AVMC – Aarupadai Veedu Medical College & Hospital

Nursing

Introduction:

Nursing Administration in AVMC&H  is a segment of the total care Administration that actively takes part in 24 hours, to fulfil the objectives of health programs and policies to constitute, and accordingly serve the patients.

Skilled and compassionate Nursing care services provided by Registered professionals who are disciplines involved are challenged to provide excellent care, to the patient.  Care providers are sound in knowledge and provide qualitative /comprehensive care to the patients.

The concept of quality assurance in nursing service in AVMCH always had been a priority in the care of our patients. A number of policies, protocols, and records were drawn to meet the needs of accrediting bodies and various committees which is coordinated by our Assistant Nursing superintendent specially deputed for quality care which we are carrying the activities. 

The activities of the department are as mentioned below:

  • Pain Assessment
  • Drug storage in wards
  • Incidence of falls
  • Supportive Care
  • Skill Development Programme

SPECIALIZED MEDICAL CARE OR SUPPORTIVE CARE:

Specialized medical care or supportive care is called palliative care. Palliative care aims to alleviate symptoms and enhance the quality of living for a person and /or family living with a life-threatening ailment. Specially trained palliative nurses deliver care according to an integrative and multidisciplinary treatment procedure, which helps patients sustain physical, mental, and emotional health. In addition, the nursing supervisors are also trained in palliative care. The objective of palliative care is to enhance the grade of comfort with which patients and their families manage health issues. Its emphasis is on providing the most elevated grade of life for the patients.

Drug storage in wards:

The key to the controlled drugs is the responsibility of the Nurse in Charge and is kept on their person and stored separately from other drug keys. A controlled drug register is maintained and kept locked in a secure place when not in use. To stock the medicines, each ward is provided with a medicine cabinet with adequate lighting and separate compartments for different categories of drugs used for internal use. A senior nurse is responsible for the poisonous medicines in the cupboard, maintaining daily inventory, labelling them neatly, keeping them closed with airtight caps, checking the expiry date of every drug and making use of it before its expiry date or sending it to the dispensary and getting it replaced. All the ward nurses regularly follow the ‘FIVE RIGHTS’ for safety in giving drugs.

IN-SERVICE EDUCATION PROGRAMME:

It is essential for nurses to update their knowledge and practice as professionals.  Hence, continuing education in nursing is a planned activity directed towards meeting the learning needs of the nurses.  This is done every Tuesday on a regular basis.  The two forms of CNE are

  1. IN-SERVICE EDUCATION  
  2. EXTRAMURAL EDUCATION 

The main objective is to meet the new needs of the patient and the community and to ensure safe and effective nursing care, Training is conducted frequently in the ward and classrooms. NABH topics such as pain management, critical care nursing, management of medication, infection control practices, patient safety, fire safety management, end of life care are all covered. As professionals, nurses are expected to stay up to date by keeping their practice current. Hence the following are some of the topics that are also covered:

  • Modern slavery and human trafficking
  • Staff Satisfaction
  • BLS Training
  • Basic Nursing care 
  • Emergency Drugs
  • Radiation Safety Program &Radiation Hazard & Management
  • Incident and accident  Reporting
  • Nurse’s Role in Blood Transfusion
  • Fire Safety Measures & Protocols
  • Needlestick injury and PPE management 
  • Nursing process documentation
  • CART trolley
  • Performance indicators & audits
  • Tele Nursing or Nursing informatics for ICU

BREAST FEEDING EDUCATION COUNSELLING:

Breastfeeding counselling plays a crucial role in the health, growth and development of babies and benefits the mother too. Trained registered nurses and midwives provide continuous awareness on early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding to the delivered mothers in the OBG wards and labour wards.  It is explained adequately during their antenatal visits at the OBG outpatient department itself.  This helps the mother to manage breastfeeding after delivery and encourages employed mothers to continue breastfeeding.

PAIN ASSESSMENT NURSE:

Pain assessment nurses have an ethical responsibility to relieve pain and the suffering it causes. Patient pain is assessed in terms of the following characteristics: location of the pain, radiation, mode of onset, duration, aggravating/provoking factors and also associating factors.  The pain management nurses are there to give care for the patient round the clock and attend immediately.

SKILL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME:

It refers to the programmes and activities organized to develop, enhance and improve the skills, competencies and overall performance of the staff. The main aim is to motivate nurses to improve their performance. By formal and informal education methods, nurses are motivated to improve their quality of service and competency in the roles assigned.

MEDICATION COUNSELLING:

Medication counselling service is being provided to patients in AVMC &H. This service is of special help to the many patients and relatives, who can clarify their doubts regarding the medication to be followed at home 24 X 7. This helps to prevent medication errors and thereby improves the quality of care. A special counselling centre is located in the ICU.

AWARENESS PROGRAMME:

Awareness programmes are conducted regularly by our nursing staff. Such events call for teamwork.  These programmes help create awareness on various topics, such as women’s health, breast self-examination, environmental sanitization, glaucoma, cervical cancer,  stress, and immunization.

BLS TRAINING:

The Basic Life Support (BLS) hands-on training is conducted for all staff nurses. Studies show that BLS training improves knowledge and skills related to basic life support practices in nursing students. Periodic BLS training is very important for competency in this area among nursing students. Through this training programme staff, nurses can actively participate in resuscitation efforts and help to save the life of critically ill patients.

NURSING SERVICE, MANAGEMENT AND CHALLENGES:

Nurses have gradually adopted greater responsibilities, all the while taking care to ensure that they adhere to the high standards of quality and safety. 

Personalized care by qualified and experienced nurses represents one of the greatest strengths of our AVMC hospital. Our AVMCH is renowned for its excellent nursing care right from the patient’s admission to their discharge. 

At AVMC & H, nurses play a very important role. They are on the front lines caring for the patients. besides also being actively involved in hospital leadership. In their work, they are firmly committed to the principles of maintaining client autonomy, justice and beneficence.

AWARD & ACHIEVEMENTS:
S.No Name Award Institution Year
Mrs. V. Justin Mary Gold Medalist [P.B.B.sc (N)] MGMC & RI 2017
Mrs. V. Justin Mary Women Achiever Award AVMC & H 2020
Mrs. V. Justin Mary Best organizer award AVMC & H Dept .of Nephrology 2021
Mrs. Susai Mary Dennis Women Achiever Award AVMC & H 2021