Cardiac Catheterization

Dyess and Sherman (2009) explains in their journal The First Year of Practice: New Graduate Nurses Transition and Learning Needs, even though newly graduated nurses have achieved licensure to perform their job duties, many lack the clinical skills and critical thinking needed to provide safe patient care (Dyess & Sherman, 2009). In order to prepare for the influx of new nurses, The National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s (NCSBN) ideas led to a grant-supported Novice Nurse Leadership Institute (NNLI), a transition program used for researching and improving the transition of new nurses into practice. This model includes several significant novice nursing skill topics such as self-knowledge, leadership, procedural skill and ease, effective communication, clinical judgment, professionalism, knowledge of the health care environment, cultural diversity and sensitivity, safe practice, business skills, caring for self, and many others (Dyess & Sherman, 2009).

Transitioning from nursing school to working in a hospital setting can be a challenging time for a new graduate. Due to the nursing shortage, new graduate nurses are being hired with little to no experience. This is overwhelming for new nurses, especially when they are not getting adequate support or training from the hospital. The amount of stress, pressure, and lack of training is leading to a high turnover rate for new graduate nurses. With patient acuity on the rise, new graduate nurses that are filling these vacancies in the hospitals, need to be competent nurses to provide proper and safe care to the patients.

As I prepare for my first classes in nursing school, I recognize my unique position to examine the values that I will bring into my nursing career. Without any experience, my values remain relatively unshaped regarding healthcare. In contrast, the values of nurses who have already accumulated a variety of experiences tend to be more nuanced and informed. For this exercise, I met with one of these experienced nurses—CC, a cardiac-catheterization laboratory nurse who just welcomed her third child. Together, CC and I explored the differences in our upbringings, how we were each sucked into nursing, and how our values have changed throughout different life experiences. Above all, I intended to delve into the story of her fifteen-year career in order to discover how an experienced nurse philosophizes patient care.

Nursing can be a demanding career, but the benefits far much outweigh the challenges. Most importantly, it’s the rewards it offers by allowing an opportunity to make a difference in another person’s life through the provision of care when they need it. Just as Patricia Benner theorized in her book “Novice to Expert,” nursing encompasses both educational knowledge and extensive clinical experience acquired throughout one’s career. This far, I continue to acquire knowledge and clinical knowhow which will promote proper and efficient care to patients. Since I began practicing one year ago in a long-term healthcare facility, I have interacted with patients, families, physicians and other members of the healthcare team to coordinate patient’s care which has enabled me to gain confidence in myself. While I cannot deny that it was difficult to transition from a student to a licensed nurse, I learnt to overcome these challenges and focus on my strengths. Practicing as an LPN has provided a platform to learn and gain experience even though the duties and responsibilities are limited by the scope of practice.

On November 1st, 2016 I had the opportunity to conduct an interview with Katherine M. Sawyer RN, BSN of Owosso, Michigan. Katherine, a female nurse who has worked in the nursing field for thirty-six years began her nursing career at Ingham Medical where she was a full-time staff-nurse for three years; then worked as a per-diem staff-nurse for eleven years. After working at Ingham for a total of fourteen years, Katherine obtained a position at Memorial Healthcare in Owosso where she worked as a nurse educator for fifteen years. Shortly after this she became a Basic Life Saving (BLS) instructor as her main role as a nurse educator was to provide nursing orientation and this additional role fit in perfectly. After some time she became involved in Quality Improvement for four years, and she has now switched back to the nurse educator role where she once again has the role of nursing orientation for Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and Patient Care Techs (PCTs). The number of staff she teaches and orientates each month varies between one and ten individuals. She also teaches BLS and First Aid at Baker College of Owosso. Her contact information is as follows: Phone number (989) 413-1974 and e-mail address kmsawyer521@gmail.com. The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader of Sawyer’s role in the nursing profession as a nurse leader. Individuals will learn of Sawyer’s many different roles, responsibilities, and the organizational structure of Memorial

Collaborating with physicians, surgeons, cardiologists and fellow nurses as colleagues and equals. Then develop the leadership skills that sets you apart from other Nurses.

Throughout the history of nursing, nurses made vast strides to help it grow into the profession it is known to be today. Without clearly defined education and roles, the role of caring for the sick aimlessly moved amongst different groups of people from deaconesses, knights, nuns, and inmates until institutions were established for organized teaching programs. Today, individuals are eligible to take the Registered Nurse (RN) licensure test as soon as they complete the minimum of an Associates Degree in Nursing. However, there has been an increasing push for “making the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), or equivalent degree, the standard for entry-into-practice” (Altmann, 2011). Aiken et al. reported that recent studies indicate a decrease in morbidity, mortality, and failure-to-rescue rates in hospitals that employ larger percentages of baccalaureate prepared nurses (as cited in Altmann, 2011, p. 257). In addition, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently released a report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, and recommended the increase of BSN prepared nurses from 50% to 80% by 2020 (2011). In order for nurses to advance in the healthcare environment as professionals, they should be educated to the appropriate degree and be committed to lifelong learning. This paper will discuss professional identity in nursing and the implications of a bachelor prepared nurse.

