A legal nurse consultant bridges gaps in the attorney’s knowledge. While the attorney is the expert on legal issues, the LNC is the expert on nursing and the health care system. LNCs screen cases for merit, assist with discovery; conduct the existing literature and medical research; review medical records; identify standards of care; prepare reports and summaries on the extent of injury or illness; create demonstrative evidence; and locate or act as expert witnesses.

The legal nurse consultant acts as a specialized member of the litigation team whose professional contributions are often critical to achieving a fair and just outcome for all parties. There are several courses and certifications available for LNCs. Some offer basic education while others offers more comprehensive training. The LNC is paid for their education and years of experience in the medical field, not just their LNC certification or training, but having the training is suggested and being certified as a LNC is suggested. Attorneys should seek out LNC for their expertise because of their training.

A LNC differs from a paralegal in that a paralegal assists attorneys in the delivery of legal services and frequently requires a legal education. Legal nurse consulting is defined as a specialty practice of nursing noting that the professional foundation is first and foremost, nursing. While many legal nurse consultants have acquired knowledge of the legal system, legal education is not a prerequisite to the practice of legal nurse consulting. A legal nurse consultant uses existing expertise as a health care professional to consult and educate clients on specific medical and nursing issues in their cases.

They usually work with mothers once postpartum care is handed over from the midwives, advise on feeding, care and support to both infants and parents, provide routine child development checks and have responsibility for child protection issues. They are also able to help people of any age who suffer from chronic illness or live with a disability. They may run health promotion schemes such as stop-smoking clinics.
Qualified health visitors are regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

This page tries to outline the state of art guidelines for geriatric care that are useful to a nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist who encounters aging person in practice. Due to their complexity, aged people always deserve personal attention. Nurses address physical, psycho social, cultural and family concerns as well as promoting health and emphasizing successful aging.

Life expectancy is rising at rates which call for the proper preparation of nurses to take good care of the rapidly increasing number of the aged.

It is important to distinguish changes involved with normal aging from changes attributable to pathophysiology. Alterations in the structure and function of multiple body system may affect an older person appearance, mobility and ability to fight off infections. Geriatric medications need to be managed so as to avoid too much use of medicine since this group receives a lot of medication if poor care is taken. Multiple medications can cause a variety of drug interaction in older people. Primary drug reaction occurs when one drug causes one side effect, secondary drug reaction occurs when one medication reacts with another. This is brought about by polypharmacy. Old people should be treated in ways that are of benefit and do no harm or as little harm as possible. Principle of assessment: data regarding biomedical, functional, psychological and social issues are obtained to help in planning and implementation of individual health care.

Role and Duties of a Flight Nurse

The Flight Nurse performs as a member of an aeromedical evacuation crew on helicopters and airplanes—providing for in-flight management and nursing care for all types of patients. Other responsibilities include planning and preparing for aeromedical evacuation missions and preparing a patient care plan to facilitate patient care, comfort and safety.

Flight Nurses evaluate individual patient’s in-flight needs and request appropriate medications, supplies and equipment, providing continuing nursing care from origination to the destination facility. They act as liaisons between medical and operational aircrews and support personnel in order to promote patient comfort and to expedite the mission, and also initiate emergency treatment in the absence of a physician during in-flight medical emergencies. Flight nurses have expertise in mechanical ventilation, hemodynamic support, vasoactive medications, and other intensive care skills. Flight nurses most commonly work collaboratively with Flight Paramedics.

Types of Flight Nurses are Civilian Flight Nurses and Military Flight Nurses

What is Flight nursing and who is Flight nurse

Faith Community Nursing (FCN) is recognized as a specialty nursing practice. Faith Community Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice was approved by the American Nurses Association in 2005 and define the specialty as “…the specialized practice of professional nursing that focuses on the intentional care of the spirit as part of the process of promoting holistic health and preventing or minimizing illness in a faith community.”

The Caribbean has joined the community of Parish Nursing and Health Care Ministry with the launching of Health Care Ministry in The Bahamas. It began with an initial course spanning a three-week period and brought together nurses from various denominations and they were commissioned on 27 February 2005.
Initially, the Canadian and Australian models of Parish Nursing were introduced to The Bahamas as an extension of the Pastoral Care Ministries of Diocese 2000 & Beyond, a programme of the Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands.

To date, we have over sixty persons trained and actively engaged in the ministry as either Parish Nurses or Health & Wellness Carers. Since the ministry began in 2005 it has grown steadily and was known as the Anglican Diocesan Health Care Ministry [Parish Nursing] Council. However, effective 7 March 2008 the name changed to the Ecumenical Health Care Ministry Council.
It is intended that there will be continued training and that the programme will spread throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the Caribbean. To this end, the ministry will be recognised by the Bahamas Christian Council and by extension the Caribbean Council of Churches.

