Nursing specialties   by Aaron Rubin

A Registered Nurse (RN) can specialize in one or more of the patient care specialties as per job requirements or personal preferences. The most common specialties have been divided into four main categories, on basis of:

Work setting or types of care provided, Disease for which care is provided, Body organ or the system for which care is provided, and the section of population for which care is provided. RNs may look towards specializing in any of the following popular specialties, with major emphasis on work settings and types of care they plan to provide.

Ambulatory Care Nurses provide health needs of individuals and families in diverse settings on outpatient basis. Emerging trend is "Telehealth" where care is provided by means of Internet or other communications in media. Stress involved is lesser than inpatient settings. Certified by "American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)", employers are usually ambulatory providers such as Primary Care Offices, HMOs, clinics, mobile health units etc.

Burn Care Nurses are employed in hospitals with burn departments or clinics providing such services. It can be physically and psychologically draining.

Critical Care Nurses are one of the in-demand health care professionals due to their ability to make quick decisions and stay calm, when lives are at stake. They provide care to patients with cardiovascular, respiratory or pulmonary failure, in intensive care hospital units.

Emergency/Trauma Nurses are in demand for their ability to make quick decisions about patients' condition and stay clam while dealing with potential life-threatening conditions caused by accidents, strokes, and heart attacks. Stress and grief pose challenge, while role autonomy, and team work are the characteristics. Certified by "Board Of Certification For Emergency Nurses", employers are acute-care and specialty hospitals, and emergency medical systems. In addition, they may become Flight nurses providing medical care to patients who are air-lifted for transportation to nearest the medical facility.

Holistic Nurses attend to all aspects of wellness and health of a holistic nature, where connection between mind, body and spirit is acknowledged and whole person is treated, rather than caring for just a disease or a symptom. Acupressure, Acupuncture, Massage, Aroma therapy, Yoga, and Biofeedback are performed by a Holistic Nurse.

Home Healthcare Nurses provide at-home care to patients in post-operative, post-partum stages or when recovering from accidents.

Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses provide care for terminally ill patients outside of hospitals with objective to ease their pain and suffering. They care for physical and emotional needs of dying patients and their family with interventions like pain management, palliative care, symptom management and emotional support. Certified by "National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses", employers are usually hospices, home health, hospitals and long-term care facilities. Dealing with deaths of all your patients is a big challenge in itself but the feeling of taking care of a dying patient and the opportunity to practice holistic nursing are motivational factors for many.

Infusion Nurses provide intravascular medications, fluids, blood products and assess their impact on the condition of patients. Certified by "Intravenous Nurses Certification Corporation", they are employed by hospitals, home health agencies and in physician offices. Irregular schedules, excessive paper work, and stress are the challenges. While role autonomy in addition to technical mastery are a few of the plus points.

Long-term Care Nurses provide nursing, psychosocial and personal care services on a recurring basis to patients with chronic physical or mental disorders. Increasing patient acuity can be a drawback for some but the lesser pressure and chaos is a plus.

Medical-Surgical Nurses provide basic health care to patients in all health settings.

Occupational Health Nurses work towards Primary Prevention and keeping the workforce healthy by combining concepts of public health and nursing, besides working towards realizing standards set by Occupational Safety and Health Act, maintaining records, providing care to the ill or injured employees. Certified by ""American Board for Occupational Health Nurses"", employers are usually in business establishments, factories, or mills.

PeriAnesthesia Nurses prepare patients for a surgical experience, support safe transition out of anesthetized state and provide intensive care to patients until they are ready to be discharged from the perianesthesia care unit. Certification is done by"American Board Of PeriAnesthesia Nursing Certification"

Peri-Operative Nurses provide preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative care to patients and assist surgeons in the operation room by handling instruments, controlling bleeding and suturing incisions. Learning opportunities and teamwork are a plus, while frequent emergencies and exposure to human suffering may be a drawback for some. Certified by "CNOR and CRNFA Certification Board Perioperative Nursing", employers are usually in hospital surgical departments, ambulatory surgical centers, clinics, or a physician's offices.

Psychiatric Nurses care for patients with personality and mental disorders. Uncooperative or dangerous patients may be one of the drawbacks besides restrictive patient-care policies, excessive paper work and a conflict from misconceptions and mental illness. Certification is done by ANCC.

Radiologic Nurses provide care to patients undergoing radiation procedures (like Ultrasonography or MRI) for diagnosis or treatment, as in a case of cancers.

Rehabilitation Nurses care for patients with temporary, progressive or permanent disabilities which alter normal functions and affect the quality of life. Motivating patients and producing will lead to a fruitful life and is a challenge. Certification is done by " Rehabilitation Nurses Certification Board".

Transplant Nurses provide care for transplant recipients and living-donors thorughout the process ofthe transplantation. Organ resource allocation and other ethical issues besides loss and grief could be drawbacks towards joining this specialty.

RNs may also consider specializing in the following specialties, with major emphasis on the disease, which they plan to provide care for:

Addiction Nurses provide care to patients who seek help with alcohol, drug, and marijuana addictions.

