Newsworthy Nurses & the Nursing Profession

Newsworthy Nurses & the Nursing Profession Every nurse is a star in his or her own way. For anyone that has ever been hospitalized, they will make it known that the nurses were the core of their care and treatment. A patient may see the doctor for 10-15 minutes at the most during the day, however they see their nurse throughout an 8 or 12 hour shift, multiple times. In the eyes of many patients and their families, nurses are without a doubt, heroes.

Famous Nurses in History That Made News Clara Barton is one of the most famous nurses in history. Born on 12/25/1821, Ms. Barton was a pioneer nurse who founded the Red Cross.

She worked as a nurse during the civil war, and is noted for her humanitarian work. She received numerous proposals during her lifetime, however never married, saying her work was her life.

Mary Breckinridge, 1881-1965 was a resident of Kentucky. She was upset that poor people were not having their medical needs met, so she founded frontier nursing service to treat anyone that could not afford care. At a time when many women died during pregnancy and childbirth, with infant mortality rate very high, Mary made it her mission to change that, and indeed she did, raising the survival rate of moms and infants by 25% in one year.

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Nursing Profession in the News According to a recent Gallup poll, nursing is the number one profession when it comes to honesty and ethics. 84% of the respondents rated nurses as being ethical and honest. That is about 50% higher approval rating of nurses over any other profession. That is quite an honor, and every nurse should be proud as a representative of the profession.

Mimi Greeley just turned 100, and has plenty to say regarding her years in the nursing profession. Mrs. Greeley went into nursing in the last 1920’s and attended nursing school in the early 30’s. She then worked as an army nurse in the Pacific Islands during World War Two. Mimi elaborates on the word makeshift, saying strong winds would knock walls down, and there was no actual floor throughout most of the medical facility, it was just ground.

Mimi describes what conditions were like at that time, patients being treated with minimal equipment and medications, often with bombs off in the distance. Mimi was recognized in The NY Times after World War Two ended,

thanks to her courageous efforts and willingness to stay with her patients even after an evacuation was ordered for safety. The NY Times referred to Mimi as a great representation of all nurses, and she agrees with that statement, saying she didn't do anything another nurse would have done.

In a patient satisfaction survey conducted at 50 large hospitals around the U.S. patients were asked to rate their stays, which ranged from 1 day to 17 days. One question was included, regarding who provided the most care for them during their stay, and every person taking part in the survey answered, nurses. This is a true representation of nurses everywhere.

While it is true, you may hear or see the occasional story of a nurse that is negative, in most cases nurses are at the core of great stories and reports from patients everywhere.

Nursing in the News As baby boomers age, much of the medical care may be moved to the home. Many seniors would rather remain in their own home, which means visiting nurses would pay regular visits to oversee patient’s medical needs and care. The visiting nurse association is the main home health care provider in the U.S. visiting nurses care for not only sick patients, they work with the patient to ensure their medical needs are being met, and to keep the patient healthy. This particular area of nursing is expected to grow significantly over the next 20 years, as more seniors opt to remain in their homes. An article published in 2012 mentioned postoperative patients that receive in home nurse visits were twice as likely to regain health quickly, and to avoid any complications associated with surgery. This study emphasized the importance of nurses in healthcare, and explains why the home care nurse field is anticipated to grow so rapidly.

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Health Care Changes in The News There are many health care changes that either have, or are going to take place. Many of these changes will have an impact on the nursing profession, as insurance companies will allow nurses to report more on patient care.

Nurses may begin to take a bigger role in patient care by making suggestions and serving as even more of a liaison between doctor/patient/insurance company. Nurses may start to engage more in video, or virtual visits with patients, offering a triage type service to provide an initial assessment of the patient's condition. Insurance carriers are

confident this will lead to an overall reduction of emergency room visits.

This service would work in the following way:    

Patient calls physician’s office with complaints of a sore throat Patient is routed to a nurse video call The patient describes a moderately sore throat, saying they believe they need a prescribed antibiotic..

The nurse gathers the information, verifies patient information and records, them determines if the patient needs to see the attending physician. The nurse evaluates the patient based on medical history and current information provided by the patient. The nurse then advises the patient to come to the office, pick up a prescription, or to wait and see if the condition improves.

There is no question nursing in the future will take on an even bigger role, and the nursing profession will be profiled more in the news media. Nurses will take on more responsibilities, and with that responsibility, there will come attention from news sources. Good or bad, nurses will be a news topic as the role and duties change.

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