by Nurses who take care of the patients with any of the neurological disorders have a very gratifying job.
There are Stroke Certified Registered Nurses and Certified Neuroscience Nurses, and these two types are different in several aspects.
Neuroscience nurses are educated to take care of patients with numerous neurological disorders.
They can care for patients with spinal cord injuries, epilepsy, strokes/TIAs, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
Some organizations require nurses to have specified certifications before they start taking care of these patients.
The common work settings for neuroscience nurses are hospitals, rehab facilities, and intensive care units.
The primary difference between Stroke certified RN and neuroscience nurses is in knowledge and education.
Neuroscience nurses have broader knowledge and can perform duties such as patient assessment, coming up with the nursing diagnosis, creating and implementing care plans, monitoring, and adjusting the treatment response.
These nurses can identify any deviations in treatment according to the individual needs of the patient and its diagnosis.
On the other hand, stroke certified nurses have more narrow specialization than neuroscience nurses.
They are trained and earned their certificate, to take care of the patients who experienced a stroke.
It is highly important that a stroke certified nurse take care of stroke patients because these patients require complex treatment.
For example, after the stroke, nurses have to monitor the patient closely and perform consecutive neuro checks.
To be able to perform neuro checks, a nurse must be highly trained.
The basic procedure of neuro checks that each nurse learns in the nursing schools isn’t good enough for the best patient care and that is why stroke certified nurses are better for the recovery of the stroke patients.
To treat a stroke patient, a nurse must follow a specific care pathway.
There are almost nationally unified standards of care for the stroke patient, and a nurse must be familiar with it.
That is why stroke nurses are formally trained to become experts in stroke care.
The roles of stroke certified RNs and neuroscience nurses do differ, but they also overlap.
Neuroscience nurses can get the certificate and step up for the stroke certified nurse.
The most common work settings for these nurses are acute care stroke centers or any rehab organization.
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