The Everything New Nurse Book, 2nd Edition: Gain confidence, manage your schedule, and be ready for anything!

306 Pages·2011·1.27 MB·English

by  Kathy Quan

Your survival guide for THE The New
information
N on the changing
the first year of nursing healthcare
E market
W
As a new nurse you’re entering one of Veteran nurse Kathy Quan teaches you
the most challenging and rewarding how to:
N
fields. You will quickly learn how to • Balance a hectic schedule, handle stress,
New
navigate a complex medical landscape, care and avoid burnout ®
U
for sick and vulnerable patients, and manage
• Deal with doctors and other medical
stressful situations with skill and ease. The
professionals R
Everything® New Nurse Book, 2nd Edition will
• Continue education while working
be your reassuring guide through all this S
• Use software, smartphones, and apps to
and more.
help treat patients E
Nurse
Packed with tips and strategies from nurses
who have seen and done it all, this revised and B
updated guide gives you all the tools you need
O
to get through those first critical months on the
job—and beyond.
O
K
Kathy Quan, RN, BSN, PHN has been a nurse for over thirty years. BOOK
Kathy currently works in home health and hospice nursing, while
also mentoring new nurses. She is the former nursing guide for
About.com, and now blogs about nursing on her popular website,
TheNursingSiteBlog.com. She lives in southern California.
2nd edition
The Gain confidence, manage
your schedule, and
Cover images: ©istockphoto/Jesper Elgaard, New ® COMPLETELY
Bob Hemphill Broadcast Design UPDATED!
be ready for anything!
$16.95 (CAN $17.99) Careers Nurse
ISBN-13: 978-1-4405-2687-9
ISBN-10: 1-4405-2687-7
QUAN,
BOOK RN, BSN, Kathy Quan, RN, BSN, PhN
2nd edition www.everything.com PHN
THE
NEw NursE Book
2Nd EdiTioN
Dear Reader,
You have chosen a fine and noble profession. It will bring you great joy
and satisfaction, and you’ll experience your fair share of frustration as
well. Nursing is a demanding and rewarding profession that is facing
many challenges. The economic downturn with the recession of 2008
that lingers today caused many nurses to delay retirement or to return to
work. This seemed to stall the pre-existing nursing shortage and caused
many new grads to have a difficult time finding a job. This is temporary,
and as the economy recovers, we will see a critical shortage of nurses
develop.
This book is about all the things you didn’t learn in school. There
is only a little bit of theory to show you how to put it to use and make it
work for you. I have drawn on my own experiences and those of many
wonderful colleagues whom I have had the pleasure to know to provide
you with some tips and helpful hints to survive your first year as a nurse.
I wish you all the best in your new career, and I hope that you find
great success and happiness along the way.
Kathy Quan, RN, BSN, PHN
Welcome to the Series!

