Nurses are Critical to Your Health
Date: November 21, 2022
A Car Accident
Lights, flash, metal crashes—it’s all a whirl. But he’s there and runs to meet the ambulance. Amid the noise, he gently takes your hand and explains what happened and who he is. Calmly he tells you the other members of the medical team will be starting an IV to get your pain medication to you quickly.
“State law determines whether one is legally required to provide emergency care at the scene of an accident or other emergency. Some states require licensed healthcare professionals to do so, while others do not.”1 The person helping you is a Good Samaritan and likely a NURSE.
The Operating Room
She double-checks your name, then asks you to verify your birthday. Then she explains the procedure. You note she has a certain confidence, and you realize you feel a little less anxious having spoken to her. As she takes her place by the surgeon’s side, you wonder if she’ll be handing him the surgical instruments.
In some states, LVNs can work as scrub or circulating nurses in the operating room. In other states, LVN/LPN operating room jobs are not an option.2 More than likely, this person is some type of NURSE.
The Medical/Surgical Floor
Right now, she’s taking your blood pressure and securing your bandages. She does her work with precision. Likewise, she explains that today will be challenging but adds, “We’re going to try to have you get out of bed soon after the surgery.” She logs something in her chart. Typical LPN duties are synonymous with post-op. They include:
- Changing bandages, catheters, and IVs;
- Checking vital signs like blood pressure and pulse rates;
- Reporting any changes in patients’ health to doctors and nurses.3
The person doing these tasks is most likely a NURSE.
A Dark, Uncomfortable Night
It’s night, and you’re scared. He comes in, smiles, checks your bandages and says everything looks great. Then he sits down and talks. As he does so, you feel more comfortable. You both smile. It’s 3 AM. Someone cares. This someone is likely a NURSE.
The Value of a Nurse
Being admitted to a hospital is a frightening experience for anyone. Doctors come and go; tests are done with little explanation. There are strange noises, beeping machines, and so many strangers. Yet, the well-trained nurse helps patients cope and understand what’s happening around them.
Becoming a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) is a challenging yet fulfilling career. No day is the same as the one before. No patient is alike. What’s more, tasks are varied. According to O*NET, LVN’s principal duties include the following:
- Observing patients, charting and reporting changes in patients’ conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
- We record patients’ vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
- Administering prescribed medications or starting intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients’ charts.
- We provide primary patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressure, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations.
- Answering patients’ calls and determining how to assist them.4
LVNs must use their knowledge and experience to make critical decisions for the best patient care. Overall, they must be educators instructing their patients about medications and self-care. All in all, they must also possess soft skills and be collaborators so that they may respectfully and tactfully communicate with other nurses, doctors, and therapists. Finally, LVNs must be good caregivers, distinguishing them as respected healthcare providers.
VN Courses
LVN courses are often structured to build new information on previously learned material. “Fundamentals of Nursing” is a foundation upon which the curriculum is built.
Do you think an LVN foundation is a place to start building your career? If so, check out Gurnick Academy’s Licensed Vocational Nursing program today. ~
Citations:
1 Nurse.com. “Are Nurses Legally Required to Offer Assistance at Accident or Emergency Sites?” Nurse.com Blog, Relias, Inc.© Oct. 17, 2012. (Accessed Nov. 16, 2022.)
2 “What Are the Duties of an Operating Room LVN?” Work–Chron. com, Hearst. Apr. 13, 2021. (Accessed Nov. 18, 2022.)
3 “Working as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)|PracticalNursing.org.” Practical Nursing, Practical Nursing.org, 2022. (Accessed Nov. 18, 2022.)
4 “29-2061.00–Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses.” O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development. (Accessed Nov. 18, 2022.)
