CEs for nurses: Top courses for RNs!

Registered nurses are known for getting up close and personal with patients. Not surprisingly, the courses most frequently taken by RNs address protecting both ourselves and our patients from disease transmission. Patient relationship courses also are very popular…you do spend all day (or night!) taking care of them, after all! Find out about the top five courses RNs are taking, according to the Learning Network, in the list below.

1. Standard Precautions

Nursing schools teach standard precautions pretty much before they allow a student to even think about donning scrubs! These basic guidelines form the backbone of any infection control routine and should be observed whenever patient or body fluid contact is anticipated. These courses often draw data and guidelines from institutions like the CDC and can immediately up your game for day-to-day interactions with your patients.

2. Documentation and Reporting

RNs are the primary conduit for information in healthcare settings. We often relay lab results, patient requests, doctors’ orders, and a smorgasbord of other healthcare staff reporting…and that’s even before we get down to charting! Learning about effective written and verbal communication, including legal and ethical considerations, can help streamline your workflow.

3. Patient and Family Education

Want to know how to effectively present teaching so that patients and their families will retain it and use it? This course on patient and family education shows you how to assess patient learning needs and overcome barriers to learning.

4. Building Patient Rapport

Want to make that “up close and personal” experience just a little more comfortable for both you and the patient? Always feel like you are on the defensive when family shows up? Building patient rapport is crucial and can make all the difference in performing a physical exam with ease, as well as help you pick up on nonverbal cues that may provide additional assessment details.

5. Basic Blood Gas Interpretation

The word “basic” can be misleading for this course. Blood gas interpretation is notorious for being confusing, which is why this course is so popular among nurses. Knowing how to interpret blood gases will allow you to provide prioritized and effective patient care.

Do you have any tried and true tips for better patient communication or better reporting to physicians? Have you practiced a method of patient education that seems to work? Does your unit excel in preventing infection? Leave your input in the comments!