Medical, Surgical, Nursing

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), or median neuropathy at the wrist, is a medical condition in which the median nerve is compressed at the wrist, leading to paresthesias, numbness and muscle weakness in the hand. The diagnosis of CTS is often misapplied to patients who have activity-related arm pain, such as RSI.
Therapeutic and Pharmacologic Intervention
1. Wrist splint in slight extension (cock-up splint) to relieve pressure aggravated by wrist flexion: worn at night, and during day if symptomatic.
2. Avoidance of flexion and twisting motion of the wrist.
3. Work or activity modification to relieve repetitive strain.
4. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen 600 to 800 mg tid to relieve inflammation and pain.
5. Corticosteroid injection into tendon sheath to relieve inflammation.

Nursing
Management
1. Monitor level of pain, numbness, paresthesias, and functioning.
2. Monitor for adverse effects of NSAID therapy, especially in elderly. GI distress or bleeding, dizziness, or increased serum creatinine.
3. After surgery, monitor neurovascular status of affected extremity: pulses, color, swelling, movement, sensation, or warmth.
4. Apply wrist splint so wrist is in neutral position, with slight extension of wrist and slight abduction of thumb; make sure that it fits correctly without constriction.
5. Administer NSAIDs and assist with tendon sheath injections as required.
6. Apply ice or cold compress to relieve inflammation and pain.
7. Teach patient the cause of condition and ways to alter activity to prevent flexion of wrists; refer to an occupational therapist as indicated.
8. Advise patient of NSAID therapy dosage schedule and potential adverse effects; instruct patient to report GI pain and bleeding.
9. Teach patient to gentle range-of-motion exercises; refer to a physical therapist as indicated.

Even with the ongoing economic crisis, nurses can be more or less assured of a job security in years to come. With the existing population aging along with the current crop of nurses nearing retirement, there is unlikely to be a shortage of nursing jobs. For aspiring nurses, this is indeed good news, as well as for nurses who have been in the job for a short or long time. Other perks such as landau scrubs free shipping, make the nursing profession even ever more worthwhile.

The challenge of nursing

What exactly does a nurse do? Nursing is a combination of science, technology coupled with caring and compassion. It involves medical and biological know-how as well an ability to empathize and give care to patients. To become a nurse, one has to go through nursing school and take a nursing examination to become a licensed or registered nurse. Once employed, nurses have to continue learning to adapt and keep up with the latest medical findings and nursing sciences. Nurses work as hospital staff, closely working with doctors and health care professionals, as well as directly dealing with patients and families to administer healthcare. Medical and technological advancements that help people live longer and healthier have increased in recent years, making any medical profession, including nursing, a complex and challenging profession that can be rewarding for people who wish to pursue it or for those who are currently practicing it.

The art of patient care

Nurses are responsible for various important tasks in the hospital and in other healthcare environments, which require a lot of patience and a sort of finesse. Nurses gather patient information for assessment, including the patient's medical history, physical condition, lifestyle, emotional condition, and so on. Nurses also identify a patient's needs or problems beyond their physical ailment-such as their emotional and spiritual dilemmas. In a sense, nurses are there to listen to the patient and reassure him or her that things will be fine. To address these problems, nurses set specific goals for improvement, encouraging patients to participate in a health and recovery plan and being with the patient all the way through recovery. Nurses implement the plan and administer treatments and medications and advise or teach patients how to take care of themselves. An example may be showing the patient a certain exercise developed specifically for recovering from a particular ailment, such as improving flexibility after surgery. Throughout the program, nurses evaluate the pace and improvements that the patients have made, and adjust the plans accordingly.

The fulfilling aspects

For nurses, it may be already fulfilling just to be able to help the sick and the elderly in a direct way. One fulfilling aspect of the profession is being able to help bring newborn babies into the world-which every time may feel like a miracle even if one have gone through the procedure a thousand times. Some nurses, called midwife nurses, are trained to deliver a baby and to take care of moms and newborns after the childbirth.

Brent McNutt enjoys talking about landau scrubs free shipping and urbane scrubs free shipping as well as networking with healthcare professionals online.

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