Oklahoma Board of Nursing newsletter, 04/2012, v.25 no.2

              Volume 25, Issue 2 April 2012
Inside this issue:
Board Meeting Notice
2
Advanced Practice Regis-tered Nurses Maintaining Prescriptive Authority
3
The Use of Social Media
5
Revised Guidelines Ap-proved
6
Licensure Information Can Be Verified Online
8
Frequently Asked Ques-tions Regarding New Con-tinuing Qualifications Requirements For Renew-als of RN/LPN Licenses
9
New Board Members Ap-pointed by Governor
10
Change of Address
11
Summary of Board Ac-tivities
12
Peer Assistance Pro-gram Provides Support and Structure
14
Board Members
15
Office Staff
15
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE:
Faces of Nurses
By Liz Michael, MS, RN
Have you ever thought about how many faces there are of nursing? When you initially think about a nurse, you may picture an individual in a white uniform or scrubs, typically working in a hospital environment, yet there are so manymore faces than that. Nurses fill a vast number of roles in the health care con-tinuum; this had never really impacted me until I began looking at the paths pa-tients follow as they begin their health care journeys. Consider this: A patient has a doctor’s visit in a clinic setting, and the office nurse helps to set up a procedure at a local hospital. When the patient arrives to the hospital, a pre-op nurse gathers information, which is then shared with the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthe-tist, who provides anesthesia, and with the surgical nurse. The patient travels through to recovery, then to the patient care unit. The nurse(s) in the patient care unit may collaborate with specialty nurses (diabetic nurse educator, wound ostomy nurses, etc.) and with the case manage-ment nurse to ensure that the patient’s needs are met at discharge, and that the
home health nurse caring for the pa-tient has the resources necessary to provide optimal care for when the patient goes home. Follow-up care may include some sort of outpatient infusion or chemotherapy in addition to home health services, all provided by nurses. Finally, the patient may receive after-care from a Certified Nurse Practitioner who takes over as his or her primary care provider. Behind the scenes, there are nursing leaders who ensure safe and effective patient care, by employing qualified competent nursing staff in their facil-ity. They make certain that their staff are given the tools to practice accord-ing to the standards of nursing prac-tice, and that, as advances in care or technology become available, those tools are provided along with the edu-cation and training to make changes. Working with regulatory agencies, developing effective policies and pro-cedures, and navigating the changes in the health care industry pose huge challenges for the nurses who choose (Continued on page 2)
OKLAHOMA BOARD OF
NURSING NEWSLETTER