A Private Duty Nurse Provides An Appreciated Service

By Marci Glover


People, usually the elderly, when they are in the hospital for any length of time, need help from a number of professionals. The need for assistance in many things, not just medical, makes them vulnerable to their infirmities, even if only temporarily. This is the perfect time to hire a private duty nurse for assistance.

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.

A nurse of this type is indispensable in the home, also. This is where they really shine. Many of the family members can become overwhelmed by the services and assistance an unhealthy or injured person needs on a day to day basis. They are not prepared for the bathing, feeding and the recording of everything that is part and parcel of a recovery effort.

All private nurses must complete a certain amount of college course and extra work to become certified. They will take health basics and nursing courses to enable them to understand all that is involved in their trade. Four year college courses are part and parcel for many of these professionals as they will moving into a specialty down the line.

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.

These nurses will need to be involved in many activities. They will be dealing with tracheotomies, catastrophic injury and tube feedings. Ventilators will need to be prepared and cleaned, insulin pumps will be monitored as well as the many different types of spinal injuries must be known about. This is a very short list, however, and the need for all around knowledge is beneficial should anything arise that is out of the ordinary.

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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