Gastrointestinal
Nursing or GI Nursing is a very interesting nursing specialty. The
nurse in this field is exposed to different GI conditions and diseases.
GI Nurses can offer general, pediatric and geriatric care. GI patients
may have life threatening cancers or simple and complex bowel
obstructions and even contagious conditions bowel irritations.
Gastrointestinal
Nursing is not an easy field to be in. It takes dedication and a strong
stomach. Nurses in this specialty have to face bowel discharges on a
daily basis. Most of the patients may have severe diarrhea and
irritative bowel syndromes. Some patients may be fitted with shunts,
ostomies or stomas that allow the passage of fecal matter. These
patients’ require special care that only an experienced Gastrointestinal
Nurse can give. Below you will find some of the responsibilities facing
a GI nurse on a daily basis.
· Assisting Physicians in Different GI Procedures – The
Gastrointestinal nurse will often be called to assist the physician in
procedures such as endoscopy, colonoscopy and other invasive operations.
In cases like these, the nurse needs to be well versed in the different
procedures. He/she has to know how to properly prepare the patient.
He/she must also know how to assist the physician during the actual
procedure. Aside from the procedures mentioned above, the GI nurse may
also be called to perform enemas. Enemas are part of a patient’s
preparation for various surgeries and other invasive operations.
· Health Teaching/ Patient Education –
A gastrointestinal patient may require several procedures that he/she
may find foreign or new to him/her. This means that the said patient may
require health teaching to help them cope with their new situation.
Health teaching and Patient education may range from simple facts like:
What to eat and what to avoid. It may also include more complex tasks
such as cleaning an ostomy and a stoma. Patients in such a situation may
be fearful to do certain procedures themselves. It is now up to the
gastrointestinal nurse to help alleviate their anxiety. GI nurses must
also look into involving other family members in the client’s care.
· Standard Nursing Care/Procedures – Gastrointestinal
Nursing is in essence just like any other nursing field. Nurses still
have to perform basic nursing procedures that every patient needs. These
include telemetry, medication and other basics.
GI Nursing with other Nursing Specialties
Gastrointestinal
nurses have the option of furthering their knowledge of the GI field.
They may choose to work with children or with senior citizen alone. They
can also make a career out of administering anesthetics to their
patients needing sedation for a procedure.
Sedation
is important in some invasive GI procedures. Often anesthesiologists
are the ones called to oversee the process. Nurse anesthesiologists can
also be called induce sedation. This is seen as important crossover
between two nursing specialties. In this manner the gastrointestinal
nurse can also serve as a GI nurse anesthetist. The GI Nurse may also
choose to specialize in Pediatric or Geriatric cases. This is another
example of a nurses having more than one nursing specialty.
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