Nursing World

There mottos is “Caring for Those Who Care” and they mean it. This web site belongs to the American Nurses Association. They represent more than 3 million nurses, and are actively seeking to purse the best interests of all nurses. There’s lot of information that covers a broad spectrum of issue when it comes to nursing, and there are lots of resources as well.

Nurse.com

This web site belongs to the Gannett Healthcare Group. The site is a gold mine of information that ranges from regional news, events, education and nursing specialties all the way to finding a job in the nursing field. They’re a community of professionals whose aim is to enrich the lives of nurse, and celebrate the unique contributions they make to society. Check out the community area of the site that includes a blog where you can glean eons of knowledge from.

School Nurse News

Thinking about becoming a school nurse? Even if you aren’t, this is an excellent site to learn what it’s like to serve children, and adolescents. You can bet that at one point or another you will be caring for people in these age groups. Check out this site, and read about the experiences of a host of nurses who have cared for children and young adults in a school setting. Whether you’re planning on working in a school or not, there’s lots of good information when it comes to hands-on caring for these young ones.

Student Aid

Embarking on a nursing career can be costly. For some students it can seem almost impossible for them to become a nurse because of the cost involved with the schooling. Student Aid is a site where you can find all sorts of information on financial aid from the federal government. Don’t let money, or rather the lack of it, prevent you from perusing your dreams.

Medi-Smart

This site is packed with all sorts of different information and resources that any nursing student can benefit from. Find out about nursing degrees, check out the blog, learn about the different types of nurses, check out nursing school by state, or ask a nurse anything you want. This is an excellent web site.

ERNursey

If you want to know what it will be like to work in an emergency room after you become a nurse, then check out this blog that details the experiences of nurses in the emergency room setting. Gain valuable insight into a piece of the nursing world that almost every nurse will surely experience.

Many kids are able to pick up social skills and their nuances easily through everyday interactions. But other kids, especially those struggling with developmental disorders such as Asperger’s Syndrome and other forms of autism, must be taught these skills directly and individually, and the skills must be practiced and reinforced many times over. Even then, using these skills may feel stilted and unnatural to these children.

The Importance of Social Skills
A lack of understanding about the subtleties and reciprocity of social skills can keep kids from fitting in with other kids. It can cause them to feel left out of peer groups and important activities, limiting their experiences and damaging their self esteem. Because other kids can be impatient and egocentric, they don’t always empathize with other kids’ limitations. Instead, they may choose to shut them out, or worse, make fun of them for being different.

Tips for Youth Workers
It’s important for youth workers to remember that what may seems obvious or “common sense” to adults is not always so for kids. It may be necessary to explain to students why something is inappropriate or offensive. They may need help learning how to take another person’s perspective. They may require adults to role play situations with them to get the feel for how social interaction works. Patience is required to help students make the transition from learning skills to applying them in social situations.

Some of the more important social skills, and some ways adults can help foster their development in kids, are listed below:

Making Friends
This skill involves many other subskills that can be role played with kids, such as like starting conversations, keeping confidences, compromising, and sharing. Additionally, concepts like understanding how others feel and recognizing how one’s actions impact others should be processed with kids on a regular basis to help them begin to consider another’s point of view, another critical component of developing relationships.

Managing Conflicts
Kids with social skills issues may also have trouble managing emotions, which tend to run high during interpersonal conflicts. Teach kids how to verbalize their feelings using “I statements” and also to read other’s feelings based not only on words but also using body language and other nonverbal cues. Teach kids how to state problems clearly, how to think through a problem solving model, and how to listen closely when other’s are sharing their perspective.

Working Together
Kids are asked to cooperate together in groups often, but many lack the needed skills to do so. Kids who are weak in social skills may also be impulsive and self-focused, and may require much supervision in the early stages of group work to ensure that problems can be addressed appropriately. Adults can also help model skills like sharing, taking turns, listening to other’s opinions, being supportive, and dividing responsibilities fairly, all important for successful group work.

Though positive social interaction may come relatively easily to most kids, there are those that will require training and modeling to become adept at these skills. Though it may be challenging at times, the results are well worth it.

It’s a difficult challenge, and one few of us might face in a lifetime. Yet the referral and assessment team in Coventry gets around 40 calls every day about children reported to be at risk. Each one needs to be explored and evaluated, and a decision taken about whether to intervene. Strangely, many of the calls prove to be malicious hoaxes.

