Medical Training

Recently I was with a friend who was appalled with he saw someone in scrubs smoking a cigarette.  Since he knew that I taught for a LVN/LPN school, he asked me what type of education a student LVN/LPN receives in regards to the effects of smoking.  Even though a LVN/LPN program includes the effects of smoking and other carcinogens on the cardio-pulmonary and urinary system, education alone is not the only factor in promoting the health of those who want to hold down a LVN/LPN job.  At this point you might be asking, as my friend did, how many nurses do smoke?  According to the 2002 Current Population Survey (CPS) Tobacco Use Supplement, 15% of Registered Nurses smoke; 28% of Licensed Practical Nurses smoke. These are higher rates of smoking than other health care professionals, especially when compared to the rate of physician smokers.

According to the Association of Medical Colleges in the Nursing Times November 26, 2008 article, Health Study Shows Nurses Smoke More than Doctors, 1% of US doctors smoked in 2005.  The good news is that the rate of nurses who smoke is reducing.  In the November 24, 2008 Washington Post article Fewer than 1 in 10 Nurses Now Smoke, The UCLA School of Nursing study found that the rate of smoking among nurses has fallen from 33.2 percent in 1976 to 8.4 percent in 2003.  Unfortunately the November/December edition of Nursing Research states that the death rates of those who presently or those that smoked in the past are still double than that of nonsmokers.

Whether you are thinking about becoming a nurse or already a nurse you become a part of a team of health professionals.  As a team player you can ask for support, especially when it comes to improving your health.   In the Nursing Times November 26, 2008 article, Bob Smith, clinical nurse therapist in smoking cessation at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust says, “It is absolutely essential that a nurse who is helping a patient quit smoking does not smoke themselves because their help may not appear genuine.” Since stress is a big reason for smoking, student nurses can start on the right track by working together to creatively introduce stress management into their life to promote a healthy life for themselves and their patients.

Eating out at a taco shop can seem mundane until you notice that someone sitting next to you begins to choke and turn blue.  For the lay person without medical training from a LVN/LPN program, the thought of someone choking can be frightening.  One of the many benefits about becoming a LVN/LPN is that all LVN/LPN students must be trained in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).  In addition, healthcare facilities usually require nurses to be recertified in CPR every 2 years to be updated on the latest resuscitation methods.  Just in the last 3 years the amount of chest compressions has increased in ratio to the breaths. Some LVN/LPN schools, such as Gurnick Academy of Medical arts offers CPR training onsite for their nursing students.  Not all CPR courses are the same.  When taking a CPR course find out which CPR guidelines are taught in their program.

To be safe look for CPR certification agencies that follow the recommendations of the American Red Cross and American Heart Association for both CPR and AED techniques.  Just imagine what would happen if in a hospital everyone involved in a “code” received different CPR guidelines; not only that but what if they did not stay current on the latest techniques. Becoming an effective LVN/LPN and working safely in a LVN/LPN job requires receiving the most current information.  This leads us to the next question,“Where does one attend a reputable CPR recertification classes?” It may be tempting to take an online course or a one-hour quick course, but how much will you learn and retain without actually having sufficient practice time doing CPR on mannequins?

Another consideration is to find out if you will be able to practice the Heimlich maneuver, use an automatic external defibrillator (AED), as well as practice CPR on different size mannequins to resemble the adult, child and infant. You might receive training in adult CPR and mistakenly think you are proficient in CPR until you come to the aid of an infant choking or drowning, which requires a different technique.  The BLS Healthcare Provider Course, which is designed to provide the LVN/LPN student and a wide variety of healthcare professionals the ability to provide CPR, use an AED, and relieve choking in a safe, timely and effective manner. Even if you are not yet a nurse, this course can also be taken by nonlicensed healthcare professionals, and can prepare you for a variety of life-threatening emergencies.

Today, I had a great opportunity to meet with the Concord campus faculty of Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts. What a wonderful group they are! I was invited to give a presentation on the effective teaching methods for the didactic and clinical instructors. The meeting was very interactive, as the faculty members started asking questions and making comments, and the excitement of the event was present in the air.

As I was standing in front of this lively, intelligent group, I thought to myself: “What a wonderful idea to have faculty of different campuses interact with each other like this!” If anyone benefits from such interaction, it is our LVN students! It’s true! When working with an accelerated LVN programs, instructors have to work together, presenting a united front, when it comes to developing successful teaching methods and training techniques. Not only we get to “vent” about our problems in teaching, but we also find out the approaches of other teachers to certain challenges. And sometimes, we get to learn something completely unexpected and refreshing, leading to “Aha!” moments of our own, when we move outside of our comfortable boxes and look at what other instructors are doing.

