Nurses and other caregivers spend more time with patients than doctors or even their families. Doctors might get most of the glory for treatment, but caregivers perform the essential tasks including giving medication, feeding, cleaning, helping with exercises and any other thing that contributes to recovery by patients.

Nurses command respect and trust, but this begins by striking a rapport with the patients. Making a positive connection with the patients is essential for fulfilling nursing practice. The patients also benefit because they experience safer care and will probably feel better about the work and this is the thing that makes a nurse happy. Here are great ways of establishing a rapport with patients

1.Start conversation with an introduction

It is friendly to begin attending to a patient before an introduction. The patient can identify a nurse due to scrubs and roles but will not appreciate someone who starts performing tasks without introduction about his or her role in the clinical team. First words play a significant role in building a positive relationship with patients. It shows patients about the desire by the nurse to let patients know the purpose of the visit and duties to perform when taking care of them.

Nurses attend to patients in a personal space and walking in on them without an introduction might feel like an invasion of their privacy. They will feel odd if someone, for instance, starts taking their temperature or heart rate without explaining the purpose. A time when nurses can work without an introduction is when a patient is asleep or during an emergency that requires helping a doctor to perform the fast treatment or evacuation.

2.Communicate well and frequently

Effective communication is the foundation of establishing trust with patients. A nurse can go through an introduction phase with a patient effortlessly, but it will work better with an attempt to develop a snapshot of other life. A conversation after a "know you phase" can focus on learning about hobbies, family, friends their usual daily activities and working environment.

Communicating frequently makes nurses to become a party of patients’ lives. They can take advantage of the moment to communicate issues that can help a patient such educating them about their health challenges and provide them hope that they will heal.

Communication is a two-way process. It is essential that nurses also listen to the thoughts, comments, and concerns by the patients as well as ask to follow up questions before a conclusion.

3.Keeping promises

Doing things that nurses say is a highly efficient way to build a strong rapport with the patients. Patients trust nurses who return to do the things that they promise. It is the reason why it is wrong for nurses to promise things that they are unable to perform because the patient will see it as n underperformance. Waiting can be stressful for nurse’s patients and make them vulnerable to other conditions.

Nurses should inform the patient if the ability to perform a task changes. They must avoid being defensive if the reason for failing to fulfill something is because of another person. A complaint about staffing issues is a preserve of the supervisor but not the patients.

4.Personalize the conversations

Patients especially those in inpatient care are scared of their condition or feel uneasy about the environment. You can ease their stay by determining and discussing the things that they like. Discussions revolving about aspects they hold in high regard make a patient notice that a nurse desires to understand them as a person and not just their illness. Nurses can build a trusting relationship by taking extra time to connect with patients after attending to their care duties as they feel the appreciation. A patient stops seeing nurses who go beyond treating them as "in-patient number 1000 in room 10" as any caregiver. They appreciate that someone first sees him or her as a human being.

Nurses ill strike a rapport and maintain a relationship by actively listening to their patients. It seems callous when the nurse listens while charting, writing or working, entering data on the computer or performing other tasks without responding. It would be wrong to interrupt the patient but nodding, repeating something he says, acknowledging words and eye contact shows that a nurse is taking comprehending.

A hospice nursing job is one of the extremely sensitive but fulfilling healthcare roles. Working at a hospice provides a chance of taking care of critically ill patients at their last moments of life.

Providing hospice care focuses on palliative that aims at providing the best comfort to the patients at their critical moments no matter the stage of their illness. Becoming a hospice nurse requires a nurse to gain a unique set of qualifications. These are the essential steps towards becoming a hospice nurse who can provide palliative care.

1. Get a degree or diploma

The first thing that a nurse would do in preparation for becoming a hospice nurse is to complete a degree course and obtain a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN) degree. It is the common pathway for many although some enter into the practice through and ASN (Associate of Science in Nursing) Diploma. The difference between BSN and ASN lies in the number of years. A degree program takes four years to complete at a university or tertiary education school. ASN program takes 2-3 years at a community college or nursing school. Completing a BSN and ASN program makes graduate nurses eligible for NCLEX-RN.

Nurses studying to become an RN learn in a classroom and clinical setting. You should request for placement on hospice setting for clinical and rotations if you plan to pursue a hospice nursing career. Working in such a setting provides an insight into the character and environment it takes to provide palliative care.

