The true meaning of continuing education

Nurses General Nursing

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  1. About medical competency and Nursing

    • 0
      Efforts beyond standard nursing curriculum and CEU's is wasted because nurses don't need more than that
    • 67
      A nurse should continualy increase their knolwedge base through self study using media, conferences, mentors, textbooks and generraly anything that they can learn.
    • 5
      What a nurse learns on the job is all you need to be medicaly competent because nursing is "hands on" learning.
    • 0
      I have an assortment of reference materials and ocassionaly peek at them when I have nothing better to do.

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I'm really not shocked that nobody here seems to be expanding on their base knowledge. Nursing school isn't all easy and the strain you can feel in the "real" world of nursing once you hit the floor and all the new skills to master can make continuing education look like just an annoyance to satisfy licensing requirements, but once you've settled into a daily routine don't you get curiouse about some of those "blank spots" that seem vaguely like something you used to be intimately familiar? Don't you always have something to learn?

There must be somebody out there that is using some time to better themselves as practitioners.................do I have the wrong audience? Perhapse no good can come of knowledge outside of curriculum as a nurse. Maybe that's just reserved for the doctors and wannabees......uhmm?

Let's find out.

P.S.

If you would please show the board what you use to expand your skills and how you utilize them......Texts, CD-roms, programs....ETC

It is paramount in our ever changing world of health care. I have periods of time where I crave school for its' stimulation. Okay okay it passes.. but there are moments.....

My favorite references of late are:

Drug Reference: Blanchard and Loeb 2002 Drug Handbook (inexpensive @ $ 20, user friendly, large print, and stays open when you want it to)

Springhouse Nursing Herbal Drug Handbook (suits me and my patients needs who take vitamins, remedies, and herbals for self care and maintenance).. didn't YOU reccomend this to me once? lol.. anyhoo... heard it here first on this BB.:D

Lippincott - Nutrition Handbook for Nursing Practice (had it since nursing school 4 years ago and still love the reference accesibility. Invaluable for "those diets" patients need to be on);)

Camp Nursing Book: The Basics of Camp Nursing

Author: Linda Ebner Erceq , Myra Pravda

Format: Paperback

Publication Date: April 2002

ISBN: 0876031734

List Price: $ 29.95

(cause I am going to camp nurse this summer for the first time)

Medical Surgical Nursing Certification Review Book - Springhouse New Edition (I am taking the Med/Surg Board Certification test through ANA this fall)

I have others but they are generic references and are still packed away. I just moved and am putting together my referenece material and getting a new bookcase.

Peeps.... I think I hear what you are saying in your (IMO) frustration with our diversity of knowledge base (or lack of). I believe people, and yes nurses, must have some sort of demands made of them to follow suit to maintain their knowlege base. Some need it some not. For this reason, I bleieve mandatory CEUs are appropriate and necessary to maintain high standards and expectations.

I am not reimbursed for my impending Board Certification. I do it because I want to maintain a high level of information. I do it, not just for me, but my patients. Yes, I think it will look good on my resume. Ultimately, I do this because I need to feel like I know what is going on.

It is not for me to say why other nurses do not get certified or hunger for more knowledge or training. I can only speak for myself. The last think I ever want to do is criticize another person who I have not "lived in their shoes"... or as we say out west "lived in their mocassins"...

This is a great thread.... Thank you...... :)

Nightengale,

Yes! I did recommend and still utilize the Nursing Herbal Handbook, Springhouse. I had forgotten about that thread. I keep it at work and forgot to mention it. I also keep a backup Tabors there. It has been invaluble in saving people from possible(if you can do that) interactions with meds and conditions.

Angus,

Just your favorites. The ones you utilize to refresh old skills and aquire new ones. All of us have old books we bought that just take up space. I'm suggesting sharing the ones you get use out of and how you use them for the benefit of these professionals that care enough to promote Nursing as a skilled SCIENCE.

I'm simply enviouse Angus:p , but someday when I am done with the academic library I can enhance the professional series

wing!!:chuckle ..No really, I'm always buying books and programs. Since technology is advancing all the time I figure that I had better advance with it or be left behind.

Petiteflower,

YES, YES!.Please share. You don't have to type out a long link or anything just give us a website........Please, pretty please?

I love simulators but I haven't found any that I have learned much from except for a CD-rom game called Code Blue. You can search a medical database for general treatment information, veiw radiological findings, varied lab work, and decide the treatment course along with consults and everything. The information has a medical basis complete with instruments. It's from Legacy Interactive

I have several, but this is the best and most complete. I visit this site often.

http://www.nyerrn.com

It has lots of good stuff----enjoy!!!!!

Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.

