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featured7 - How do Nurses Handle an Irate Patient?
nurse Nursing patient 

How do Nurses Handle an Irate Patient?

Posted By: Peripeties Infirmiere 0 Comment

When it comes to careers, I personally salute the people working within the medical industry. Nurses and Doctors are someone I look up to because their job is not a joke. They are basically saving people’s lives daily! If you are a nurse or a doctor, applaud yourself as you are doing a great and inspiring job.

With your kind of job, I’m pretty sure that you are able to handle all kinds of people, with different behaviors and characteristics. But, amongst your patients handling the irate one can be your biggest challenge. Although nurses and doctors are known to be doing your best in helping your patients control their emotions, they are instances that you’ll be confronted by an angry patient.

Why do patients get angry?

It is part of our nature to be angry but if a person is feeling pain, experiencing stress, and anxiety. The result is, they will no longer have a control over their emotions. As a result, they will be made to everyone that surrounds them.

If you’re an experienced nurse, you know that these kinds of patients will be testing your patience, compassion, and skills as a nurse. How will you handle the situation?

Recognize the early signs

As a nurse, you have the ability to recognize the signs is one of your patients is becoming angry like clenched fists, tightened jaw, and sudden changes in your patience behavior.

Keep yourself calm

As you deal with an irate patient, the best and most effective approach you can do is to remain calm. You should always keep in mind that your patient is not doing it on purpose but, they are just releasing their anxiety for being hospitalized or just seeking attention. As you remain calm, you’ll have the situation under control and it would be easier for you to address your patient.

Start a friendly conversation

Help your patient release his emotions by engaging in a conversation because the majority of patients with an irate behavior just wants to be heard. As you start the conversation, always ensure that you’ll address the patient with his name, maintain an eye contact and speak with a soft voice. Aside from those, let your patient feel that you understand what he is going through and solve the problem by paraphrasing what your patient has told you and explain the whole situation in a very polite manner.

Understand where your patient is coming from

In these situations, you should show empathy, understanding and never get tired of apologizing to your patients. As you do so, your patients will feel your presence and support on what they are going through.

Always set boundaries

If your patient’s difficult attitude is endless, it would be best if you’ll set some limits. For instance, let them know that you will be checking on them after 15 minutes. For some situation, you have to keep some boundaries for your own protection.

As a nurse, you cannot really get away from these kinds of patients, but, by following these tips, you’ll be able to handle them properly.

featured6 - Color Coding System for Nursing Students
Medicine Nursing School 

Color Coding System for Nursing Students

Posted By: Peripeties Infirmiere 0 Comment

Are you a little bit crazy about dealing with colors? If you want to be a professional nurse someday, you have to train yourself starting today on how to become organized. Being organized is a major requirement for nurses so be sure to embrace these color coding materials while you’re still a student.

Believe it or not, color coding helps a lot in the organization especially when it comes to understanding labels and tons of medical terms. Once you learned how to use the color coding system, you will realize how effective it is not only in your studies but also in your day to day life. You can always change the colors according to the meaning it represents for better memory retention and understanding. Below are the colors and meanings that you can partner up:

Blue

The color blue is great for marking important values over the texts. Keep track of the important numbers you have to retain in your head all the time.

Green

Color green works great to mark the given examples over the texts. You can also use it to mark the best explanations for complicated concepts.

Red

Color red adds emphasis and intensity to your deadlines and test dates. It works best for noting all your reports and requirements that are needed to be submitted.

Pink

Taking up nursing means you have to memorize tons of vocabulary together with its meanings. Highlight all the terms you have to memorize and understand in depth to spot them easier on your notes.

Yellow

Tests are given all the time so be sure to highlight those things that might be included in the test.

Orange

It’s normal to encounter terms and concepts that are mind numbing and hard to understand. If you think you need to do a research to understand it better, highlight it with orange. This means you have to go back to your notes from time to time to clear every orange-marked item.

What to Use for Highlighting

1. Highlighters

This might seem unnecessary but take time to consider the use of highlighters. Instead of wasting time to highlight anything with your pen, a highlighter will do better.  Not only because it can cover up the texts better, it is also easier to distinguish the meaning of each highlighted items from the others. So, pull out your Sharpies and start coloring your black and white life in school.

