DiversityNursing Blog

“Unless you really have a passion and a desire to be a Nurse educator, we don’t see people migrating to that field, because of the pay,” said Ron Moore, the recently retired vice president for Nursing at Charleston Area Medical Center. Moore said without qualified Nursing faculty to teach the people who want to be in a Nursing program, states like West Virginia aren’t going to be able graduate enough Nurses to meet the needs of its aging population. “So without an adequate workforce, hospitals can’t function to their capacity."

Nursing shortages are forcing hospitals to close beds, hire temporary Nurses at great expense to fill the gap and possibly provide less than optimal care to patients.

According to Benedictine University, with the amount of Nurses approaching retirement, there are a variety of concerns that there will not be enough Nursing professionals to fill this void. Demographic changes and the aging population are expected to become more serious as Nursing demands grow. Individual’s lifespans are increasing and require more attention to long-term care. Nurses educators are sought after for guidance and teaching to prepare seniors for long-term home care and educate future Nurses who will be the care providers.

“The average age of a Nurse is around 50,” says Dr. Knestrick. “It’s estimated that over 50% of Nurses that are practicing are over the age of 50. This means that within 10 to 20 years they will be retiring from Nursing, which will further add to the shortage.”

In some states, there are already strategies in place to address the shortage of Nurse educators. According to indeed.com, the Nurses for Wisconsin initiative provides fellowships and loan forgiveness for future Nurse faculty who agree to teach in the state after graduation. Some Nursing schools have formed strategic partnerships to help boost student capacity. The University of Minnesota has partnered with the Minnesota VA Health Care System to expand enrollment in the schools Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing program.

Nursing programs should emphasize the invaluable role of Nurse faculty, step up recruitment efforts for the next generation of Nurse faculty and provide Nursing education tracks that address the healthcare needs of today’s multicultural and growing society.

Good Communication

Emotional stability

Empathy

Attention to detail

Physical Endurance

Desire to continue learning

SENSE OF HUMOR

When it comes to healthcare, technology is not only convenient, but also life-saving. It is also constantly changing. We compiled a list of tech trends you should expect to see in the near future.

telehealth

Telehealth is the use of digital information and communication technologies, such as computers and mobile devices, to access health care services remotely and patients can manage their health care. They can use an online patient portal to see their test results, schedule appointments, request prescription refills or email their doctor. 

Virtual appointments enable them to see their doctor or Nurse via online live video. These appointments let them receive ongoing care when an in-person visit isn't required or possible. These web-based "visits" can also be used for minor illnesses, similar to the services available at a drop-in clinic. 

Health care chat bots

Chat bots can help patients with a number of things such as book appointments, remind them to take their pills or assist them in refilling their prescriptions. Here are a few examples of health care chat bots and what they do.

• Florence — this chatbot Nurse tells patients to take their medicine, gives them instructions if they forgot to take a pill, monitors their health (and periods for women) and can help them find specialists and book appointments in their area.
• Your. MD — it replaces the assistant of a GP, asks about symptoms and puts enough questions approved by health professionals to identify a condition probabilistically then sets up appointments, referring patients to physicians.
• Safedrugbot — this messaging app helps doctors take notice of possible side effects of drugs during breastfeeding and helps to keep mothers safe.
• Babylon Health — another conversational healthcare assistant with the feature of booking a doctor.
• SimSensei — still in its experimental phase, it uses voice and face recognition to mimic a therapist, also interacting with the patient at deeper levels.
  
  

Smart Beds

Smart beds are continuing to gain popularity. For example, the Stryker S3 bed is a popular acute care/MedSurg that many hospitals use currently. The Stryker safety solution is called iBed. iBed allows the user to set up conditions for the settings on the bed and if the bed is set outside those parameters, visual indicators notify the user that the bed must be put back to the safest condition for that patient. Also, the beds are set up to be wireless, removing the need to remember to plug the bed into the wall and no more damaged 37-pin connectors. The bed is loaded with sensors including weight, brake, rails, and head-of-bed angle. This makes bed related patient safety easy requiring very little upkeep.

Patient and Staff identification systems

Patient and staff identifiers in the hospital setting have become increasingly important in light of patient mix-ups and unauthorized people entering a facility or accessing patient records.

