12 hours. In some cases, you may need to take some time after your shift is over to complete extra charting or attend to some other problems you’re responsible for.

But here’s the kicker: as daunting as working as a nurse may seem, nurses are often happy and extremely satisfied with their position!

Don’t know where to start? Marian College offers a vocational nursing program in Los Angeles and Van Nuys (2 campuses), which serves as a great starting point to your nursing career.

Choosing your career is a big decision. So, if you’re considering attending a nursing school hoping that you will ultimately become a nurse practitioner, how do you know that it is the right profession for you?

Marian College of Los Angeles has composed a few questions to ask yourself before you decide to join a nursing school program:

1. Do you have the right skills and temperament to become a nurse?

Nursing requires a lot of patience, compassion, caring, and helpfulness. As a nurse, you should genuinely want to help make a patient’s life better during their suffering, whether it is due to injury, illness, or stress. If you have always been a helpful and caring person, and are willing to take some science and mathematics courses, becoming a nurse could be your calling.

2. Are you a details person?

Some like to look at things from a general perspective, which is not bad. But a nurse needs to focus on all the small details, from assessments of patients to the little changes for the better or worse, to the specific instructions of doctors.

3. Are you a people person?

You need to look at yourself genuinely and see whether you can work with and respect people of all kinds regardless of their age, gender, size, or financial status. In the hospital you should be prepared to meet all kinds of people, including rude people who are not always pleasant.

4. Are you a team player?

Healthcare is a team effort with doctors in the lead. You will also have to work with lab technicians, fellow nurses, other hospital staff, patients, and the family members and friends of the patients. You need to be able to cope with different viewpoints and working styles.

5. Do you have the vital abilities?

These include time management, problem sensitivity, inductive reasoning, speech clarity, active listening, deductive reasoning, and critical thinking, among others.

Final Note

Everything said, you should know that there is more to being a nurse than running around the Emergency Room or ICU checking on patients, dispensing medicine, and getting vitals. There are many options in nursing, and you can choose to work with the very young or very old; focus on education, giving instruction to patients, or training other nurses; become a phlebotomy nurse by focusing entirely on blood; or specialize in another field.

An important part of determining whether nursing is right for you is identifying the specialty field that you would like to pursue within nursing, as well as those you would never like doing. Identify the required skills, the work environment, types of patients you’re likely to deal with, and specific challenges you are likely to face, and determine if you can handle them on a daily basis and overtime.

The ability to read, write, and speak a second language is a skill that is desired in virtually every profession. In the US healthcare sector, bilingual and multilingual nurses are particularly in high demand.

These nurses certainly do not replace the medical center’s interpreting services, which are usually offered over the phone, but it is a great advantage for patients to be able to communicate directly with a nurse, especially those with complicated conditions.

Why Multilingual Nurses are in Demand

Obviously, English is the US national and native language, but this does not mean that the entire population can communicate in English. On top of that, there is a growing population of non-English speakers in the country, which has made those in the nursing field capable of communicating in more than one language an eagerly sought recourse in the medical field.

Some of the benefits of being bilingual in nursing include:

1. Breaking communication barriers

Effective communication between patients, nurses, doctors, and clinicians is critical to providing high quality care. Bilingual nurses are not only able to help diverse groups of people, but also increase the quality of care that patients receive. Patients are more likely to return to the healthcare provider where communication and comfort were optimum, establishing a long relationship.

2. Creating a sense of comfort

When trying to comfort a patient who’s anxious about the treatment process, it helps if someone, especially a professional medical staff, can communicate in the same language as the patient. Additionally, people in any situation tend to be more at ease when expressing concerns in a native tongue, and feel less embarrassed when discussing openly and honestly to medical professionals without the involvement of a third party.

3. Additional support

After care is a critical component of the recovery process. A patient’s timely recovery may be influenced by how well the at-home instructions are understood and followed. Bilingual nurses play a vital supportive role when they can speak a patient’s language, helping to point out any useful instructions that could make the patient’s recovery safer and more efficient.

4. Foreign job prospects

If you like to travel, then being bilingual in nursing will give you an opportunity to move around a lot, even if they are short travel nursing contracts or mission trips. Your ability to speak more languages will give better marketability to work in non-English speaking countries.

The bottom line is apparent: open communication with regard to verbal and listening skills is critical to analyzing a patient’s problem and establishing the appropriate care and treatment. As a bilingual nurse, you already know about the issues prevalent in your community, as well as the family, customs, and food values of your people. So, you are in a unique position to ensure the delivery of a high standard of care while putting the patient at ease.

For years, the demand for medical staff has been biased towards primary care doctors, like physicians and internists. But recently, nurse practitioners and physician assistants have been climbing the ranks, getting past many doctor specialists in terms of demand.