2. Sticky Arrows/Notes

Sticky notes and arrows are also a handy pack to carry during lectures. Use each color to mark the pages and parts that you needed to highlight. Using these sticky arrows on your books will make your life easier when it’s time to review for exams and quizzes. Once you’re done accomplishing the things that it indicates, you can remove it without ruining a page.

Take note that you can change the meaning of each color in this color coding system depending on your liking. You can create your own and go mark everything that needed to be marked! Good luck with your organization plan and share your positive experiences with this color coding system.

featured13 - How do Nurses Deal with Patients Death?
health medical Nursing 

How do Nurses Deal with Patients Death?

Posted By: Peripeties Infirmiere 0 Comment

As a nurse how do you manage to handle your patient’s death? Before we tackle how nurse handles the death of their patient, let us first define the meaning of nurse. In general, a nurse is a person who is formally educated and to take good care of the sick and infirm.

In your profession as a healthcare worker, the term death is not surprising in our field. But, nurses like you find it really hard to cope with this kind of loss especially if the patient has been closed to their hearts. For many years, nurses have to deal with this kind of situations and if you failed to handle this properly, it can lead to chronic burnout.

I know that as a nurse, your patients are important for you and you are doing your best to save their lives but, you should learn to accept that when you chose “nursing” as your course, dealing with someone’s death is a huge part of the deal. To help you with the situation, here are some tips that come from professional nurses like you.

Accept the fact that death is unavoidable

All lives end in death if your patient condition starts to worsen, do not deny yourself the fact that his life might soon lead to an end. By acknowledging that fact can lead to a possible outcome and you can better prepare yourself for the worst scenario.

Allow yourself to grieve

You are not a robot, you have feelings and emotions. Instead of keeping it to yourself, you should be open about how you feel. If you deny yourself the chance to grieve it might affect that way you interact with your future patients.

Do not be afraid to communicate with the patient’s family member

Express your condolence to your patient’s family. Hug the relatives if you are comfortable with them. By doing so, it can help you remember the great effort you put in, it will also provide you with the closure that you badly need.

Converse with your co-workers

There is a great chance that your co-workers have experienced losing a patient as well and they understand the pain you are going through. They are the best people you can ask for advice and talking to them is very therapeutic in your situation.

By following these, healing from the unexpected death of your patient would not be that hard and you’ll be able to do your responsibilities as a nurse without questioning yourself if you have done enough.

featured12 - How Can Nurses Imprint Great Memories with Patients
health medical Nursing 

How Can Nurses Imprint Great Memories with Patients

Posted By: Peripeties Infirmiere 0 Comment

No one is really invincible. Why? Because even superheroes like Super Man need someone to tend to look after him after fighting Batman. Everyone needs someone to look after them in bad times and nurses are always on top of the list if you ever need extra attention.

Nurses are highly-trained and educated when it comes to taking care of patients, aside from administering the required medicine for their patients and assisting doctors in hospitals, clinics, and medical health missions. Moreover, real nurses are a full package of knowledge, experience, and tenderness.

As much as nurses are loyal to their technical duties, they should never forget how to show warmth and affection to patients. Patients become more comfortable to have nurses around and not tend to react violently if they sense compassion from the nurses that attend to them. Believe it or not, everyone can express love and compassion even to strangers and here’s how:

Be Approachable and Polite

Patients are always drawn to those approachable and polite nurses. It’s an A+ factor for nurses who know how to approach their patients by being well-mannered at all times. You could at least greet everyone you meet at the halfway most especially the patients and offer them a smile that will surely brighten up their day.

Talk with Sense

Some people like to talk, a lot without even thinking if it makes sense or not. In order words, they don’t really talk but make noise only so be different. Small talks with patients can also mean big if you talk with sense. Most patients need don’t need generic conversations; they need a genuine connection to make them feel more alive and eager to get well.

Make Eye Contact When Asking Questions

Always make eye contact with patients when you ask them questions. Show your interest in their answers even if it takes forever for them to respond. Sometimes, even the most ill-mannered patients can soften once they saw that you are there to listen and talk to them without fear.

