Thank you to nurse educators and to Johnson and Johnson for a tribute to Nurse Educators.


Finding qualified Nurse Educators that are willing to take a decrease in salary to teach becomes a challenge for many nursing schools. Nurses with education degrees can sometimes make 3 times the salary if they elect to work in a hospital over working in a classroom. These days, it is quite common for Nurse Educators to work fulltime in a hospital and take a nursing college faculty position as a part time endeavor.

Nursing schools that can be flexible with instructor schedules will likely have a better recruitment rate and secure more specialized instructors.

Take the time to shape 1 mind and you might inspire 1,000 more.

Right now, all over America, understanding is breaking through. Techniques are being perfected. Hearts touched. Lives saved. All because one nurse educator took the time to shape one mind.

In huge lecture halls and tiny hospital corridors, at the end of an exhausting shift. And in the seconds between life and death knowledge is being shared, offered, planted, driven into eager minds that will take it and run and pass it on.

Light new fires and inspire others. Do you have it in you to become a Nurse Educator, willing to share all you've seen, what you've learned, your proudest achievements and most painful moments. Do you have what it takes to fan a spark into a flame? To inspire a new generation?

Behind every nurse who touches a life, there's a nurse educator who first touched them. Behind every life saved, a lifetime of experience shared. And when you see that flicker of comprehension, or watch one of your students succeed, there is no greater feeling in the world.

Not everyone has what it takes to be a nurse educator. It is an elite group comprised on the best and the brightest. The ones who want to give back and have the skills to do it, the medical instincts and training. Academic achievement, perseverance and compassion.

If you're one of the lucky few who has these gifts and you have what it takes to pass on your knowledge and inspire you may touch hearts you have never seen. Save lives long after you're gone. Impact generations you'll never meet.

One nurse educator can shape a mind. Her's shapes another and another. One mind can inspire 1,000 more. Maybe it will be yours. Shape the minds that save lives. Be a Nurse Educator.

Explore theses accredited online nursing degree opportunities below and request free no obligation information from any that interest you.

We recommend getting information from several schools so you can compare the programs, costs, time commitments and financial aid options.

Labels: Career Profiles, In the Hospital, Nurse Educator, Nursing School, Nursing Shortage, Nursing Student, Online Nursing Degree

Since 1980, the Foundation has given hope, strength and joy to children with life-threatening medical conditions. The Foundation aims to reflect the life-changing impact that a Make-A-Wish experience has on children, families, referral sources, donors, sponsors, and entire communities.

Since its humble beginning in granting a little boy's wish who dreams of becoming a police officer, the Make-a-Wish Foundation has grown into an organization that grants a wish of a child every 40 minutes. The organization has blossomed into a worldwide phenomenon, reaching more than 174,000 children around the world. A network of nearly 25,000 volunteers enables the Make-A-Wish Foundation to serve children with life-threatening medical conditions. Volunteers serve as wish granters, fundraisers, special events assistants and numerous other capacities.

The Foundation offers a volunteer position for every time and talent. Volunteers have a wide variety of options to get involved that match their interests and skills. Volunteer opportunities and availability vary by local chapter. All volunteers are required to complete the volunteer screening process. They must also undergo background check.

Nurses and healthcare workers volunteer their time and talent to help grant a sick child's wish and turn it to reality. Many trained nurses that have earned their certification through an online nursing degree or through campus education look forward to this type of opportunity outside of their regular working hours.

Volunteer nurses, along with doctors, parents and other healthcare workers, refer eligible patients between 2 1/2 and 18 who have not received a wish from another wish-granting organization. They gather information on the child's one true wish. Driven by the child's creativity, they then create an unforgettable experience to enrich the lives of the children and their families, but more often an entire community.

Nurses and doctors as well as other healthcare workers see a lot of benefits in volunteering at Make-A-Wish Foundation. They learn and develop certain skills while teaching others the skills they know. Volunteers also gain work experience; thus, enhancing their resume. Volunteering also creates important network contacts as one meets new people and talk to them about their ambitions, enthusiasm, and care for the community.