A recent review by Merrit Hawkins shows that neither of the two positions had been among the top 20 most desired health professions in 2011. A more recent review shows that primary care doctors are still the most in-demand health professionals, followed by internists and psychiatrists – in that order, but nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) are now placed among the top 10. In fact, NPs and PAs ranked fourth on Merrit Hawkins’ list.

On their own, the report indicated that nurse practitioners ranked fifth after hospitalists, who were forth, while physician assistants took the tenth spot on the list, tied with general surgeons.

The report also indicated that advanced practitioners are in greater demand than a variety of specialties, including cardiology, neurology, urology, and general surgery.

So, the most in-demand healthcare specialties according to the 2015 Merrit Hawkins report, from a database of over 3,100 recruiting assignments conducted between April 2014 and March 2015 are:

1. Family Medicine – from 734 searches
2. Internal Medicine – from 237 searches
3. Psychiatry – from 230 searches
4. Hospitalist – from 176 searches
5. Nurse Practitioner – from 143 searches
6. OB/GYN – from 112 searches
7. Orthopedic Surgery – from 106 searches
8. Emergency Medicine – from 80 searches
9. Pediatrics – from 71 searches
10. General Surgery – from 63 searches
11. Physician Assistant – from 63 searches

Factors Pushing the Increase in Demand

All health systems require medical professionals at all levels, but recent data shows that nurse practitioners are more in demand than most physicians. Nurse practitioners are filling a vital role for the health care industry, especially with the recent emphasis on outpatient care, as trends in insurance payment from employers, private health plans, and the government (via the Affordable Care Act) seek to keep people well.

Nurses are needed to establish patient access and patient satisfaction. In fact, insurance companies have decided to include quality of care and patient satisfaction into the contracts they have with medical care providers. At the same time, health plans like Anthem (ANTM), Aetna AET (AET), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Blue Shield, and Blue Cross plans have consolidated into larger players and modified their payments to value-based care.

The increase in demand for nurse practitioners can also be attributed to the fact that more and more grocers and retailers are opening clinics in their stores.

There’s still plenty of time left this summer (2015)! If you’re thinking that summers are not as crucial for nursing students as they are for undergraduates in other competitive fields, you’re being unfair to yourself. When school is out for summer, it is time to get some much needed rest; fill that void in your life that was, just a while ago, consumed by mounds of books and endless studying.

A Few Ways to Have a Productive Summer as a Nursing Student

1. Read a Book

Nursing books are heavy and expensive. So, one of the things you did when joining nursing school was to find out which books were mandatory and those that were optional. Even if your campus has a library, there are some books that you will want to own, as they will definitely come in handy on a nearly day to day basis.

One useful book for fresh students is “The Student Nurse Handbook: A Survival Guide” that covers everything from assignments to placements to portfolios. You may also consider getting the “Made Incredibly Easy” series of textbooks. There are books for virtually everything in the series, from wound care to critical care to pathophysiology to calculations. Just get one and build your collection slowly.

2. Get Involved With Your Community

Whether it is a volunteer position or job, it is important that you get to be an active member of your community. By actively participating in the health care field while still pursuing your studies, you will broaden your nursing skills and knowledge. The experience will be vital for placement practice/knowledge, resumes, and bringing your knowledge to class.

Marian College of Van Nuys and Los Angeles offers nursing programs to kick-start your nursing career!

3. Go Abroad

Maybe the idea of going abroad during your summer may not seem practical, but you can get a lot of exposure and experience by seeing how other parts of the world operate. There are some programs that provide opportunities for students to acquire language, clinical, and volunteer experience abroad, like the Global Medical Brigades, and sometimes, the Red Cross.

When volunteering, it is important that you come across as a selfless person looking to do some good. Not just looking for a way to impress prospective employers.

4. Do Research/Assist Professors

There are probably some professors at your campus looking for lab or research assistants in the summer. If you have good relationships with your professors, consider asking them if they need your help. Alternatively, you can ask around for those looking for undergraduate assistants.

Amidst all your hard work, don’t forget to spend some time at the beach, getting a glow, shopping, and spending some time with those you love, either indoors or a night on the town.

Gallup, a popular polling and public opinion outlet, conduct telephone interviews every year on various topics. They happen to conduct annual polls on what profession can be trusted the most in America.

The results are in – once again Americans believe that nurses have the highest honesty and ethical standards, far above any other profession.

Out of 11 professions, 80% of Americans voted nurses as the most trusted profession. Medical doctors and pharmacists were tied at 65% of the votes. And members of Congress only received 7% of the votes for comparison sake*.

2014 Gallup Survey Background

Nurses were first introduced into the poll in 1999 and since then have scored high rates on the list. A few exceptions were from 2001 in which firefighters were the highest rated in response to the September 11 attacks. Other than this, nurses have seen very high trust rates consistently since 2005.

