We have been introduced to the picture of hospital as clean, white and organized institution. But if you belong in the family who don’t have enough means to sustain too many expenses then you probably seen the usual picture of a public hospital. Maybe you have seen patients that area staying in the corridor of the hospital. You probably seen the ratio of the nurse to patient is remarkable.

The big difference between public and private hospital are clearly seen. This is not only visible in terms of the payment but also in the kind of environment and services. Don’t get me wrong I know that doctors and nurses who are working in both institutions are doing their best to supply the best care that they can give. But the truth is that we can’t deny the fact that most of the public hospitals are getting shortage when it comes to the financial status. We are very much informed that the public hospitals have the responsibility to cure all the patients that come into their door if they can. The statistic shows that more than 50% of the patient can received medical treatment without payment.

The sad thing is that this is not well implemented because of the lack of the high technology and specialized services. Because of this reason they are forced to provide care that are only within their means which are normally out to date.

There are also cases where in the public hospitals staffs are forced to use disposal materials twice. They are taught to be resourceful in many ways just to come up with the proper care that they need to provide.

This matter should concern the government and even public officials to be concern on their hospitals. It will surely take a long run before our public hospital can be line with the outstanding private hospital.

We are very much aware that there are big changes when it comes to the kind of health care that is being provided by our nurses today. This is because of the progress that we have in terms of technology and as well as new medicines. The changes are also seen not only in terms of how care is being delivered but also about who are delivering the care to the patient.

If you are going to look unto the history of nursing you will find out that only women are allowed to take nursing before. There are notion that nursing are only for women as they are naturally giving care to their family. But now a day we can see that there are big changes in the nursing world. There are indeed big shift because there are lots of guys out there who are dreaming to be a nurse.

It takes year before this kind of change has been accepted in the medial industry. The first male nurses before is not even allowed to be in the delivery room. They are only given a single glimpse of chance to see what is happening inside. They are not allowed to have a female patient. In personal sense they are getting discrimination that guys who take nursing are homosexual.

But this is years ago and the good thing is that people even forgot that nurses has been exclusive to women profession before. There are lots of men today that are taking up nursing and the discrimination has already disappeared.

You can even see that there are lots of men in our nursing field that are taking obstetrics as their major. The issue is also the same when it comes to the midwifery field.

The men in nursing are now showing good competence in their co workers who are female. Let us give a good way for the male dreamers in the nursing field.

We are very much informed that lots of nurses are actually migrating to other country. This is really common especially for those who are skilled nurses that will surely be given the chance to go abroad because of their ability. We are having shortage in terms of the quality service in our medical industry because of this matter. We are even aware that even some of the doctors are finding their ways to be a registered nurse just to go abroad.

But if you are going to look at it closely you will see that there are lots of nurses who are actually unemployed. There are hundreds of schools that are producing thousands of nurses every year. It is really frustrating to know that good nurses have to go abroad just to get the income that she needs.
The sad part of this story is that there are lots of people who think that students who want to take up nursing are just after for money. There are now wrong notions in the Philippines that nurses are looking for a work experience so that they can go to other country easily.

The truth with this matter is that our country is actually having fewer funds when it comes to the supply of income with the numbers of nurses that we have. Many hospitals have a limit on how many staff they are going to hire because they are thinking about the payment to its man power. Sadly, the ratio of staff nurses to patient today is now in average of 1:50. Most of the hospitals are actually surviving with the help of student nurses.

It is indeed unfair to think that nurses are just after for money. One of the reasons to justify is that our student nurses are spending 4years in college with lots of things to pay. Some of the courses are having payment if they are having on the job trainings but our student nurse need to pay the hospitals just for their OJT.

Lots of people are going to other country because there are now good available jobs in the Philippines. This is also the picture for many nurses since they are just looking out for ways to supply the need of their family.

I am hoping that our country will come to its progress that nurses don’t need to go abroad and serve other nationality just to have the right income.

All of the present Nurses today already know that taking the board exam is never an easy thing. It is one of the most important tests that nurses should take. The preparation before the exam is indeed stressful. Before you take the exam you need to be prepared at least a week before the said date.

One of the most important things that you need to do before the examination is to get your self a study schedule. You need to discipline yourself and follow your study schedule. Answering question and answer exam is very helpful as a preparation. This is where you need to enhance yourself. Since you will be answering questions like this in the board exam you need to focus on this one. It is better than memorizing so much. Don’t get me wrong, of course you also need to memorize but practicing yourself in Q & A drills is really helpful.