I am proud to be a part of Gurnick Academy, who is promoting such interaction between the VN School faculties. Instructors get to learn from each other, share their concerns, experiences, and expertise with each other, making our LVN school stronger and more successful.

Parts of the LVN clinical training in Module 4 is that LPN licensed practical nursing students are scheduled to participate in various field trips throughout the Bay Area.  There are scheduled field trips to HeadStart, Martin Luther King, Jr. Preschool, Lynn Center, California Medical Facility in Vacaville, John Muir Medical Center and Sonoma Developmental Center.  These scheduled field trips during LVN courses are done to enhance the knowledge and experience of our students and thus better prepare them to be the best nurses they can be.  One of our field trips for Group 11 was to go to the Napa Coroner’s Office to observe an autopsy.

On July 16th Group 11 drove to the Napa Valley eager to have a life altering experience.  Students were anxious with cold, sweaty palms but also excited to experience the unknown.  We were welcomed by the Deputy Sheriff who gave us a nice tour of the facility and told us that there were two autopsies scheduled for that morning: a 25 year-old male and a 58 year-old female.  The Deputy Sheriff was explained that these two cases will be good experience for the students, as they will be able to see a variety of cases in one day.  We were briefed by the Deputy Sheriff as to what to expect and what was expected of us, but nothing could really prepare us for what we saw.

Our Clinical Coordinator, Nancye Maffei, handed out the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and instructed us to put it on.   As we put it on, we began to wonder why we needed this level of protection to observe an autopsy.  Nancye told us that during previous autopsies the pathologist allowed students to touch and hold human organs.  Experience from previous classes also taught us that there is the risk of exposure to clothing and skin.

We were told if we could not stand the smell or being that close to a dead body we could always stand behind the glass window in the other room.  As we were guided inside the coroner’s laboratory you could feel the cool breeze and the absolute absence of noise.  As the metal gurney was wheeled in with a closed body bag, reality started to kick in.  When the pathologist opened the zipper of the body bag we could feel the anxious, tense feelings of the students in the room.

The Pathologist (as well as all of the staff) was very accommodating to the Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts LVN students.  As he proceeded the pathologist told us exactly what he was doing.  The experience was very overwhelming to the students but it definitely taught them a lot about human anatomy and physiology.  For most LVN students it was the first time they had seen a human brain, heart, lungs, larynx, stomach, kidney, liver, thyroid, spleen and other organs.  It was an experience we will remember.

When we, the faculty at Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts, tell our students “we are here for you,” we actually mean it. Yes, it’s true, our LVN students have to work very hard toward their degree, and no, we do not “sell” the diplomas for the tuition fees. Our nursing students have to put a lot of work and their time into their studies to get the right to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse. However, when it comes to helping our students achieve their goal in education and becoming a healthcare professional, we stand behind them one hundred percent.

So, when LVN program students express their opinion on assignments given in class and at home, we listen to what they have to say. Everyone has a voice and deserves to be heard and considered. We do want to know, what works for our students, what learning techniques are the most useful in achieving maximum results, and which methods may need to be retired. This way, we get maximum student satisfaction, and yet the highest results in academic success. It is possible to get both: high students satisfaction scores for our school, and high NCLEX scores from our graduates. We push them hard, but we push them wisely. After all, we are here for them primarily. So whatever they have to say, we do listen , and we to hear.

Well we are back to school and it’s time to buckle up, study hard and enjoy the now. And I do mean enjoy the now. This time for knowledge, learned by both LVN courses and practical hands-on experience, is an important leap towards furthering your education and ultimately holding that coveted license as a Vocational Nurse (LPN Licensed Practical Nurse.

For my clinical students this is their first time for what we term as patient care with “real patients.”  The students are now interacting with real time and place situations in the process of becoming a fluent and valuable LVN of the future.  Here are a few of the skills which you must acquire during this critical and fulfilling portion of your clinical studies:

Patient Care:
A. Vital Signs
B. Wound care and treatments
C. Foley care and insertion
D. Collection of urine specimens
E. Removal of surgical staples
F. Develop critical thinking
G. Develop leadership skills

These skills must be obtained and made ready for the call of your new sought-after profession as a Licensed Vocational Nurse.  Be proud of those letters LVN and keep those letters always at the forefront of your day.  Remember it’s a journey and every journey begins with one step forward.

If you attended this weekend’s graduation ceremony of our VN group 17 and 18, class of 2010, you, probably, would have cried too. Tears of joy of making it to this long-anticipated day, filled with bitter-sweet memories and good-byes, tears of happiness and pride were rolling down the cheeks of our LVN students and faculty. Smiles were on every face, and no heart was left untouched.Following the heartrending Amazing Grace, the speeches of our VN program director and program coordinator, the beloved instructors and counselor, touched the hearts of the graduates and their families, who came to support and celebrate this special day for Gurnick Academy.

