About the Work of Nurses in Rehabilitation Centers

Who Needs Rehabilitation?

The rehabilitation centers carry out a comprehensive and effective approach to restoring the body functions of people experiencing health limitations due to injuries and diseases. Rehabilitation may be required for a patient of any age, but our center is focused on clients of the 45+ age group. It is from this age range that people most often need the help of specialists to return to a full life. In more than half of the cases, patients need to undergo rehabilitation programs in specialized centers because of cerebrovascular accidents.

Regardless of what caused the development of the patient’s health limitations, high-quality rehabilitation is achieved thanks to the well-coordinated work of a large team of specialists. It is composed of physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, speech therapists, care assistants and rehabilitation nurses.

Scope of Duties of a Rehabilitation Nurse

The main task facing a rehabilitation nurse is not only to carry out medical procedures and control that the patient takes the necessary medications on time and in the required quantities. Nurses are also responsible for ensuring that the patient, while in our center, feels comfortable, safe and at the same time is as independent as possible to the extent that his health condition allows him. A rehab nurse is a staff member who spends more time with a patient than any other specialist, and therefore understands the patient's needs better than most. Nurses, like care assistants, assist the patient with self-care. If the patient is in serious condition, they take care of his hygiene, positioning in bed, maximum moral comfort. Often, at home, a person who should have been lying down for only some time, due to insufficiently qualified medical care, a feeling of unnecessaryness to loved ones and depression, is unable to enter the next stage of rehabilitation – for example, to start moving in a wheelchair. In the context of the professional care provided by the rehabilitation center, such a scenario, fortunately, is not possible. Here, patients don’t have time to be depressed – they are working to improve their condition. In case of development of psychological problems, highly qualified psychologists are involved in their solution.

The rehabilitation nurse is the person who directly actively stimulates the patient’s recovery process. Of course, the role of doctors is very important, because they have to determine the necessary medical measures to restore the patient’s organism. But it is thanks to the nurses that all these activities are being implemented. One of the important tasks of a good rehabilitation nurse is to maximize the patient’s engagement level so that he can take part in as many activities as possible. Instead of performing all possible tasks for the patient, the nurse engages the patient in procedures and household activities, even if it takes a long time. For example, if, because of hand tremors, it is difficult for a patient to eat on his own and he quickly gets tired of holding a spoon in his hand, it is important to encourage him how to eat as much as possible alone, even if he eats slowly and sloppily, and only then feed him with leftover food.

Despite the fact that the peculiarities of the rehabilitation course are determined by the rehabilitation doctor, the rehabilitation nurse is responsible for the prevention of various complications, especially in patients with limited mobility. To this end, it is necessary to monitor vital indicators such as pressure, pulse, temperature and blood sugar, monitor the patient so that he does not have respiratory problems, prevent the development of pressure sores and skin irritations, stop pain in time, control the patient’s water balance , as well as keep a record of falls, if the patient is able to move around the rehabilitation center on his own. Patients who have suffered a stroke or been injured in road traffic accidents are often at risk of developing contractures of the extremities. Timely exercises, including passive gymnastics, can help prevent the development of limited mobility in the joints.

Qualities Rehab Nurses Have

In our rehabilitation center, all nurses are focused on the result, which is the fastest and most complete restoration of the patient’s body functions. Our center is one of the leading in the provision of modern rehabilitation services, which has become an independent science for a long time. We fully support the postulate that it is much more profitable for the patient himself and for the already overloaded US healthcare system to lift a person to their feet and return them to a full life than to care for them as a disabled person all their life.

An integral quality of a rehab nurse is patience and understanding, gentle persistence and the ability to motivate patients. To some extent, the nurse with whom the patient communicates every day and for a long time is his psychologist. At the very least, she is responsible for what an attitude he develops towards the rehabilitation process. This requires great moral strength, sensitivity and psychological flexibility. Nurses often need to communicate with non-verbal or speech-limited patients, which also requires a lot of patience, attention to patient responses, and creativity. It is especially important to build a competent communication strategy with elderly patients. Even if their speech and cognitive functions are in order, it can be difficult to connect with them and build their trust.

Standards and Regulations

In the United States, the association of rehabilitation nurses is the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN). CRRN Certification is carried out under its auspices. After passing the appropriate certification, the nurse becomes a Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse, which proves her compliance with all the required competencies to work in specialized rehabilitation institutions. In accordance with the statutes of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) and the American Nurses’ Association (ANA), the standards of nursing practice consist of three components: professional standards of care define diagnostic, intervention, and evaluation competencies.

Under ARN, rehabilitation nurses gain access to various continuing education programs, undergo certification and maintain their knowledge at a consistently high level. The profession of a rehabilitative nurse is widely demanded not only in centers dealing with the rehabilitation of patients 45+, but also in nursing homes, hospitals, insurance companies, home health care, and private medical practice. Rehabilitation medical centers of the highest qualification category operate in our center, constantly paying attention to their professional development. Under their wing, your loved one will receive quality medical services, feel confident in his abilities and will be able to return to normal life.