Letter to Students

Dear future students and past graduates,

As you know through the years I have been an adventurous instructor in the classroom at a desperate attempt to infuse my knowledge into your brains, at times I know you have heard me saying “blah, blah, blah”, pretty boring, huh? I have been an actress, cheerleader, dancer, and dreamer with you and for you. I have always known that our school has struggled to afford current tools of teaching, mainly technology; for those of you lucky enough to be subjected to my power points when the smart carts arrived, I would like you to know I have learned some new techniques through Roberts Wesleyan College, Informatics for Nurse Educators course which will stimulate your interest and engage you in learning through active participation.

I am now embarking on a new mission in instruction aimed to make all my future students not only great nurses that I would trust caring for my family but also nurses that are technologically competent in today’s nursing industry as the incorporation of technology has proven to reduce the amount of errors and increase patient outcomes.

What do you think? Do I have your attention now? Technological competence is a necessity for practice and we must embrace it together starting in the classroom. I will be embedding various technologies into my instruction in the classroom, lab, and clinical settings. It is not just I; you too will be learning and growing through the use of technology in all aspects of the program. Let the technology commence as I have found a niche to make you all you can be as well as a mean to facilitate learning and having fun at the same time. Please view this brief video with words of encouragement from fellow nursing students and see what you have to look forward to.

Doesn't this look like fun?

My challenge for all my past graduates and new students is to learn, grow, and share your knowledge from each other and with each other in practice as it will take a village to raise great, tech savvy nurses competent to practice in today’s healthcare systems.

Love your nursing instructor,

Mrs. Tech Savvy Morrison

Advanced Cancer and Terminal Diagnosis

Advanced Cancer

Early malignant changes are not accompanied by pain therefore if the warning signs are ignored, regular check ups, and screenings are not adhered to cancer can be diagnosed in an advanced stage. Many times patients delay treatment and hope for the symptoms to go away; this is denial.

Pain Management

Pain is a late symptom of cancer which is related to the either the invasiveness or obstruction of the tumor. The malignant tumor may place pressure on the nerves or bones causing significant pain that is difficult to manage.

Key Factors of Pain Management include:

The nurse must accept that pain is whatever the patient says it is.

To effectively manage pain in a person with advanced cancer there must be a fixed dosing schedule of Opiods to maintain constant drug blood levels and predictable pain relief as well as having doctor orders for breakthrough pain. There are several Opiods used for pain management that are effective but run the risk of exibiting common side effects which include; constipation, nausea, vomiting, respiratory and CNS (Central Nervous System Depression).

Caring for a patient with advanced or terminal cancer

When caring for a patient with cancer it is important to give the patient as much control as possible. Nurses should not take the patients ager personally as they are grieving and need your unconditional support. Their frustration and anxiety must be met with kind and gentle nursing care.

With a terminal prognosis the patient may have a sense of helplessness or hopelessness. Patients need honesty and openness from the nurses caring for them. Nurses who have developed a relationship with their patients may initiate interventions such as spiritual activities to provide mental and emotional strength, assist with the difficult discussions such as finding out the patients wishes of where they would like to die. Hospice care enhances the quality of life, not prolonging it. Quality of life for a patient with terminal cancer has a strong focus relief of pain and comfort. Hospice service is implemented by a doctors order with a life expectancy of six months or less.

Upon review and research of the resource links and class notes, reflect on how you would like to be cared for and what would be important to you or a loved one; take a walk in someone else's shoes.

Create and discuss a holistic plan of care for a patient with terminal cancer. What nursing interventions would be deemed as high priority and why?

Detection, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Cancer

Healing Angel

Detection

Patient teaching for the detection of cancer is the responsibility of the nurse.

Teaching patients the seven warning signs, BSE (Breast Self Exam), testicular exam and the importance of seeking care if any one warning sign or abnormality is noted, save lives.

"The 7 Warning Signs"

C hange in bowel and bladder

A sore that does not heal

U nusual bleeding or discharge

T hickening or lump in breast or elsewhere

I ndigestion

O bvious change in warts or moles

N agging cough or hoarseness

Diagnosis

Diagnosis will indicate will indicate a benign or malignant tumor. Primary cancer means the cancer is in its' place of origin or it has not spread. Malignant cancer is defined as cancer that has moved to another part of the body. Depending on what the primary cancer is will suggest where the cancer might spread to, this is called common sites of metastasis.