®
These handy, accessible books give you all We give you everything you need to know
you need to tackle a difficult project, gain a on the subject, but throw in a lot of fun stuff
new hobby, comprehend a fascinating topic, along the way, too.
prepare for an exam, or even brush up on
something you learned back in school but We now have more than 400 Everything®
have since forgotten. books in print, spanning such wide-ranging
categories as weddings, pregnancy, cooking,
You can choose to read an Everything® book music instruction, foreign language, crafts,
from cover to cover or just pick out the infor- pets, New Age, and so much more. When
mation you want from our four useful boxes: you’re done reading them all, you can finally
e-questions, e-facts, e-alerts, and e-ssentials. say you know Everything®!
Answers to Important snippets Urgent Quick
common questions of information warnings handy tips
publisher Karen Cooper
director of acquisitions and innovation Paula Munier
managing editor, everything® series Lisa Laing
copy chief Casey Ebert
assistant production editor Jacob Erickson
acquisitions editor Lisa Laing
senior development editor Brett Palana-Shanahan
editorial assistant Ross Weisman
everything® series cover designer Erin Alexander
layout designers Erin Dawson, Michelle Roy Kelly, Elisabeth Lariviere, Ashley Vierra, Denise Wallace
Visit the entire Everything® series at www.everything.com
THE
NEw NursE
Book
2Nd EdiTioN
Gain confidence, manage your schedule,
and be ready for anything!
Kathy Quan, RN, BSN, PHN
Avon, Massachusetts
Copyright © 2011, 2006 by F+W Media, Inc.
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
An Everything® Series Book.
Everything® and everything.com® are registered trademarks of F+W Media, Inc.
Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
ISBN 10: 1-4405-2687-7
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-2687-9
eISBN 10: 1-4405-2760-1
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-2760-9
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard
to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not
engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or
other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should
be sought.
—From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products
are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams
Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial
capital letters.
This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.
Contents
The Top 10 Things for New Nurses to Know x
Introduction xi
01
What Is a Nurse? / 1 Finding the Right School 38
Definitions of Nursing 2 Financial Aid 40
Roles for Nurses 3 Surviving School 42
Opportunities for Nurses 6 Your First Clinicals 45
Health Care Reform and the Nursing Graduating and Preparing for the
Profession 7 NCLEX 46
Responsibilities of Nurses 10
04
Deciding Where to Work / 49
Nursing as a Profession 11
A Brief History of Nursing 14 It’s Not Easy to Find a Job 50
Why Choose a Large Teaching
02
Hospital? 51
Why Become a Nurse? / 17
Passing the NCLEX 54
Pros and Cons 18
Being a Hospital Nurse 56
Why Not Become a Doctor? 18
Why Do You Want to Be a Nurse? 20 05
Surviving Your First Day / 61
Gender Issues in Nursing 23
Come to Work Prepared 62
Nursing as a Second Career 25
Get the Equipment You Need 64
The Nursing Shortage 27
Invest in a Smartphone or Other Mobile
03 Device 65
How to Become a Nurse / 31
Buy Comfortable Shoes 67
Prepare in High School 32
What to Expect as the New Nurse 68
Be an Aide First 33
Choosing the Program for You 34
v
06 09
The New Kid on the Block / 71 Utilizing Teamwork / 113
Orientation 72 What Is Teamwork? 114
Expect to Annoy Someone 74 How to Delegate 115
Ask for Help 76 The RN Is Responsible for the Team 117
When Patients Question Your Age 78 No One Is above Emptying
Bedpans 118
Gossip and Office Politics 79
Can You Make This More Fun? 119
Be a Team Player 81
Tension Between Shifts 121
07
Your Scope of Practice / 85
10
Learn from Your Mistakes / 123
“Do No Harm” 86
Slow Down and Take a Break 124
Your State’s Nurse Practice Act 88
Learn to Say No 125
The Realm of Responsibility 90
Using Your Policy and Procedure
Clarifying the Nurse’s Role 92
Manual 127
Nurse Wannabes 93
The Five Rights of Medications 128
Nurses Never Diagnose Disease 95
Patient Safety Rules 131
08 When an Error Happens 132
Time Management / 99
Surviving Your First Mistake 134
Improving Quality of Care and Reducing
Stress 100 11
What You Learned
Planning Out Your Day Means
in School / 137
Prioritizing and Reprioritizing 101
Use a Timer 103 The Nursing Process 138
Stay Organized and Focused 104 NANDA 140
Document as You Go Along 105 Using Care Plans 141
Cultural Differences That Affect Health
Avoid Leaving Projects for the Next
Shift 107 Care 142
Expect the Unexpected 108 Clinical Pathways 144
The Importance of Writing It Down 110 Best Practices 145
The Idealistic Graduate 146
vi
Contents
12
The Patients / 149 When You Get Left in Charge 181
Sick People Are Not at Their Best 150 When Someone Quits or Gets Fired 182
Coping with Difficult Family Members 151 Why Nurses Leave Hospitals 183
Keep Them Informed 153 What Nurses Need to Be Happy 185
When It’s Okay to Cry with Float Staff and Travel Nurses 187
Your Patient 154
15
Losing Your First Patient 155 Expect to Get Sick / 189
When Families Argue about Patient You’re Bound to Catch Something 190
Care 155
Infection Control 191
Patient Teaching 158
Stress Management 192
Empowering Patients 160
Proper Body Mechanics 194
The Learning Process 161
Avoiding Needle Sticks 196
Looking at the Whole Patient 162
When You Get Sick 197
A Little Knowledge Can
Be Dangerous 163 16
Working with Technology / 199
13
Using Computers, PDAs, and
The Doctors / 165
Smartphones 200
Communicating with Doctors 166
Technology Is Your Friend 201
Coping with the Old-Boy Attitude 167
The Totally Paperless Hospital 202
Standing Up for Yourself 169
Increasing Your Knowledge Base 203
Finding Mentors 170
Using Your Facility’s Equipment 204
Patient and Family Education 171
How Technology Will Help Reduce
Learning by Observation 172 Errors 206
To Date or Not to Date? 173
17
Utilizing Preceptors Effectively 175 Discharge Planning / 209
Beginning with Admission 210
14
The Nursing Shortage
Mandated Reporting 211
in Action / 177
Understanding Insurance and the UR
Pulling Together to Survive a Shift 178 Process 212
When Someone Calls in Sick 179
vii
Involving Family Members in Your New Treatments and New Products 244
Teaching 214
Health Care Is Constantly Evolving 245
Understanding Home Health Care 216
How Health Care Reform Is Changing
Accessing Community Resources 218 Nursing 246
18 21
Documentation and Setting Future Career
Communication / 221 Goals / 249
Writing Skills 222 Advanced Degrees 250
Accuracy and Timeliness 223 Specialty Training and
Opportunities 252
Reporting Off 225
Other Roles for Nurses 253
If You Didn’t Chart It, You Didn’t Do It 226
Professional Organizations 255
Omissions Are Errors 227
Networking 256
Legal Implications of Documentation 228
Get Business Cards 257
19
Confidentiality / 231 Moving to Another Department 258
HIPAA 232 22
Taking Care of Yourself / 261
Understanding Your Facility’s
Policies 233 Don’t Take It Home with You 262
Protecting Patients’ Privacy 234 Keys to Avoiding Burnout 263
Dealing with Celebrity Patients 235 Find Ways to Reward Yourself 265
Social Networking—Facebook, Twitter, Managing Your Stress 266
and the Future 237
Your Personal Health Care 268
20
Nursing Is a Lifelong
Learning Experience / 239
Appendix A: Glossary of Terms
Soak Up Knowledge Like a Sponge 240
and Acronyms 271
In-Services, Seminars, and Journals 240
Appendix B: Additional Reading 275
Look for Opportunities to Improve
Appendix C: Websites 277
Your Skills 241
Keeping Up to Date with
Index 285
Pharmacology 242
viii
Acknowledgments
When the first edition of this book was published, it was my first book, and
it was an experience akin to giving birth the first time. This time around,
it’s like watching your child grow into adulthood with great pride and
satisfaction.
I have to thank all of the many nurses I have encountered throughout my
lifetime and my career for the good times and the bad, as they all helped
to make this book a reality.
Many thanks to my family, who have always been there and supported me
through all of the ups and downs of writing and revising this book. And to
my friends, who have encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and
reach for my dreams.
My agent, Barb Doyen, has been there for me through the best and worst
parts of writing and publishing. Thanks for believing in me and keeping
me sane. And to my editors, who have been patient, understanding, and
most of all extremely helpful in making this experience a positive one as
we work together to produce a book that will be helpful and supportive for
nurses everywhere.
Thanks so very much to you all!