A nurse shadow box is one of the best ways of preserving special memories from nursing school. Many nurses agree that nursing shadow boxes get a lot of attention and flattering remarks. A shadow box is an enclosed glass containing objects with much personal and sentimental value that a nurse wants to remember in future years. It is usually a unifying theme because it brings all objects together.

The most common theme for nurse shadow boxes is graduation from a nursing school although there are those who create some for memories of a particular moment during their career or at retirement. Nursing training and career have many interesting moments that provide plenty of reasons for making shadow boxes. They are easy to make and here is how to do it.

1.Plan your nursing shadow box

A shadow box should have a tying central theme or idea. Although many people create them to celebrate graduation from nursing school, you can create one about anything. The design can be creative according to your desires. A first step is to think of the purpose of making the nursing shadow box. The second step of planning is to collect all stuff that should go into the shadow box. A collection of souvenirs to place into a shadow box is likely to be in place if you already have a theme.

2.Putting the shadow box together

After designing and planning on the material to place in the display box, the remaining task is to assemble the mementos and make the best most creative presentation. You can use one of these materials to place the stuff at their perfect place.

• Paste
• Glue
• Pins
• Glue gun

You might even sew objects to the back of a nursing shadow box with a needle and thread. A shadow box should store the memories you treasure most, and it cannot accommodate. You should narrow down choices to the best 3-5 items after deciding on a theme and gathering the items that fit within the parameters.

The size of the frame determines the number of items. You can make creating the shadow box is the fun part. Before gluing anything into place, set out all the mementos and decide on the best layout for them. You can try layering the elements to give the shadow box intrigue and more depth. Some overlapping enables you to prevent the shadow box from looking empty. Secure everything to the frame backing after the scene satisfies you. You can use glue, tacks, pins or brooches.

Tips To Make Your Shadow Box More Exciting

These tips will help to increase color and appeal to your project.

• Add colorful text and label
• Make cute drawings with colored pencils or pens
• Recycle ribbons stationary, cloth and lace to make the cute or buy the unique from a craft shop
• Add sparkly or glitter accessories if you like flamboyance
• Use washi tape

Reassemble the frame or close the shadow box’s glass door at the front. Take a quick pause to determine if the handiwork is appealing before anybody else sees it. If the nursing shadow box delights others, find a spot where they can see instead of putting it against a wall. Find a measuring tape, a marking pencil, a level, hammer, and nails to measure the proper spot on a wall, mark, and hammer away. Do not rely on your eyes to determine if the shadow box is hanging straight on a nail. A level will provide you with an accurate measure that shows if it straight or tipping to one side.

A nurse can have tons of stuff that should require safekeeping and display. You can create more shadow boxes to show them after you successfully make the first. You can crate others to decorate the walls and use them for commemorating occasions such as:

• Remembering friends and colleagues at former workplaces
• To gift a very close nurse who is leaving for another place or retiring
• Create a motivational and inspirational board on your chosen profession
• Display items for commemorating overseas trips
• Make a display case of rewards for achievements at school or work including certifications

Learning how to make your own nursing shadow box enables you to present the things you want to commemorate in a way that creates a dramatic visual result.

Foot pain bothers many nurses considering that they spend many hours on their feet working in long shifts. Severe pain on the feet or ankles can prevent a nurse from working and become a form of disability. Luckily nurses can use natural remedies to manage, eliminate and prevent feet pain.

The valuable methods for management of nurses’ feet pain are:

1. Wear the right shoes

Choose nursing shoes that are comfortable with adequate wiggle room for the toes and a firm grip on the heels. Lacing shoes are good for nurses and the best time to fit when buying is at the end of a shift when the feet are bigger. You can determine the correct size that will accommodate the feet even if they swell by trying new shoes when feet are at their biggest. Nursing shoes should also have excellent arch support and cushioning to prevent overpronation. Consider adding shoe inserts that make shoes to accommodate specific food conditions like high arches, flat feet or plantar facilities. A custom shoes insert by a podiatrist ensures that you get the right product.

2.Alternate and replace shoes often

The structural support of a shoe starts breaking down after using months. It is essential to check and replace if necessary after every 8-12 months. Wearing the same shoes everyday wears them faster .it also makes them get into contact with same points of pressure by the feet, increasing risk of repetitive strain injury. It is important for nurses to have at least two pairs of shoes.