Treatment

Once the patient is diagnosed, a treatment plan is developed according to the type, grade, and stage of cancer as well as considering the patients overall health and co-morbidities.

The treatment choices include; surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy as well as several other alternative and supplemental interventions.

When the diagnosis is shared, the patient could react in a variety of ways. As a nurse you must always offer your presence; by that I mean being there and connecting with your patient by taking the time to listen, sit, hold there hand, be the support that they need.

Presence is what nursing is all about.

I would like to share a poem written by a patient with cancer. The patient shares her feelings of how she would like to be treated and what she is trying to sort through with the diagnosis of cancer. Listen to these words closely and remember them as you care for all of your patients; as the person lying in bed is not a disease but a human being with emotions and feelings.

ANGER! by Hendel, J. (1996)

After reviewing this Blog, researching the links provided, and your notes from class, take a few minutes to reflect on all you have learned, and then create a holistic plan of care (do not forget to include with the interventions, the rationale) for a 30-year-old woman undergoing chemotherapy for the treatment of breast cancer in the hospital setting. She is married and has three children under the age of 5. The husband works full time, the members of their church are bringing meals to the family and caring for the children while she is in the hospital and Dad is at work.

You (the nurse) enter the patients’ room and find her tearful staring out the window, sitting, curled up in the chair. She shares with you that she misses her children.

Based on the holistic plan of care you have developed along with your knowledge and experience, discuss what nursing interventions would be appropriate and why.

Cancer Risks and Prevention

This week we have discussed in class risks associated with cancer.

Carcinogen exposure can come from several sources. The major risk factors associated with cancer are smoking, dietary habits, exposure to radiation, environmental and chemical carcinogens, frequent heavy consumption of alcohol, and viruses, as well as genetic factors.

Tobacco is responsible for 1 out of 5 deaths in the United States. Smoking is considered an acquired behavior, which means that this is an activity that one chooses to engage in even though evidence states that specific behavior (smoking for example) can lead to the development of cancer.

Did you know that smoking is the most preventable cause of death?

Another significant statistic states 89% of persons who develop lung cancer are smokers.

It is the nurses responsibility to teach patients about prevention and risk factors associated with cancer. Learn about cancer for both you and your patient through gaming.

Check out the games; I like "Burn Out".

Please visit the National Cancer Institute and use the risk tool calculators to identify your personal risk level, then research what you as a nurse can do to reduce your current risk.

The Environmental Protection Agency is an in depth resource for environmental risk factors.

Environmental Carcinogens released into air & water

The primary prevention of cancer consists of changes in lifestyle habits to decrease exposure to carcinogens. For instance, exercising, eating healthy especially including foods rich in antioxidants such as fruits and vegetables, as well as maintaining a healthy weight are activities that promote health and wellness.

Another means of prevention is cancer screenings. They are performed at certain ages, with familial history, or in the presence of signs or symptoms.

Please apply what you have learned this week and examine your surrounding community and home environments to determine what possible risk factors or exposures could potentially impact your personal cancer risk.

You may use your text, notes, and the provided links to help guide you.

Discuss your findings and offer possible solutions to decrease your risk of carcinogen exposure as you would with a patient. Share two nursing diagnosis that would correlate with your findings.

Nurses Caring for Patient's with Cancer

Class welcome to Nurses Caring for Patient's with Cancer Blog.

Cancer is a disease that impacts just about everyone. Although today certain types of cancer can be successfully treated, if left untreated it will lead to certain death.

Oncology nurses care for people with cancer. Nurses that care for persons with cancer are not just treating the physical disease process they are caring for the whole person in every aspect; this is called holistic care.

What is Cancer ?

How does cancer develop?

Cancer effects all ages and is the second leading cause of death (heart disease is #1).

The American Cancer Society is a resource website that is free for public use. It offers a wealth of information related to cancer, treatment and support, risk factors, staying healthy, and research.

Visit the linked resources within the Blog and share how you would utilize these sites as student nurse and find two new concepts you have learned.

In this weeks Blog please reflect on a time in your life when you were first exposed to someone with cancer. What are your thoughts, how did you react and cope? As nurses professionally deal with life and death situations they must take a personal inventory of their experiences also. Video clips, pictures, links... may be added to contribute tothe Blog if they support or are related to the topic being discussed.