Other thing that may help you is through the use of creating signs or flashboard in your room. This is very helpful as this may create retention that you need. Be sure that you will make signs that are important or the things that you should really memorize. Taking a short look and reading unto this signs before you sleep is really helpful.

The use of Mnemonic is also helpful. This has been proven for many who have taken the Nurse Licensure Examination. But be sure that when you are using this device you understand what you are memorizing. Between the two skills it is much better that you focus on understanding than in memorizing. Be reminded that the board exam will not measure how much you have understood.

With all the given skills you will need understanding a lot. Time management is also important before taking the examination. But in line with this you don’t have to study as always. You also need to set some time where in you can relax. Be sure that you will enjoy the preparation but not to the point that you will sacrifice your review. There is less learning where you are not happy with what you are doing.  And most importantly PRAY.

Nurses need to maintain proper hygiene not only for their patients but also for their selves as well. Proper hygiene is sometimes given  little attention by nurses and other practitioner in the hospital. Nurses should practice proper hygiene because they are in constant contact with different patient. If the nurse didn’t manage to follow the rules well there will be infections all over the hospital. People go into the hospital to get cured but some people may get worse in a certain hospital because they are not following certain health protocols.

To be able to maintain proper hygiene in the hospital you need to be informed about the basic procedures that you need to follow. The first thing that you need to remember and perform as often as possible is the hand washing technique. This is to avoid the spread of infection that you get from one patient that may transfer to another. It is a good advice that you visit patient that is less infectious and proceed to another patient.

You also need to remember that any contact with body fluids should be avoided. This may include urine, blood, and sputum. To avoid this you need to wear gloves even in a simple cleaning of wound. When you are performing changing dressings of wound you need to use the right materials and the right bandages.

Nursing schools today are giving much attention when it comes to knowledge about proper hygiene. There have been lots of rules that are being implemented by the schools today. One of these things is that the use of jewelry is not actually permitted but this may also depend on what area you are working. The nails for nurses should be kept short and clean as well. Following the rules of sanitation is very much important. Nurses should give attention to this matter since they are considered as people who are fighting in the name of good health.

Nursing profession is never an easy thing because you are handling the lives of people. There have been many cases where in the nurse is being connected to legal issues. If you are a licensed nurse you need to familiarize yourself with NURSE PRACTICE ACT. This is where you can find out the policy and the law that are concerning with nurses.

It is proper that you get informed about the changes and the regulations that are under this nurse’s manual. Your licensed has something to do with it if ever that there are unwanted outcome in the hospital.
If there are legal situations that occur in the hospital and are being brought in the court. Here are some of the terms that you need to know.

Negligence has been one of the common things that are associated with nurses when it comes to legal issues. This term means that the nurse failed to do something or she/he performed something carelessly.

While malpractice is the negligence to act that is according with the profession. This is also applicable with other medical personnel like doctors or surgeons.

The other issue is called assault. This is done by a nurse when he is threatening a patient that he will harm the patient. Even if there are no specific harm that is done the patient can still sue the nurse for this matter.

Other matter is called Battery. Unlike assault this is an act by the nurse that he harmed the patient without any consent.

Libel and slander is also included in the legal issues that are concern with nursing profession. This is already common to us because this is also use even in public matters.

Nurses should be very particular when it comes to these legal issues not only it concern there license but because it concern the lives of people.

We can’t deny that we are having a big progress when it comes to the world of technology. There are now lots of changes with the machines that we are using. It is interesting to know that even the hospitals are also affected by this matter.

The birth of electronic medical record is one of the evidence that you can see. Electronic medical record restores all the information of the patients that is being admitted in the hospital. Not all hospitals are open for this change but here are some of the reasons why the use of electronic medical record is better than the traditional.

The first reason is clearly seen in the storage capacity of the electronic system.  With this process they can be able to compile all the information in a single database. This can also allow them to have an easy access with the information if they somehow need something that is in the past record.

With this kind of system the nurses can have a fast transition of information from first shift to the next shift. This will ensure that the speed of the job is secured. With this help the nurse will now have more time that they can invest with their patient.

The hospitals don’t need to worry about its security because this will require a security code that will allow only authorize person to have an access with the records.

