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“Too Black”: Georgia Company Allegedly Prevented Black Nurses From Caring For White Patients

ABC reports that a nursing-service company is being sued by four women who allege that civil right violations occurred.

“Accord employs a policy of illegal discrimination in the hiring and placement of its home healthcare employees for the express purpose of accommodating the illegal preferences of its clients,” the lawsuit alleges.

Accord has denied the allegations.

The lawsuit alleges that Accord “routinely declined to place nurses and nurse aides they described as ‘too black’ or ‘too foreign’ or ‘too old.’”

Tracee Goodman, one of the plaintiffs, worked in human resources at Accord for more than two years. Administrators routinely asked her about the race and age of applicants, giving preference to white applicants, she told ABC News.

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ER Violence Against Nurses on the Rise

Posted in Nursing

In 2010, at least one in every 10 emergency room nurses surveyed, reported they had been attacked as late as one week prior to completing the survey, reports the Emergency Nurses Association. In a survey by UC San Francisco, almost 40 percent of California ER personnel said they’d been the victims of an on the job assault in the past year.

In a third survey, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found drug and alcohol related violence in the ER had increased 31.5 percent from 2006 to 2008.Violence against nurses and other hospital personnel is on the rise around the country, and unions, such as the California Nurses Association, as well as workers throughout the national healthcare system are calling for better protections and reporting standards. The U.S. government has started to listen. (more…)

RN Jobs Offer Variety and Fulfillment

Posted in Nursing, Nursing Jobs, Nursing Specialties, Travel Nursing, Uncategorized

Registered nurses are among the most respected and hardest working medical professionals. With a variety of degree types and multiple opportunities for advanced education, the RN can see the world as their oyster—with their career as the pearl. As varied as the nurses are themselves, so are the RN jobs available in the workforce. From direct patient care in an Intensive Care Unit to an administrator in a government health organization, as a legal nurse consultant or a case manager, nurses may use their education to improve health, touch lives, and better communities at home and abroad.RN degrees range from Associate to Doctorate, though most RN’s practice with either an Associate or Bachelor Degree. With an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), RN’s typically spend two years in training and gain the fundamental knowledge necessary to provide excellent patient care. Beyond an ADN, is the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) which takes an additional two years to complete. A BSN graduate will be more prepared for administrative positions by completing a program that further emphasizes leadership, budget management and delegation.

After completing class time and the Board of Nursing exam for the state of residence, RN’s may begin searching for a job. (more…)

Insomnia At Work

Posted in Nursing, Nursing Jobs

Insomnia costs the average American employee 11.3 days a year, or $2,280, in lost productivity. A recent report from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine says that insomnia is affecting 23 percent of U.S. workers and creates a national cost of $63.2 billion for the sleeping disorder. “We were shocked by the enormous impact insomnia has on the average person’s life,” said study author Ronald Kessler, a psychiatric epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School. He also adds that main impact is not that U.S. workers are staying home due to sleeplessness; they still go to work, but are far less productive. The study results were from a national sampling of 7,428 employees. Insomnia was more prevalent among working women than males and also significantly lower among workers aged 65 and older.

Americans are accomplishing less at work because they are tired and, in an information-based economy, it is difficult to imagine a condition that has a more profound effect on productivity. How does insomnia affect nurses in particular? (more…)

How to Interview for a Nurse Job

Posted in Nursing, Nursing Jobs, Uncategorized

The nursing interview is the most critical part of the hiring process for a nurse job since it generally determines whether or not you are offered the position. Interview preparation involves both “technical” preparation (rehearsing interview questions, researching facilities, etc.) as well as mental preparation (envisioning success, learning to handle rejection, etc.). Most job seekers focus solely on the technical side of interviewing but are at a disadvantage by doing so since mental preparedness is equally important in terms of a successful outcome.

The In-Person Interview for a Nurse Job

There are four main components to keep in mind during an interview for a nurse job:

Build Rapport: Both you and the interviewer will be looking for ways to establish areas of commonality and build rapport. For this reason, most interviews start off with simple conversation that also serves to settle nerves on each end.

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Accelerated Programs Offer a Fast Track to Nursing

Posted in Independent Contractor, Nursing Jobs, Nursing Specialties, Per Diem, Permanent Placement, Travel Nursing, Uncategorized

If you are reading this and you are considering a career in nursing, an accelerated or fast track nursing program may be the answer for you, especially if you already have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a non-nursing discipline. An accelerated nursing program allows you obtain your BSN in as little as a year or your MSN in as little as three years. How can this be accomplished?

Accelerated nursing programs utilize the coursework you have already taken such as biology, anatomy, and the social sciences. In addition, accelerated nursing programs do not take breaks between semesters or courses, and usually require that you carry a heavier course load, while at the same time participating in an intense clinical training process. (more…)

Fostering Effective Communication in Nursing

Posted in Independent Contractor, Nursing, Nursing Jobs, Nursing Specialties, Per Diem, Permanent Placement, Travel Nursing, Travel Nursing, Travel Nursing Company Reviews, Uncategorized

Effective and clear communication is critical during the countless interactions that occur between health care professionals on a daily basis. The staff should know how to communicate effectively with one another so that appropriate information is shared in a timely manner. When effective communication does not occur, the patient’s care is compromised.

The Joint Commission, which accredits and certifies more than 19,000 health care organizations and programs in the U.S., states that communication problems have long been cited as a root cause in the majority of the cases studied. The Joint Commission’s Sentinel Event Database reports that hierarchy differences, conflicting roles and power struggles can all lead to communication breakdowns which ultimately compromise patient safety and the quality of care.

Communication, at its most basic level, is the exchange of information between people, groups or entities. (more…)