LPN: Ensuring Patient Comfort Through Supervision & Directives - Essay Sample

Introduction

The primary program I am enrolled in is licensed practical nursing (LPN). It entails performing of essential duties in a health facility under the supervision of doctors and Registered nurses. Most of the functions performed by LPNs include; taking of vital signs, collecting of samples from patients, administration of oral medications and generally ensuring the patient's comfort is handled (Jones et al., 2018). Since they work strictly under supervision and directives of nurses, there is a lot of need to report every observation to the nurses and other senior medical officers in the health facility to facilitate further directions. LPNs are the frontline nurses who are always in direct contact with patients and always help patients with their necessities, such as eating and dressing. They are also very significant in monitoring and updating the doctors on how the patients are doing.

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The technical skills required in this field are mainly related to patient conditions and other medical-related equipment. Knowledge on how to use thermometers, blood pressure machine, sample collection and drug administration are among the vital requirements for this profession (Jones et al., 2018). Other skills such as bed making, wound dressing and general patient care are among the fundamental skills required for this job. Medical equipment operations and value interpretation is also an essential requirement for this field of nursing. Practical communication skills and proficient report writing skills is very fundamental in both communications with the patient and the nurse.

As an LPN, time management skills, communication skills, teamwork and flexibility, and leadership skills are the most desirable set of skills required for this profession. Due to the nature of duties, an LPN is subjected to, and multitasking abilities are the most needed since they perform more than a single role in their profession. Ability to work well with others with minimum supervision is also desirable.

The career path I am interested in is working as an LPN in a military base. As an LPN nurse, I have adequate and relevant skills needed to help in medical issues relating to soldier effectively. Application of the skills acquired from a hospital setting with more numbers of patients would be more effective in handling medical matters facing soldiers under the supervision of a medical officer. According to Question 5, the database I would use is a health science and nursing. Based on question 6, the three keywords I would use to search for this topic are a) health and medicine, b) nursing and allied health services and c) Military health.

The keyword I would use to conduct my research about my topic would be military according to question 7. According to question 8, the three first results acquired from my search military health include; a) about military the military health system, b) understanding psychological health in the military and c) military health and health care. Additional information regarding military help is essential in identifying some of the most common problems facing military personnel. The military is associated with both physical and psychological trauma, and it calls for specific attention to help to cope with the conditions to facilitate recovery (Hepner et al., 2015).

The keyword used to get information on my research topic was very useful since the results acquired were intensely on the military, and the information provided was very relevant. Due to the high interest of joining the military healthcare system as an LPN nurse, an overview of the general military healthcare system and requirements would be beneficial. An insight into the military's psychological challenges would help in gearing up with significant mental problems specific to the military. Role definition in the articles was precise and is essential in equipping one with adequate knowledge on particular duties and what they are entirely expected to perform in a military base as a nursing officer.

Based on question 10, the second keyword used was nursing and allied health services. Allied health services are distinct and not involved in nursing, medicine, dentistry or any pharmaceutical activities. However, they are essential in offering technical, diagnostic and therapy related services in line with the health care system. The relevance of this keyword was because the military is involved with a lot of activities and requires a lot of diverse skills to ensure all activities are working inline. Health is a complex term and requires a lot of input before someone is said to be healthy since it is not merely the absence of a disease or infirmity.

The difference between the results obtained in this keyword is that most of the findings included services that could be useful but not necessarily specific for the military. Allied health services are technical services that are somehow related to the health care system but do not entail much about the medical aspect of health care and health care services. A lot of technical support is needed in the military; however, first aid skills training in the military is useful when it comes to helping the injured and those who require emergency services such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The search filter used was the year of publication to filter out outdated articles for recent information. The current reports contain updated information on contemporary issues and recent measures to counter the challenges facing the modern world. The article I would use to write my research is 'understanding the psychological issues in the military.'

Conclusion

In summary, incorporation of various medical field and technicalities could be useful in handling different issues arising both physically and psychologically in the military. It is also clear that the choices of words are essential in determining whether research would be useful and meet its needs. Use of relevant filters would make the results to be more specific and directly related to the keywords.

References

Hepner, K. A., Roth, C. P., Farris, C., Sloss, E. M., Martsolf, G. R., Pincus, H. A., ... & Farmer, C. M. (2015). Measuring the Quality of Care for Psychological Health Conditions in the Military Health System: Candidate Quality Measures for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder. Rand health quarterly, 5(2).

Jones, C. B., Toles, M., Knafl, G. J., & Beeber, A. S. (2018). An untapped resource in the nursing workforce: Licensed practical nurses who transition to become registered nurses. Nursing outlook, 66(1), 46-55.