Workforce wisdom

In an emotionally raw and riveting fireside chat, Mercedes Wells described her trauma in November 2025 of being discharged from a hospital while in active labor—only to give birth on the side of a road just 8 minutes later. Their discussion brought into sharp focus the systemic barriers—and very human costs—behind maternal health inequities in the United States.

Nurse residency programs

High-quality nurse residency programs include formal orientation and onboarding, trained preceptors, mentors, and didactic learning focused on clinical reasoning, communication, and patient safety. Other components include opportunities for reflection and peer support as well as ongoing assessment and feedback on clinical progress.

Nurse residency programs

Workforce wisdom

In an emotionally raw and riveting fireside chat, Mercedes Wells described her trauma in November 2025 of being discharged from a hospital while in…

Communicating with patients about firearm safety

Nurses frequently need to ask personal and sensitive questions, even in the absence of an established therapeutic relationship. Through typical healthcare interactions, disclosures about violence, risk, and firearm ownership may arise. However, nurses receive little or no education, training, or…

The Five Rs

Studies have demonstrated significant associations between higher psychological safety and objective patient safety outcomes, reinforcing the idea that the same conditions that enable learners to grow also contribute to safer care. At the same time, measuring patient safety solely as…

Virtual reality simulation in the nursing skills lab

Nursing programs should prepare students for real-life clinical experiences, but several factors influence the amount of orientation time a novice nurse receives, including cost, time constraints, familiarity with electronic health records, and the ability to provide patient-centered care and perform…

Bereaved parents and perceptions of hope

Bereaved parental perspectives on hope during their child’s cancer journey can prove complex and subjective. Hope, which can alleviate distress, is difficult to define. In the face of good outcomes or a favorable prognosis, families direct hope toward a cure…

Current Journal

Practicing with epilepsy

Elevating the transition-to-practice experience

Oxytocin and well-being

Respectful care for gender-diverse patients

Practicing with epilepsy

Many nurses hesitate to disclose their epilepsy diagnosis or request accommodations due to fears of discrimination, job insecurity, or stalled advancement—concerns described…

Respectful care for gender-diverse patients

During a change-of-shift handoff, I informed the oncoming nurse that a transgender patient uses she/her pronouns. The nurse responded, “I don’t subscribe…

Prime advocacy

Every June, leaders from the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) constituent and state nurses associations (C/SNA) and organizational affiliates (OA) gather in Washington,…

Oxytocin and well-being

Nursing is fundamentally relational. Beyond technical skills, nurses provide presence, touch, and emotional containment elements increasingly recognized as biologically powerful. A growing…

Rapid Response

Spinal cord compression and cauda equina syndrome

Teaching patients about CES and SCC red flag symptoms (respiratory distress, loss of sensation, severe pain, sexual dysfunction, loss of bowel or bladder control) and when to go to the ED helps promote better outcomes. Use the teach-back method to…

Organophosphate poisoning

A 32-year-old man with no significant past medical history experiences acute shortness of breath, watery eyes, and twitching while working in a soybean field. The triage nurse recognizes that the symptoms might indicate organophosphate poisoning and activates the rapid response…

COPD exacerbation

A 75-year-old man with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension, and a 20-pack-year smoking history, is transferred from the ED to…

Spontaneous pneumothorax

A 19-year-old man with no significant medical history develops sudden, sharp, left-sided chest pain while playing basketball. After 8 hours, his pain doesn’t improve…

Crohn’s disease and GI perforation

JUSTIN REYNOLDS*, a 22-year-old man, arrives at the medical–surgical unit for a diagnostic workup after reporting abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and weight loss for…

Serotonin syndrome

A 54-year-old woman arrives at the ED with flu-like symptoms, including fatigue, muscle aches, and a mild fever. Her medical history includes depression, which…

Spinal cord compression and cauda equina syndrome

Teaching patients about CES and SCC red flag symptoms (respiratory distress, loss of sensation, severe pain, sexual dysfunction, loss of bowel or…

