I am a new RN in post-acute care. What is one thing I should learn first to help residents, and to help me have a long, rewarding career?
Ask the care expert … about end-of-life wound care
By
Sherrie Dornberger
Oct 01, 2014
I work on a floor in a skilled care facility where most residents are on hospice or at the end of life. Some have wounds that will never heal. How should we care for these?
Ask the care expert … about pressure ulcer prevalence
By
Sherrie Dornberger
Sep 01, 2014
I am a new charge nurse. My DON wants me to calculate the prevalence of pressure ulcers. Is there an easy way to do this?
Ask the care expert: Can you help me with terminology and assessments?
By
Sherrie Dornberger
Jun 02, 2021
I am a fairly new nurse, and in school we were taught to call openings in the residents’ skin “pressure ulcers” and stage them accordingly. But other nurses are correcting me. They say there are...
Ask the Care Expert about … ordering antibiotics
By
Sherrie Dornberger
Sep 06, 2017
I am trying to train some of the staff on my floor to be aware before simply automatically ordering an antibiotic to get the resident feeling better. Can you help?
As the care expert … about inhaler lifespans
By
Sherrie Dornberger
Oct 01, 2013
If inhalers do not have a counter on the unit that tells us how many metered doses are remaining, we never know about discarding or continuing their use. I fear we are letting them live out their time...
Ask the Care Expert about … C. diff
By
Sherrie Dornberger
Dec 06, 2016
We have had several residents with C. diff. Their families are asking if there is support available for them. Our staff wonders too. Can you assist?
Ask the care expert: describing a resident’s cognitive symptoms to a physician
Ask the care expert: Where can I learn more about OBRA 87?
By
Sherrie Dornberger
Jun 06, 2012
Having been a director of nursing before, during and after OBRA, I can tell you, “We have come a long way, baby.” The best document I have found is from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.