All Your Scrubs

Whether you are about to enter nursing school, or you have just graduated and are about to enter the workforce, you are faced with the daunting task of selecting that perfect set of nursing scrubs.  How do you go about making that important decision?

There are a number of factors to consider.  You will probably be wearing these nursing scrubs for a 12-hour shift, so one of the first factors to consider should be comfort.  Consider the fabric the scrubs are made of and the fit.  You may want to select a cotton/polyester blend so that the scrubs are comfortable and easy to care for.

Another factor to consider is the dress code of your employer.  Many large employers now require you to wear a specific color.  Many scrub manufacturers now make various styles of scrub tops and pants in matching colors so that you can mix and match the styles.  Other work environments allow you to wear cheerful print fabrics that coordinate with different scrub pants.

Another major consideration is the amount of money you want to spend.  If you are a careful shopper, you can find special deals on scrub sets or clearance items.  Many scrub manufacturers make various styles of their scrubs in color matched fabrics so that you can mix and match various solid and print tops with solid scrub pants to have a larger wardrobe with more variety.

While it may be a big decision, it is very satisfying to find that perfect set of nurses scrubs to wear to one of the most satisfying career paths available.

Nursing is one of the most important careers in today’s marketplace. Indeed, these professionals in nurses scrubs are often the first people patients come into contact with, so their work is not simply limited to the medical-it is emotional and psychological, as well.  Because of the nature of the work of nurses, they are some of the most indispensable professionals in the medical field today, and the work of a single nurse can affect the lives of thousands of people throughout a career.

Though the term nurse is generally perceived to mean one specific type of work, there are many different avenues a nursing student may take on the way to a career. And that is one of the great advantages of the field. Within it, there are many areas of specialization, and the ways in which one can have a rewarding career in nursing are almost too numerous to list.

Joining the field of pediatric nursing could be one of the most rewarding moves that you make in your nursing career.  The job possibilities are endless.  You could wear the hospital scrubs and work in the neonatal care unit or you could simply work in the nursery and share the most precious moments in a young family’s life.  You may want to work in a doctor’s office and help care for these young lives as they develop.

Studies show that the first three years of a child’s life are some of the most important developmental years because the brain is forming. As a pediatric nurse, you are able to play an important role in helping maintain children’s health and in educating their parents during this crucial developmental time.

Pediatric nurses often get to watch families as they grow. They develop relationships as they see children mature and grow from infancy through teen years. It can be a very rewarding profession.

Nurses can specialize in numerous different fields in much the same way that doctors do.  One field a nurse can specialize in is pediatric nursing. Pediatric nurses provide preventative and acute care in all settings to children of all ages. While the tendency is to think of pediatric nurses in their cheerful print nurses scrubs in the nursery with newborn infants, pediatric nurses work with all ages of children and adolescents. 

Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (PNPs) perform physical exams, diagnose illness and injury, and provide education and support to patients’ families. They often work in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of a hospital with pediatricians and other health care providers. Pediatric nurses and nurse practitioners are compassionate professionals who dedicate their careers to the health of the next generation.

For the next costume party you attend, take on the persona of a mad scientist and provide people with a great image of how science can run amuck. Here are useful tips how to create a great outfit:

~Hair – Go with wild hair ala Albert Einstein or Doc Brown (of the Back to the Future fame) by buying an inexpensive wig. Or go bald like Lex Luthor and pop a bald cap onto your head and cover your eyebrows with fake skin. If your hair is long enough, make use of hair sprays or gels and hair colorings instead.

~Lab jacket or coat – This is an important element of your costume as it will establish your identity as a truly mad scientist. Decorate your coat with scorch marks and food spills to make it look more authentic.

~Shirt, pants and shoes – go for dark clothes to contrast with the whiteness of your coat and put on a goofy pair of bowling shoes.

~Accessories – Fill your chest pocket with a ruler, notepad and calculator. Make sure they show. Carry a beaker with a colored liquid and dry ice for a smoky effect.

