Kelsey Loralee R
Foundation Hospital, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Gastroenterol Nurs. 2006 Jan-Feb;29(1):37-41. doi: 10.1097/00001610-200601000-00006.
This article examines the process our gastroenterology unit has undergone in redesigning and enhancing the role of the licensed practical nurse. Within the department, there had existed some dissatisfaction among the licensed practical nurses regarding their role. The unit norm was to use these nurses as healthcare technicians or associates in the procedure and reprocessing rooms. The licensed practical nurses struggled with the restriction of their role and the unit reexamined the appropriate usage of licensed practical nurses. In this article, a literature review has been provided along with a description of the process of developing orientation tools and training of the licensed practical nurses to new roles. Barriers to staff acceptance has also been highlighted. Enhancement of the licensed practical nurse role has had a positive impact on our unit. This practice change has improved the job satisfaction of the licensed practical nurse as well as provided greater unit flexibility and improved teamwork within the department. Alice, a licensed practical nurse (LPN) with 30 years of experience, joined the gastrointestinal (GI) department 7 years ago. She recently corrected my introduction of her as "the tech" by explaining to our patient that: "I am a licensed nurse who will assist the doctor." This simple statement made me realize that Alice was actually a nurse! This initiated the exciting and somewhat painful process of reevaluating our use of staff, individual staff skills and competencies, and staffing patterns within our GI unit.
本文探讨了我们胃肠病科在重新设计和加强执业护士角色方面所经历的过程。在该部门内部，执业护士对自己的角色存在一些不满。科室的常态是将这些护士用作手术及再处理室的医疗技术人员或助理。执业护士们因自身角色受限而苦恼，于是科室重新审视了执业护士的合理使用方式。本文提供了文献综述，以及对开发入职培训工具和对执业护士进行新角色培训过程的描述。同时也强调了员工接受度方面的障碍。加强执业护士的角色对我们科室产生了积极影响。这种实践变革提高了执业护士的工作满意度，同时为科室提供了更大的灵活性，并改善了部门内的团队合作。艾丽斯是一名有30年经验的执业护士，7年前加入了胃肠病科。最近，她向我们的患者解释说：“我是一名有执照的护士，会协助医生。”从而纠正了我将她介绍为“技术人员”的说法。这句简单的话让我意识到艾丽斯实际上是一名护士！这引发了一个令人兴奋但又有些痛苦的过程，即重新评估我们对员工的使用、员工个人的技能和能力以及我们胃肠病科的人员配置模式。
