Drinda Mason

I worked in the medical clinic to take care of employees with work-related injuries and form them personalized plans of care to follow until they were healed. I also did pre-employment physicals, respiratory fit testing, hearing tests, eye tests, urine drug screens, held immunization clinics, and made sure yearly physical job requirements were fulfilled.

• Assessed, planned, created, and delivered individualized first aid treatment plans that followed the company's injury policies and procedures amongst caring for employees until they resumed their normal baseline level pf health. EAP was part of the support that was provided also.
• Effectively and timely provided follow up with injured employees and modified their plans of care as needed to compliment their healing process..
• Shared progress of employee's healing by providing open communication and updates regularly with upper management while always using HIPPA policies to protect the employee.
• Employees were occasionally referred to alternate agencies for consultation and information specific for medical, health, and wellness conditions that fell beyond the scope of a nurse's practice.
• Employees health was maintained and diseases were prevented by using education, immunizations and yearly screenings, preventing diseases by teaching healthy topics/habits, and helping employees cope with injuries and illnesses using professionally written personal articles or power points written by myself and speaking individually at safety meetings were completed at quarterly safety meetings.

• Triage is one of the most important in things I did in the ER. The nurses started the best, initial, and diverse first impression of communication with the patients and this was a valued tool in the emergency room.
• Rapport needed to be developed right away between
  nurses, physicians, patients, and family members in order to deliver the most broad range of exceptional care.
• Collaboration between physicians and team members had to be done to quickly in order to deliver appropriate and the most timely treatment while managing rapidly changing conditions that could occur.
• Critical thinking was a requirement in ER nursing and
  necessary in ALL patient evaluations so that adjustments could be effectively made to care plans accordingly.
• Nurses carefully provided much training to new ER nurses or nurses in clinicals on proper techniques, care standards, operational procedures, and safety protocols.
• Different therapies and medications in line with
  physician orders and treatment plans must be carried out
  collaboratively with multidisciplinary care teams to
  facilitate achievement of desired treatment outcomes
  and nurses needed to make sure this was followed.
• We, as nurses, helped educate, answer questions, and
  clear up and comfort any uncertainties for patients and families about care, health condition, prognosis, and treatment. Providing excellent communication with family is crucial.
• There is no I in TEAM and this scenario is learned most in
  the ER. Multiple parts of a team including nurses must work closely with resource management, discharge planning, care facilitation, and referrals to other levels of care once the patient leaves.
• Nurses needed to maintain appropriate training of proper
  emergency room nursing, such as in BLS, ACLS, PALS, TNCC, and other yearly required educations.
• Most importantly, ALL age groups from infant to elderly and all ranges of cultures may be seen at the hardest time of their lives and nurses learned great skills in patient care in other than just adults.

• Pain management became one of the earliest lessons and biggest responsibilities of a nurse in surgery or injuries. Nurses help through administration of therapeutic massage and prescribed medication on a timely manner.
• A clear picture of the patient's health must be taken and balanced carefully by the nurses through monitoring vital signs providing assessments done per protocol, preparing and administering medications correctly at the physician's direction and monitoring patient symptoms for comfortability along with completion of treatments.
• Nurses educate patients and caregivers on the nature of
  diagnosis and specifics of treatment plans before and after surgery.
• The nurse must communicate with patients regarding
  symptoms, medical histories, prescribed medications, and notable events in patient or family history relating to ailments so the physician can better picture an accurate prognosis.
• Upcoming executions of physical therapy along with
  other therapy, tasks, exercises, and interventions that help heal a patient after surgery, the nurse must assist, encourage, and motivate the patient to help them be successful in recovery. Patients must be kept comfortable by medicating them before a treatment as part of this assistance.
• Nurses working in this type of field must administer and perfect nursing care with patients and families who are living with musculoskeletal disorders and degenerative conditions as well as providing the necessary education
  and follow up home care.
• Nurses also must aid in educating family members and
  caregivers on upcoming home instructions, resource management, discharge planning, care facilitation, and possibly dangerous symptoms that must be reported to medical staff immediately.
• Nurses have an involvement in meetings to talk about pay or criteria and issues on a case by case basis amongst clinical staff while working with different
  types of insurance companies.
• Staff must provide collaborative monitoring to identify and plan strategies to reduce length of stay and resource
  consumptions especially with high risk case population.

• Nurses had to make sure to perform well done assessments as conditions can arise quickly and be missed easily in elderly populations. If something arises, keeping the patients and families comforted and aware of what is happening with the possible prognosis is a must.
• Honesty with treatment options, disease
  process and management, and lifestyle options always had to be maintained as best as the nurse could.
• In long term care, the staff provided direct and complete patient care. I worked as one nurse, completing total care on all my patients while working on a skilled unit.
  This could include stabilizing terminal patients, basic life needs such as airway, feeding, completing bed care, determining next courses of action, performing treatments, passing medications (oral, IV, IM, Topical), and close monitoring. at all times.
• Care is managed from admission to discharge..
  Nurses must continuously educate family members and
  caregivers along with their team on care giving needs
  and conditions.
• Patients always needed nurses to provide reevaluation on their histories, complaints and current symptoms, care plans, goals, treatments, medications, discharge plans, and at home plans in case a change was needed for success in treatment.
• Advocating for and striving to protect the health, safety and rights of patients are number one. NURSES ARE A PATIENT"S ADVOCATE!