Tools nursing administration

Our flexible online format makes it possible to complete coursework at your own pace, from anywhere, 24 hours per day. Courses last as little as seven weeks, and you may be able to finish your degree and graduate in as little as eight months.

Additionally, our RN to BSN online program offers six start dates per year, so you may be able to begin taking nursing classes immediately. What makes this online flexibility possible? Tech tools. Specifically, Canvas, a learning management system LMS that translates campus-based classes to the online setting. You can share information, join discussions, and pose questions to your instructors—experienced faculty, most of whom are former online students—and classmates using email, chat, and discussion boards.

You can even set up virtual study groups. Technology tools for nurses have forever changed the way we learn about and practice this critical profession. Experience the benefits of tech tools for yourself starting with our online RN to BS in Nursing program. Tech Tools for Nursing Education and Practice. Smart Medical Reference Downloaded more than , times, this app is a one-stop medical reference guide. The app has many valuable features, including: Lab values reference—Easy-to-understand, succinct coverage of of the most frequently performed laboratory tests.

National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. StatPearls [Internet]. Search term. Last Update: August 30, Analysis or diagnosis formulate a nursing diagnosis by using clinical judgment; what is wrong with the patient. Issues of Concern The function of the initial nursing assessment is to identify the assessment parameters and responsibilities needed to plan and deliver appropriate, individualized care to the patient. Admission history and physical assessment as soon as the patient arrives at the unit or status is changed to an inpatient.

Data collected should be entered on the Nursing Admission Assessment Sheet and may vary slightly depending on the facility. Documentation and signature either written or electronic by the nurse performing the assessment.

Documentation: Name, medical record number, age, date, time, probable medical diagnosis, chief complaint, the source of information two patient identifiers.

Allergies: Medications, foods, and environmental; nature of the reaction and seriousness; intolerances to medications; apply allergy band and confirm all prepopulated allergies in the electronic medical record EMR with the patient or caregiver.

Medications: Confirm accuracy of the list, names, and dosages of medications by reconciling all medications promptly using electronic data confirmation, if available, from local pharmacies; include supplements and over-the-counter medications. Valuables: Record and send to appropriate safe storage or send home with family following any institutional policies on the secure management of patient belongings; provide and label denture cups.

Rights: Orient patient, caregivers, and family to location, rights, and responsibilities; goal of admission and discharge goal. Falls: Assess Morse Fall Risk and initiate fall precautions as dictated by institutional policy.

Psychosocial: Evaluate need for a sitter or video monitoring, any signs of agitation, restlessness, hallucinations, depression, suicidal ideations, or substance abuse. Nutritional: Appetite, changes in body weight, need for nutritional consultation based on body mass index BMI calculated from measured height and weight on admission. Vital signs: Temperature recorded in Celsius, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, pain level on admission, oxygen saturation.

Cardiovascular: Heart sounds; pulse irregular, regular, weak, thready, bounding, absent; extremity coolness; capillary refill delayed or brisk; presence of swelling, edema, or cyanosis. Respiratory: Breath sounds, breathing pattern, cough, character of sputum, shallow or labored respirations, agonal breathing, gasps, retractions present, shallow, asymmetrical chest rise, dyspnea on exertion.

Gastrointestinal: Bowel sounds, abdominal tenderness, any masses, scars, character of bowel movements, color, consistency, appetite poor or good, weight loss, weight gain, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, presence of feeding tube. Genitourinary: Character of voiding, discharge, vaginal bleeding pad count , last menstrual period or date of menopause or hysterectomy, rashes, itching, burning, painful intercourse, urinary frequency, hesitancy, presence of catheter. Neuromuscular: Level of consciousness using AVPU alert, voice, pain, unresponsive ; Glasgow coma scale GCS ; speech clear, slurred, or difficult; pupil reactivity and appearance; extremity movement equal or unequal; steady gait; trouble swallowing.

Integument: Turgor, integrity, color, and temperature, Braden Risk Assessment, diaphoresis, cold, warm, flushed, mottled, jaundiced, cyanotic, pale, ruddy, any signs of skin breakdown, chronic wounds. Provide a certified translator if a language barrier exists; ensure culturally competent care and privacy. Ensure the healthcare provider has ordered the appropriate tests for the suspected diagnosis, and initiate any predetermined protocols according to the hospital or institutional policy.

P: What provokes symptoms? What improves or exacerbates the condition? What were you doing when it started? Does position or activity make it worse? Q: Quality and Quantity of symptoms: Is it dull, sharp, constant, intermittent, throbbing, pulsating, aching, tearing or stabbing? R: Radiation or Region of symptoms: Does the pain travel, or is it only in one location?

