May 2010 Vol. 5 No. 5

A great time to be a nurse

As nurses, we wouldn’t trade the intimate interactions we have with strangers who become trusting patients, or the adrenaline rush we get when saving a life, or our…

Defibtech, LLC, recall

Defibtech, LLC, has recalled DBP-2800 Battery Packs used in the Lifeline AED and ReviveR AED (semi-automatic external defibrillators). Read more at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm214916.htm.

Digital dashboards and staffing

Many healthcare organizations use digital “dashboards” to provide employees with real-time data collected from various sources, helping to guide decisions and improve the quality of care. Increasingly, dashboards…

Digital dashboards and staffing references

Ciesielski S, Daily B, Levine WC. Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare. A dashboard for the PACU. September/October 2008. www.psqh.com/sepoct08/pacu.html. Accessed March 24, 2010. Douglas K, Kerfoot K. Applying…

Environment, health, and safety

Nurses today are indeed challenged to do no harm to the sick as well as the healthy—just in the course of daily life and work.

FDA approves new drug for osteoporosis

On June 1, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Prolia (denosumab), an injectable treatment for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis who are at high risk of fractures.…

Forgive us our trespasses

When Archbishop Desmond Tutu, chairman of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee, speaks of Nelson Mandela, he insists Mandela has always been a free man because he was…

Forgive us our trespasses references

Bosk C. Forgive and Remember: Managing Medical Failure. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press; 1979. Sachs BP. A 38-year-old woman with fetal loss and hysterectomy. JAMA. 2005;294:833-839.
achievements nurse award recognition

From Your ANA President

National Nurses Week is an opportunity to reflect on the contributions nurses make to the healthcare environment. Every day, nurses make a commitment to building an even more…

Headlines from the Hill

As one of three nurses in Congress, Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX-30) has been a champion for nursing, introducing and cosponsoring bills to advance the nursing profession. One…

Helping new nurses set priorities

After several weeks of classes and partnered orientation to patient care, novice nurses in our large acute-care health system have learned a great deal. Still, most admit their…

Helping new nurses set priorities

Duchscher J. A process of becoming: the stages of new nursing graduate professional role transition. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2008;39(10):441-450. Ebright P, Urden L, Patterson E, Chalko B.…

How inflammatory markers refine CV risk status

Anderson JL. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2: an independent predictor of coronary artery disease events in primary and secondary prevention. Am J Cardiol. 2008;101(suppl):23F-33F. D’Agostino RB, Wolf PA, Belanger AJ,…

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy

Alberts D, Liu PY, Hannigan EV, et al. Intraperitoneal cisplatin plus intravenous cyclophosphamide versus cisplatin plus intravenous cyclophosphamide for stage III ovarian cancer. N Engl J Med. 1996;335:1950-1955.…

Is an online nursing education program right for you?

American Hospital Association. The economic crisis: the toll on the patients and communities hospitals serve; 2009. www.aha.org/aha/content/2009/pdf/090427econcrisisreport.pdf. Accessed April 8, 2010. Halsey A. Jobs scarce, even for nurses:…

Issues up close

Family nurse practitioner (FNP) and nurse-midwife Karen Holder, FNP-BC, CNM, MHS, sees patients at a large primary care clinic in Flagstaff, Arizona, as well as at small satellite…

Nursing student support group eases stress

Nursing school can cause a tremendous amount of stress, which may lead some students to drop out. Dropout rates for community colleges can range from 18% to 20%.

Our Readers Respond

Nursing academics vs. practicing nurses? My blood boiled when I read ANA President Patton’s column “Is diagnosis of pressure ulcers within an RN’s scope of practice?”(January 2010). It…

Saving a snakebite victim

While hiking, Paul Sawyer, age 31, is bitten twice on the right hand by a rattlesnake. When he arrives at the emergency department (ED), the team obtains STAT…

Saving a snakebite victim

Bush SP. Snake envenomation, rattle. Updated July 24, 2008. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/771455-overview. Accessed March 9, 2010. CroFab Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab (Ovine). www.fougera.com/products/crofab_digifab/crofab_productinfo.pdf. Accessed March 9, 2010. Gold BS, Dart…

Scrapbooks capture nurses career milestones

For nurse graduates, starting their first staff position is an exciting time, but it can also be a time of apprehension. Many have heard stories about how some…

Study shows California staffing ratios saves lives

A new study finds that California mandatory nurse-patient ratios save lives. Read more at http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/NRS-249784/Better-NursePatient-Ratios-Could-Save-Thousands-of-Lives-Annually-Says-Study.
doctor nursing program

Understanding the DNP degree

For years, doctorally prepared nurses have focused on issues that help define nursing as a profession. In contrast, nurses involved in direct patient care have dealt consistently with inadequate staffing, high nurse-patient…

Understanding the DNP degree Selected References

American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Discussion paper: Doctor of Nursing Practice. Washington, DC: Author; 2006. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. AACN position statement on the Practice Doctorate…

Voluntary recall of metronidazole

Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has issued a voluntary recall of metronidazole injection, USP 500 mg/100 mL because of nonsterility found in two lots of the antimicrobial. Read more at…

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