There are few jobs in today’s world that are essential to our society and being a nurse is one of them. Diane Marks Nurse Clinician of Pediatric Allergy at the Children’s Hospital in Winnipeg Manitoba granted me the privilege of sitting down to discuss her career . Through this interview I was able to gain perspective on how being a pediatric nurse encompasses more than what is written in the job description. It is more than just needles and antibiotics, but many times it means being a mother, a sister, a friend, a councillor, and many other roles in the patient’s life.
Marks graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelors of Nursing in 1985. With over 31 years of experience in pediatric nursing ranging
…show more content…
Granted, textbooks and nursing classes deal with death, but Marks explains that you do not really understand it until it is right in front of you. Overtime it becomes something that nurse’s become accustom to. To clarify the subject of death never becomes easy, it just becomes bearable. After 31 years of experience Marks explained to me that nurses have to learn how to distance themselves, yet still be caring at the same time; a trait that does not come easily to most. In the same way treating someone with a terminal illness is just as hard. In these cases nurses must step into the role of councillors. They must learn how to comfort their patient, yet not become too attached. As well they must learn how to explain to them what is happening, which can become especially hard when dealing with …show more content…
Like the general public, I assumed their only job was to aid doctors and perform routine medical procedures that they are trained to do. The purpose of this interview was to gain insight into how much more nurses do, and I was greatly surprised. Marks shared what it is really like to be a pediatric nurse, and all the other roles they must play in their patients’ lives. As someone who has never been admitted into a hospital, or have been in the care of a nurse, her stories were eye-opening for me. Marks gave me a new-found appreciation for all that nurses
Every little kid has high exceptions for what they want to be when they grow up. Some dream of becoming president of the United States of America, or becoming an Astronaut, a lot of little kid’s say that they want to be a Doctor. What kids do not understand is that there are many types of doctors, like an orthopedic surgeon, they work with feet, or an oral surgeon, who work with the mouth. Another similarity to a doctor is a nurse practitioner. They do many of the same tasks, like performing minor surges, fixing broken bones, or simply giving a routine check up. Becoming a nurse practitioner takes many years of schooling, good grades, a lot of time and dedication, and money.
Dealing with someone dying is not something that is going to be fun or enjoyable. Death comes to everyone, none of us can duck and dodge it. Death of natural causes is not something that can be controlled by anyone, but it is important for people to be with those that are dying. When someone you know is dying, whether they are friends or family it’s very important for them to feel loved and not alone. It is also important that the opinions and thoughts of the patient be taken into consideration because they are going through something that no one can say they relate to. In dealing with death, there are many emotions that are felt by the sick patient and their friends and family. In A Very Easy Death
Nurses are both blessed and cursed to be with patients from the very first moments of life until their final breath. With those last breaths, each patient leaves someone behind. How do nurses handle the loss and grief that comes along with patients dying? How do they help the families and loved ones of deceased patients? Each person, no matter their background, must grieve the death of a loved one, but there is no right way to grieve and no two people will have the same reaction to death. It is the duty of nurses to respect the wishes and grieving process of each and every culture; of each and every individual (Verosky, 2006). This paper will address J. William Worden’s four tasks of mourning as well as the nursing implications involved – both when taking care of patients’ families and when coping with the loss of patients themselves.
Aside from the firm decision, being familiar of the concept in paediatrics and its set-up must also be considered. Previous exposures to paediatric wards as well as acute care units can sharpen the skills of a nurse practitioner. Most part of the work involves taking into consideration the growth and development of children and how the nurse should manage to intervene when alterations occur such as hospitalization, procedures and operations to the child. This external factor does not only influence the child...
It is found that nurses report that their most uncomfortable situations come with prolonging the dying process and some struggle with ethical issues by doing so (Seal, 2007). Studies have shown that implementation of the RPC program and educating nurses have increased the nurses’ confidence in discussing end-of-life plans (Austin, 2006). With confidence, the nurse is able to ask the right questions of the patient and make sure that the patient’s wishes are upheld in the manner that they had wanted, such as to not resuscitate or to make sure their spiritual leader is present when passing (Austin,
When people think of a pediatric nurse practitioner, they normally think of a person who performs examinations, takes blood samples, and measures vital signs of children who are sick. What they don’t see are the countless hours spent getting to know the patient, showing sympathy and understanding, and having to explain the diagnosis and treatment plans to the parents and sometimes to the child. According to my career cruising inventory, any job in the medical field would be right for me. However, after reading the descriptions, I concluded that a pediatric nurse practitioner was the best path. I will be attending nursing school to receive my nurse practitioner license, while specializing in pediatrics. The skills, educational requirements,
I am currently majoring in nursing, and plan to become a pediatric nurse. However, before starting high school I wanted to be a veterinarian. Because of this, my mom signed me up to take Health Team Relations my freshman year. At the time, Health Team Relations was a prerequisite course; I was required to take it before being able to continue with what was known as Allied Health I and Allied Health II. I was taught the basics of health care, including terminology and the different careers available in the medical field. Health Team Relations was the course that helped me begin to consider my career options.