The results come in from telephone interviews that were conducted from December 8-11, 2014. A random sample of 805 Americans are used, aged 18 or older, living in all 50 states and Washington D.C. Each sample of adults includes a minimum quota of 50% cellphone respondents and 50% land-line respondents. This ensures that results are statistically significant.

What This Means for Nurses?

This means nurses should take pride in what they do because Americans clearly trust their word even more so than medical professionals who have years of extra schooling and experience on their belts.

“Patient-Centered Care” is what most hospital institutions instill within their nursing team as nurses are at the forefront of all patient interaction. Simply put, patients put their trust in nurses to make the best decisions based on LISTENING to their needs and acting accordingly.

An excellent nurse will learn from these results and make sure they adopt the right attitudes that result in high patient satisfaction – which can be difficult as patients are not enthusiastic being in a hospital setting for any reason.

*The full detailed survey results could be found on Gallup here.

Times have changed, and it takes more dedication, hustle, and tenacity to get a job today than it did for your parents. Even with a degree, it will be hard to get your dream job right out of nursing school. Although this can be disappointing, it also allows you to set realistic goals and expectations.

It will take you a while to get to your dream position, and as long as you have the passion and will to keep working towards your goals, you can progressively acquire skills and create experiences that will bring you closer to actualization. So, how do you keep you maintain your drive?

Inspired Actions
You need to consciously examine your nursing career to see what you like about your current situation, and what events can foster new growth.

• Evaluate your level of fulfillment: Every now and then, evaluate whether your career is providing you with the learning and fulfillment that you desire. Be honest with your assessment. Is your career challenging enough? How supportive is your workplace? Do you think you need to change what you’re doing and/or your work environment?
• Link up with other professionals: It is important to build a robust professional network by meeting with other nurses and professionals who can be instrumental in helping you expand your interests and contacts around the country or world.
• Stay Aware and Awake: Stay informed on events taking place within your professional, both locally and the wider medical sector. Are there new certifications that you’re interested in? What advances in your specialty should you be aware of? Are there shifts or trends that might threaten your employability?
• Personal evaluation: This is one of the most important actions that requires you to be honest with yourself. Are you content on a personal level? Is your career nourishing you as a person? Does your job provide opportunities for emotional, mental, and/or spiritual growth?

New Growth
You can encourage growth and development within your profession and work life by interacting with other nurses and healthcare professionals, attending interesting seminars and conferences, assessing and addressing your changing needs and desires, or conducting research on trends in the nursing or healthcare landscapes.

To achieve this, it is critical that you be a team player. You need to be comfortable working with others, and still maintain contact with your non-medical friends for a change of environment when you need it.

Final Thoughts
Your probably became a nurse because you like helping others, but you will be doing that for a long time, probably decades. So, it is important that your career path fulfills your needs. Seek workplaces, colleagues, and experiences that feed your desire and curiosity for professional fulfillment.

Technology continues to scale globally in every sector, and healthcare is no exception. From online job applications and software/computerized orientation education to electronic patient charting, technology is already a key component of healthcare even before the nurse gets to a patient’s bedside.

Technology and the Generation Gap

As healthcare continues to become more intricate and demanding, it is important that health care centers establish a strong, competent nursing team that works cohesively to provide patient-centered care. But this is not a very easy process, considering that today’s workforce comprises four distinct generations with a diverse age-group: traditionalists, baby boomers, generation X, and generation Y. Each age bracket offers a unique set of traits, values, and work views, and while the older generations (traditionalists, baby boomers, and generation x) were required to mentor the new, novice nurses, technology has changed the scenery.

Everyone acknowledges that advancement in technology in healthcare is necessary to streamline and hasten the process of information retrieval. The generation Y nurses are already comfortable and tackling technology with gusto, but many older nurses feel undermined and intimidated by the new requirements that involve electronic medical records, significant use, and other technologies in the workplace.

Learn about Nursing Programs in Los Angeles offered by Marian College.

To help them become more technologically informed, empowered, and healthy, these seasoned nurses have to call on the expertise of the younger generation. So, the tech-savvy nurses are taking up a mentoring role to ensure smooth implementation of new technologies in the workplace. By mentoring their co-workers, the younger staff members feel valued, more respected, and self-assured. Seasoned nurses respect and appreciate the technical expertise of generation Y, and are more willing to exchange their knowledge for mutual growth.