3.Wearing cushioned socks or compression stockings

Cushioned socks protect the feet especially when fats pads on the feet wear away as fat pads advance. Compression stockings can prevent swelling on the feet and legs for a while.

4.Vinegar

Vinegar is one of the useful natural remedies right in the kitchen shelves and can help much in reducing inflammation that causes muscle strain. Vinegar helps to reduce feet pain by using it in one of these variations. A.Hydrotherapy Vinegar for hydrotherapy should be in equal amounts to the water. You should prepare two containers of cold and hot water and add the same measure of vinegar to each. Soak a small clean towel into the water a wrap it around the foot for 5 minutes. You should alternate wrapping the towel between the cold and hot water repeating the process for up to four times. B.Footbath Add 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar to a warm bath. Add Epsom or sea salt to the water and soak the feet in it for 10-20 minutes.

5.Herbal oil massages

Herbal oils help to loosen tight tissues and increase circulation if you use it to massage the feet. The herbal oil contains distinct medicinal properties that also help to alleviate foot pain. A gentle massage on the aching feet provides quick relief because you can feel the tension and pain easing while the oil warms on the skin. Some of the recommended types of herbal oils are:

• olive oil
• mustard oil
• chamomile oil
• lavender
• clove oil
• sweet marjoram
• rosemary
• eucalyptus
• thyme
• peppermint

Nurses with sensitive skins or open breaks can dilute the herbal oil with a teaspoon of extra coconut or olive oil before using it to massage the feet.

6.Ginger

Ginger more so turmeric ginger has anti-inflammatory properties that help to reduce inflammation that causes pain and swelling on the feet. Nurses with low blood pressure or any blood disease should not use this remedy.

7.Diet

Change of diet is a general act when dealing with arthritis or any other feet pain malady. One of the ways to reduce feet pain is to avoid eating food that increases inflammation like animal products and citric foods. The best diet to take when having feet pain should have a high amount of omega-3 fatty acids like cold water fish, flaxseeds and walnuts. It should also have plenty of carbohydrates. Cherry fruit or juice also helps t reduce inflammation because it contains antioxidant properties. Drink diluted fresh juice or eats at least 10 cherries every day. A serving of three-ounce pitted dark cherries gives 82-297 milligrams of anthocyanins (antioxidant properties that relieve inflammation).

8.Exercising

Stretching exercises targeting the legs, back, shoulders and neck before work activate the body’s nervous system and prevent strain injuries .exercises prepare the feet to endure physical stresses and enhance performance. Performing similar stretch exercises and some yoga poses after work hastens recovery of the foot muscles from any minute injuries after a shift. Nurses might not avoid feet pain due to much walking, but natural remedies help to restore the comfort without pooping pain relievers.

Nurses and doctors need to define ways of calming a patient before a shot because some have a fear of injections. It is usual to encounter patients with a phobia for shots in clinical settings. It is something that is difficult to overcome, and the nurses can try what they can to calm a patient before an injection to prevent the person from incurring a trauma. Nurses who are just starting their careers should master these strategies that help to calm patients before they get shots.

1.Instruct the patient to breathe in deeply

Instruct a patient to take a deep breath then exhale like during the process of blowing out a candle. The best time to inject is when the patient exhales. Tensed muscles relax more when breathing out, and the patient will feel lesser pain when receiving the shot. Giving an injection when a patient is anxious and the muscles are tense makes the needle to feel more painful.

2.Distraction

Distracting a patient by diverting attention before administering the shot helps to reduce the anxiety that a patient has at that moment. Starting a friendly conversation is a superb method of distracting a patient who fears shots from impending injection explores the interests of the patient when preparing to give the patient an injection. The focus will shift to the matter when a nurse hooks the attention of the patient. Nurses can explain the injection procedure then start discussing other issues such as hobbies or favorite activities. When a patient is in the exciting moment, a nurse should begin injecting the drug, and the process will be over before the patient gets anxious. Encouraging deep breathing and asking questions about favorite or singing a song can help nurses to distract as well as calm children before a shot.

