A mental health day off is that which an employee takes a break from work for stress relieve and renewing vitality.

Occupational stress is not unusual for nursing because it is a fast-paced profession that requires tremendous amounts of energy, focus, and responsibility. Nurses need mental health days rather than always holding onto the culture of survival among nurses even when the work environment is difficult to the extent of causing because with time it might cause anxiety and depression. Nurses have to deal with long working hours, short staffing, uncooperative patients and emergencies. Depressed nurses will have difficulties concentrating, thinking critically, communicating and time management.

The aftermath of depression for nurses might cause a lapse in nursing judgment and medication errors. Nurses, therefore, require taking some time off their duties. Sometimes a mental health day off is the best thing that a nurse can do when they are feeling anxious because it allows relieving of stress and prevents burnout. A day off might not solve bigger underlying problems that cause burnout but provides the necessary break to pause, recuperate and return to work with high levels of energy.

When do Nurses Need Mental Health Days

Research shows that hospitals with a satisfying work environment and nurse staffing give better nurse outcomes. The nurses report less job dissatisfaction, burnout and intention to leave a job.

A study on employer-provided benefits shows that they play an essential role in achieving nursing satisfaction. They are also a necessary part of the compensation that nurses receive, and most of them are happy about it. However, a significant number of nurses do not have complete satisfaction with the benefits it receives because they feel that their employer does not ask about their interest and some of the things they offer does not make nurses happier.

Wage contributes much to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction depending on whether the nurses feel that the amount of pay they receive is enough. Salary also has much influence on an intention to leave but does not change burnout. Work environment and patient to nurse ratio have a considerable effect on nurse satisfaction and patient outcome. Wage is essential to making nurses, but some employers do not know that it does not mean everything to nurses. The pay that nurse receives still does not diminish a significant influence of the staffing and work environment.

For-profit nursing schools are those without any funding by state or another agency. They are in the business of offering education and provide offer nursing training to make a profit.

There are many for-profit colleges around the world exceptionally most developed countries such as the United States. Some have a wide range of degree choices, but some focus on specific fields within nursing.

Most of the programs are customized for the working class that needs the flexibility to balance their career responsibilities and earning a degree mostly online without minimal on-campus interaction. Some of these for-profit nursing schools might not have a campus. They provide everything online except administration and testing. Most of the private nursing colleges use the claim of providing programs that enable students to earn their degrees in less time. They can fulfill the promise, but it comes at a higher cost.

A challenge for many students is that some for-profit nursing schools are expensive and the cost of pursuing a course might be expensive than studying at some four-year universities. It is essential to consider some factors before selecting a for-profit nursing school even if it offers accredited degrees in a shorter period because the approach to education might be different from what you require.

These are the factors that potential students should consider when comparing for and non-profit nursing schools and also side by side with other private institutions offering similar programs.

Hospitals admit patients who require critical care in regular or intensive care units. Both units serve critically ill patients who need special care, but they are different in these ways;

Progressive Care

Hospitals might use progressive care for varying purposes in different facilities, but most utilize it as an intermediary step between an ICU and a medical/surgery floor. The patients in this still need a high level of specialist nursing surveillance and care although they are more stable than the patients who require critical care. They receive care in a specialized facility called the progressive care unit. Others refer to it as step-down, transitional, intermediate care or telemetry unit. PCU is a unit specializing in treating surgical and medical patients who are in a condition that is too complex for attention at regular hospital floors but not serious to warrant admission at intensive care unit.

The nurse to patient ratio at PCU is higher than in ICU standing anywhere from 1-3 to 1-5 patients which is still lower than a med.sug unit. Some hospitals offer general progressive care, but others have more focus on specific conditions such as cardiac care. PCU patients receive treatment for various pulmonary and cardiac problems. It includes the patients who have begun taking potent drug regimens requiring monitoring. Other patients who are likely to need progressive care are those with:

1.Stroke

2.Defibrillators

3.Myocardial infractions

4.New pacemakers

The nursing care that PCU patients require is more than what they can get at general nursing units. For a reason for more attention, PCU personnel must work in close-knit environments with more support staff that those in general care units. PCU has an additional nursing staff including nursing assistants, unit clerks and patient care technicians. Progressive care in different hospitals might vary. Some of the progressive care units offer specialized help with a design that focuses on caring for a specific segment of patients like those with respiratory or cardiac problems.

Others have a design to eclectic focusing on care for a wide assortment of patients.

The name of a PCU might also vary in certain hospitals. Some hospitals might call them by other names like intermediate care unit. The units might also vary in size. Some hospitals might have 12 or fewer beds while others have up to 30 beds. Patients receiving progressive care get extra nursing care for their medical conditions and close monitoring but not for the same level of intensity of patients in ICU. The health status of the patient in PCU often is improved to the extent that the patients under close monitoring can start eating, stand and probably move around.

Intensive Care

This type of care as the name indicates is for the patient who requires the highest level of care that stabilizes the condition. Patients receive intensive care in an intensive care unit (ICU), a special facility in a hospital or other healthcare facility to serve the extremely ill. People also refer to ICU by these other names.

A patient admitted in an intensive care unit requires constant monitoring. The monitoring involves the use of specialized equipment that might include cardiac monitoring, mechanical ventilation and multiple IV lines.

ICU patients are unstable and might be relying on a range of equipment such as artificial ventilators for patients who cannot breathe and most of the machines beep or set off an alarm to alert staff if the condition of a patient changes. There might be much medical staff in ICU, but each patient is likely to have a dedicated specialist nurse to check any life support systems and other equipment regularly. The patients in the unit cannot feed without help. Most rely on several tubes for input of nutrients or fluid while others remove fluids out of the body.

ICUs usually have a large care team that might not provide care at the same time, but each of them provides service that complements the care beach professional to save the life of the patient and enable healing. The specialists who make up the team of an ICU team include:

Since the patients at ICU are in critical condition, the nurse to patient ratio is low with most hospitals assigning one nurse to one or two patients only. They work in shifts to offer round the clock monitoring.

Both progressive and critical care requires a team that offers extra care and surveillance. The intense care in these units is responsible recovery from life-threatening illnesses and injuries.