OCR Text |
Show There's a "New Breed" In the Nation's Nurseries . A . . S, f GETTING TO KNOW HIM Is what Family Advocate Nurse Cornelia DeSocIo (right) urges Carol Washburn to do with her son, Steven. Born prematurely prema-turely he went Immediately to on isolstte at the hospital's Intensive tare nursery. Mrs. DeSocio emphaslies to Mrs. Washburn that although her baby Is physically dependent for a time on the Isolette, he still needs her cuddling and loving. by Mitzi L. Duxbury, R.N., Ph.D. Assistant Director for Nursing Education and Service The National Foundation-March Foundation-March of Dimes Nursing's renaissance reflects re-flects the changing atmosphere atmos-phere of our times. Many of us want more meaning out of our lives and our careers. There is a new breed of nurse today, trained to deal with family health problems. She is called "sujxr nurse" the nurse specialist, whose professional skills match her new, broadened responsibilities. responsibili-ties. Her goal is not only to help care for a patient, but also to help the family cope with the stresses that arise from illness. At The National Foundation-March of Dimes we are seeing more and more of the "super nurse" in our medical .service programs. Of particular particu-lar concern to us is the critically criti-cally ill newlwrn, usually premature pre-mature or underweight, who requires the round-the-clock watch of an intensive care r.arsery. Team Effort Here the concentrated skil I s of physicians and nurses, backed by an array of monitoring moni-toring and resuscitation equipment, equip-ment, offer the sick infant his best possible chance of coming com-ing out of the crisis alive and healthy. But while this is happening, happen-ing, the infant's family faces special problems. And here is where someone like Cornelia DeSocio, a pediatric nurse practitioner, steps in. Mrs. DeSocio is family advocate nurse for the intensive care t nursery which the March of Dimes sponsors at Arnot-Ogden Arnot-Ogden Hospital in Elmira, N.Y. "When these babies get the life-saving treatment they nod," she explains, "they are inevitably separated from their parents by physical and emotional barriers. Family Concern "To the parents it may seem that the child is isolated and terribly ill. This sometimes makes them afraid to think about the future, and they avoid involvement with the baby." Mrs. DeSocio deals with the problem by drawing the parents together with their I delicate newborn ns soon as possible. Once barriers are recognized they can be coped with effectively. A "super nurse" like Mrs. DeSocio is highly trained. She must understand the dynamics dynam-ics of physical, psychosocial, and cultural forces affecting health. An expert interv iewer, her ability to collect relevant data makes her sensitive to family health problems. Thus, her appropriate interview enables en-ables the family to cope better with the crisis. The nursing profession is keeping pace with the needs of our time. As we look for answers to complex health problems the "suicr nurse" will lie a frontrunnor in all the action. |