Nursing Care for Pin Site
Pin tract sites are where the pins and wires go through the skin. Pin-tract infections are a common problem around these pin sites, but may be avoided with proper pin care. The nurse professional will have a major responsibility of making sure that the pin site areas are cleaned daily and must take vigilant care to keep the pint tract sites clean and free of infection:
a. Ensure proper care and cleaning of the pin sites to remove dried blood and scabs from the pin sites to keep the skin from adhering to the pins and allow free drainage of the pin site. Gentle massage around the pin sites may also help to keep the skin from adhering to the pins. Excessive care should be taken when massaging around the pin sites as excessive
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If the patient experiences pain in a place where there are no pins, this may be the first sign of a nerve problem. This is called 'referred pain.' The next sign is an increased or decreased feeling in the area of the foot or hand, depending on where your external fixator is located. Report these symptoms to the surgeon as soon as possible. They may be indications of nerve irritation.
h.Remove any serous crust around the pins using dilute hydrogen peroxide and saline may be necessary using a sterile swab. A sweeping motion with the swab, to remove the debris from the interface between the skin and pin is necessary.
i. Avoid ointments for post cleansing care, as these tend to inhibit the normal skin flora and alter the normal skin bacteria, and thus can lead to super infection or pin site colonization. It is important to remove the buildup of crusted material, which will tend to stiffen the pin–skin interface and increase shear forces at the pin–bone interface. This leads to the development of additional necrotic tissues and fluid buildup around the pin. 2. The critical-care nurse needs to be alert to the potential problems that may be encountered by the brain-injured patient, who may be at risk of sudden deterioration at any time. This involves taking a holistic view of the
In nursing, the patient is often viewed as the main priority of the nursing staff. The nurse works to provide care for the patient based on the patient 's admitting diagnosis. However, the patient must be looked at as a part of the greater system they exist in such as their family or home environment. While the patient may be ill due to a bacterial infection or virus, their family environment also plays a role in their overall health and wellness.
In the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), patients are being monitored very closely while their vital signs, their neurological status, and their physical status are being managed with strong medications, lifesaving machines, and the clinical knowledge and skills of trained ICU nurses. Outside of the ICU, it is essential for staff nurses to identify the patient that is clinically deteriorating and in need of urgent intervention.
The nursing discipline embodies a whole range of skills and abilities that are aimed at maximizing one’s wellness by minimizing harm. As one of the most trusted professions, we literally are some’s last hope and last chance to thrive in life; however, in some cases we may be the last person they see on earth. Many individuals dream of slipping away in a peaceful death, but many others leave this world abruptly at unexpected times. I feel that is a crucial part to pay attention to individuals during their most critical and even for some their last moments and that is why I have peaked an interest in the critical care field. It is hard to care for someone who many others have given up on and how critical care nurses go above and beyond the call
Williams, M. (1998). In C.M. Hudak, B.M. Gallo, and P. Gonce Morton. (Eds.) (1998). Critical Care Nursing. A Holistic Approach. 7th Edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven Publishers.
called PPD Tuberculin under the top layer of the skin with a very small needle
We are not only responsible for patient care, but we are also included in many other roles. Before nursing school, I thought that the main responsibility of the nurse is to take care of patient. During nursing school, I learned that patient care was not the nurses known just for. We took many general courses and nursing course work to prepare ourselves to be an educated member. For example, it was required to us to take microbiology, anatomy, leadership, professionalisms, etc to help us to become a better nurse and have a foundation base of education. We give patient care in the hospital, but we are also provider of care. We use the nursing process to help and make decision for our patient. Our decisions are based on critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and accountability. We are hold accountable for everything we do and based on our judgment to provide care to the best of patient’s benefit. We are also known for our role as a manager, designer, and coordinator of patient care. I plan and coordinate patient’s care based on their health care needs. In clinical, my patient has a Foley catheter, I will know to plan and implement Foley care to help with personal hygiene and preventing infections. It is important to make decisions based on priorities, time, and resources. As nurses, we need to know how to delegate and ask for assistance when needed. For example, I needed help to ambulate my patient who has a total knee replacement, I then ask
As a nurse we are responsible for the safety and overall health promotion of our patients. Competency in the nursing field is what ensures patient safety and decreased hospital acquired injury. Continued competence ensures that the nurse is able to perform efficiently and safely in a constantly changing environment. Nurses must continuously evaluate their level of skill and find where improvement needs to be made in order to keep up to date with the expected skill level set by their
How nurses view the patients and the kinds of problems that the nurses manage in practice while they engage in patient care? They need to be certain, precise and just in front of the patients. Their reasoning is sufficient for their expected purpose. All reasoning can be assessed considering these standards, plus as nurses reflect upon their quality of their thinking, they begin to detect when they are being imprecise, unclear, inaccurate or vague. Nurses utilize language to lucidly communicate exhaustive information, which is substantial to nursing care. Therefore, they cannot be focused upon the irrelevant or trivial. Nurses, who think critically, wage all their reasoning and views to these principles, and the assertions of others in that the nurse's thinking quality improves throughout time, therefore, eliminating ambiguity and confusion in the understanding and presentation of ...
