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A Private Duty Nurse Saves A Lot Of Trouble

By Marci Glover


Many people need more help, while in the hospital, than what is available from the staff of that institution. A large percentage of the elderly need special assistance and it is just not in the budget of many hospitals. The private duty nurse can be called on to fill in this gap as they can perform many of the same chores.

All of the readings that are usually taken by the hospital staff can be done by these nurses. Heart rate monitoring as well as blood and sugar levels can be taken and recorded. The intake of food and drink as well as the outflow of same can be measured in a way that is helpful for analysis and managing care going forward.

These nurses are not just valuable in the hospital, however, and more care is needed in the home when the patient leaves. Family members often can not devote all the time that is needed for these tasks and the professional nurse can do this as this will be their only job. Family members will have to be taught how to bathe the patient, especially if they can not get to the bathtub.

The amount of college and training these nurses must have changes depending on the state in which they wish to work. The minimum is several courses, based on basic health knowledge, nursing and medical knowledge. The type of knowledge needed will have the basics and whatever specialty he or she will be working toward. Certification is necessary before attempting private or hospital practice can be undertaken.

Taking readings and recording the results is one very good way to monitor the patients well being. That, combined with understanding the patients moods and ways of talking and acting, will help these professionals make proper reports to the doctors. This personal way of dealing with patients is very important as not all tests or machines have that intrinsic value for the medical professionals follow up.

The professional you hire should have knowledge about a lot of different situations that will arise. The need for spinal injury or catastrophic injury care is all too real in these situations. Ventilators will need to be dealt with as well as insulin pumps and seizure control methods. These are all on this very short list of needed knowledge and skill sets.

When looking for a private nurse, you should contact one of the many agencies that deal with this. Find out how long they have been in business and talk with several of their nurses to see which one is your best choice. The individual should have the knowledge your loved one needs help with and a few others that are associated with the age of that patient. Certification of the nurse and the agency should not be negotiable.

Saving time and trouble, for you and your family, is what this is all about. The first task, of course, is to make sure your loved one is well looked after. If that can be done by you, that is the optimum situation. This is not the case in many families and a professional nurse is a very careful way of making sure every one has the peace of mind they need in this situation.




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