According to an article by Americanmobile.com, "Bar codes, wristbands and radio frequency identification (RFID), all work to track and identify patients in an effort to reduce errors while also keeping the hospital population safe. New palm vein technology, eye scans and microchips have also been introduced as a way to identify both patients and healthcare professionals, and to cut down on unauthorized access to patient files."

Digital Patient Room Whiteboards

Interactive Digital Whiteboards integrate with a hospital’s real-time location services. It provides patients with their daily schedule, introduces staff as they walk into the room and logs which clinicians visited the patient.

According to NewYork-Presbyterian, "patient electronic boards digitize and improve upon traditional whiteboards. Instead of requiring providers to erase and re-write any new information, the boards integrate with the patient’s Electronic Medical Record (EMR) data to display any updates as they happen. Patients and providers can immediately see accurate pain scores, fall risks, and scheduled tests, and family members can see important phone numbers. The boards display data visually wherever possible, including pictures of a patient’s entire care team in real time.

Cloud Computing

Personalized medicine

How do you feel about the impact technology has on healthcare? Do you use any of these in your work place? If so, do you think it positively or negatively effects your work? Please share your comments below! 

Find a work buddy

In any job, especially Nursing, it’s easier to cope with emotional stress when you have a work buddy to help you through tough shifts. You can vent to your friend, share your frustrations and they understand what you're going through. If you haven’t found your best friend at work yet, don’t worry, you will.

Eat well

Most Nurses work in a fast-paced environment and are often short on time, which can lead to relying on fast food that is high in fat, sodium, sugar, and additives. Look for ways to add more lean proteins, fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Try meal prepping for the week.

Meditate or find a quiet space

Try to find peace for at least 10 minutes in a quiet room or in a quiet place outside with no electronic distractions. Ten minutes of quiet is longer than you think, but you'll feel more refreshed afterwards. Just take a moment to focus on breathing and calming positive thoughts to boost you through draining times.

Mentors are there for experience-based guidance and honest advice. In some areas up to 60% of new Nurses leave their first position and some leave the Nursing profession entirely within two years. A stressful work environment combined with a lack of support from fellow Nurses can make it difficult to transition from Nursing school to the professional ranks of Nursing. Nurses should use mentors as a resource. Not only when they have a problem but in any stage, whether they are aspiring to take on a new role, grow in their current role, or become a stronger leader.

Mentoring a fellow Nurse takes leadership skills and experience, of course, but also much more. According to Dale Beatty, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, Standford Health Care’s Chief Nursing Officer and Vice-President of Patient Care Services, there are basic core values that mentors need to have: honesty, integrity, trust, and confidentiality. A mentee should be able to trust their mentor enough to be vulnerable with them, and the mentor should foster that environment of safety and trust. 

Mentors have much to gain personally and professionally by helping new Nurses adjust to their role.  While Nurse mentors are helping people understand and practice the standards of Nursing, they are also reviewing the processes and procedures and are in a position to facilitate changes or make improvements if needed.  Also, inexperienced Nurses will have been exposed to the newest technologies and trending issues and can give a different perspective to the experienced Nurse who might not be as exposed to these current developments.

Have you ever thought you could be a better leader or manager than the person who was in charge? You should seriously consider being a mentor. When mentoring others, you are actively working on your coaching, communication, and leadership skills.  Working with different individuals from various backgrounds helps you to develop the relatable skills necessary to handle many personality types.  Being a mentor first is a great way to find out if management is something you want your future to evolve into.

Magnet Program Director Anita Girard, DNP, RN, NEA-BC said, "For student Nurses and recent graduate Nurses, a mentor is a resource that could help guide them to their future careers and shape them along the way, but figuring out where to find one is the first step. A great place to start is to visit websites for state Nursing associations and student Nursing associations. Additionally, getting involved in professional organizations can help, since these are usually full of Nurse leaders that could be potential mentors.

Becoming a mentor is a big decision to make.  While the personal and professional benefits far outweigh the challenges, mentoring has to be something you are emotionally and professionally ready to handle. 

Have you ever been a mentor or mentee?  We would love to hear your stories! Please share your experiences in the comment section below.