Parish Nursing, Congregational Nursing

Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN, USA)

A licensed, Registered Nurse, who has demonstrated expertise in emergency nursing by passing a computer-administered examination given by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN). The BCEN is a division of the Emergency Nurses’ Association (ENA). The certification is valid for four years, and can be renewed either by passing another examination or by completing 100 continuing education units (CEUs) in the specialty. There is also an online “open book exam” renewal option. There are many study/preparation options prior to taking the exam. Some options are published review guides or workbooks, live review seminars and classes, and online practice/sample exams. The BCEN recommends (but does not require) the exam candidate to have at least two years’ experience in the practice of emergency nursing.
Currently there are approximately 17,500 CENs

Currently the CEN exam has 175 questions of which 150 are used for testing purposes (25 are sample questions). The passing score is 75% and the candidate has 3 hours to take the exam. The test is administered in testing centers nationwide.

Current CEN Exam Content: Cardiovascular Emergencies:21 questions Respiratory Emergencies: 18 questions General Medical Emergencies: 15 questions Neurological Emergencies: 15 questions Orthopedic and Wound Emergencies: 13 questions Shock & Multi-system Emergencies: 11 questions Genito-urinary, Gynecological and Obstetrical emergencies: 10 questions Substance abuse, Toxicological and Environmental emergencies: 10 questions Gastro-intestinal emergencies: 9 questions Patient Management Topics: 9 questions Professional issues/topics: 7 questions Facial-Ocular emergencies: 6 questions Psychological-Sociological topics: 6 questions.

Training and education

Most critical care nurses in the U.S. are registered nurses. Due to the unstable nature of the patient population the LPN/LVN’s are rarely utilized in a primary care role in the intensive care unit. However, with proper training and experience LPN/LVN’s can play a significant role in providing exceptional bedside care for the critically ill patient.

Nurses in the US who wish to obtain certification in critical care nursing can do so through a national advisory board, known as the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. This advisory board sets and maintains standards for critical care nurses. The certification offered by this board is known as CCRN. This does not stand for ‘Critical Care Registered Nurse’ as is popularly believed, but is merely a certification as a critical care nurse for adult, pediatric and neonatal populations.

Registration is a regulatory term for the process that occurs between the individual nurse and the state in which the nurse practices. All nurses in the US are registered as nurses without a specialty. The CCRN is an example of a post registration specialty certification in critical care.

The underlying tasks of case management include:
assessment of need
care planning
implementation
regular review

The case management model developed in the USA in response to the closure of large psychiatric hospitals (known as deinstitutionalisation) and initially following a brokeage model, where professionals arranged for the provisions of services, without the need for direct patient care or contact. Clinical or therapeutic case management then developed as the need for the mental professional to establish a therapeutic relationship and be actively involved in clinical care was recognised. A more intensive form of case management (assertive community treatment or Intensive Case Management) was also developed for patients with more severe illness who needed a more assertive approach.

Nursing Case Management Certification

The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) is the largest board certification body for nurses in the United States. One of the many certifications that ANCC offers is a Case Management Nurse Certification. Registered nurses who successfully pass ANCC’s Case Management Nurse exam are entitled to use the credential, RN-BC (Registered Nurse – Board Certified).

In January 1974, the decision was made to celebrate the day on 12 May as it is the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, who is widely considered the founder of modern nursing. Each year, ICN prepares and distributes the International Nurses’ Day Kit. The kit contains educational and public information materials, for use by nurses everywhere.

In 1999 the British public sector union UNISON voted to ask the ICN to transfer this day to another date, saying Nightingale did not represent modern nursing. As of 1998, 8 May was designated as annual National Student Nurses Day. As of 2003, the Wednesday within National Nurses Week, between 6 and 12 May, is National School Nurse Day.

Procedure

Local anaesthetic is injected into the skin, usually in the right groin, to numb the area. In some centers access to the coronary arteries is made via the right radial or brachial artery (hand or arm), but the majority of cases are still done from the groin region. A puncture is then made with a needle in either the femoral artery in the groin or the radial artery in the wrist,(Seldinger technique), before a guidewire is inserted into the arterial puncture. A plastic sheath (with a stiffer plastic introducer inside it) is then threaded over the wire and pushed into the artery. The wire is then removed and the side-port of the sheath is aspirated to ensure arterial blood flows back. It is then flushed with saline. This arterial sheath, with a bleedback prevention valve, acts as a conduit into the aretery for the duration of the procedure.

Catheters are inserted using a guidewire and moved towards the heart. Once in position above the aortic valve the guidewire is then removed. The catheter is then engaged with the origin of the coronary artery (either left main stem or right coronary artery) and x-ray opaque iodine-based contrast is injected to make the coronary vessels show up on the x-ray fluoroscopy image.

When the necessary procedures are complete, the catheter is removed. Firm pressure is applied to the site to prevent bleeding. This may be done by hand or with a mechanical device. Other closure techniques include an internal suture and plug. If the femoral artery was used, the patient will probably be asked to lie flat for several hours to prevent bleeding or the development of a hematoma. If the arm is used, the patient can ambulate sooner. Cardiac interventions such as the insertion of a stent prolong both the procedure itself as well as the post-catheterization time spent in allowing the wound to clot.

A cardiac catheterization is a general term for a group of procedures that are performed using this method, such as coronary angiography, as well as left ventrical angiography. Once the catheter is in place, it can be used to perform a number of procedures including angioplasty, PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) angiography, balloon septostomy, and an Electrophysiology study.