Up Keep on Skills

Hi SerenaT :)

I love the name Serena by the way. :)

When I lived in Colorado, I still took CEUs to keep abreast of what was happening in the nursing field because I knew one day I'd return to nursing. I also subscribed to the Nursing magazines to read up on the latest events of nursing. I kept my BLS up to date, and read nursing websites as much as I could which helped me to stay on top of things. Then, when I finally re-entered the nursing field, I felt as if I'd never left.........with the exception of the overwhelming chaos that today's nursing has compared to when I left five years previously.

I don't know if it's an option for you ... but when I started teaching I kept working on a perdiem status. I only have to put in 2 shifts/month - and I keep fresh in my skills, plus get my reminder of what it's like in the trenches. (And how thankful I am to not be there every day :) )

I think that this a really important point. When I was in school we had an educator that was very good--a great teacher, very smart...not so good when it came to the current flow of hospital nursing or the current tools we were using as they hadn't been around last time she was working in a hospital. The other students (she was never my clinical instructor) would get very frustrated because she wasn't up to date on what was going on--she knew from reading, etc but had not done the hands on in soo long. I think that it would be great if, to be an educator, you had to pick up at least 1-2 per diem days a month--I know that is probably not possible as we all have lives outside of nursing but it would be neat if it were built into the system somehow...

I work shifts as part of my role, I teach Clinical skills so I feel the need to stay credible to my peers.

I can chose where I work some times in on Accident and Emergency others in my be in a long stay facility.

I am also a member of the cardiac arrest team and attend arrests as a educator and a nurse, but have the luxary to attend when it suits my schedule as I am not a intergral part of the team just an add on.

Intially I never did any shifts until one day visiting a ward, a RN asked me to cannulate a patient, whilst doing the procedure another nurse approach me and asked if I was ok doing that on a real patient instead of the rubber arms I teach on. ( You had to see the patient face, fear in a instance)

Since we are "educating" new nurses how do we/I keep up on current practices. I have been teaching a year now and feel like I am/or might be missing out on new nursing procedures or practices. I look on line for help, but I was wondering if there are any good hard copy stuff. I mean, something to read while waiting for an appointment, right before bed, break time at classes. I believe as nurses we like hands-on stuff. This web site is GREAT but I'm not at a computer all the time.

Thanks!

Serena

P.S. Live in Colorado and CEU's are not required

reply to serenaT: I am a nurse educator in the NC correctional system. I was an ICU nurse, with an ER subspecialty, for 28 yrs until my career change. I have been doing this educator/staff developer thing for a year now, and love it! Because I have a family and it is full-time, I keep up in several ways. 1) I also go online to many bookmarked websites, read all I can, print stuff out for my staff 2) I subscribe to a nursing journal that is predominantly med-surg in focus, which works for the knid of inmate patients we work with 3) I asked for, and got, permission to precept all new hire RNs through the busiest unit in our prison one on one , 4) I attend any seminars I feel would be helpful to my practice and teaching, and lastly 5) I pinch-hit on that unit whenever there is severe weather and they expect the clinicians and managers to make it in, until the regular staff show up- did it last week, in fact. Fell right back into the role as lead nurse again! Hope this helps...