How to Gain DNS Support for Attending the 2020 AAPACN Conference By Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA - Feb 25, 2020 In this blog, AAPACN Vice President of Curriculum Development, Amy Stewart, provides nurse assessment coordinators with a few talking points to consider when trying to gain support for this year's conference and/or preconference attendance from a director of nursing or administrator. Full Story...
Top 5 Care Connection Blogs of 2019 By AANAC - Jan 23, 2020 The Care Connection Blog is written for long-term care nurses who work hard, lead by example, and inspire the kind of care that we all want for ourselves one day. Below are the top five blogs written in 2019 that helped to clear confusion, brought you the excitement of the year’s events, and outlined very important details about the nurse assessment coordinator’s job function and role. Full Story...
How to Help LTC Residents Overcome Loneliness During the Holiday Season By AAPACN and Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA - Dec 19, 2019 For staff, the holidays can be a busy time full of family gatherings and holiday celebrations, but for our residents, the holidays can be an especially lonely time. Our residents must adjust to so many different circumstances as they age -- issues such as physical disability, loss of independence, social isolation, and learning to living in a communal setting. These items alone can be enough to trigger depression but couple this with loss during the holidays and it can be overwhelming. Imagine if you were unable to participate in your own holiday traditions because you were chronically ill and needed assistance. That is exactly what Mrs. Brown experienced while spending the holidays in the skilled nursing facility. Mrs. Brown had a fall just after Thanksgiving. Her goal was to return home long before Christmas, but she suffered a right hip fracture that required surgical repair and therapy wasn’t progressing as she had hoped. Full Story...
Overcoming Burnout and Compassion Fatigue with Self-Care By AANAC and Alexis Roam, MSN, RN-BC, DNS-CT, QCP - Nov 01, 2019 As a nurse in long-term care, sometimes you can get so caught up in caring for others that you forget to care for yourself. This often leads to burnout, which can lead to compassion fatigue and can leave you wondering how to keep going. However, there is a lot that you can do! In this blog, we'll look at some situations that can lead to burnout and compassion fatigue, what symptoms you need to recognize to know that you are experiencing these two debilitating stress-related conditions, and then we’ll discuss some ways that you can practice self-care, which not only attributes to better care for yourself, but also can help you provide better care for your residents and your fellow nurses. Full Story...