Developmental Disabilities Nurses help physically,and mentally disabled patients with feeding, controlling bodily functions, and tosit/ stand with the least assistance.

Diabetes Management Nurses assist diabetics in disease management by educating them about proper nutrition, blood sugar testing, and insulin self-injection.

Genetics Nurses provide screening, early detection, and treatment of patients with genetic disorders including Cystic Fibrosis, Huntington's disease, Hereditary Brest Cancer, etc. Major challenges are informed decision-making, consent, confidentiality, and dealing with negative outcomes. The certification is done by "International Society Of Nurses in Genetics".

HIV/AIDS Nurses provide care for physical, psychological, spiritual and social suffering of patients diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Safety hazards are a major drawback. Certified by "HIV/AIDS Nursing Certification Board", employers usually are in hospices, hospitals, home health care, and long-term care agencies.

Oncology Nurses are empathic and caring towards patients diagnosed with cancers. They also administer chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Certification is done by "Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation".

Enterostomal Therapy Nurses, specialized in prevention of pressure ulcers, also provide care to patients with wounds caused by trauma and ulcers; provide post-operative care for patients with alternative methods of bodily waste elimination; and treat patients with urinary and fecal incontinence.

RNs can opt for any of the following specialties with emphasis on body organ or system for which they plan to provide care:

Cardiac and Vascular Nurses provide care for patients suffering from Coronary heart Disease and post-operative rehabilitation of patients who have undergone cardiac surgery. Patient resistance, noncompliance and emergencies may be problem for few nurses. Certification is done by ANCC.

Dermatology Nurses provide education, care for patients with various types of skin ailments, like skin cancers, psoriasis, etc.

Gastroenterology Nurses provide care for patients with digestive and intestinal disorders, including ulcers, acid reflux disease, and more. They may be specialized in endoscopic procedures as well. Certification is done by "Certifying Board of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, Inc."

Gynecology Nurses provide care to females with disorders of reproductive system, including endometriosis, cancers and sexually transmitted diseases.

Nephrology Nurses provide care for patients with kidney disease and work to preserve renal function. Dealing with emotional impact of renal disease and multi system failures could be problematic for few nurses.

Neuroscience Nurses care for patients with nervous system dysfunctions, including brain and spinal cord injuries, seizures, alterations in cognition, communication, sexuality, etc.

Ophthalmic Nurses provide care to patients with disorders of the eyes, including cataract and glaucoma. They assist surgeons and may make pre and post-operative home visits. Certified by "National Certifying Board for Ophthalmic Registered Nurses", employers specialty are hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, HMOs, and home-care agencies.

Orthopedic Nurses provide care to patients with muscular and skeletal problems, like arthritis, bone fractures, muscular dystrophy, etc. Certified by "Orthopedic Nursing Certification Board", employers specialty is hospitals and HMOs.

Otorhinolaryngology Nurses care for patients with disorders of the ear,nose and throat, including cleft palate, allergies, and sinus disorders.

Respiratory Nurses provide preventive, acute or critical and rehabilitative support to patients with respiratory ailments like asthma, tuberculosis, etc.

Urology Nurses provide care for patients with disorders of kidney, urinary tract and male reproductive organs, including infections, stones and cancers.

RNs may specialize in any of the following specialties with focus on providing care to a particular section of population: Neonatology Nurses care for neonates.

Pediatrics Nurses care for infants, toddlers, children and adolescents.

Geriatrics Nurses provide care to the elderly population.

Correctional Facilities Nurses provide basic health care to patients in reformatory centers.

School Nurses' role in providing basic health care to patients in schools is well known.

Summer Camps Nurses provide basic health care to patients in summer camps, trekking camps and similar.

Military Nurses focus on providing basic health care to military personnel and their family.

In a nutshell, diversification and specialization options in nursing are worth appreciation. Great prospects in addition, make nursing one of the most sought

School uniforms

Most of us when wake up in the morning and look out from the window, we see children going to their schools in fabulous and bright school uniforms. They make us smile and fill us with the encouragement to go out and take the challenges of the coming day.

School dress is one of the most important factors, which come into our mind when we think of a school going children. They affect the behavior of the students. That is why most of the schools give a great importance to them. School dress depends on the type of school, for example a catholic school will have a different dress from that of normal private school. The most common colors found in most of the school dresses around the world are blue and white but there are variations also.

Now, let’s talk about the positive effect of school uniforms over child’s psychology. A recent study showed that the kind of dress children wore daily, greatly affects the behavior of the students. The proper school uniform result in formulating better environment in school and it also helps in decreasing the drug use and violence related behavior to some extent. A student well dressed in school uniform behaves respectfully to his teacher and cordially to his school mates.

One of the main reasons is that whether students come from rich background or poor, “uniform school dress code” infuses a sense of equal ness among them.

Apart from this school uniform also result in the increase of attendance and the academic career. There are some other advantages of school uniform –psychologist suggest that wearing school uniform makes child much more close to his or her work.