In the long run this can even help the hospital to have fewer expenses since electronic medical record only uses online technology. This is even better as there are systems that will automatically give the information you need in one of the patient in the hospital.

This will solve the dilemma of the nurses of the hardships that they are having in writing in the patient’s record especially if the nurses have many patients that she can handle. Error in the record can also be avoided.

Technology has indeed given a great contribution when it comes to the medical industry.

Yoga has been very popular with us as a way on how to relieve stress. Now a day it is said to be that yoga can somehow help the medical field in its job of taking good care of the patient. Yoga is a combination of proper breathing and correct body posture. Yoga is used as a way of uniting the integrating parts of the human body. So how will yoga benefits the rehabilitation of the patient in the hospital?

It is proven by science that yoga has been very useful in terms of physical aspect of the body. Yoga is not just use for spiritual side and not just for meditation as well. Having the practice of yoga can give you strong and flexible body. The use of deep breathing is also a medical exercise that is very much common in the hospital. With the use of deep breathing exercises in yoga it causes the nervous system to relax and function well.

According to many researcher yoga has been very useful in terms of lowering the stress hormones in the body. With the use of yoga we can now be able to eliminate more toxins in the body naturally. Yoga can even help our body to restore its proper function.

If you are a nurse or a doctor then you are a familiar that some patients are given instructions for some form of exercises or breathing exercises. This is where you can incorporate yoga in their rehabilitation. In line with this they can even resort to yoga even if they are not in the hospital anymore. Yoga can bring healing not only in the body but also in the mind and heart as well.

If you are interested in this kind of healing you can easily surf the internet for more forms of yoga that you can apply in a specific patient. This will surely change your dealings with your patient.

The hospital is the place where in life is being restored and being saved. But ironically the hospital environment is also one of the dangerous places where in you can acquire diseases. The diseases that are acquired in the hospital are called as the nosocomial diseases.

Among the many infections that you can acquire in the hospital the airborne pollutants are the one that should be given much attention. Even the CDC (Center for Diseases Control) emphasized the importance of the atmosphere in the hospital that should be kept clean and safe not only for the patients but for the healthcare worker as well.

The problem starts because of the effort that the hospital is doing to save the air-tight in the hospital in order to preserve the energy. With this reason the air flow is decreased and the microorganisms are just around the corner in the hospital.

The poor quality of environment in the hospital can do a big thing with regards to the rehabilitation or the recovery of the patient. One of the best examples is the SARS problem in year 2002-2003. This shows the vulnerability of the modern hospital against the fight of airborne pollutants.

The good thing is that there are purification systems that most of the hospitals can use today. One of the system that they can use is the HEPA technology that purifiers the air in the hospital. The use of this technology will filter automatically the 99.97% of microbes in the hospital. The CDC have given this much attention after the incidence of SARS. There is also UV technology that is used as the final defense of the hospital against airborne pollutants.

Since the indoor air is in constant contact with the patients and the healthcare worker this means that there should be more attention with regards to air purifiers in the hospital.

Since there are many nurses in the Philippines the number of the hospital even private and public is not enough to sustain the job needs of many nurses. Most of the new graduates and board passer are doing volunteer works just to meet the standards of the Nursing Board in order for them to fly to other country.

The thing is that the PNA announced that they will no longer consider the volunteer nurses in the Philippines as a working experience. Having this kind of news makes me thinks of how new board passer nurses will survive in our country. After all the hardship in the board exam the new board passers are somehow having a hard time having a good job or even as a hospital volunteer. The system shows that we have lots of numbers of nurses in the Philippines and it sad to know that even volunteer service will not do a thing for the new nurses. As we all know most of the new nurses’ fall into this kind of service.

The decision of the PNA have come to this point because there are hospitals  that are taking advantage of the new desperate nurses and they are requiring payment for the volunteer opportunity.

The truth is that there are lots of countries that are in need of a service of a nurse but the thing is that they are requiring for a years of working experience. The visibility of this rule is not yet well implemented especially in the hospital provinces. Since this is a new regulation it is more on word of mouth and is not yet giving so much effect for the nurses.

If this thing happens, new nurses really have to do the best thing that they can do because of the competition. The best help that volunteer experience in the hospital can do for your profession is that it can somehow help you to be a staff nurse if you show good records. You really need to give so much effort in nursing profession for you to excel.