| Theme | Specialty of Nephrology Nursing | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | A survey on the consciousness of specialized nurses -- Analyzing the level of special skill (b) | |
| Publish Date | 1997/03 | |
| Author | Chikako Fujikura | Department of Nursing, Tokyo Kyosai Hospital |
| [ Summary ] | It is essential for nurses in the dialysis unit to acquire special skills for dialysis treatment. From the results of "A survey on the consciousness of specialized nurses", which was conducted by the Japanese Association of Nephrology Nurses (JANN) in 1994, I analyzed their special skill level and considered their problems as specialists. The special skills needed for dialysis treatment in this survey mean the basic skills to perform the sequence of dialysis (mainly hemodialysis) from the initial stage of the treatment until patients return to their homes. The acquision of these skills is judged by the answers : "I can." or "Almost". Nurses with less than one year of experience acquired objective judgement and priming in the initial stage of treatment, operating the dialyzer at the end of the treatment and preventing blood infection. Those with more than one year of experience but less than five years acquired most of the daily routine but judged their ability to cope with sudden change, to assess imbalance symptoms and to decide on administration of anticoagulants or on the delivered dose and time of hemodialysis, to be low. The nurses who had five years or more but under ten years of experience acquired virtually all expertise needed to assess clotting. From the results of the survey, most nurses can acquire knowledge based on what they have experienced but they are weak in the abilities to learn, judge, and make decisions. Specialized nurses need to take advantage of opportunities for continuous learning and objective evaluation (ex. authorized examination). |
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