Aug 23
Yes, it is true that the Licensed Vocational Nurse and Practical Nurse are trained in
LVN/
LPN programs to become leaders. In fact, during the last module or semester of training the LVN/LPN student commonly has the opportunity to become a team leader. A team leader of a nursing unit is usually in charge of one section of the facility or nursing station. During the extensive clinical training at both the
LVN/LPN school’s clinical lab, and at skilled nursing facilities or hospitals, the student nurse gradually increases their duties, responsibilities and the amount of patients to care for. Prior to graduation the student becomes a team leader to draw from both their clinical and theory education to manage the care of their patients and delegate nursing duties to their assigned team of student nurses.
While the team leader administers the medication, the team leader delegates to the team members to perform dressing changes, glucose finger sticks, bath care, vital signs, and other nursing duties. The team leader’s assignment may appear to have the lightest load, but even if the leader has thoroughly planned their day, they still need to allow time for the unexpected. In fact there is a phrase in nursing, “Always be prepared for the code,” which refers to the unforeseen events that can occur to even the most organized nurse.
Some students refer to the first day of being a team leader as being similar to the experience the first day working in a new job; filled with anxiety and anticipation. Fortunately it doesn’t take long before the student blossoms into a leader. They not only learn more about the nursing profession, but most importantly learn about themselves as they practice leading a group. To gain feedback about their leadership qualities, they are evaluated by their clinical instructor, each team member, and complete a self-evaluation. The evaluations bring out both their strengths and weaknesses, which offers the student nurse valuable information to make adjustments and become a more organized and prepared nurse and leader.
Aug 10
As my LVN students study and fill their mind with new facts and data, they are also being taught how to become more sensitive to their patient during the physical tasks of lifting & transferring patients from a bed to wheelchair and stretcher, as well as pushing wheelchairs and stretchers. Inside the LVN/LPN schools skill lab the students practice these skills and more while using their classmate and mannequins to substitute as a patient. One of the skills to master is “breaking the patient’s fall.” The word “break” may sound as if they are breaking their own back to protect the patient, but rest assure that this is a safe technique that the students learn to allow their patient to slide down the student nurse’s leg to the floor, instead of a fatal fall to the floor.
The LVN Nursing students have both clinical instructor and their illustrated textbook with detailed steps to guide them down the safe path. Along with practicing these steps, they themselves get to experience being a patient who is dependent upon someone else for transferring from one place to another. Instead of choosing when and having the ability to jump out of bed, sit on a toilet, and freely ambulate down the hallway, the students sit in wheelchair waiting for another student nurse to push them through the handicapped-bathroom doorway and then transfer them onto the toilet. Don’t worry, even though we want our nursing students to experience being a hospital patient the students keep their clothes on.
Soon after a student nurse experienced being a patient in a wheelchair she stated, “It’s the little things that matter.” She was referring to her classmate’s attentiveness to her as he pushed her in a wheelchair outside and avoided the hot sun, kept an even pace, and not once jeopardized injury to her limbs. This was her positive experience after she had pushed him around in the wheelchair. Another example of how valuable being the patient is to learning a skill is when students take turns being lifted/transferred from one hospital bed to another. I can always tell who has never experienced being the patient before, as their eyes get big and sometimes even let out a scream as they are temporarily air-born during their transfer from one bed to another. These valuable lessons that heighten one’s awareness require first-hand experience as they cannot be fully taught by a textbook or lecture alone. Hopefully memories of being the “patient” will carry over to their LVN/LPN job to remind them of the importance of being sensitive to their patient.
Jun 13
Surely you have read ads from people wanting to find the best caretaker for their loved one, but have you ever seen an ad requesting a caretaker for a nurse? During a recent bout of food poisoning I found myself asking, “Who would I call if I needed a caretaker?” Fortunately my husband was there to assist me until he realized that maybe it was time to call 911. In my delirium I pleaded to “tough it out” at home. Looking back I realize that just because I have the title of a nurse doesn’t mean I can always take care of myself or make wise decisions about my illness.
As the students in a LVN and LPN school train to become a LPN or LVN the focus is on the care of others more than self. The LVN or LPN job requires that they be prepared for the ultimate “code.” When it comes to you as the nurse, prospective or attending nursing student, who would you call to make decisions about your care? To prepare in advance, you can fill out a type of Advanced Directive, known as a Living Will or Health Care Directive. For ease you can fill one out online at legacywriter.com, and make sure you check the current laws about these directives in the state you live in.
These directives pertain more to whether you want artificial life support and some other treatments when you are unable to make those decisions. I recommend making your own “care plan of action” in advance that lists the people, who you both trust and have medical knowledge when you can not get a hold of your own healthcare provider. These people might just be in your own neighborhood to assist you before you are on your death-bed. For myself, I was able to remember my former neighbor’s name, who used to have her own medical practice. She was able to give us much needed advice, which contributed to my fast recovery and a happy ending.
Jun 11
While attending and celebrating the 30th American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) annual conference with 500 nurses, we also acknowledged both the International Year of the Nurse and the Centennial of Florence Nightingale’s death. The setting for this momentous occasion was in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which offered views of both flat land to the east and rugged mountains to the west. This approprié location enhanced the messages from our keynote speakers, Jean Watson, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN and Janet Quinn, PhD, RN, FAAN as they increased our awareness of how far nurses have come since Nightingale’s influence on nursing.
This year with the coming together of nurses, whether they are a LVN, LPN or RN, we have the support to emerge forward in our profession. Quinn displayed the stages of the butterfly metamorphosis to depict the stages of our nursing profession. For years nursing programs, including LVN and LPN programs facilitate the transformation from nursing student to nurse. Today the veteran-nurses, as well as the new-graduate nurses, are encouraged to transform from the struggle of a 100-year chrysalis stage to unite as emerging butterflies. Janet used the analogy of butterflies to symbolize nurses, and gardens to symbolize hospitals that support the nurse.
Quinn suggests that instead of buying or transporting more nurses to fill nursing positions in hospitals, build healing habitats within a hospital, similar to building a garden to attract and sustain the life of butterflies. This is an exciting time to be a nurse, and especially for those entering RN, LVN, or LPN schools to become a part of this year’s AHNA conference theme, “Re-Visioning Environment: Creating a Habitat for Healing.”For more information about the AHNA conference refer to www.ahna.org