3.Crack a joke

Many patients feel nervous, uncomfortable and sweaty because of the panic they have about getting a shot. A nurse who tells a good joke helps to overcome the nervousness. Humor triggers laughter that distracts nervous patients as it helps to relieve and relax them. Telling a funny joke also helps to establish a rapport with the patient. Some nurses have a sense of humor, and it can be of much help in making their patients forget the ordeal of receiving an injection and the entire ordeal will pass without much pain. It also relaxes the muscles which help to reduce the pain that occurs during injection than when they are tense.

4.Provide the right information

Providing patients with unrealistic assurances before an injection is wrong. For instance, there is no point in telling a patient that a needle will not hurt only for them to feel the “sting.”The right thing is to prepare patients in advance by informing them that shot will hurt but not severely as they fear. A nurse may also inform a patient who fears shots that the pain will not last for long. You can also assure them that you will do the best to lessen the pain by completing the process within a short moment and using a small size needle.

5.Using creams or the buzzy on the skin

Some types of topical creams can work as anesthetics that block the sensation of pain by the needle. Pharmacists know about the most common creams for the treatment of needle phobia. The buzzy is a personal pain relieving device developed a by a pediatrician. It works by overwhelming the nerves with buzzing and a cold sensation to prevent the user from feeling the pain that a needle causes as it passes through the skin to the vein. The buzzy now has a version for adults and a new version for kids. The latest for children resembles a bee, and it includes distraction cards.

Many people fear the needle and nurses or physicians should not condemn patients for their phobia. They should not ridicule the patients but instead, let them know that they should not be a cause of shame. It helps to reduce the phobia and make injections to be more manageable.

The term non-compliant patient refers to someone who does not take medicine according to prescription or fails to follow the prescribed course of treatment. The failure to comply can sometimes occur because the patient refuses to adhere to instruction by a healthcare provider.

It is difficult to deal with non-compliant patients due to the frustration of trying to help someone who has no concern about the effort and danger of failing to take medication according to prescriptions. Those who are not careful can lose their professionalism and rationality making it even harder to convince a patient on the need of compliance. An individual who is non-compliant feels more powerful and in control of the verbal interaction if the caregiver becomes emotional.

1.How to Deal With Non-Compliant Patients

The first thing by a professional who is dealing with a non-compliant patient is to make the person understand the dangers of deviating from instructions by a medic. It is a bonus to make the person comply. These approaches guide professionals to deal with non-compliance.

2.Determine the reason for non-compliance

It is simpler to find a solution for a patient has a reason for failing to comply than someone who is adamant. Nursing is a resourceful profession and the training together with experience can yield to alternative solutions. Here are the frequency reasons for failing to comply with medical instructions that enable a nurse to determine if a non-compliant patient requires help or is just stubborn.

After determining the reason for non-compliance, these steps will help to manage the patient especially when failure to comply was a stubborn action.

3.Maintain rationality

It is essential to stay rational because losing your cool will cause a power struggle that does not guarantee a win by persuading the patient to change. An increase in frustration and irrationality by a professional makes the non-compliant patient more stubborn.

4.Explain the directive

Sometimes it might be wrong to assume that a patient knows the meaning of medical instruction. It might be that the person does not understand and deserves the benefit of a doubt by clarifying the importance of a medical directive.

5.Place responsibility at the rightful place

The responsibility for refusing to comply with medical directions should lie with the patient, and a caregiver should not agree to shoulder the burden. For instance, a patient can insist on knowing the ways that a nurse can use to cause compliance. It is essential to inform him that there is no action to enforce submission but explain the medical consequences of failing to take medications or treatment and then he will carry the blame for the inaction.

6.Set reasonable limits

Some non-compliant patients want to test the ceiling to see if the healthcare provider will budge and change the original instructions on medication and treatment. Setting reasonable limits and consequences is essential. The person will think that nothing will happen if he limits are unreasonable. You should be ready to enforce some results when setting the boundaries. The action could be something simple like telling the patients to leave the room, or you get help to remove them if they are not going to comply with treatment or medication recommendations. Enforcing the limits makes it simple to manage such persons in future because they know you will take action if they are unreasonable.

Charting and documenting when dealing with a non-compliant patient is very crucial because it will provide evidence if there is a future inquiry about a failure to complete treatment. It feels great when those who know how to deal with non-compliant patients succeed in changing their attitudes. However, it should not be a reason for self-blame when patients choose not to comply after an explanation on the need to change their stubbornness.