Don’t Be Afraid to Do Small Things

Remember that small things count even if it’s non-verbal. You can never tell when a simple pat on the shoulder or hand can give so much hope to patients who feel so much pain inside. Never stop doing little things that show how much you care to them.

Being around with patients doesn’t have to make you feel like counting minutes till your break time. It can be fun too for you and your patient if you have the right attitude and passion to serve others. Always laugh with your patients and exchange wisdom with them.  But, don’t forget to maintain the professional space between you and your patients.

info5 - How Can Nurses Imprint Great Memories with Patients
Infographic by: leadingreach.com
featured5 - 5 Things to Prepare for Your First Day as a Nursing Student
Medicine Nursing School 

5 Things to Prepare for Your First Day as a Nursing Student

Posted By: Peripeties Infirmiere 0 Comment

Nurses are indeed an in-demand job in many countries which made it one of the most popular courses among undergraduate and graduate students. It is a very rewarding career which also opens more facets of a working environment for nursing graduates. Now that you’ve finally chosen a career path that you will surely love, congratulate yourself by patting your shoulder and get ready for school.

So, how excited are you to meet your new classmates and professors in college? Have you prepared everything ahead of time? If you think something is still missing in your luggage, take a look at this list below and put and don’t forget to put a check mark on your own list.

1. Scrubs

11 - 5 Things to Prepare for Your First Day as a Nursing Student

Now, not all schools require their nursing students to bring or prepare a scrub suit already especially for first-year students. So, don’t forget to inquire about it and bring the right scrubs when needed. Your nursing student life will not be complete without your scrubs! You won’t be allowed to enter some classes as well without wearing it as a proper uniform so be sure that it fits you nicely. Not too loose and not too tight and be sure that it has pockets to carry small necessary items.

2. Quality Shoes

12 - 5 Things to Prepare for Your First Day as a Nursing Student

Nurses are always on the go so be prepared for a little adventure while still in school. Be sure to pack quality shoes especially a white one to accomplish your duties in record time. Picking the wrong shoes can affect your entire performance especially if you’ve got blisters on both feet. Always put your comfort on top and not the price alone.

3. A Backpack

13 - 5 Things to Prepare for Your First Day as a Nursing Student

Who says only grade school and high school students use backpacks? A backpack is handy for college nursing students too! Though your school might have locker rooms, you still need to bring a lot of things in class that won’t fit in shoulder bags or small sling bags. Besides, using a backpack will help you ease your shoulder and back pains by carrying your things on both shoulders equally. If you want to enjoy more convenience, you can get a wheeled backpack that you can pull anytime.

4. Analog Watch

14 - 5 Things to Prepare for Your First Day as a Nursing Student

Every second counts especially to busy nursing students. Though you can check the time on your cell phone, all nursing students are required to wear a medical or nursing watch. It will help you track or record your patient’s vitals, know exactly when to administer medication and accomplish documentation and lab chartings.

5. Student Planner

15 - 5 Things to Prepare for Your First Day as a Nursing Student

If you want to keep on record and organized, carrying a student planner all the time will help a lot. This way, you won’t be able to miss anything especially a great opportunity to review for exams!

Did you miss anything on our checklist? Don’t beat yourself if you forget any of these items, just hurry up and get it. For more nursing bits, follow our next posts and don’t be shy to share your thoughts.

featured4 - Affordable Student Loans for Aspiring Professional Nurses
Medicine Nursing School 

Affordable Student Loans for Aspiring Professional Nurses

Posted By: Peripeties Infirmiere 0 Comment

Since there’s already a previous article about studying nursing with a minimal budget that shared the two major kinds of student loans, this article will help you identify the specific loans you can get. Entering into college can seem intimidating or even scary for some. Not because of the classes or the new environment, but because of the costs. There’s a lot to consider such as the tuition fee, miscellaneous fee, boarding, allowance, and more.

Hence, more and more student are dropping out of college or not enrolling at all after graduating in senior high. If you are really decided to finish college without stopping, check out these student loans you can get:

Stafford Loans

Stafford is a type of federal student loan where the finances come directly from the federal government’s program called FDSLP or Federal Direct Student Loan Program. Stafford Loans can be either subsidized or unsubsidized which vary in the amount of interest and maximum loan.