One of the nursing organizations who volunteer for the foundation is the Oklahoma Nurses Association (ONA). ONA is a professional organization for all registered nurses in Oklahoma that promotes nursing profession. They help the children with critical medical conditions make their wishes come true. They volunteer, sponsor a wish, and organize special events for the children.

Volunteering also develops the self-confidence and self-esteem of both the patient and the healthcare worker. This helps improve the health situation of the patient. More importantly, volunteers make a big difference in the life of the patients, their families and the community.

Labels: Career Profiles, Charity, Hospice Nurse, Medicare, Nursing Career, Nursing Jobs, Volunteer

America's health care shortage extends into every level of its hospitals, from nurses to gift shop volunteers. This shortage can cause huge problems in effective coverage for United States citizens. However, statisticians believe that increasing the number of nurses per hospital will improve health care quality for everyone.

The highest level of the health care shortage is in primary care doctors. Though the federal government has been pushing for increased primary care physician presence, their efforts have failed. Primary care physicians have been decreasing faster and faster every year since the 1970s.

Many hospitals have found the solution for the lack of primary care physicians: nurses. Nurses, and especially those with advanced training like nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists, provide much of the same care as doctors, at lower price and with less education, as reported by the Yale Journal on Regulation.

Both the lay community and members of the health care sector are attributing major hospital mortality problems to the nursing shortage. In a 2005 edition of Nursing Economic$, researchers found that more than half of registered nurses and CNOs (Chief Nursing Officers) think that reduced staffing is causing a decrease in the quality of care in hospitals and other health care centers. Over 90% of registered nurses complained about overstaffing causing poor patient care. On the other hand, 40% of American citizens have criticized the health care sector, claiming that between 1999 and 2004, quality of hospital care has sunk, citing stress, understaffing and lessened individual care as major factors in the condition of health care.

A study by The New England Journal of Medicine in 2002 tested the hypothesis that low nurse staffing levels will increase the number of deaths and complications in patients. After examining almost 800 hospitals in eleven states, the research team concluded that higher numbers of nursing care hours shortened the day, reduced risk of infection, pneumonia, heart attack and 'failure to rescue.' Additionally, surgical patients who saw their nurses more regularly had decreased urinary tract infections and increased rates of success after surgery. Overall, the study proved that increasing coverage of patients by upping the number of nurses on staff will lead to better health care in hospital patients.

A further study in Health Services Research and the Journal of Nursing Administration went on to study the effects of education on mortality rates. The research teams found that hospitals that staff nurses who graduated from baccalaureate programs had lower rates of mortality and 'failure to rescue' than did hospitals who staffed nurses with a lower level of education.

The study of mortalities as a consequence of the nursing shortage has been the most frightening of all. In 2002, the Journal of the American Medical Association came forward with research on the benefits of increasing nursing staff. Thousands of lives would be saved a year by simple changes in hiring. At the University of Pennsylvania, where the research was conducted, the team found that a hospital with a low ratio of nurses to patients, patients are almost a third more likely to die than in hospitals that are adequately staffed. Every patient added to a nurse's daily workload in the surgery ward increases the chance of death by 7%.

Labels: Career Profiles, Healthcare, Nursing Career, Nursing Jobs, Nursing School, Recruit Nurses

Emergency Medical Technicians are responsible for the preliminary care of patients who are going into labor, suffered a heart attack, or experienced an accident, and represent one of the fastest growing employment opportunities in health care. EMTs and paramedics are expected to provide quality care at all hours of the day.

Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics are the first people on the scene for immediate medical attention to events like accidents, gunshot wounds and heart attacks. EMTs begin their work at the scene, and will continue to care for the patient on the ride to the hospital.

Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians, like firemen and police officers, are called in through a 911 dispatcher. Emergency Medical Technicians and paramedics need to immediately assess the patient's condition, and need to make quick decisions to help save lives. They do primary diagnostic work, determining the nature of the present condition and checking for any existing medical problems, then transport the injured party to a hospital, where emergency room doctors take over.

Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics begin their education with a high school diploma. Workers must attend a training program, but do not need a college degree to enroll. All states require training and education, but the amount of each varies by region.