Bridging the Gap Between Technology and Healthcare: Nursing Informatics

Technology in healthcare is advancing rapidly as government incentives encourage institutions to implement and upgrade medical electronic records. A traditionally humanistic art, nursing is being pushed into a technologically dense atmosphere, which may become a stressor for the seasoned nurses. For nurses to stay ahead of the curve, some registered nurses are opting to specialize in IT and convert to nursing informatics, whose roles include:

• Nurse communicators – work hand-in-hand with other nurses to assist in the implementation and training of computer programs, and also identify and attend to computer system needs
• Nurse programmers – they write, modify, and upgrade computer programs used by nurses
• Nurse managers – administer or manage information systems
• Nurse vendor representatives – demonstrate systems to prospective customers

Healthcare facilities are opting to work with nurse specialists as opposed to IT professionals, because they have knowledge or experience with the nursing practice. But you cannot simply get training in nursing informatics without first completing nursing training, since informatics is a nursing specialty.

IT is an inevitable part of clinical care, and nurses need to prepare for the changes. They need to be flexible and open to what is coming, remain educated on changing trends, and work with professional organizations and their co-workers to adapt to the new demands.

It is ironical that healthcare professionals’ advise the public to eat right, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep, yet they themselves lack in these fundamental aspects of health, especially sleep. The National Sleep Foundation suggests that adequate sleep, between 7 and 9 hours within a 24 hour period, is important for the body to rest and restore itself, lack of which increases the risk of becoming sleep deprived.

Many nursing students struggle with sleep deprivation, which is characterized by physical, mental, and emotional fatigue. In severe cases, it can lead to difficulty focusing on tasks, cognitive impaired judgment, memory lapses, irritability, reduced reaction time, decreased vigilance and observational skills, and muscle aches and tremors. To avoid such, student nurses should try these 3 tips for quality sleep:

1. Consume foods that favor good sleep

Certain foods are known to improve the likelihood of quality sleep, including:

• Healthy fats, such as eggs, coconut oil, butter, avocado, and organic and pasture raised meats, which facilitate the body’s ability to manufacture sleep hormones.
• Foods rich in antioxidants such as fruits, vegetables, and green or herbal teas that help to remove toxins that can impede sleep.

It is also recommended that you maintain a healthy diet comprising proteins, healthy fats, and vegetables, and eat a minimum of 4 hours before going to bed. Protein foods are particularly important to help prepare your body for the sleep cycle.

In addition, you should avoid taking sugars and carbohydrates, including grains and vegetable oils, before sleep, because they can stress your body and alter the hormone cycle, impeding quality sleep.

2. Appropriate daily routine

When relieved from your shift, day or night, don’t hang around your work place or visit people. Instead, head home and prepare for sleep. Don’t do any exercise or workout before sleep, since this will delay sleep. Also, don’t consume any snacks or drinks containing stimulants like caffeine, nicotine, or alcohol at least 6 – 8 hours before bedtime. While alcohol is a sedative, it can lead to sweats, arousals and awakenings, and even nightmares after its metabolism.

3. Adjust the sleeping environment

Things such as warm temperatures, noise, artificial light, and electronics affect your sleep quality. So, if you have to sleep during daylight (or if there are artificial lights outside your bedroom), install blackout curtains to darken the room. This will help to prepare your brain for sleep. Other tips to help prepare you for sleep include:

• Take a warm bath and try to relax, at least one hour before you go to bed
• Brush your teeth and put on your pajamas
• Keep the house cool and quiet or play soothing music

Sleep deprivation can affect the performance of nursing students. These three tips can help you get quality sleep and be in your best state of mind and body when awake.

Read about how to manage stress as a nursing student.

Mother’s Day is in a few days – a day created specifically to acknowledge all of the hardworking Moms out there. Chances are, some of us have Mothers who also happen to be nurses! Make sure they feel appreciated and special on this day.

What Do I Buy Mom For Mother’s Day!?

Let me describe a scenario for you: you realize Mother’s Day is coming up and then immediately think… shoot, what should I get my own Mother??

Can you relate?

Well, we’ve done the research to figure out what the most common Mother’s Day gift ideas are. And just because they’re common does not mean they’re bad! Of course, it always helps to purchase a gift that is thoughtful and personally meaningful in some way – but really anything will do. Mothers always love knowing they’re children still think about + care about them!

Candles or Perfume

You almost cannot go wrong with candles or perfume – unless you come up with some bizarre scents. Aside from that, a nice scented candle or perfume goes a long way in putting a smile on Mom’s face.

Spa Dates

Seems like the obvious answer, but let’s face it – it works. Spa dates gives Mom some much needed time away from all of the daily routine hoopla and allows her to recharge the batteries. It’s even better when you go with her!

Home Décor

You can really have some free reign here. The best thing to do would be to visit a store that sells home décor items and simply browse around until you spot the item you know your Mother will love. You’ll know it when you see it – trust us on that one.

Time

Yes, time. No matter how fancy or expensive your gift may be, nothing trumps the most basic gift of them all – simply spending time with your Mother. This will go much further than a gift and won’t break the bank either!