Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Health Professionals The People in Health Care
Lecture:Nursing Professionals
Non-clinical IT/Informatics Roles for Clinicians
Effects of Changing Care Models on Clinicians
Slide content:Specific Nursing Roles in a Hospital Setting Hospital medical-surgical nurse Care for patients with medical and surgical problems May obtain certification but not always required Specialized nursing roles Specific disease or specialty Diabetic nursing Emergency nursing Rehabilitation nursing Neurosurgery nursing 7
Slide notes:A significant amount of nursing care in hospitals occurs on medical-surgical units. In some hospitals, both medical and surgical patients are cared for in a single unit; other hospitals have separate units for these patients. Medical-surgical nurses may be certified, but certification is not required by most hospitals. There is an increased need for specialized nursing units or departments in larger and tertiary care hospitals. Nurses may elect to obtain additional training and education when working in these areas. Examples of specialized nursing roles include the following: Diabetic nursing plays a prominent role in the education of clients newly diagnosed with diabetes. Emergency nursing provides highly skilled care in emergency departments and trauma centers. Rehabilitation nursing focuses on patients recovering from serious injuries or illnesses that require specialized care in recovering activities of daily living. Neurosurgery nursing provides care to patients who have brain and/or spinal cord injury or disease. Many hospitals have evolved to become integrated delivery networks or systems with separate physical buildings on one campus or many buildings across a geographic location. This organizational arrangement enables the hospital to provide more services to a larger number of patients. The more common type of patient care services that are located in a separate building at a single location or across multiple locations include pediatric care, cardiac care, rehabilitation, and cancer care. 7