Hospital wear need not look drab or outdated. Nowadays, few hospital personnel wear the traditional and boring white scrub suits. Aside from making it hard to differentiate nurses from other medical staff, all white uniforms make a hospital seem unfriendly and cold.

Change this perspective by joining the thousands of medical staff who now wear fashionable scrub tops and color-coordinated scrub pants. There are many lovely scrubs online; some are even sold at great discounted prices. Choose from a lot of fabric designs and brilliantly attractive colors to make your very own stylish statement at work.

A new laboratory designed to reduce errors by keeping human hands off test specimens is now operating in Michigan. The laboratory is following the example of the manufacturing industry by having the test tubes of blood and specimens encoded with a scannable bar code. The specimen travel down a conveyor belt and robotic “fingers” are used to move them.  Machines sort the samples and even pop off the caps, when necessary.  The test tubes are sent to the proper departments through a network of tubes.

Previously, lab technicians were required to label the tubes and process them.  This required that the test tubes be handled several times.  Each time a test tube was handled, the chance of contamination or error was increased. 

This setup reduces human handling by 97 percent which eliminates the repetitive and frustrating tasks of removing caps and addressing labels.  Every time health care professionals remove a cap from the blood specimen, they’re potentially exposed to a biohazard.  Plus, ripping off caps hour after hour is very hard on the wrist causing carpal tunnel.

This new technology will not do away with the personnel you see in medical labcoats in the laboratory.  However, it will alter the type of work they will perform.  This type of facility will allow the nursing hours to be focused on patient care rather than the mundane tasks of transporting these specimen.

Nurses Prayer

Dear Lord, please give me the strength to face the day ahead.
Dear Lord, please give me courage as I approach each hurting bed.
Please give me wisdom with every word I speak 

And patience as I comfort the sick.
Dear Lord, please give me assurance as day slips into night,
That I have done the best I can and that I have done it right!

Thank You to all of you out there in nurses scrubs.

Have you ever wondered who that person is in the doctor’s office?  He or she is wearing a medical uniform but she is not a nurse.  She is not the doctor–so who is she?  She may be a nurse practitioner.  A nurse practitioner (NP) is a registered nurse (RN) who has completed advanced education (a minimum of a master’s degree) and training in the diagnosis and management of common medical conditions, including chronic illnesses.   Nurse practitioners provide a broad range of health care services. They provide some of the same care provided by doctors and maintain close working relationships with physicians.

Nurse practitioners see patients of all ages. An NP can serve as a patient’s regular health care provider.  The core philosophy of the field is individualized care. Nurse practitioners focus on patients’ conditions as well as the effects of illness on the lives of the patients and their families. NPs make prevention, wellness, and patient education priorities. This can mean fewer prescriptions and less expensive treatments. Informing patients about their health care and encouraging them to participate in decisions are central to the care provided by NPs. In addition to health care services, NPs conduct research and are often active in patient advocacy activities.

February 2, 2009, marks the 108th anniversary of the establishment of the Army Nurse Corps.   The Army Nurse Corps officially became a part of the Army Medical Department in 1901.  Since then, Army nurses have demonstrated again and again their total commitment to the highest standards of military nursing excellence.

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, there were only 4,093 nurses on active duty.  This number increased dramatically during the war.  By 1945, more than 57,000 Army Nurses were assigned to hospital ships and trains, flying ambulances, field hospitals, evacuation stations, and general hospitals at home and overseas.  These nurses demonstrated their bravery as they remained by the side of the wounded soldiers.  Nurses lost their lives and became prisoners of war during these World Wars.

Recent years have seen Army nurses active throughout the world both in armed conflicts and humanitarian endeavors.  Currently, Army nurses serve throughout the world in support of multiple military and humanitarian actions in support of the Global War On Terrorism.

Throughout its history, the Army Nurse Corps has earned the deep respect and gratitude of the American people because of its dedication to providing the best possible care to our soldiers and their families while serving our country in war and peace.  Army nurses have unselfishly come to the aid of victims of disaster and disease throughout the world.  Whether wearing the Army uniform or the medical uniform, we can depend on the devotion of the nurse in providing excellent care.