Ease the Way - Gebauer Patient Comfort Blog

How to Create a Nursing Professional Development Strategy

By: Jennifer Clark | On: February 28, 2017

At the end of a busy week, professional development is probably the last thing on your mind. Unfortunately, if you don’t make time for this, you’ll be overlooking an excellent chance to enhance your nursing skills, advance your career and improve the quality of care you provide your patients.

Every professional — especially nurses — should have a strategy for career development. In the dynamic healthcare landscape, there are many new opportunities to grow as both a care provider and a person. With an established strategy in place, you can make sure you’re always ready to take the leap into something new.

Keep these three steps in mind when you create your nursing professional development strategy.

How Nurse Practitioners Can Fill the Gap in Primary Care

By: Jennifer Clark | On: February 8, 2017

The demand for primary care is increasing, largely due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which granted healthcare access to many who were previously uninsured or underinsured.

A study conducted by Association of American Medical Colleges projected the demand for physicians to increase by 11 percent to 17 percent between 2013 and 2025. While demand for this type of care is increasing, the current trend shows a shortage of primary care physicians.

What can private practices do to ensure they can continue to meet the needs of their patients? One way is to tap into the skills of nurse practitioners to help fill in these gaps.

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners reports that there are more than 222,000 nurse practitioners (NP) licensed in the U.S. NPs are considered advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) which allows them to assess patients, make diagnoses and prescribe medication, with or without physician oversight dependent on location.

This article will explore the benefits these clinicians can bring to your practice and how they can help you meet the growing demand for care.

The Future of Nursing: What You Need to Know Today

By: Bethany Nock | On: February 2, 2017

There has never been a more exciting time to be a nurse. Not only is the number of clinical technologies designed to help make nursing easier and improve patient care constantly increasing, but the opportunities for growth as a nurse are increasing as well.

The healthcare environment is dynamic, with medical breakthroughs emerging every day. To stay ahead of the game, nurses must stay up to date with the latest trends as well as potential future healthcare developments.

As 2017 begins, take a look at these three trends to get an idea of what the future of nursing will look like over the coming months.

Hospital Hazards: Top 3 Health Risks for Staff Nurses

By: Bethany Nock | On: January 25, 2017

To be a nurse is to be a selfless caregiver. From the moment a nurse walks into a hospital or clinic, their main priority is protecting the health and safety of their patients.

While ensuring the health and safety of patients is essential, nurses can’t ignore the importance of their own health and safety. Nurses not only experience the challenges of professionals who are on their feet all day (such as muscle strain and fatigue) but they also face a unique set of risks not usually found outside a hospital or clinic.

To reduce health risks, injury and illness, pay attention to these four safety issues that affect staff nurses.

Managing Healthcare Reform: 4 Areas of Focus

By: Bethany Nock | On: January 3, 2017

Nurses have always played an integral role in providing quality care. New legislation from the last five to six years has provided even more opportunities for nurses to have an important part of enacting change.

There’s never been a better time for nurses to take an active role in healthcare management and innovation because of the Affordable Care Act. As a nurse leader, you are uniquely positioned to shape healthcare reform efforts in your hospital.

Keep these four focus areas in mind as you manage healthcare reform at your organization.