When the time came to light those candles and to pronounce the famous Florence Nightingale Pledge, the faces of our graduates lit up. It was not just the glow of the candles, but the deep, sincere belief in every word of the oath they were taking and the pride and devotion in becoming nurses that kindled the radiance on those faces. Oh, how pure that moment was! The distribution of the diplomas and the pinning of each student by their family members: husbands, wives, parents, or children, was simply breathtaking in the sincerity of the moment. Then the speeches by the student body government that brought tears to the eyes of the listeners as well as the speakers themselves were followed by the ever-so-moving slide show, accompanied by song No More You, where pictures of the fun times, working and learning together, growing to be nurses, were shown to the audience.

Our LVN students have finished their studies here at Gurnick, but they will never leave our hearts. And we will always welcome them back with open arms, because no matter where they go, or where their career takes them, they will always have us: their Gurnick family. Congratulations, class of 2010! Farewell and Good Luck!

So you finished going to an LVN school in California and you are wondering, “That was a lot of work, but what can I do with this LVN certification?” Well, first of all, think back to when you made the decision to become a nurse in the first place. Did you want to help people? If so, in what way?  Maybe you took care of a family member who was sick at home and you thought that was something you could do as a career.  Maybe it’s a career change because you wanted to be an advocate for people who are disabled or in capacitated due to illness.  Once you remember the initial reason for your becoming an LVN, you can explore possibilities and options available.  If you like children, look into hospitals, clinics, home health care, pediatric hospice, or maybe school nursing.  You liked the technology and machines, look into the companies who made them and give them a call.  They use nurses to help teach others how to use them and to sell them.  This could be a lot of fun.  If you happen to like the excitement and the adrenaline rush of thinking on your feet and acting quickly and yet not get too emotionally involved with the patient, then maybe emergency room nursing is for you.  It’s a very fast paced area to work.  If you do like working with people, the patients and other health care providers, then bedside nursing is great.  You have 8 or 10 or 12 hour shifts where you will see the patient throughout those hours.  And within that area are several specialties, such as geriatrics, that is working with the elderly.  You could work at skilled nursing facilities, rehabilitation centers, day care facilities, or some retirement homes have need of nurses. Sometimes you have to think outside of the box when considering where to work. Large manufacturing companies often have on-site nurses, sporting facilities where professional athletes play, camp nursing would allow one to be outside and work with either healthy or special populations (asthmatics, cancer patients, etc), and working in the prison system.  Prisoners get sick or already were, so there is another special area of care.

Do you enjoy seeing other parts of the country or even the world?  Travel nursing is an exciting field.  Many nursing magazines have advertisements for travel nurses.  You get to experience living in another part of the country, learning about their culture and beliefs, maybe even a different language.

Registry nursing is a challenging area to be.  Here you would work within a company who would send you out to appropriate places to work.  It could be one-to-one nursing in someone’s home, or possibly working in a hospital, or even giving out flu shots at the local drug store, constantly changing environments with new people.

LVN’s also can become instructors and teach other students to become LVNs.  But, with all these areas of nursing, you have to do research and find out more about it.  Some areas will only accept registered nurses; that is why you have to ask more questions. Sometimes you have to explore further from the cities to find where an LVN can work, but the jobs are out there.

Each student at a LVN or LPN school learns about nursing care for all stages of life including childbirth and infancy.  During this phase of life, some nurses have a credential to provide greater assistance for the lactating mother and baby.  There is even an association, The International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), which has over 5,000 members in 50 nations for the International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs). Nurses, midwives, and physicians are not the only health professionals allowed to become certified as a Lactation Consultants.

This specialty also encourages childbirth educators, dietitians, and other health professionals to apply for certification.  The role of a lactation consultant is far more in-depth than just helping the new mother breastfeed.  According to Valerie Banarie, RN, BSN, CLC from Breastingfeeding.com, Lactation Consultants can address the following breast-feeding challenges: infant latch-on problems, sore nipples, infant’s rapid weight loss or slow weight gain, insufficient breast- milk, and twin infants.

If a LVN or LPN wants to specialize in the clinical management of breastfeeding there are several health care settings that can utilize their expertise.  According to the ILCA (www.ilca.org), Lactation Consultants can work in “…hospitals, pediatric offices, public health clinics, and private practice.” For those that want to address global health, the ILCA with UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), provides representatives to organizations including the World Health Assembly and United Nations.