...managing the environment for the benefit of the patient to help reduce risk factors. Supportive measures by the nurse such as attention to noise reduction and lighting should be implemented to all patient care settings. The nurse should be proficient in their assessment method. The bedside nurse is in a front-line position to manage and prevent delirium.
The many concepts are very complex and have many dimensions. Concepts developed by Leininger, Watson, Gaut, Benner and Wrubel, Ihde, and many more were discussed and how they relate to ICU nurses and their caring practices. It is stressed in this article that ICU nurses have an important role of making sure they have insight into their specific behaviors so that nursing practices can be developed. Once these nursing practices are developed, ICU nurses can successfully care for their critically ill patients. Wilkin (2003) claims that caring is a, “dual component of attitudes/values and activities, which create an ongoing challenge for the ICU nurses” (p.
A registered nurses job is to take care of the patients and give the patients support (“Registered Nurses” para.1). To be a registered nurse, you need to have skills. If you don’t have enough skill, you need to improve them even though it takes a little hard work and motivation. You do need to be able to talk in front of people, see the patients condition, and understand the patients (Registered nurses” para.9). Registered nurses should ask appropriate questions and shouldn’t interrupt the patient. Nurses should be aware of others reactions and why they are reacting the way they are. Nurses always look for ways to help the patient. Nurses use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their patients (“Occupation” para.19). Registered nurses must provide person assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to co-workers, customers, and patients. Nurses must be organized, must plan, and prioritize their work. Nurses need to keep up to date and should apply new knowledge to their job (“Occupation”para.23). Nurses must be emotionally stable, must have speaking skills, and have compassion towards the patients (“Registered Nurses”para.14). To b...
145). A nurse’s primary responsibility is to ease the patient’s discomfort and this is accomplished a variety of ways. Physical comfort is critical and re-positioning is a common technique used to alleviate pain and promote comfort. Patients also need to be comforted mentally in order to ease the anxiety that accompanies major illnesses and hospitalization. Nurses must be a source of emotional support and be attentive listeners. Allowing patients to have an active voice in their care allows them control over the disease and diagnosis that is otherwise out of their control.
There are many members of the inter-professional team, all of which are contributing to the healthcare of acute and critically ill patients. Every member of the team has had education and obtained a license of practice compatible to their level of knowledge (Prater, Fundamentals of Nursing, 2013). As a practical nurse you need to be mindful of your scope of practice in relation to registered nurses, certified nurses’ assistants and other healthcare professionals. With so many different people involved in the immediate care of a patient, there is always the possibility of a mix up. The purpose of this paper is to help differentiate between the roles of the healthcare staff, which will in turn help develop a knowledge base for prioritizing care;
Nurses are an equally important part of each client’s life. Nurses provide stable care to each client, answer their questions, give medications and treatments, and assist with medical procedures. They also have the responsibility to explain to clients and family members what they should and should not do as they go through treatment and recovery. Nurses must quickly respond to patients needs. Every individual nurse has his or her own unique way of caring.
I believe that nursing should be a holistic approach, dealing with a patient’s body, mind, and soul. It is definitely a physically demanding job, but equally as important is the demand for emotional commitment. My past academic performance, as well as my personal qualities, provides the foundation for my career. A core characteristic of a successful nurse is teamwork and the ability to act as the liaison between the patients and the other members of the patients’ care teams. Besides working well in a team, it is also important to seek out help when necessary. Another vital quality is culture competency. Prosperous nurses understand diversity, and embrace and honor, rather than judge or ignore, what makes people different. Furthermore, critical thinking skills allow nurses to recognize possible patient problems. The intellectually disciplined process enables the nurses to respond to the constant changes and needs of a patient in their charge. Lastly, the nurse’s role has a zero tolerance for error where the smallest mistake may result in a life-threatening event. To ensure patient safety, it is critical to pay attention to detail and use caution no matter how stressed or overwhelmed a person might feel. These are the core qualities that I hope to attain as a registered nurse and important goals to adhere to for as long as I’m in this