info on how nurses co-operate with others team-members

[elma]

I'm a journalist interested in cases of how nurses work with other clinical professionals or assistants in their work, on an everyday basis.

Do you have any specific examples of how you have worked with a wide variety of colleagues? eg. one case where you've worked with colleagues from paramedics, to dieticians, to paediatricians, to scientists?

I don't intend to write about specific cases, but to get an idea of what it's like to be a nurse from day to day, using case studies to help me. Thank you.

[gumball2000]

in my opinion nurses are ultimate 'hub' of patient care in a clinical or homecare situation. we as patient advocate report back to the doctor on how a patient has responded to any new medication or the ineffectiveness of the planned traetment . we get social workers involved with any homecare issues such as the need for skilled nursing needs post hospitalization. we make the m.d. aware of special dietary needs,such as if the patient has difficulty in swallowing or has to learn a whole new way of eating (as in newly diagnosed diabetes),a dietary consult is then made to adress these needs. there is so much more involved in patient care than giving a pill and fluffing a pillow here and there.thank-you for your interest inthis sometimes difficult truly rewarding field. p.ball,rn

------------------

[gumball2000]

in my opinion nurses are ultimate 'hub' of patient care in a clinical or homecare situation. we as patient advocate report back to the doctor on how a patient has responded to any new medication or the ineffectiveness of the planned treatment . we get social workers involved with any homecare issues such as the need for skilled nursing needs post hospitalization. we make the m.d. aware of special dietary needs,such as if the patient has difficulty in swallowing or has to learn a whole new way of eating (as in newly diagnosed diabetes),a dietary consult is then made to address these needs. there is so much more involved in patient care than giving a pill and fluffing a pillow here and there.thank-you for your interest inthis sometimes difficult truly rewarding field. p.ball,rn

------------------

[This message has been edited by gumball2000 (edited September 18, 1999).]

[gumball2000]

in my opinion nurses are ultimate 'hub' of patient care in a clinical or homecare situation. we as patient advocate report back to the doctor on how a patient has responded to any new medication or the ineffectiveness of the planned traetment . we get social workers involved with any homecare issues such as the need for skilled nursing needs post hospitalization. we make the m.d. aware of special dietary needs,such as if the patient has difficulty in swallowing or has to learn a whole new way of eating (as in newly diagnosed diabetes),a dietary consult is then made to adress these needs. there is so much more involved in patient care than giving a pill and fluffing a pillow here and there.thank-you for your interest inthis sometimes difficult truly rewarding field. p.ball,rn

------------------

[jbresolin]

I work with LVN's, CNA's, MD's and other nurses. The level of co-operation depends on the type of unit, job expectations, personalities etc. In general ICU nurses enjoy more respect from MD's , they are consulted more as equals. On floors there is little time to stop and talk unless there is a specific need, and the nurse may not even know when the MD is there. We read the orders and notes in the chart. In ED and surgery there is more integration and team work I think. (haven't worked those areas) There is definately a heirarchy for those interested.Sometimes I joke that the job wouldn't be so hard if it werent for the other nurses. There are times I feel like I am taking care of the attitudes and expectations of co-workers more than the patients. Nurses can be notoriously critical of one another. The job entails responding to multiple demands simultaneously. Families, patient's feelings, pathophysiology, doctors orders, systems that are slow, etc. LVN's are "covered" by RN's we do the shift assessment, give the IV meds, call MD's if needed,and chart the same for each LVN. They usually have more patients (more stable) than RN, but I sometimes feel that they are "dumped on" in the guise of the increased responsibility of RN's. If the LVN is a regular staff member the integration and co-operation is usually good and their work can equal or be superior to the work of an RN. There can be problems when LVNs from registry work as their skills may not be developed, creating a huge burden for RNs. CNA also vary widely in how much they contribute to getting the work done. There are times when class consiousness and wage disparities enter the picture, but usually when a team has worked together for a while they adjust to each other. Because of work re-design the expectations for each level of practice are being more clearly established.

[VFONE]

As stated before the amount of involvement with other team members that takes care of the patient depends on the patient's condition and the needs of the family. The more complex the problems the more fellow clinicians that are involved in the care, and at the center of it all is the nurse. She/he is the one who makes sure that all services needed become involved to the benefit of the patients. Nurses are the ones who take care of the patients round the clock and coordinate the care they get.

May I suggest you contact a local hospital and ask to spend a few hours on one of their units. It would enlighten you to how many individuals are involved in the care of one.

[ratchit]

You might look into Suzanne Gordon's writings- both in the newspapers (fairly regularly in the Boston Globe) and her books. She has spent time on units with nurses and is very pro-bedside-nurse. Good luck!

Ratchit