Employers are most likely to hire EMTs and Paramedics with higher levels of experience, and advanced certifications that can be obtained via distance learning at online nursing schools. The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians is the largest provider of certifications, though some states also offer private programs. The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians divide these certificates into five levels: First Responder, EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate, which is subdivided into 1985 and 1999, and Paramedic. EMT-Basic is the lowest level, and paramedic is the highest.

Emergency Medical Technicians with Basic certification are allowed to provide transport, care for the patient at the scene of the accident and during transit, and is trained to manage conditions. Basic level EMTs, like the other levels, are allowed to maintain respiratory and cardiac function during an emergency, and are also qualified to deal with trauma, like broken bones. The next level, EMT Intermediate, requires more education and training in order to perform more complicated procedures, as dictated by state law. EMT-Paramedics have more education and responsibilities than their peers. Paramedics are given more responsibilities, like medication administration, procedural duties and equipment usage.

Urgent care medicine is a difficult field. EMTs need to be physically prepared for the position, and should be able to life heavy loads and perform additional demanding tasks as well, in rain or shine. EMTs need to be able to work day or night, and in many different kinds of weather; the work of a paramedic is not easy. Furthermore, paramedics and technicians need to be able to make rational decisions quickly in order to save a life. Anyone interested in the field should be comfortable with the responsibility for a person?s life.

Technicians who work through a 911 dispatcher earn more money and are awarded with better benefits than those that work with a private hospital. The average EMT earns approximately $30,870 a year, as reported in 2007.

Labels: Career Profiles, Nursing Jobs

A candy striper is a hospital volunteer who functions under nurse supervision. The name came from the traditional uniform that volunteers wore, that looked like peppermint candy, although this outfit isn't frequently worn today. Previous generations of female volunteers wore pink and white dresses, but the modern candy striper will wear a uniform shirt with pants, as well as a hospital ID that lists name and position.

The modern candy striper is between thirteen and eighteen years of age and are typically female, because the role was originally created as a female job, but the number of men in the field is ever increasing.

These volunteers are integral to the success of the hospital, thanks to their interactions with both nurses and patients. Duties range, but are frequently constrained to clerical activities, as a result of insurance liability. Candy stripers usually work in reception, gift shops, and nursing and administration stations. Some will transport items between units, or visit lonely patients, but these jobs require more experience.

One of the candy stripers most important duties is attending to patients. Overburdened hospitals don't have the resources to provide patients with frequent one-on-one care, past the necessary time spent diagnosing and treating. Candy stripers make a hospital visit pleasant by eating with, reading to, assisting or delivering items to patients. Though they fulfill many other duties, these are the primary jobs fulfilled by the volunteer.

Experienced candy stripers have a number of opportunities in a hospital to gain knowledge about the medical field. Seasoned volunteers clean rooms, transport records and drugs from unit to unit, and can bring in lab specimens for testing. Overall, older candy stripers will spend more of their time interacting with health care professionals than do younger candy stripers, who spend most of their time with patients.

Training for the job usually takes only a few days. Candy stripers are most frequently employed at teaching hospitals, because the volunteering experience allows pre-med students and those working towards an advanced nursing degree a chance to work with patients, while relieving the care staff of more menial duties. Many students volunteering at the hospital find the familiarity worthwhile, as it's one of the rare chances for a high school or college student to get a hands-on learning experience in a medical environment.

Finally, there are a number of steps before you can jump into volunteering at your local hospital. You'll need to complete an application, which includes references and parental consent if you're less than eighteen years old, and interview. Should you be chosen to volunteer, you will need to take a tuberculosis skin test and undergo a physical exam. This ensures that you won't infect patients under your care.

When applying to become a candy striper, it's important to keep a dependable schedule. Be sure that you leave time every week for volunteering, as the experience is impossible to replace for those interested in the medical field.

To make your experience as a candy striper the best it can be, you must make sure that you maintain first-rate behavior at all times, because your conduct reflects on the institution you work for. If you are able to observe all hospital policies, you'll be sure to get a great reference in the future.

Labels: Career Profiles, In the Hospital, Nursing Jobs