2.Pass licensure examination

Newly graduated nurses must obtain a license before they can start practice. For instance, you need to pass a National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) exam to earn a license for working as a registered nurse.

3.Pass a hospice and palliative nurse certification exam

Some hospice care facilities hire nurses without demanding certification of hospice and palliative nurses. The best preparation is to acquire appropriate certification even when already working in a hospice care facility because the next one or the current employer might ask for it.

Certification comes from a national board. The United States has a strict certification system which leads to a high quality of nursing care. National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses is the only board of nursing with authority to certify hospice care nurses in the US.

The board recommends that applicants should have a valid RN license and have experience of at least two years in hospice and palliative care nursing. Nurses who secure an application should pass an examination consisting of 150 itemized questions. Successful applicants get a credential after passing the exam as the certification to become a certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse.

4.Garner experience by working in hospice care facilities

Certified hospice and palliative nurses have more chance to find work at hospice care facilities. Certification provides an opportunity to be more knowledgeable in the chosen field of nursing. It gives a certified nurse more edge in finding the best option for hospice jobs and participates even more effectively in interdisciplinary care of hospice patients.

A Hospice and Palliative Nurses Certification does not mean that it is the peak of becoming a full-fledged hospice nurse. Certification should be the beginning of engagement in continuing education program and professional activities relating to hospice care. These activities enrich the experience and competence to be a hospice nurse and are helpful when renewing certification.

5.Renewing Hospice and Palliative Nurses Certification

Renewing licensure should take place every four hours through RN hospice and palliative accrual for recertification. The recertification assimilates points for a continuing education program and other professional activities relating to hospice care to enable renewing of certification without a need to take another test.

Hospice nurses can work in facilities that provide palliative care or home settings. It is essential to start by becoming familiar with the qualities that recruiters require in applicants. Ability to cope with emotional stress and excellent communication skills are essential qualities in addition to academic qualifications for those wraith ambitions to be a hospice nurse.

Nurses are part of the patient care team and have a responsibility in preventing medication errors. A flaw in medication can put the life of a patient in grave danger. Nursing profession entails preventing medication errors, and these tips help nurses to achieve prevention.

1.Create proper medication labels

It is not safe to put drugs into a different container other than the original package. You must properly label the new container well if you must put medicine in it. Ensure that you indicate the dosage, expiry date, generic and brand name of the dosage. The new medication label should be in narrow and straightforward font that everyone can read. It is more convenient if you can peel an old label from the previous canister containing the drugs and stick it to the new one.

2.Inquire about the allergy status of patients

Some patients have allergies to particular drugs, and it is essential to make a habit of asking before dispensing. Nurses can prevent unnecessary drug reactions by finding out from patients if they have known drug allergies before administering new medications. There are occasions where patients forget about their drug allergies during the initial history taking. It is important to ask them another time soon after noticing early symptoms of adverse reaction Healthcare workers may also forget to record known drug allergies of a patient in a chart. It makes it essential to rectify such oversight by verifying and asking patients about drug allergies before starting new medications without assuming that other medical professionals asked the question.

3.Check with a drug handbook

It is sometimes not clear about the appropriate drug to administer for a particular illness. In such an instance a nurse should double check with a drug handbook to determine the correct medicine. A drug handbook has plenty of valuable information about different drugs including their incompatibilities, adverse reactions and precautions. Develop the habit of checking drug information before giving it to patients when you have time to read. Frequent reading allows memorizing of relevant information on different types of medicine which is essential when administering.

4.Maintain clear communication

Information on medication can be lost during communication between nurses, pharmacists, and doctors. It is essential to take precautions that prevent miscommunication when carrying out orders for new medication. One of the precautions is to write the instructions when receiving orders on the phone and repeat everything to confirm. Legibly write the names of medicine and avoid improper abbreviations.

5.Clarify new medication orders in the case of doubt

It is not wrong to double check information about medicine from colleagues. It is even necessary to clarify with a doctor if there is a reason to think that newly ordered medication might do more harm to patients that the intended therapeutic effect.

6.Crush and cut up pills carefully

Some tablets usually hypoglycemic and antihypertensive drugs contain extended release coatings. Nurses should be extremely careful in crushing or cutting such drugs because they produce potent effects fast when a patient takes them without an extended release coating.Nurses should first get clarification from a doctor about crushing medicine if it is compelling to give it through a nasogastric tube. The extended-release tablet is not for crushing.