Perkins Loans

Perkins is another type of federal student loan which is very popular among students who seek need-based support. Though this program was put to a stop effectively last September 30, 2017, those students who were already provided with this loan for the academic year of 2017-2018 are still considered eligible.

This subsidized loan has a 5% fixed interest rate which is covered by the government. Students loved Perkins loans because it offers at least 9 months allowance before starting the repayment period.

Direct Consolidation Loans

It is common for most students to acquire loans every year or semester from different service providers. Thus, if you want to take the easier road, applying for a direct consolidation loan will allow you to pay only one servicer every month. The offered options in this loan are malleable depending on your capacity to repay but its interest is fixed. This alternative can help you a lot to lower your monthly expenses since it is also free from consolidation fees. However, you can only acquire this loan once.

PLUS Loans

This type of loan is also offered to parents who still have undergraduate students who are still dependent to them. Unlike other loans, this loan covers no maximum amount to be borrowed so it can cover all educational costs with a fixed 6.31% interest rate.

Private Education Loans

Also known as the alternative education loan, this loan is quite similar to the personal loan where a credit history is considered before being accepting an applicant. Its interest rate may be higher than other federal loans but it’s still lower compared with other loans like your credit cards.

Do you find this article helpful? In spite of the financial problems that you might be facing right now and the type of level you are in, there’s always a student loan that can suit your needs. It will not only help you but also your family to reduce your overall expenses.

Check out our other posts for more articles about nursing and medicine!

info2 - Affordable Student Loans for Aspiring Professional Nurses
Infographic by: visual.ly
featured3 - How You Can Study Nursing With Minimal Budget
Medicine Nursing School 

How You Can Study Nursing With Minimal Budget

Posted By: Peripeties Infirmiere 0 Comment

Thinking of taking up nursing in college but can’t afford it? Education is the most powerful weapon that every person should get and there’s nothing that can change that. Many people use poverty as their reason to stop finishing school and earning a degree but that shouldn’t be your mindset if you really aim for success.

If you want to study nursing even if your parents don’t have enough savings to send you to your chosen school, there are different ways you can achieve your dreams. Let us help you here at Peripeties-Infirmiere to study first and worry later.

Student Loan

Many schools offer student loans to allow students who don’t have enough budget to continue their studies in colleges and universities. Student loans are very popular, especially in the US. Parents and students can acquire student loans to pay within a given time frame together with its accompanied interests. Typically, student loans can be classified into 5 or more types but we’ll focus first on its 2 major classifications. Namely, student loans can be either federal or private student loan.

A.     Private Student Loan

From its name alone, private student loans are provided by private and commercial lenders like the credit union, banks, schools, and state agencies. All private student loans are unsubsidized. This is also given to students without calculating the overall amount they needed. In addition, this kind of loan is known for its high rates and very strict repayment rules so students must know how to limit the amount of money they would borrow.

B.     Federal Student Loan

This kind of loan is offered by the Department of Education to all qualified graduate and undergraduate students. Compared with the private student loan, federal loan offers lower interest rates.  A federal loan also allows overdue repayments. The amount of loan that students can get varies depending on their level of degree and verified financial need.

Scholarship

Scholarships based on merit are usually offered by many organizations. It is mostly pursued by students basically because they don’t have to worry about repaying it. Some also include student allowance so be resourceful when looking for a possible scholarship sponsor.

Grant

For college students with distinct financial needs, a need-based support is what they need. If you live or plan to study in the U.S. you can acquire grants by submitting your FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid to the Department of Education. To check your eligibility, check out the website of FAFSA and submit your application as soon as possible.

Part-Time Jobs

If you weren’t able to get any of the mentioned alternatives above, you can always get a part-time job to support your education and income. You can apply for a part-time job inside or off campus to fill your vacant hours.

Are you ready to face college life? Choose from these options or try each and see where you’ll pass. With these solutions, you can worry less about money and focus on reaching for your dream career.

featured2 - 5 Reasons Why Nursing is getting More Popular in the Past Decade
Medicine Nursing School 

5 Reasons Why Nursing is getting More Popular in the Past Decade

Posted By: Peripeties Infirmiere 0 Comment

Are you happy and satisfied with your current career? Or maybe you are still in the process of choosing your course in college? If you are already satisfied with your current career, perhaps you are just curious why nursing is still one of the most in-demand jobs worldwide. But if you are still working on your plan for college, this can be a great time to know why you nursing is one of your best options.

