Frontline Heroes

Frontline Heroes -- more info

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your commitment and dedication to helping us stay safe and healthy. You have been our backbone of health, and we can't thank you enough.

Congress should designate one or more federal agencies to regularly update the list of frontline occupations and essential industries as it relates to pandemics and other public emergencies. Labor groups, industry leaders, researchers, and public health experts should provide input on these lists. This collective input can help inform and target social, income, and other policies. Congress should use these lists to determine the size of the country’s national security stockpile—which includes protective equipment and medical devices—to be able to rapidly safeguard the frontline workforce during a future pandemic. Congress should establish a special commission to determine how federal “essential industry” and “frontline occupations” lists should legally relate to related state and local designations. These should specifically designate how federal benefits will flow to individuals based on state and local reopening lists, since the number and categories of workers will grow in time.

Nurses develop a plan of care, working collaboratively with physicians, therapists, the patient, the patient's family, and other team members that focuses on treating illness to improve quality of life. In the United Kingdom and the United States, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners, diagnose health problems and prescribe the correct medications and other therapies, depending on particular state regulations. Nurses may help coordinate the patient care performed by other members of a multidisciplinary health care team such as therapists, medical practitioners, and dietitians. Nurses provide care both interdependently, for example, with physicians, and independently as nursing professionals. In addition to providing care and support, nurses educate the public, and promote health and wellness.

The authority for the practice of nursing is based upon a social contract that delineates professional rights and responsibilities as well as mechanisms for public accountability. In almost all countries, nursing practice is defined and governed by law, and entrance to the profession is regulated at the national or state level.

The aim of the nursing community worldwide is for its professionals to ensure quality care for all, while maintaining their credentials, code of ethics, standards, and competencies, and continuing their education. There are a number of educational paths to becoming a professional nurse, which vary greatly worldwide; all involve extensive study of nursing theory and practice as well as training in clinical skills.

Nurses care for individuals of all ages and cultural backgrounds who are healthy and ill in a holistic manner based on the individual's physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, social, and spiritual needs. The profession combines physical science, social science, nursing theory, and technology in caring for those individuals.

To work in the nursing profession, all nurses hold one or more credentials depending on their scope of practice and education. In the United States, a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) works independently or with a Registered Nurse (RN). The most significant difference between an LPN and RN is found in the requirements for entry to practice, which determines entitlement for their scope of practice. RNs provide scientific, psychological, and technological knowledge in the care of patients and families in many health care settings. RNs may earn additional credentials or degrees.

In the United States, multiple educational paths will qualify a candidate to sit for the licensure examination as an RN. The Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) is awarded to the nurse who has completed a two-year undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years. It is also referred to as Associate in Nursing (AN), Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (AAS), or Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN). The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is awarded to the nurse who has earned an American four-year academic degree in the science and principles of nursing, granted by a tertiary education university or similarly accredited school. After completing either the LPN or either RN education programs in the United States, graduates are eligible to sit for a licensing examination to become a nurse, the passing of which is required for the nursing license. The National Licensure Examination (NCLEX) test is a standardized exam (including multiple choice, select all that apply, fill in the blank and "hot spot" questions) that nurses take to become licensed. It costs two-hundred dollars to take and examines a nurses ability to properly care for a client. Study books and practice tests are available for purchase.

Some nurses follow the traditional role of working in a hospital setting. Other options include: pediatrics, neonatal, maternity, OBGYN, geriatrics, ambulatory, and nurse anesthetists and informatics (eHealth). There are many other options nurses can explore depending on the type of degree and education acquired. These options can also include, community health, mental health, clinical nursing specialists, and nurse midwives. RNs may also pursue different roles as advanced practice nurses.

Nurses are not doctors' assistants. This is possible in certain situations, but nurses more often are independently caring for their patients or assisting other nurses. RNs treat patients, record their medical history, provide emotional support, and provide follow-up care. Nurses also help doctors perform diagnostic tests. Nurses are almost always working on their own or with other nurses. However, they also assist doctors in the emergency room or in trauma care when help is needed.

 

-- Wikipedia

Below are some small tokens of appreciation that can be passed along to express gratitude: