SLThomasRN

I graduated from a hospital school of nursing in 1969. It was a three year program which provided me with a diploma and the qualifications to take the California State Boards. Everyone in my class passed. We lived in a dorm and ate our meals in the hospital cafeteria. Our nursing classes were at the hospital and we took anatomy, physiology, microbiology, English composition, nutrition, psychology and sociology at Los Angeles City College. I worked in the hospital after school for my room and board. Our clinical experience was ongoing and after the first year, in addition to working at the hospital for room and board, I could work for pay,too. Most of my classmates were close to my age, just out of high school, mostly white, and all female. I got a government loan for the first semester and then scholarships to complete the program. I had great jobs for the early part of my career. Later I got. BS in Psycholgy and then in 2012 I got an BSN. In 2014 I got an MSN at the age of 65. I know you needed this sooner, but I just saw it today. Best to you!

Research Results - Knowledge and Perceptions of Psychiatric Nurses on Caring for Patients with Advanced Dementia on an Inpatient Psychiatric Unit As the population ages, it is expected that the number of people with dementia will increase dramatically. 90% of them will have behavioral problems at some time in their lives. Many of them are cared for in their own homes or in nursing homes, but will need inpatients hospitalization at some time. Psychiatric units often take these patients because of the behavioral problems, even though the units are designed for the psychiatric patients with other psychiatric diagnoses. Nurses find it challenging to care for patients with advanced dementia while at the same time caring for the more independent psychiatric patients. This qualitative study was done to study the knowledge and perceptions of nurses on caring for patients with advanced dementia on an inpatient psychiatric unit. The research question was: What challenges do psychiatric nurses face when providing care to patients with advanced dementia? The following six questions were asked in the survey: 1. What is the greatest challenge you face when caring for a patient with advanced dementia on an inpatient psychiatric unit? 2. What other challenges do you face when caring for a patient with advanced dementia? 3. How could the nurses care for patients with advanced dementia, while still providing a quality program for the other psychiatric patients? 4. What are the benefits or risks to the patient with advanced dementia when he/she is admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit? 5. What training should be given to staff - RN's, LPN's, CNA's - on caring for patients with advanced dementia? 6. What would be most helpful to you when caring for patients with advanced dementia on an inpatient psychiatric unit? When the data was analyzed, the responses fell into four categories with several themes identified. Some of the themes crossed over into more than one category. See the table below. [TABLE=class: MsoTableLightShading] [TR] [TD] Categories [/TD] [TD] Staffing [/TD] [TD] Safety [/TD] [TD] Challenges [/TD] [TD] Educational Needs [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Themes [/TD] [TD] Not enough staff to keep them safe [/TD] [TD] Risk of violence by other patients [/TD] [TD] Need a dedicated unit for dementia patients [/TD] [TD] Dealing with violence [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] [/TD] [TD] Uneducated staff members [/TD] [TD] Fall risk due to environmental issues/poor lighting [/TD] [TD] Programming not geared for dementia [/TD] [TD] Disease progression and treatment [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] [/TD] [TD] Staff for acuity [/TD] [TD] Environment not safe [/TD] [TD] Placement problems result in longer stays [/TD] [TD] Pharmacology [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] [/TD] [TD] Not enough staff for 1:1 with patients [/TD] [TD] Staff assaulted by patients [/TD] [TD] Keeping them safe [/TD] [TD] Delirium vs Dementia [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] [/TD] [TD] Need of support for staff [/TD] [TD] Not enough staff to keep them safe [/TD] [TD] [/TD] [TD] Assisting with ADL's, snacks, hygiene [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] There is no doubt that the numbers of patients with dementia is increasing dramatically with 90% of these experiencing some behavioral problems at some time in their lives. Many of these patients will end up in the hospital and in psychiatric units because there is no place else for them to go. Nurses are concerned about their safety and frustrated with the lack of adequate, trained staff to care for these patients. Since only 20% of nurses have any dementia-specific training and there are no national standards for nursing care of dementia patients, there should be specialized training on all aspects of dementia care.

I see this was moved. I thought I had posted it in both the Students Forum and the Psychiatric Forum. I need a few more participants. Do you have any suggestions? I am new at using AllNurses.com, so any advice is appreciated. Thanks

I need a few more participants, please. Thank you very much to all who have already filled out my survey. I really appreciate your help! Sharon

Introduction Inpatient Psychiatric Nurses are invited to participate in a research project being conducted by a researcher from Western Governors University. Sharon L Thomas is conducting research to determine the knowledge and perceptions of psychiatric nurses caring for patients with advanced dementia. Description of the project: - The purpose of this research is to determine the knowledge and perceptions of nurses caring for patients with advanced dementia in order to improve dementia care on the psychiatric inpatient units. - The researcher will be posting research questions on AllNurses.com via a link to SurveyMonkey.com. - Nurses will not be taken away from patient care, and the nurses will answer the questions when it is most convenient for them. - The participant will be asked to answer the specific open-ended research questions relating to the participants knowledge of and experience with dementia patients. There will be demographic questions as well, such as age, gender, ethnicity, education, and years of experience. Benefits and Risks of this study: The benefit of this study is that the data collected may lead to improving the care of patients with dementia on the psychiatric inpatient units. There are no risks to patients or to the participants involved in this study. Confidentiality: The participants will select the time and place to answer the questions online. All data will be stored in a locked file cabinet or in a password-protected computer and only the researcher will have access to these items. All data will be aggregated. Voluntary participation and withdrawal: Participants may choose to voluntarily participate or withdraw from the study. Participants will not be penalized for non-participation. Questions, Rights and Complaints: Participants may contact the researcher at: Sharon L. Thomas, 680 Carrier Drive, Pensacola, FL 32506, 303-902-7844, [email protected]. The link to the survey is: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RNGRRMK

If you are in a state that has legalized marijuana, how would that affect nursing and health care?

1) An interesting job that you enjoy 4 2) A boss who treats everyone the same, regardless of circumstance 3 3) Getting praise and other recognition for the work that you do 3 4) A job that is routine without much change from day to day 2 5) The opportunity for advancement 4 6) A nice title regardless of pay 1 7) Job responsibility that gives you freedom to do things your own way 4 8) Good working conditions (i.e. safe environment, cafeteria) 4 9) The opportunity to learn new things 5 10) Emphasis on following the rules, regulations, and procedures 3 11) A job that you can do well and succeed at 5 12) Job security: a career with only one company 3

I have been trying to get IRB approval through the VA Hospital where I work for 6 months . I took a term break and still don't have approval. Mine is an exempt project, but goes through the whole, lengthy process. Any suggestions?

I am almost finished with the RN - MSN nursing education program. It has been a great experience for me. I have an awesome student mentor who calls me every 2 weeks and is available in between to answer any questions I have. She has been with me from the beginning. Each class has a mentor as well. They post blogs and webinars on the site to assist with your learning.My sister-in-law completed the RN-BSN program. The only problems I have had are trying to work around my work schedule for the community health project where I had to do a practicing, and now I'm trying to get IRB approval for my Capstone project. I work full time at the VA Hospital and getting approval to do research there is a very long process. I have heard that some WGU students have been successful doing research at allnurses.com. Right now I am dealing with a serious medical problem and am so glad I will be able to finish my MSN online from home.