The American Nurses Association (ANA) thinks that nurses should stay away from doing euthanasia, or assisting in doing euthanasia because it is against the Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements (ANA, 2001; herein referred to as The Code). Overall, nurses are also advised to deliver a quality of care what include respect compassion and dignity to all their patients. For people in end-of-life, nursing care should also focus on the patient’s comfort, when possible the dying patient should be pain free. Nurses have also the obligation to support the patient but also the patient’s family members during these difficult moments. We must work to make sure that patients and family members are well informed about every option that is
For this assignment I had the pleasure sitting down with Emily Petermeier and getting an insight on what the real nursing world is like. Emily graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Nursing in May 2015, and got a job at Fairview East Bank Hospital. This interview really helped me understand what it is like to be a new nurse and the dedication that I have to have going through nursing school and throughout my career. In the interview you will see the perspective of Emily’s endeavors after college and insight for future nurses or nursing students.
I recall being little and played pretend being a nurse with my sisters and I can remember the huge satisfaction I got by it. Pretending to be a nurse today is something I no longer wish to do and hopefully in a few years I will have the opportunity to call myself a registered nurse. In today’s era, it is obvious that nursing has come a very long way and it is all thanks to the nursing community and advanced technology. Nursing is not an ordinary job that consist of an eight-hour shift, drinking coffee and surfing the web. Nursing is a full-time commitment to the community, the patients, and last but not least to oneself. Nursing is more than taking care of an ill patient. It involves taking care of patients
Ever since I was a little girl, my motivation to pursue a career in the medical field was evident. While other children my age watched Cartoon Network, I found more value in shows like ‘Trauma: Life in the ER’ and ‘A Baby Story.’ It wasn’t until high school that I decided I would become a nurse, specifically. I cannot say that I had a revelation or a particular experience that swayed my decision. However, ever since I began pursuing the career of nursing, I discover each and every subsequent day that it is what I was put on this earth to do.
Pediatric nurses do a lot of the same tasks as a regular nurse. They draw blood, check vital signs, can perform physical examinations, and order diagnostic tests. However, the job of a pediatric nurse goes beyond regular nurses. They must have a caring relationship not only with the patient they are tending to, but also the patient’s family. Parents usually prefer a pediatric nurse over a regular nurse due to the caring relationship they carry. This is well known by the nurses as the caring process. During this process the nurse must help the child and the child’s family step by step with anything they may need at the time. The pediatric nurse provides support, care, and information on how to prevent future problems. Pediatric nursing can be defined as “the practice of nursing with children, youth, and their families across the health continuum, including health promotion, illness management, and health restoration" (Barnsteiner et al). Therefore, you can see from that statement alone there is more than one job to be done by a pediatric nurse. A pediatric nurse can see anywhere from 80 to 100 children a day. They take appointments, walk-ins, and sometimes make home visits. Only when the pediatric nurse finds an abnormality will they refer and send the child t...
My earliest experiences of observing nursing in action occurred during my last two years of high school. My father was diagnosed with cancer during the spring of my junior year and died right before my senior year. During that short time I watched as the nurses cared for him and I could see compassion and empathy in the way they looked at him. It never occurred to me until after I had raised my children that I wanted to be able to help people in the same way those nurses helped my dad. But now when I tell people that I want to be an oncology nurse, people often respond by saying that they would never choose that type of nursing. They say that they could not stand to watch their patients die so frequently. Their reactions, along with this course in death and dying, have made me question how I might be able to bear the challenges of nursing in an area where death of my patients may be common. I believe that oncology will be a positive specialty to work in because of the consistent advances in prevention, early detection, and treatment of cancer. Furthermore, I believe that William Worden’s four tasks of mourning as presented in our text book is a good framework for the oncology nurse to use in order to cope with the repeated losses inherent in this type of nursing (Leming and Dickinson, 2011).
“Persons intentionally choose to become nurses to help patients meet their health needs,” even when the patient is actively dying. (Wu & Volker, 2012) Hospice nursing and palliative care nursing are both considered end of life care. However, hospice nursing is typically given to patients with a terminal illness and who have less than six months to live. Palliative care is typically given to patients with a life threatening illness, and is used to increase the patient’s quality of life. Choosing a nursing career in either hospice or palliative care can be extremely difficult, but will provide an opportunity for great personal growth. At times, an end-of-life caregiver may feel responsible for their patient’s death, or they may feel isolated due to a lack of support. Nurses new to this field should “feel that their unit acknowledges death as a difficult event and that discussion of death is acceptable in the workplace.” (Lewis, 2013) The most rewarding, and also most difficult, part of being a hospice or palliative care nurse is the ability to be a part of your patient and their family’s life, including their loss, grief, and death. (Wu & Volker, 2012)
The subject of death and dying is a common occurrence in the health care field. There are many factors involved in the care of a dying patient and various phases the patient, loved ones and even the healthcare professional may go through. There are many controversies in health care related to death, however much of it roots from peoples’ attitudes towards it. Everyone handles death differently; each person has a right to their own opinions and coping mechanisms. Health care professionals are very important during death related situations; as they are a great source of support for a patient and their loved ones. It is essential that health care professionals give ethical, legal and honest care to their patients, regardless of the situation.