While wearing the uniform they get a sense of responsibility. Now a days parents are giving less importance to teach discipline to their kids because of two factors, first is ,as world is becoming materialistic day by day, parents are more involved in the process of making money. As a result they seldom able to check children’s social behavior. Second reason is that, there is a very small line between discipline and freedom, so when parents try to enforce some kind of discipline, children think they are not free, they have to do what their parents want them to, which ultimately result in formulating a type of hindrance, which restricts the proper implementation of uniforms in schools.

In the absence of proper uniform, some students turn their class rooms into Gucci’s fashion week festival, which not only ruin’s the entire career of children , but can severely effect the psychology of other children studying along with them and long lasting inferiority complex shatter their individual personalities.

Sometimes, it gets to such an extent that student start abusing and fighting with one another. To avoid this, uniform is necessity of each educational institute. In entire Europe, whether to use school uniforms or not, which is long debate in USA, never even existed.

Apart from it, it also helps in controlling huge expenditure of buying children’s casual clothes, school uniforms are much cheaper than other clothes which children want to wear.

Wearing a shirt with the school logo, make student and their parents proud.

There is also other side of story, when teachers and parents force children to wear what students does not want to wear , in such case psychological pressure develops over him. He will get the feeling that he is not free to take decisions and can result in effecting his decision making abilities. However, there is no scientific proof to back this up. But some psychologists really believe in this. But looking at the other side some people think that the academics matter more than what the students are wearing .So, in stead of discussing which type of dress should students wear, while going to schools , we should concentrate on how to make curriculum of schools more excellent.

Launching school uniform for first time in the school is a tricky process .Its cost; its availability, its comfort level and uniqueness are some of the complex factors involved. To make it somewhat easy schools usually involve the parents as well take student’s poll as they will be the ones who will be wearing those uniforms for long time.

To make it easier, schools now specially invite both offline and online sellers of uniform to listen to their views. As they know exactly which uniform children like to wear most, design, fabric color, everything, they know it better than any school authority or parent. As people (mostly children) love to buy items from online stores.

Buying school uniform online is a good option because often, school uniforms are not available at your nearby stores, so to buy them online is much easier task. But certain things you should keep in mind before purchasing them online.

First of all make sure that the site from where you are buying must be authenticated and experienced in this field. Online shopping involves certain kind of risk, so buy from genuine online stores. Then read carefully about the fabric used, color and the size, which is the most important factor. Look out for return policies; send them an email telling them what you really want? what if you would return the uniform? Another important thing is “security”, you will be using your credit card for purchase, and you don’t want your credit card details to be stolen. Simple answer is look out for “lock” at the bottom of internet explorer window, if it is locked then you are pretty safe, but if unlock never ever purchase from that site.

If you talk about uniforms, then first name that crosses our mind is “Dickies”. It is a renowned name in providing the school uniforms it mainly stresses upon the quality of the fabric.

We at www.bestbuyuniform.com can provide you all the things needed in the school uniforms- pants, shirts, shorts, coveralls, bib overalls, jackets in many different designs and colors. Uniform of all sizes are available here differently for boys, girls and tops, bottoms.

So narrow your search and get the best deal.

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Tips On How To Start A Career In International Travel Nursing   by Jim Johnson

If you are a nurse who enjoys traveling, you may want to consider a travel nursing position. Many travel nurse placement agencies offer positions that range anywhere from four to thirteen weeks depending on the case. This type of position offers the opportunity to expand your horizons while obtaining more experience in your chosen field.

In terms of compensation, the traveling nurses tends to make anywhere between 10-15% more than the staff nurse with incentives and bonuses added to the package. For many nurses, being a travel nurse opens the opportunity to see parts of the country they would not ordinarily see in the course of normal employment. If you aren't able to travel because of children or financial obligations, you can still experience the thrill of being a travel nurse by accepting assignments closer to home. Of course, when you are able to do so, you can ask for assignments in other cities or states. That is one of the benefits of being a travel nurse with a placement agency: it leaves you in control of which assignments you accept. Unlike a staff position, you are not required to report to work every day as per a set schedule unless you are on an assignment. When you are in between assignments, the choice is yours to accept or decline, and often times with a travel nurse, bonuses are paid to those who complete assignments.

Are the assignments always in hospitals or nursing homes? That depends on the assignment, but the potential is also there for private duty. Some nurses prefer private duty cases, and in many cases, the pay is higher than it is in a facility-based assignment. Let the placement agency know if you prefer a particular kind of environment because they will try to accommodate you whenever possible. The key role is to meet the needs of both the patient or facility and the nurse. The more comfortable the nurse is with the position to which she has been assigned, the easier it will be for her to perform her job.

Travel nursing opens up many opportunities in the field, and for the nurse who is good at what she does, and not adverse to relocation, opportunities in other states as a staff nurse may be a thought to consider. This is a good way to feel the waters and see if you like different scenery before making the permanent decision to move to an unfamiliar place. This type of position is not for everyone, but if you like to travel and try different things, this is the kind of position you will love. Not only will you see other parts of the country, you will experience a completely different world of individuality in the new people you will meet.

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