Diversity in the Nursing field is necessary to progress health equity and improve patient outcomes. As a result of efforts in recent years, the Nursing workforce today is more diverse than it was a decade ago, but there is still work to be done. The goal is to have a health workforce that mirrors the nation’s diverse population.

“Latinos make up 17.3 percent of the U.S. population,” said Norma Cuellar, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor of Nursing at The University of Alabama, director of the BAMA-Latino Project, and president-elect of NAHN. “Unfortunately, as the number of Latinos continue to rise, the number of Latino RNs does not. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, there are about 2.9 million RNs in the country, and just three percent are identified as Latinos. This results in a failure to provide culturally congruent care, language barriers, and health disparities in the Latino population.”

As the principal investigator over the NIH-SEPA grant, Angie Millan, RN, DNP, FAAN, NAHN project director and the Nursing director of Children’s Medical Services for the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, aims to inform new generations of Latinos to consider Nursing as a worthy and rewarding career, and provide the guidance, support and resources needed to achieve Nursing career aspirations.

“The Hispanic community is very young, with an average age of around 26, and our numbers continue to increase,” Angie said. “However, the number of Hispanic Nurses is not keeping up with the growth.  We need help in communicating with parents, students, teachers, and counselors that Nursing is a great career, and that to be prepared, students need to know the math and science requirements.”

Teri Murray, Ph.D., dean of the School of Nursing at Saint Louis University said, “Racially diverse students, from populations currently underrepresented in Nursing, will be paired with peer mentors, faculty mentors and seasoned Nurse mentors who are out working in the field. “Mentoring has been shown to be effective for students from underrepresented backgrounds in serving as role models, assisting students to navigate college life and the profession, and in general showing the student the ropes,” Murray told the American.

2018 marks the fourth year of the NAHN Hispanics in Nursing campaign to increase the number of Hispanic Nurses, which is made possible through a grant received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Science Education Partnership (SEPA). In addition to providing information about which classes to take in high school to prepare for Nursing prerequisites and highlighting the profiles of Latino Nurse role models, the campaign also provides access to Mentors Connection, a database of Latino Nurses who can provide career guidance, advice, and cultural perspective to prospective Nurses.

“It is imperative that we encourage these Latino students not only to obtain their degree in nursing, but to pursue advanced degrees. There is a dire need to increase the number of Latino nurses who are academically prepared to be leaders in a variety of healthcare roles,” said Dr. Cuellar. “In this ever-changing healthcare landscape, it’s more important than ever for Latino nurses to have a seat at the table. We have to be leaders in nursing, and we have to be the voice for the Latino population.”

First generation college students (FGCS) face many obstacles which affects enrollment and graduation rates. Some barriers include lack of college readiness, familial support, financial stability, racial under representation, low academic self-esteem, and difficulty adjusting to college.

A National Center for Education Statistics study found that among students whose parents had completed high school, 54 percent enrolled in college immediately after graduation, while only 36 percent of students whose parents had less than a high school diploma immediately entered college. 

Students with at least one parent who attended college are nearly twice as likely to graduate as first-generation students, according to a long-term study by the National Center for Education Statistics released in 2015.

Racial under representation is a difficult barrier. 20% of first generation college students do not consider English as their first language. Household income is another. The median annual household income for students whose parents earned a degree is just shy of six figures at $99,635. For first generation students, this number plummets to $37,565.

In recent years, colleges have become aware that students with sparse financial resources and thin networks of adult support can struggle to adjust to campus life, with many failing to earn a degree.

First-generation students may feel uncomfortable in the collegiate atmosphere. They may come from a different cultural background or have different levels of college preparation than their peers. Reasons for limited communication and interactions among peers and faculty include the absence of similar interests, experiences, and resources. These differences contribute to low levels of academic self-esteem and difficulty adjusting to the college setting.

Bernadotte is trying to ensure that first-generation, low-income, and minority students avoid the pitfalls she faced getting through college. She founded Beyond 12, a nonprofit that uses technology to work with high schools and colleges, helping coach students, track their progress and ensure that they earn their degrees. 

