Nurse Practioner
Valdez Regional Health Authority
A
Typical Day....
Laura Romberg does not have a typical day. This Nurse
Practioner is the program manager at the Valdez Regional Health
Authority. She makes sure the hospital work environment is safe,
efficient and offers quality services. She arranges educational
opportunities for her staff. If a new medical machine comes to
the hospital, she makes sure the staff is trained to use it.
Mrs. Romberg's duties include risk management, quality
improvement, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration)
training and safety, providing educational opportunities for staff
and credentialing of physicians.
Mrs. Romberg has a degree in nursing. She is a certified nurse practitioner and worked in that area for a year. She spent two years in critical care nursing.
What I have used from school most...
Mrs. Romberg knew during her first job in nursing that the courses she had in school were important. Writing skills and the sciences are essential to a career in nursing.
In school the things that helped me most..
As a program manager in a medical facility, Mrs. Romberg said that interpersonal skills, such as working with others, conflict resolution and problem solving have been important. She also recommends strong communication and leadership skills. She said that participation in extracurricular activities, community service and job shadow will help develop the well-rounded person required to be a program manager. A program manager needs to be adventurous, conscientious.
Pros and cons.....
The po
sitive aspects of being a clinical nurse are the rewards and challenges of helping people who are in hurting. Some of the challenges that nurses face are a heavy work load with a shortage of nurses available and the schedule of rotating shifts.
The main advantage of being a program manager is that the job has a regular 8 to 5, Monday through Friday schedule. The difficult aspects of this job are the deadlines and having to work at a desk most of the time.
Are you interested?
Mrs. Romberg said that she recommends a four year Bachelor Degree
program in nursing. A four year degree opens more opportunities
for a floor nurse to enter administrative jobs, such as
program manager. There are so many opportunities for nurses,
such as outpatient nursing, nurse's training, floor nurse, long
term care nursing, nurse practitioner, managers, administrators
and even pharmaceutical products sales representatives and trainers.
If you are interested in the medical field, Mrs. Romberg said that volunteering in a hospital will offer you experiences that introduce you to the many aspects that the field can offer.
Glossary:
1. risk management - the profession
or technique of determining, minimizing, and preventing accidental
loss in a business, for example, by taking safety measures and
buying insurance
2. quality improvement - a system for achieving or maintaining the desired level of quality in services by inspecting what is happening and assessing what changes may be needed to improve.
3. OSHA- Its main responsibilities are to provide for occupational safety by reducing hazards in the workplace and enforcing mandatory job safety standards and to implement and improve health programs for workers. OSHA regulations and standards apply to most private businesses in the U.S.
4. Credentialing of physicians - checking the training and experience of the doctors in the medical facility and if they have a malpractice record.
5. Nurse Practioners - Registered
Nurses with graduate level training in diagnostic and health assessment
skills. They relieve physicians of many time consuming tasks.
They interview patients, take medical histories, perform physical
examinations, order laboratory tests, make tentative diagnoses,
and prescribe appropriate treatments. Those who have a Drug Devise
Furnishing (NFP) certificate can also prescribe medication and
medical devices. Nurse Practitioners may refer patients to physicians
for consultation or to specialized health resources for treatment.
They always
work under the direction of supervising physicians
6. critical care nursing - a registered nurse that care for patients that need more medical attention .
7. floor nurse -a registered nurse that cares for patients in the hospital
8. pharmaceutical products- medical
items or medicines
9. Registered Nurses -work in acute
care hospitalsas Staff Nurses. They provide direct bedside care
and assist physicians
with examinations, chart the condition of patients, give medication, and administer treatment as ordered by the doctor. They may supervise auxiliarynursing personnel. Charge Nurses supervise a particular unit on one shift while Lead Nurses have 24 hour responsibility for a unit's staff, budget, planning, and long range goals. work in convalescent hospitals providing long term care to the aged or chronically ill. They provide continuity of care, physical and mental rehabilitation, and give encouragement to patients and their families. RNs monitor all aspects of patient care, including diet and physical activity. One Registered Nurse serves as Director of Nursing, responsible for hiring the nursing staff and overseeing all nursing functions.
In addition to hospitals, other areas of RNs
work for doctors and medical
groups, public health agencies and home care services.
Resources:
Nurse Rx
"I've always had a great interest in health care and I wanted to be a participant in this field to help people with my knowledge and skills. I chose this career because nurses spend a lot of time with the patients and their families," says Hope Butler, R.N.
http://www.mcphu.edu/minority/Rx_success/nurse.html
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