Peeps,

I have that Code Blue game. It's fun once you figure out how to get things to work.

As far as my nursing reference library? I have the latest edition of Brunner and Suddarths Medical Surgical Nursing text, a medical dictionary, a Tabers, a 2002 Nursing Drug Handbook, Portable RN, Lippincotts Manual of Nursing Care (7th Ed.), Mosby's Clinical Nursing(5th ed.), Fundamental's of Nursing by Taylor, Lillis and LeMone(2001,4th ed), Mosby's 2001 Edition of Intravenous Meds, Mosby's Guide to Lab tests and values. I also have just about every book in the Incredibly Easy series by Springhouse--first edition--you know Pharmacology, EKG's, IV Therapy, etc. Plus there are numerous others that I don't have room to list all the titles. Plus I still have all of my nursing texts from college and I graduated 5 years ago in May.

I am constantly referencing the Med-Surg text. Plus the Critical Care Nursing Texts also. I also constantly re-read my old nursing magazines as well, I refuse to throw them away, I keep em in a cardboard box in my closet.

I've got quite a few of those Incredibly Easy texts too, Kelly.

My Mosby's medical dictionary and my Lippincotts drug handbook are probably the most frequently used books on my reference shelf. I also pull out my old med/surg text now and then.

I use the internet a lot these days to ferret out the answers to questions that come up as I go along. I poll the most experienced nurses first and then I go searching the net to see how their answers compare to what is published. Sometimes I find new tidbits to pass back along to them.

I get such a rush from finding out some new piece of information that will help me help my patients. I can't fathom anybody feeling like they don't need to learn any more. As I went through nursing school I was just awed by how much there was to know and how I was just scratching the surface. 6 years later I feel I have learned a great deal but it still seems like a drop in the bucket.

Where do you get the code blue game??? I think I would like that.

Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.

I got my copy at Office Max

Fetrow, C. W., Availa, J. R. Professional's handbook of complementary & alternative medicines, AACN Clinical Reference of Critical Care Nursing, Taber's, Nursing 2002 Drug handbook, Chernecky, C. C., Berger, B. J., Laboratory tests and diagnostic proceures, Gahart, B. L., Nazareno, A. A., 2001 Intravenous medications. These are a few. I really do use ALL the books I have fairly frequently.

I purge out books from time to time, if I find they are no longer significantly useful to me. I have to; I buy books frequently not to mention I am an active Student gone back for my BSN.

Plus I have books on management, people skills and issues, and herbs that proove useful in nursing. I kept the Psyc book from my LPN program while I pruged the one from my RN program. It is really useful in everyday med surg areas. It's Groman, L. M., Sultan, D. F. Raines, M. L., Davis's manual of psychosocial nursing for general patient care. A handy little pocket size (600 pg though)reference with down to earth practical info and advice.

Nurse's Drug Guide.....Springhouse

Mosby's 2001 Drug Guide

Mosby's lab and diagnostic text.....

Med/Surg Text.........

Medical Dictionary a must.......

these are the just the basic survival ones.....

there are great websites for just about any medical subject out there........

am a cpr instructor, enjoy keeping up on issues and topics.....and always how to teach better.....

will be taking ACLS this fall

certification in med/surg this year.....

classes that offered at work and other venues.....

Love RN magazine.....it is so current and practical, along with the scientific theory and actions........

Love learning and stimulating my mind.....+++++it is the only way to keep current and proficient at what we do.....

learn the best sometimes right on the floor from the master's(those who have gone there before.........).........doc's can be a great resource of knowledge.....depending.....

great thread and thought provoking.....

Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Oops, I did forget to mention I did the CEN too. We too don't get reimbursed for certification - again just something I wanted to do for myself.

Hey everybody!

If you haven't yet go check out Petiteflower's website pick!................uhmm, then come back to spend the rest of the day on this one of course.:imbar

I turned into a crispy critter on my first air ambulance call.....geeze.

I forgot to mention my Handbook of Diagnostic Tests, Springhouse;second edition

I also went out yesterday and bought Body Fluids & Electrolytes, Moseby;eighth edition. It's a programmed presentation just like my Chemistry for Biology Majors but didn't have a CD-rom:o I need a programmed format so I'll have the discilpline to finish all the concepts before moving on.........I like to skim when I think I know it all:cool:

Love all the input.

Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

I have almost all the above books and used as references weekly when doing field nursing.

Still use Hanbook of Home Health Standards + Documentation Guidelines for Reimbursement by T. M. Marelli, Mosby in planning homecare , especially nursing skills and outcome goals.

Whaley and Wong's Pediatric Texbook still a classic and visit for family advice, since not my specialty.

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