Organophosphate poisoning

A 32-year-old man with no significant past medical history experiences acute shortness of breath, watery eyes, and twitching while working in a…

COPD exacerbation

A 75-year-old man with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension, and a 20-pack-year smoking history, is transferred from the…

Spontaneous pneumothorax

A 19-year-old man with no significant medical history develops sudden, sharp, left-sided chest pain while playing basketball. After 8 hours, his pain…

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Education and Career Guide

Education can be the key to professional success. Whether you’re a new or experienced nurse, returning to school to get your BSN or another advanced degree can make the difference between thriving and stagnating in your career. Tap into the articles presented in this year’s education guide for tips and thoughtful advice on nursing education. The American Nurse Education and Career Guide, provides you with facts, figures, other nurses’ experiences, and tons of other resources to help you in your journey.

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Continuing Education

Elevating the transition-to-practice experience

This new enterprise’s nurse residency program standardization efforts focused on creating an optimal transition-to-practice experience. The restructuring reflects the new system’s nursing vision and desire to cultivate abundant opportunities for educational and career advancement. This standardized approach also aimed to…

Farmworker healthcare challenges

In addition to the health problems that everyone encounters, farmworkers also may experience pesticide exposure, long hours with few breaks, heat exposure and related illnesses, lack of water and sanitary bathroom facilities, injury, prolonged exposure to noisy equipment, and overexposure…

Trauma and its impact on health

Trauma changes us. This powerful emotional experience of terror or stress affects biology and immune function, reminding us of the connection between the mind…

Oral care and hospital-acquired pneumonia

Many consider oral care an element of grooming, not an infection control measure. However, an association exists between poor oral care and systemic disease.…

Dress for success: Wound dressing basics

Some nurses find wound dressing selection intimidating and frustrating. Businesswire estimates that more than 5,000 wound care products exist in the United States, in…

Comprehensive nursing approach to hepatitis B and C

HBV and HCV pose significant health risks. In their chronic form, years after initial infection, both viruses can result in severe health issues, including…

Elevating the transition-to-practice experience

This new enterprise’s nurse residency program standardization efforts focused on creating an optimal transition-to-practice experience. The restructuring reflects the new system’s nursing…

Farmworker healthcare challenges

In addition to the health problems that everyone encounters, farmworkers also may experience pesticide exposure, long hours with few breaks, heat exposure…

Trauma and its impact on health

Trauma changes us. This powerful emotional experience of terror or stress affects biology and immune function, reminding us of the connection between…

Oral care and hospital-acquired pneumonia

Many consider oral care an element of grooming, not an infection control measure. However, an association exists between poor oral care and…

Practice Matters

Oxytocin and well-being

Nursing is fundamentally relational. Beyond technical skills, nurses provide presence, touch, and emotional containment elements increasingly recognized as biologically powerful. A growing body of research suggests that oxytocin, a neuropeptide synthesized in the hypothalamus, plays a central role in linking care, safety, and human well-being.

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The first OTC birth control pill

Opill, the first over-the-counter oral contraceptive approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has the potential to address challenges related to access and…

The team therapist model

Nurses experience significantly more shared suffering and loss than those in other caring disciplines. If not mitigated, this can lead to disproportionate levels of…

A case study: CHF and depression

According to Jha and colleagues, a lack of consistent depression screening in patients with congestive heart failure can lead to poor prognosis and outcomes.…

Fostering a culture of innovation and quality

Study identifies actions to guide healthcare organizations. THE AMERICAN NURSES ENTERPRISE (ANE) has prioritized innovation and quality practices as necessary components of workplace culture.…

Stigma and liver transplantation

Bias associated with liver transplants reflects underlying practices within healthcare that shape how it emerges and persists. Since 2014, as noted by…

Mental health trailblazers

The mental health trailblazers podcast features the groundbreaking journeys of psychiatric mental health nurses in their quest to meet the urgent needs…