7.Take extra precautions with eye drops and eardrops

Some patients need eardrops, and eye drops at the same time creating a risk to confuse the two. Sticking a simple marker to each can help to prevent confusion of using them interchangeably. Apply a colored sticker to one side of a container indicating if it an eye or ear drop and its generic name. The label should also have the name of a patient if a nurse has a lot of medications to administer to different patients. This is a simple technique that takes a short time to complete but creates safety measures when giving medications to patients.

Nurses should always have the safety of their patients in mind while administering medications to prevent errors. Nurses who are new to the profession should seek guidance about anything that they doubt from their seniors. Seasoned nurses have more techniques on how to prevent medication errors.

A healthy breakfast for nurses is essential in generating energy to start the day or shift right. Most nurses skip breakfast to reach their workplace early, but it will also be difficult to get an opportunity to sit for a meal in the middle of a shift. The right thing is to take breakfast before leaving to work.

Busy nurses with a hectic daily routine should not use it as an excuse to skip breakfast but should instead use these breakfast ideas to fix a meal quickly in the morning.

1.Protein bars

Protein bars are excellent for breakfast and snacks during the day. Nurses can carry them easily in the pocket to take when on the move and prevent the risk of experiencing effects of low blood sugar during a shift. There is a choice to buy protein bars or prepare them at home. Nurses who choose to buy from a grocery store should check the nutrition labels. Some of the products contain a lot of calories and sugar yet they are harmful to health. Protein bars are in different flavors, and it is necessary to pick those with taste sweet for taste buds. Pick the appropriate protein source when you decide to make your protein bars. Besides peanut butter and nuts, you may try protein powder.

2.Peanut butter strawberry wrap

Peanut butter strawberry is within ten minutes ready to eat. It only needs peanut butter, tortillas and sliced fruit like bananas. You might also use strawberries in place of bananas. Spread plenty of peanut butter on a tortilla wrapper and top it up with your favorite fruit. It is ready to eat soon after rolling it up.

3.Overnight Oats

Some call overnight oats the “ultimate lazy person breakfast.” It needs you to only combine 1/3 cup of rolled oats with a ½ cup of milk and store the mixture in a refrigerator overnight. The oatmeal will be creamy and tasty in the morning. You can find an instant-no-cook variety if you did not prepare the oats overnight. It is ready to consume variety after adding hot water. You can spice this flexible and straightforward to fix dish by adding these add-ons:

• Slices fruit
• Cinnamon spice
• Nuts
• Peanut butter
• Yogurt

Chocolate lovers can spice up their overnight oats by adding cocoa powder. The possibilities to spice it up are endless as you can even add flax seed or chia for a power boost.

4.Microwaved eggs with vegetables

Scrambled eggs with vegetables are a tasty meal that satisfies cravings for a spicy meal. An advantage for busy nurses is that with a microwave, it will cook in a few minutes. It needs mixing sliced vegetables with two well-beaten eggs and a small amount of cheese for an extra flavor in a microwave-safe container. The vegetables can be tomatoes, zucchini or cabbage. Microwave the mixture for about 30 minutes seconds and stir. Microwave the mixture for another 30 seconds after stirring. A tasty savory breakfast meal will be ready for a busy nurse to eat within 3-5 minutes of cooking and preparing.

5.Quinoa fruit salad

A healthy breakfast for nurses who spend much energy at work and might take long before taking another meal should have plenty of protein for energy boosting purpose. Quinoa is a splendid option because it is protein rich and contains other vital amino acids. Make a bowl of quinoa fruit salad by cooking quinoa according to instructions on the package. You can spice the fruit salad by adding a cow, almond or soy milk. Add slices of the favorite fresh fruits after cooking and spice it up with nutmeg or cinnamon.

6.Banana and peanut butter smoothie

Smoothie is the best meal for busy nurses who need a breakfast that they can eat on their way to work. A smoothie of banana and peanut butter is ideal because they are rich in minerals and energy boosting vitamins. You make this smoothie in these steps.

• Toss a frozen banana
• Two tablespoons of peanut butter
• A cup of your chosen type of milk
• Ice cubes in a blender

Pour the smoothie in a mason jar after blending, and it is ready for drinking.

Taking breakfast for nurses is essential like dinner after a busy shift because it gives energy to the body. It is not necessary to skip it even when the time to work is short as there are many healthiest breakfast ideas for busy nurses to try.