On July 28, 2017, I went to South Pointe Cleveland clinic hospital to do my shadowing experience. I shadowed a registered nurse in PCCU (Progressive Cardiac Care Unit), on the fifth floor in the patient’s hall. While in there I got a chance to see the actual duties and responsibilities of a nurse. A typical work day of a registered nurse in PCCU is sharing information and report about the patient from the previous nurse who is in charged with the patient, monitor patient’s health status, give them medication, chart the patient’s assessment, etc. having a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing and CPR certified is required to be qualified to be able to do this career.

“Provision 7 challenges the nurse to participate in the profession’s contributions to society by being actively engaged with its progress and development” (Fowler, 2010; p. 91). Education is a constant element in my career as a nurse. At the state level I am required to have a set amount of continuing education hours every two years to carry a valid nursing license. Through my hospital, I must be current with my cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), be familiar with changes in policies and procedures, and be familiar with the different diagnosis on my unit; such as, ischemic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhages. I am also continuing my education by taking classes to earn my bachelor of science in nursing (BSN). It is not only my responsibility to further my own education, but it is also important for me to help others continue their education as well. I have done this on my unit by orienting new nurses. This is important because not only does it educate others, but it also helps reinforce what I have learned during

However, knowledge is an ongoing collection of information and a continual refinement of skills gained through practical experience. Dalton, Campbell, & Bull (2017) states that in nursing education, practice and policy inform knowledge (pg. 1). Through the foundation of knowledge accumulated in formal education, the nurse is able to build a framework for their client’s care. Nurses are continually learning through client interactions and if they apply critical thinking, nurses enable themselves to better solve difficult client encounters. Knowledge in the healthcare system continues to evolve through technology and nurses should welcome new methods and forms to their clinical practice.

The leading cause of death for people in the majority of the ethnicities in the United States is heart disease, this includes Hispanics, whites and African American. Heart disease is second to cancer in the cause of death of Native Americans, Alaskan Natives and Pacific Islanders. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 610,000 deaths are recorded from heart disease in the United States annually – which translates to one in every four deaths. Furthermore, heart disease takes the lead in the cause of death of both men and women. The most common type of heart disease is coronary heart disease, being the prime culprit in the death of over 370,000 individuals yearly. On average, 735,000 Americans suffer a heart attack yearly, 525,000 of these are first time sufferers while 210,000 people are individuals who had suffered a heart attack in the past (CDC, 2015). The above alarming statistics on heart disease is a cause for concern and requires a strategic action to fight this public health problem. One of the ways to treat, prevent and reduce the number of heart disease cases is a good and effective patient education. This paper discusses the competencies that make a nurse a good, effective and expert patient educator in patient with coronary heart disease and how to become one.

With over 1 years experience working in various wards throughout St Vincent’s Hospital as well as my placements throughout my diploma studies, I have gained a high level of knowledge of various elements of safety, effectiveness, and efficiency in nursing processes. I have been responsible for delivering a high quality of patient care, by completing tasks included but not limited to the following:

Going back to when I was a novice nurse, I was nervous, scared, afraid of making medication error, charting errors or fail to recognized patients worsening symptoms. These fears, made me vigilant, focused and kept me on my toes at all times. No matter which part of nursing I ended up as I grew up the from medical surgical nursing to stepdown unit nursing to intensive care nursing, I felt those fears in every step of my growth and they helped me be a better nurse for my pateints. Today, I am in the advanced practitioner program to become a nurse practitioner who is responsible for: interviewing, assessing, diagnosing, counseling and treating patients. To provide safe and quality healthcare, I am expected to have good critical thinking and decision making abilities (Maten-Speksnijder, Grypdonck, Pool, & Streumer, 2012). while I can recognize clinically deteriorating patients and recommend treatments, I am now responsible for providing treatments. I am now recognizing that facts about being not only responsible for the patient, but also to provide safe care that keeps the patient out of the hospital and out of the ICU. Knowing these facts, I am yet again, faced with the fears of my limited clinical practice knowledge as a practitioner. The amount of information that I have received and learned during this clinical rotation was both exciting and overwhelming at the same time, because I realized as a novice student nurse practitioner (NP), the limited depth of

Cardiac catheterization is often referred to as coronary angiography or a coronary angiogram. It is a radiographic procedure that is used to look at and visualize the heart and the coronary arteries. During a cardiac catheterization it is possible for the cardiologist performing the procedure to see how effectively blood is flowing through the coronary arteries. In addition, this procedure allows the cardiologists to see how blood is moving through the chambers of the heart and how effective the heart valves are functioning. A cardiac catheterization can also allow for the visualization of the movement of the walls of the heart to see if the pumping action of the heart is normal.

There is no doubt that the health care system is constantly changing and working to improve its flaws, to the best of its ability. Whether nurses like it or not we are a part of the ever changing health care system. “With more than 3 million members, the nursing profession is the largest segment of the nation’s health care workforce” (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2010, p. 1). The Institute of Medicine believes that nurses should be active in transforming the profession of nursing, along with the health care system. Regardless, of backgrounds, race, and age all nurses can contribute to the future of the nursing profession. The following paper will discuss the Institute of Medicine’s nursing expectations and recommendations, as well as the opportunity to becoming a clinical nurse instructor.