Teens and cyber victimization

Cyber victimization (CV) among teens is characterized by targeted aggression in an electronic context. This phenomenon, including cyberbullying, cyber fraud, and cyberstalking,…

From the Ethics Inbox

Respectful care for gender-diverse patients

During a change-of-shift handoff, I informed the oncoming nurse that a transgender patient uses she/her pronouns. The nurse responded, “I don’t subscribe to this trend of declaring pronouns. I’ll call the patient what I feel is right.” Does the Code…

Gift giving and receiving in nursing practice

I'm a new nurse on a pediatric oncology unit. Many of my colleagues bring in gifts for their patients. Is this something that I should be doing? On the flip side, am I allowed to receive gifts from families? This…

Loyalty vs integrity when making a professional endorsement

I'm in a social media group for nurse practitioners (NPs), and a recent discussion made me uncomfortable. One individual offered to write a positive…

Fostering a workplace where nurses can flourish

I’m the Nurse Manager for a 34-bed medical–surgical unit and pursuing my DNP in nursing leadership. My school has a strong focus on ethics,…

Everyday ethics: Interconnected care in a changing world

It seems like the revised Code of Ethics for Nurses, with the addition of Provision 10, is taking us beyond the bedside and our…

Balancing life and death transitions

I’m an ICU Nurse at a hospital that frequently procures organs from patients who’ve given consent to donate on their driver’s licenses. In some…

Respectful care for gender-diverse patients

During a change-of-shift handoff, I informed the oncoming nurse that a transgender patient uses she/her pronouns. The nurse responded, “I don’t subscribe…

Gift giving and receiving in nursing practice

I'm a new nurse on a pediatric oncology unit. Many of my colleagues bring in gifts for their patients. Is this something…

Loyalty vs integrity when making a professional endorsement

I'm in a social media group for nurse practitioners (NPs), and a recent discussion made me uncomfortable. One individual offered to write…

Fostering a workplace where nurses can flourish

I’m the Nurse Manager for a 34-bed medical–surgical unit and pursuing my DNP in nursing leadership. My school has a strong focus…

Perspectives

When fear shapes health: A nursing perspective on Latina women and access to care

From applause to action: Why New York’s nursing strike matters for patients, nursing students, and the future of the nursing profession

Targeted music listening therapy and post-procedure pain management: A quality improvement initiative

Nursing note: Reflections on 50 years of service

When fear shapes health: A nursing perspective on Latina women and access to care

A woman arrives at a clinic appointment quietly and cautiously. She has lived in the United States for many years and became…

From applause to action: Why New York’s nursing strike matters for patients, nursing students, and the future of the nursing profession

On January 9, 2026, Kathy Hochul declared a State of Disaster Emergency in New York, citing critical healthcare staffing shortages across New…

Targeted music listening therapy and post-procedure pain management: A quality improvement initiative

A gap analysis at the project site (which offers surgical services, including procedures requiring overnight admission and postoperative pain management with narcotic…

Nursing note: Reflections on 50 years of service

I entered nursing at a time when foundational care defined the profession. Bed baths were not merely routine tasks; they were opportunities…

Community

Video abstracts: A powerful dissemination tool

Transitions as literary signposts: Powerful guides for the reader’s journey

Classifying AI use in writing for publication

As with nearly all fields, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in writing is controversial and evolving. Part of the challenge is…

Strengthen health systems worldwide: Invest in nursing professional development

Healthcare workers are the bedrock of an effective healthcare system and nurses comprise nearly 60% of the global healthcare workforce. Despite this…

News

Nursing and patients with bladder cancer

Millions of CT scans are done every year – most leave important data behind

New Orleans Brings Back the House Call, Sending Nurses To Visit Newborns and Moms

Lisa Bonfield cradles her newborn daughter, Adele, at home in New Orleans on Dec. 12, a few days after their first home…

