PeriOperative nurses

These nurses are the ones you normally see in a typical TV show or a movie in a hospital. PeriOperative Nurses are registered nurses who assist surgeons during surgery. PeriOperative Nurses can work as either a Scrub Nurse, who passes instruments to the surgeon or as a Circulating Nurse who take care of the overall nursing care during surgery. PeriOperative Nurses can choose to specialize in certain fields of medicine such as Cardiac Care or Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.  PeriOperative Nurses are also responsible for providing preoperative and postoperative care to the patient.

The main duties of a PeriOperative Nurse include:

• Assisting the surgeon during surgery.
• Providing care to the patient during surgery.
• Monitoring the patients vital signs.
• Controlling bleeding during surgery.
• Along with taking care of the patient intra operatively, they also provide pre and post operative care.
• Maintaining a sterile environment in the operating room.

Qualifications: PeriOperative Nurses need to first qualify as a Registered Nurse (RN) by successfully completing a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN) course or relevant Associate Degree or Diploma. 

Salary: $64-69,900

My Internship

Here's a quick update on my internship

About a month and a half ago, I switched out of pediatrician work to family practice. Family practice sees a ages from 18 and up. In my case I see a lot of older folk from ages 50-90. I am very happy I made this decision because I was very unhappy shadowing the medical assistant. It was a very unwelcoming vibe and lots of drama in the back office. 

I now shadow pretty much everyone. If anyone has something interesting, they take me to see the patient and I learn something new every time. 

So far I got to do a patients strep throat test by myself. Since I've seen a few strep throat test in the peds office, I knew what to do. Luckily the patient was negative.

One of the doctors told me I'll be doing my first suture procedure. A suture procedure is the removal of stitches. The man that came in had his stitches done a month prior. About 2 weeks before he come in, he went to the ocean with his wound. It became infected but wasn't in any way serious. I had to remove the stitches in the infected area which went pleasantly well. 

The main medical assistant I'm shadowing now had me do a stool test to see if there was any blood indicated in the stool. Yes it was gross. Yes it smelt horrible. But it was an awesome learning experience. 

I even had a scary experience in some way. This man came in with some mental problems but we were not sure. When it comes to serious mental problems, I am not aloud to see the patient for protective reasons. I was aloud to come in and see the patient anyway because he was new and the nurses were not sure what kind of issues he had. He took Depakote which I am familiar of. I learned he needed to come in every 4 weeks ( once a month) for a shot that was to keep him from having major tantrums. Not a 2 year old tantrum but a serious tantrum that can be risky for anyone. He seemed fine but it was still a scary situation for all of us. 


The last thing that I wanted to talk about was me witnessing an EKG. An EKG is also called an electrocardiogram which tests the electrical activity in your heart. Talking to the man who went through this was sweet and kept assuming I was a college student which was a compliment. He was going in for surgery soon and he was in for a pre surgery type appointment to make sure he's in good condition for surgery (I'm sure it's called an PPO.)

I have learned so much more and experienced amazing stuff. I look forward to going there every time. 

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA's) are advanced practice nurses who safely provide more than 32 million anesthetics for surgical, obstetrical and trauma care each year in the United States. They administer every type of anesthetic, work in every type of practice setting and provide care for every type of operation or procedure – from open heart surgery to pain management programs. 

CRNA's provide anesthetics to patients in collaboration with surgeons, anesthesiologists, dentists, podiatrists and other qualified healthcare professionals. As advanced practice registered nurses, they are given a high degree of autonomy and professional respect.

Nurse anesthetists have been providing anesthesia in the United States for over 125 years, beginning with their care of wounded soldiers during the Civil War.  There currently are more than 36,000 nurse anesthetists in the United States

CRNA's practice in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered: traditional hospital surgical suites and obstetrical delivery rooms; critical access hospitals; ambulatory surgical centers; the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, plastic surgeons and pain management specialists; and healthcare facilities of the military, Public Health Service and Veterans’ Affairs.

If you're looking into this career you're in luck. They are almost always high in demand.

Salary: $157,000-$217,000

Occupational Health Nurse

Have you ever questioned where doctors go when they become ill? Or what about dangerous jobs that can give you serious health problems (Charcoal mining= black lung) Do they get special treatment? 
Occupational health nurses are registered nurses who independently observe and assess workers' health status with respect to job tasks and hazards. Using their specialized experience and education, they recognize and prevent health effects from hazardous exposures and treat workers' injuries and illnesses.

The available roles in this profession are extremely diverse, covering any and all of the wide-ranging issues related to occupational health and safety.  OHNs work as clinicians, educators, case managers, corporate directors, or consultants.  They also have a broad array of responsibilities, including:

• Disease management
• Environmental health
• Emergency preparedness/disaster planning
• Employee treatment, follow-up and referrals
• Emergency care for job-related injuries and illnesses
• Gatekeeper for healthcare services
• Rehabilitation, return-to-work issues

OHNs counsel workers about work-related illness and injuries and emotional and/or family problems.  They refer clients to employee assistance programs and/or other community resources, and handle and coordinate follow-up care.