Has it always been in the same area, or did it start somewhere else? S: Severity of symptoms or rating on a pain scale. Does it affect activities of daily living such as walking, sitting, eating, or sleeping? T: Time or how long have they had the symptoms. Is it worse after eating, changes in weather, or time of day? Active, attentive listening: Attention to the details of what the patient is saying either in a verbal or nonverbal manner. Empathy: Demonstrate that you understand and feel for the patient, recognition of their current situation and perceived feelings, and communicating in a nonjudgmental, unbiased way of acceptance.

Share hope: Ensure in the patient a sense of power, hope in an often hopeless environment, and the possibility of a positive outcome. Share humor: Fosters a relationship of emotional support, establishes rapport, acts as a positive diversion technique, and promotes physical and mental well being. Cultural considerations play a role in humor. Touch: Touch may be a source of comfort or discomfort for a patient, wanted or unwanted; observe verbal and nonverbal cues with touch; holding a hand, conducting a physical assessment, performing a procedure.

Therapeutic silence: Fosters an environment of patience, thought and reflection on difficult decisions, and allows time to observe any nonverbal signs of discomfort the patient typically breaks the silence first. Provide information: During an assessment and care, inform the patient as to what is about to happen, explain findings and the need for further testing or observation to promote trust and decrease anxiety. Clarification: Ask questions to clear up ambiguous statements, ask the client or patient to rephrase or restate confusing remarks so wrong assumptions are clarifiable and a missed opportunity for valuable information forgone.

Focusing: Brings the focus of the conversation to an essential area of concern, eliminating vague or rambling dialogue, centers the assessment on the source of discomfort and pertinent details in the history. Asking relevant questions: Questions are general at first then become more specific; asked in a logical, consecutive order; open-ended, close-ended, and focused questions may be useful during an assessment.

Summarizing: Provides a review of assessment findings, offers clarification opportunities, informs the next step in the admission and hospitalization process. Self-disclosure: Promotes a trusting relationship, the feeling that the patient is not in this alone, or unique in their current circumstances; provides a framework for hope, support, and respect. There are IV pumps for nutrition that give needed meals at the right times. Additionally, there are self-pumps that allow patients to increase a controlled amount of pain medication for themselves.

Automated IV pumps help speed up nursing processes and can be crucial if there is a need for immediate adjustment. Changing medication through an automated process also removes elements of human error that could present issues for clinical patients and hospitals. Automated IV kits give nurses opportunities to focus on other areas of work, instead of having to measure and give medication or food.

Hospitals all have different kinds of automated IV pumps, so training and education is often based on the specific hospital or clinic where nurses work. Portable devices monitor vital signs like ECG, respiratory rates, and oxygen saturations while transmitting the information back to a central monitor. Most hospitals have nurses check levels hourly. Portable monitoring technology allows nurses to track and note stats at the right time, even if there are a lot of other things going on. This helps them constantly monitor patients from anywhere in the hospital.

The alerts and alarms sent to nurses through the portable monitor can save lives. Nurses learn at their specific hospital how to utilize portable monitors, and nursing schools help teach students the value and general use of many common pieces of equipment. Smart bed technology can help nurses track movement, weight, and even vitals. Smart beds also play a major role in keeping patients safe and comfortable during a long hospital stay. With the number of falls and patient injuries inside hospitals, smart beds are very important for patient safety.

It can also help them identify patterns, which can lead to a new diagnosis or a different understanding of a condition. Nurses also spend less time coming in and adjusting supplies and medical equipment for comfort or safety because they can help control that with their smart bed.

It allows providers to get back to other important work that only humans can do. Wearable devices and mobile apps are transforming the healthcare industry. Devices that help track heart rates, exercise, sleep, respiration, and more are helping people take their health into their own hands. With increased accessibility to iPhones, nurses also benefit from apps and devices that help them care for patients.

For example, the Steth IO smartphone stethoscope is essentially a stethoscope app that allows nurses and doctors to simply use their smartphone to get breathing sounds and see heart rates. Using a phone can be less intimidating—especially for younger patients—and gives providers a full range of information and easy tracking of medical needs.

Wearable devices from health tracking to specific patient monitoring are often called the future of healthcare. With access to huge amounts of data, wearable devices can help the entire healthcare process, from diagnosis to recovery. They also help remove elements of human error for nurses because the communication of data comes directly from the device itself. It allows for faster record keeping and helps patients and nurses maintain consistent monitoring of health.

Wearable devices from health tracking, to specific patient monitoring, are often called the future of healthcare. With access to huge amounts of data, wearable devices can help the entire healthcare process; from diagnosis to recovery.

Wearable devices help remove elements of human error for nurses, because the communication of data comes directly from the device itself.