Beyond 12, tracks about 50,000 students, alerting them via an app to deadlines for course registration or financial aid applications, connecting them with campus resources, and ensuring that their grades and classes are appropriate. It has also coached, in-person or online, about 2,000 students on 180 campuses, many of them on the West Coast. A handful of charter schools in Boston and Dartmouth College have also tested out the platform.

Using apps like Beyond 12 is one way to help overcome obstacles, here are a few other tips that may make a difference in your college experience.

Take Advantage of Campus Offices: For FCGS, adjusting to college can be difficult. Students can be unsure of financial responsibilities, academic expectations, and social involvement/activities, which can not only be discouraging, but it can also be intimidating. So use the resources provided to make sure you're up to date on everything you may need to know.

Don’t Be Ashamed to Live On A Budget: It's not uncommon that college students are broke. It is not a secret that college can be expensive, so don’t feel bad when you see your friends going out to movies or bars on the weekends while you are staying home.  You need to  remember what you are in college for. You're there to get an education and to hopefully set yourself up for a great and successful future.

Get Involved: Being a FGCS, you may feel like you don't fit in with other students on campus due to financial differences, social differences, and/or differences in ethnicity or religion. Your thoughts and feelings about not fitting in are not unique to you, but are shared by so many people on campus. You will find more people that share things in common with you than you would believe. So check out organizations and clubs on campus that tap into your interests and you will not only make new friends, but you will also be able to fully take in the college experience.

Were you a first generation college student? What was your experience like? We would love to hear from you! Comment below!

Nurses are talented and caring, they often go above and beyond the call of duty to care for their patients. You don’t have to look very far to find great Nurses who make a habit of getting involved and giving more of themselves than they are asked. Below are a few heart warming examples of when Nurses truly went above and beyond for their patients.

Nurse Fills Empty Fridge With Food For Patient

Home Nurse Amanda Mary Perez was asked to clean her patient's fridge. But when she opened the door, she was shocked to see the fridge was empty. She was absolutely horrified that he had gone so long without food and this broke her heart. Amanda knew she had to do something.

The Nurse went to social media and wrote a message where she said the client is responsible for buying his food and he only buys food when he has the money. Amanda finished her shift and went straight to the store where she took all her income tax money and bought food for him.  This experience showed her the difference between wants and needs. She said "I opened my eyes and realized I need to stop being so mad about what I don't have and start appreciating what I do have."

Nurse Donates 1,000 oz of Breast Milk

Ashley Chesnut, a mom of two had just been diagnosed with lymphoma and learned that she had to stop breastfeeding.  “Breastfeeding to me is a privilege, because for one reason or another, not all women can do it,” Chesnut, 30, tells PEOPLE. “I loved this special time with each of my kids, and I felt like it was being stolen away from me and there was nothing I could do to stop it.”

Jaclyn Kenney, a Nurse at Nebraska Medical Center noticed the baby was the same age as her daughter. Kenney was overproducing milk and had been thinking about donating the extra ounces to a milk bank, but hearing about Chesnut during her shift at the hospital changed her mind. She made the donation of a lifetime and donated 1,000 oz. of her breast milk.

Previous Music Student Sings Song For His Teacher In Hospice

Maria was a lifelong singing and piano teacher with students from all over the place. Music was something so dear to her heart and when she was in hospice she had one final wish before she passed. She wanted to hear the song "How Great Thou Art". It turns out one of her students worked at the hospice care home in Austinburg, Texas.

The student’s name was Joshua and he had known Maria since he was only 9 years old. Maria had started teaching him music then, and his passion for singing and piano only got deeper as time went on. It was his honor to deliver a performance that Maria wanted to here.

Nurse Creates The No One Dies Alone program

Sandra Clarke, RN, was working as a staff Nurse at Sacred Heart Medical Center. While making rounds at the beginning of her shift, she entered the room of an elderly man with a DNR order on his chart. He asked, "Will you stay with me?" Sandra promised him she would return as soon as she checked on her other patients. After taking longer than she had anticipated, she returned to his room, ready to apologize for the delay. As she approached his bedside, she saw his pale, outstretched hand. He had died alone.

She knew his final moments were not supposed to be this way. It is unlikely that any human being would ever choose to die alone. Sometimes, however, circumstances are such that a person has no family or close friends.