ANA “deeply disturbed” by Minnesota shooting death of ICU nurse Alex Pretti

The American Nurses Association has issued a statement saying it is “deeply disturbed and saddened” about Saturday’s shooting death of Alex Pretti,…

My Nurse Influencer

AI is making nurses second-guess their expertise —That’s dangerous

Silicon Valley has discovered healthcare—again. This time, the promise is artificial intelligence (AI) that can predict when patients will deteriorate, before stressed-out nurses notice the warning signs. Venture capital is pouring billions into health tech startups, major tech companies are…

Building the evidence base to integrate ‘Food Is Medicine’ principles into cardiovascular care: Q&A with Dr. Bunmi Ogungbe

The Food Is Medicine movement has been gaining momentum as a commonsense approach to cardiovascular care for some time. The goal is to complement, not replace, pharmacological interventions. With regard to heart disease, health systems and policymakers are finally recognizing…

Maximize dissemination of your published article

Once an article is published, it’s tempting to pat yourself on the back, accept colleagues’ accolades, and move on to the next project. But…

What honors code taught me about teaching

Until recently at my institution, each student signs a paper honor code at the start of an exam. The back of that sheet doubles…

The Gifts We Do Not See

The holidays may be behind us, but this blog by Fidelindo Lim, DNP, CCRN, FAAN, offers some critical insights into the enduring humanism of…

Gratitude and meaning can keep nurses going

Research continues to affirm what many of us intuitively know: gratitude is good and good for our health. A study has shown that people…

AI is making nurses second-guess their expertise —That’s dangerous

Silicon Valley has discovered healthcare—again. This time, the promise is artificial intelligence (AI) that can predict when patients will deteriorate, before stressed-out…

Building the evidence base to integrate ‘Food Is Medicine’ principles into cardiovascular care: Q&A with Dr. Bunmi Ogungbe

The Food Is Medicine movement has been gaining momentum as a commonsense approach to cardiovascular care for some time. The goal is…

Maximize dissemination of your published article

Once an article is published, it’s tempting to pat yourself on the back, accept colleagues’ accolades, and move on to the next…

What honors code taught me about teaching

Until recently at my institution, each student signs a paper honor code at the start of an exam. The back of that…

Mental Health

Learning to love your job

The alarm clock goes off too early, and you jump-start the day with a cup of coffee and a short stack of…

Simulation for suicide prevention training

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is the 10th leading cause of death, and military personnel and…

Critical Care

The rules of transfusion: Best practices for blood product administration

Blood transfusions can sustain and save lives. But sometimes they sicken and even kill. Learn how to prevent, detect, and manage blood…

Recognizing risk for increased intracranial pressure

Mary Meyer, a 20-year-old college student, is admitted to the medical unit with flulike symptoms including nausea, vomiting, headache, and fever. Her…

Pediatrics

Do polio and smallpox present a threat?

The 2022 reemergence of polio and smallpox in the United States has many healthcare providers wondering if they should prepare for a…

Malignant hyperthermia

Malignant hyperthermia is a genetic life-threatening disease that results in an uncontrolled release of calcium that causes the body to go into…

Cardiology

von Willebrand disease 101

Learn the basics about the most common inherited bleeding disorder.

Hypertension in women commonly misidentified as part of menopause

Up to 50 percent of women develop high blood pressure before age 60 While complications of pregnancy and early menopause increase the…

American Nurse TV

March 2026 American Nurse Journal VOL. 21 NO. 3 preview

February 2026 American Nurse Journal VOL. 21 NO. 2 preview

January 2026 American Nurse Journal VOL. 21 NO. 1 preview

December 2025 American Nurse Journal VOL. 20 NO. 12 preview

November 2025 American Nurse Journal VOL. 20 NO. 11 preview

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March 2025 American Nurse Journal VOL. 20 NO. 3 preview

HealthCom Media, the publishers of American Nurse Journal, the American Nurses Association and Al Roker Productions collaborated to bring a few shining examples of the exemplary work being done by nurses in today’s very challenging healthcare environment to the American public.

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