But to find out, the social workers must go to a house of strangers likely to be most unhappy about being visited with a view to losing their children. That house, as we saw, may be beyond most people’s imaginations – such as one where an anonymous fax reported faeces smeared on the window. The social workers found the children were playing with it in their catastrophic bedroom. Yet the hapless mother agreed she could not cope, and the social workers eventually persuaded the grandmother to house the children temporarily. Removal into care was not needed – yet.

We went behind the screaming headlines to see how social workers cope with the pressures – the huge caseloads, the paperwork that keeps them office-bound, the lack of staff to whom to pass on emergency cases. It means, as both social workers and clients told us, that only visiting some families once a month means the truth is easy to conceal. All this risk management is in the shadow of hostile media that spread paranoia through the ranks.

And yet many of them are proud of what they do. When they recognised that we play straight with difficult subjects, several councils agreed to let us film. We chose Coventry because of its commitment to openness, tested in many challenging meetings. We came to admire how well it manages, despite the shortcomings. As one of the social workers said, “I don’t know how long people can go on working like this. There’s no lull. It’s just 100mph all the time.” She loves her job, as others we met obviously do, but as she said: “You just would not do this job if you thought about what could actually happen.”

She means another Baby Peter case. Even the supervisors are aware it could happen to any of them. A child dies at the hands of an adult – not a social worker – in their home every six days. That is the national scandal. And we ask these underpaid, unsung people to deal with it as best they can. It’s an emotional and professional marathon. They deserve much more than simple opprobrium when things go wrong.

The CAPTA definition reads: “at a minimum, any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.”

Types of Child Abuse
With the above definition as a foundation, individual states are responsible for their own definitions of abuse and neglect, falling into one or more of four general categories: Neglect, Physical, Sexual, and Emotional abuse. Below, a brief look at basic characteristics of each category.

Neglect: Failure to provide for a child’s basic needs to allow for proper physical, emotional, and mental growth and development. Lack of proper nourishment, education, safety, clothing, shelter and/or medical care.

Physical: Intentional harm caused to a child’s person by any form of physical assault regardless of intent. Lack of provision of medical care for injured or ill child.

Sexual: Any activity on a child such as fondling of genitals, penetration, incest, rape, sodomy, indecent exposure, and exploitation via pornographic materials and/or prostitution.

Emotional: Psychological damage inflicted on a child by way of threats, insults, extreme punishment, fear, rejection, and isolation, ignoring, or any act or word which hinders positive mental, social, and emotional development.

Recognizing the Signs
Maltreatment can take on any form or combination, including, but not limited to, those listed above. It is important that caregivers, educators, and community members be aware of what to look for when maltreatment is suspected.

Cases must always be considered on an individual basis, with regard to the specifics of the situation. No two abuse patterns are exactly alike and no list of consequential behaviors is ever exhaustive. A single sign may not be indicative of abuse. However, patterns, consistencies or a combination of signs merit a closer look. The following traits are commonly seen in children suffering a type of abuse or neglect:

Physical
• Recurrent bruising, injuries, burns.
• Injuries in the shape of an object (belt buckle,etc).
• Infections indicating delay or neglect of treatment.
• Injuries may be in various stages of healing.
• Lack of hygiene and grooming.
• Soiled clothes, lack of appropriate seasonal wear.

Behavioral
• Sudden change in behavior or school performance.
• Overly compliant, passive, timid, withdrawn.
• Delays going home from school or functions.
• Excuses for injuries that do not seem consistent or believable.
• Frequent absences from or lateness to school.
• Difficulty concentrating, depression.
• Self-destructive/self-abusive behavior.

Sexual Abuse
Signs may be specific to sexual abuse.
• Difficulty sitting or walking.
• Bloodied underwear.
• Genital bruising/tearing.
• Knowledge of a sexual nature inconsistent with age.
• An older child behaving like a younger child (such as bed-wetting or thumb sucking)
• Has new words for private body parts.
• Resists removing clothes when appropriate times (bath, bed, toileting, diapering).
• Asks other children to behave sexually or play sexual games.
• Mimics adult-like sexual behaviors with toys or stuffed animal.
• Wetting and soiling accidents unrelated to toilet training.

Reporting Child Abuse
If you suspect or know a child is being abused, notify a social worker, your local police department.