Due to the shortage of nurses in other countries, nursing remains to be a popular choice of course. Nursing students and licensed nurses are empowered by strong motivations for choosing their career. But most all, they are driven by their desire to serve others. Aside from this, here are the top reasons why nursing is getting more popular:

Rewarding Career

Indeed, nursing may be one of the toughest careers but it’s also very rewarding. Where an average nurse can earn over $52,000 annually, a more experienced or specialized nurse can make over $72,000 annually.

Flexible

You’ll never really know what kind the real challenge or work means until you get there after earning your license. On the job training while in college are indeed helpful but there’s a whole lot more to learn in the real world where nurses work in different settings. Thus, schools make sure that their nursing students are well briefed in case they will be working in a hospital, clinic, research facility, at home, insurance company as nurse coach, BPO Company, or a school.

Endless Job Offers

Since nurses are known for their flexibility to work in various working environments, make it double for experienced and specialized nurses. In case these nurses decided to shift in other work, there are endless of job offers they can apply for without a sweat.

Travel Opportunities

If you love traveling all the time, you’ll definitely enjoy travel nursing. Travel nursing is just one of the few professions that allow nurses to choose their working destinations every 3 months or so.

Public Trust

Who else do you trust when it comes to your health aside from doctors? Nurses! Being a licensed nurse is like earning the honor to be one of the most trusted people in the society.

Do you dream of becoming an educator as well someday? That would never be a problem since many nurses are also educators. You can take up teaching units and teach other nursing students or become an advanced practice nurse in the countryside.

Are you thinking now that this career is for you? What inspired you? Remember, you’ll never be out of work if you choose nursing and earn a license!

info1 - 5 Reasons Why Nursing is getting More Popular in the Past Decade
Infographic by: aimhirecc.com
featured1 - Nurses Safety within their Working Environment
hospital medication nurse 

Nurses Safety within their Working Environment

Posted By: Peripeties Infirmiere 0 Comment

As a nurse, do you know that you are highly exposed to a lot of challenges which concerns your health and safety? In the US alone, the healthcare industry is known as one of the fastest growing industry and the majority of their workers are women.

It is said that with a large volume of women working on board, hospital hazards are not the only one to be worried about as the sector is more prone to violence and stress. With the kind of work nurses signed up for, job-related injuries and workplace violence have become part of the deal.

But, it does not mean that as a nurse, you can’t do anything to protect yourself from these kinds of violence and injury. You can always do something about it. With proper knowledge, you’ll be able to keep yourself safe even you’re inside a dangerous working environment.

Safe Needles

1 - Nurses Safety within their Working Environment

Numerous health care workers have been fighting for a law that will require every hospital to use only safe needles. These are the needles with a cap, and the use of other devices that can avoid causing wounds when used in medication. Thankfully, the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2011 require every hospital and medical care units to use safe needles.

Back Pain or Injury

2 - Nurses Safety within their Working Environment

Most injuries reported by nurses are headaches, neck pain, and back injuries that are associated with lifting patients and carrying medical supplies. There is a federal guideline that state that workers are not prohibited to lift anything that is beyond 50 kilos, but, most patients weigh more than especially the obese.

If you still have to move things, you should practice pushing instead of pulling because it puts less stress on your back, you should stay close to the bed to avoid reaching, and when lifting, always lift from a squat position with your back straight and let your legs do all the hard work.

The work related violence

3 - Nurses Safety within their Working Environment

When it comes to violence, nurses are very vulnerable to these kinds of attack especially if the staff is less and if the violence took place during high activity like meal time and visiting hours. Even if you want to, you cannot avoid working alone in emergency rooms and on mental health centers where the level of violence is high. Although most care centers have already installed security systems and require their employees to wear an ID, that’s not enough.

As an easy target, you should familiarize yourself with all your patients’ behavior so that it is easy on your part to take proper precautions as you approach your patients.