They also develop health education and disease management programs that encourage workers to take responsibility for their own health, such as smoking cessation, exercise/fitness, nutrition and weight control, stress management, control of chronic illnesses and effective use of medical services. Organizations have good reason to hire Occupational Health Nurses, because these highly skilled health professionals help maximize employee productivity and reduce costs by effectively lowering disability claims, reducing on-the-job injuries and absenteeism, and improving employee health and safety.

Salary: $63,472

Renal Dialysis Nurse

A renal dialysis nurse, also called a nephrology nurse, is a certified registered nurse specializing in caring for patients with inherited or acquired kidney disease who need hemodialysis treatment. Renal dialysis nurses can work in acute or chronic care settings like hospitals, homes, clinics or doctor's offices. To become an RN, a student must complete an undergraduate program in nursing and pass the RN licensure exam. RNs can then acquire work experience in nephrology nursing to qualify for the dialysis nurse certification exam.

Required Education	Undergraduate degree or diploma
Other Requirements	Nursing license
Certification	Voluntary certification in dialysis nursing available
Projected Job Growth*	19% between 2012 and 2022 (registered nurses)
Median Salary (2013)*	$66,220 (registered nurses)

A candidate must be a licensed registered nurse in order to sit for the certified dialysis nurse exam. Aspiring registered nurses may earn either a nursing diploma, an associate's degree in nursing or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. 

Registered nurses need to have 2,000 hours or more of recent experience in nephrology nursing to qualify for the Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission's certified dialysis nurse exam. They need to have cared for dialysis patients within two years. Candidates are also required to complete 15 contact hours of continuing education in nephrology nursing. Whaaat?

Salary: $66,220

Obstetric nurses

Recently my mother and I had a conversation about obstetrics. I've always had a fondness for babies and of course having a lot of siblings, I do fairly well with new born babies (from experience.) I did some researched and luckily there is obstetric nursing. They're also referred to as OB nurses. They assist doctors in caring for women during pregnancies and childbrith (they must specialize delivery of babies.)  What's awesome about this feild is that you only need your associates degree in nursing. 2 years and just some follow up training and move into the obstetrics department.

They often work in the labor and delivery department in hospitals, health clinics, or doctors' offices. They work as a team of caregivers. They NEED to listen and take directions carefully. Attention to detail, patience, and the ability to handle stress are super important. Strong communication skills are critical for succeeding in nursing careers. 

Common duties: 

. Preparing delivery rooms

. Prepping patients

. Sterilizing and preparing instruments

. Caring for babies immediatly after birth

. Explaining after-birth care to new parents

This would be an amazing experience for me because I love kids. To me the gift of life is beautiful. My mom thinks I could handle the good part if this job. Good as in the baby is healthy and stays alive and so does the mother. In most cases the baby could have heart failure or they might be premature or really anything. In other words the baby might not survive. 

I could always try and if it doesn't work out, I can always try a different department. 

SALARY: $42,800 - $86,010

Nephrology Nurses

All nurses are important and unique if you think about it. When I was doing my blog research, I came upon this name. I was confused and I did not want spoilers so I looked up the meaning of nephrology. 

 Nephrology (from Greek νεφρός nephros "kidney", combined with the suffix -logy, "the study of") is a specialty of medicine and pediatrics that concerns itself with the study of normal kidney function, kidney problems, the treatment of kidney problems and renal replacement therapy (dialysis and kidney transplantation).

Then I finally read the additional information on nephrology nurses. 

Nephrology Nurses help patients with kidney diseases or abnormal kidney functions. One of their most important duties is to assist patients with their dialysis treatments. They work in one of the most diverse collections of environments in nursing, and can be found in acute/critical, home training, outpatient dialysis clinics, and even in transplant units where patients receive new kidneys.

Nephrology nursing practice requires a common knowledge base to care for pediatric, adult, and geriatric patients with kidney disease. The roles of the nephrology nurse include the following:

• Staff nurse, hospital or outpatient settings
• Hemodialysis/peritoneal dialysis nurse
• Vascular access coordinator
• Nurse manager
• Transplant coordinator
• Organ recovery coordinator
• Office nurse
• Nurse practitioner
• Clinical nurse specialist
• Pharmaceutical representative
• Nurse researcher
• Quality management
• Nurse educator
• Corporate/sales
• State or federal surveyor

Care may be extremely complex: patients may have numerous conditions including, but not limited to, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, infectious disease, bone disease, or psychiatric conditions. In addition, many face psycho social issues. The nurse’s role is to help patients manage their lives – succeed at school or work, socialize, maintain relationships, or enjoy hobbies – while effectively dealing with their health issues. It is important to note that not all patients with kidney disease require dialysis and/or transplant; the majority of the diseases that affect the kidneys are treatable and potentially able to be arrested or even cured. Some patients may elect conservative management and palliative care. In these cases, one of the nephrology nurse’s primary roles is to educate patients about their diseases, prognoses, and treatments.

THINGS YOU'LL DO:

• Implement treatment plans
• Work with diabetes patients
• Perform dialysis treatments

YOUR JOB CHARACTERISTICS:

• Multifaceted
• Patient-facing

Salary: $78,048