Fourteen years later, while working in ICU, Sandra still was harboring thoughts from the 1986 incident. She had volunteered to participate in a pilot program at her hospital to develop an ethics resource team for staff members. The Director of Pastoral Care, Bob Scheri, overheard Sandra discussing her concept of having volunteers stay with patients. At his request, she outlined a proposal. PeaceHealth, the corporate organization of Sacred Heart Medical Center, endorsed her idea. No One Dies Alone (NODA) became a reality in 2001, and the rest is a heartwarming history.

Nurse Adopts Baby She Cared For In Hospital 

Nurse Amber Boyd was caring for 18 month old, Nicole at a New Mexico hospital where she was being treated for a rare condition called omphalocele, in which the organs develop outside of the body. It was too much for Nicole’s biological parents to take so they left her in state custody.

“The first day I met her actually, I don’t know, I just remember walking into her room, just instantly feeling an attachment,” Amber said. When it was time for Nicole to leave the hospital, Amber took her duties as a Nurse to another level and adopted the little girl.

Nurses and Care Team Members Help Ill Woman Get Married

The IU Health Nurses and Care Team members created a special wedding ceremony in the hospital for one of their patients. Hillary Deckard was awaiting a lung transplant due to cystic fibrosis, which she was diagnosed with at age 3. IU Health music and art therapists worked on the wedding march and decorations, while social workers and staff secured flowers, cake and a wedding dress. Click Here For Photos 

Nurses Help Sneak Dying Patient's Dog In To Say Goodbye

David King, was at a Missouri hospital, losing his battle with cancer and he was worried he’d never see his dog, Lil Fee, again. 17 year-old Ellie Miguel tweeted, “My grandpa is losing his battle with cancer so the nurses helped my grandma sneak their dog into the hospital to say goodbye.” Ellie also said “The Nurses always heard my grandma talking about Lil Fee. So they encouraged her and helped her get the dog in. They had my aunt carry the dog in a really big purse."

King passed away not long after, but not before saying goodbye to his best friend and loyal companion. Although most hospitals have a strict no-pets policy, this isn’t the first time family and staff have bent the rules. Sometimes, a visit from a beloved furry friend is more powerful than any medicine.

Do you have a story of a Nurse who went out of their way for a patient? We would love to hear about it, comment below!

The Washington Center for Equitable Growth reported the percent of males in Nursing has steadily grown since 1960 from 2% to 13% in the United States. We have seen women entering male-dominated fields for a long time, but it’s less common to see an increase in men joining a predominantly female occupation. The NY Times interviewed many male Nurses, here is what they had to say.

For some men, the idea that caregiving jobs are women’s work is old-fashioned. “This narrative that men can’t provide care in the way that women can is part of that broad cultural narrative that misunderstands what Nursing’s about,” said Adam White, the V.A. hospital student nurse, who is earning his Nursing degree at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. “We need to talk with young people about caring as a gender-neutral idea, but also as something that’s rooted in skills, in expertise.”

John-Flor Sisante, recent Nursing graduate, said “When my wife told her grandfather that I graduated from Nursing school, he just laughed. But I think there are more men who are less afraid to take on what have traditionally been considered feminine roles.” 

Economic factors play a role as well. There has been a decline in some jobs because of automation. “A lot of those manufacturing jobs and things of that nature just aren’t there anymore,” said David Baca, an emergency department Nurse in Oregon. “We get paid a really livable wage, and I think that is now starting to attract more male Nurses.” Even though men are a minority, they are paid more than women.

Many people change careers to Nursing later on in life. Male Nurses are more likely than females to have worked as emergency medical technicians, military Nurses or lab technicians. Nearly half of Nurse anesthetists, one of the highest-paying Nursing jobs, are men.

Jorge Gitler, Oncology Nurse manager says, “Forget about the stigma. The pay is great, the opportunities are endless and you end up going home every day knowing that you did something very positive for someone else.”

When Nurses closely reflect the patient population, hospitals and patients benefit. Some patients prefer a Nurse of the same sex, particularly for procedures like inserting a catheter, Nurses said, and some men feel more comfortable talking openly with another man.