The Practical Nurse

Everyone knows that networking is essential in trying to stay afloat in today’s unpredictable economy. Networking is equally important when trying to get a promotion or even when trying to figure out an educational path. Listed below are five helpful social networking sites to help potential and professional nurses gain an edge in the healthcare industry.

1. Nursegroups.com is a site that is dedicated to helping prospective nurses find the right nursing program, and helps those already in the nursing profession find jobs based on location and specialty. Nursegroups.com has a wide array of resources and articles available for those in the medical profession to read and range from nursing from a historical perspective to current events. As a social networking site, Nursegroups works as type of online classified section for nurses to help find what they need.
2. Nurselinkup is one of the many specialized social networking sites provided by Online LinkUp. Members are able to delve into the topics of their choosing after signing up on the main Link Up site and from there the possibilities are endless. Members have full access to that site and may converse at their convenience, and the sites are constantly growing.
3. NurseConnect is an online nursing community and networking site for nurses and other healthcare professionals interested in advancing their education, careers and personal lives by sharing experiences and knowledge with others. NurseConnect is owned and operated by AMN Healthcare, Inc, which has been around for over 21 years, and whose  major nursing divisions have received the Gold Seal of Approval™ two years running by the Joint Commission.
4. Nurse.com was established with the purpose of enhancing the professional lives of nurses and other healthcare professionals and sharing their noteworthy contributions to society as a whole. Nurse.com is affiliated with 13 regional nursing magazines and makes available an assortment of education offerings and more than a dozen annual professional development and nursing specialty guides. The website also can also help nurses locate career fairs, other relevant web sites and helpful consulting services.
5. My Nurse Book is devoted to the collaborative effort of solving the global nurse shortage. The lack of working nurses is a worldwide occurrence that is hampering our current healthcare system and creating unfavorable working conditions for nurses currently in the field. The website offers access to software technologies, educational tools, and aids in the long-term strategic planning in hopes of making nursing a more attractive and rewarding experience.

Although parenthood brings with it an instinct for childcare, there are times you wish you knew more about how to handle a particular situation such as when a child is sick, is recovering, or is suffering from a chronic condition. At such times the best position to be in is to know what a nurse would do in that situation.

Nurses are multitaskers. They are trained in assessing a condition and intervening either independently or under instructions from a physician. They are also trained toward prevention of a condition and taking steps so that a relapse does not occur. The physical and psychological well-being of a sick child is paramount for a nurse. These are the qualities, which any individual aspiring to care for a sick child, should try and imbibe.

By knowing what to do for a given sickness, you reduce your dependence on external help and also give comfort to your child. Information on common childhood conditions is of great help because very often the situation simply does not merit a visit to the physician. A little rest and an over-the-counter medicine is all that is required. The knowledge of what to do and what not to do comes when a parent tries to understand how best to look after a sick kid, in a manner as imitative of a nurse as possible. Tread carefully when administering medicine to the child.

Talk to your child’s doctor and take him into confidence and obtain a list of do’s and don’ts to follow. Whether a nurse tends to a chronically ill child or a convalescing kid, routine is important. You too should establish a routine for giving medicine and food and other activities that you and the child need to perform depending upon the condition.

Nurses are trained in first-aid and you will acquire a very useful skill if you can learn basic first-aid skills such as stanching blood flow from a wound, tying a bandage, and tying a splint to support a broken bone. Keep a well-stocked first-aid box at home.

Your training in caring for your sick child may have to center around a particular condition if your child suffers from one. For example, your skills in childcare need to be different if the kid suffer from autism than what they would be if the child has hemophilia. Look up online resources on how to best take care of a child at home, particularly if periodic visits to the doctor are required. There are many forums that you can join and sites that you can visit to find out the things that you need to do sequentially and do them right if you wish to take care of your sick child like how a nurse would.

One of the big reasons why nurses can offer comfort and evoke relief in their patients is because they genuinely care for the well-being of their wards. Caring for their child comes naturally to parents but they need to know about the things to do that will soothe the sick child and give him both physical and psychological relief. For example, little things like holding hands, reading bedtime stories, saying positive things, and appearing in control are some of the things that can go a long way in reassuring a child and often hastening the recovery process.

Since every child is different, you can quickly learn about what works best in treating your child if it falls sick. Does your child like to be left alone? Is it allergic to certain medicines? What was it that you did the last time when it had a similar ailment? These and similar questions will help you in your quest to hone your knowledge and skills to care for your kid when it needs you the most.