InsightsBlog

‘Tis the season

Here it is, another holiday season is upon us. One can feel it in the air. The colored lights on the houses, the decorated trees in the stores,…

15th time’s a charm!

The December 2016 Gallop Poll announced that once again, nurses were rated the highest for honesty and ethics among professions for the 15th straight year! As we graciously…

A better way to secure Jackson-Pratt drains

Yearly, millions of women and men in the United States return home from the hospital, with one or more drains inserted in the surgical site. The drains are…
A congress of baboons

A congress of baboons?

 Yesterday, I received one of those chain e-mails that seem to touch on the truth and strike the funny bone

A curmudgeon guide to healthcare reform

Curmudgeons’ reputation for malevolence is undeserved. They’re neither warped nor evil at heart. They don’t hate mankind—just mankind’s absurdities. What follows is a curmudgeon’s response to the various…

A day in the life of a med-surg nurse

What is a 12-hour shift like for a registered nurse on a medical-surgical floor? I’ll break it down for you. Imagine you’re working at a restaurant and you…

A lesson learned from an unlikely source

As I recall one of my first experiences as a safe patient handling (SPH) consultant, I’m reminded of an unlikely department that introduced me to workplace injury prevention…

A new twist on diaries in the hospital setting

Patient diaries during and after hospitalization have been used to facilitate coping of both patients and family members. Patient diaries during hospitalization include comments and descriptions about the…

A nurse’s plea to the people

It’s a sunny spring day in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city. It is a city, country I have grown to love and call my second home. I moved…
roe vs. wade

A whole lot better than good enough!

Progressives are bent out of shape because the newest version of healthcare reform from the House, unveiled on Thursday, doesn’t go far enough because the public option has…

A wound care patient

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from the book Nursing Is Caring, by Beverly Wheeler, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, clinical assistant professor in the school of nursing at the…

Adapting leads to outcomes

In our efforts to bring about effective change to our workplace processes, too often we overlook ourselves as the reason why our initiatives sometimes fail to progress at…

Addressing the nurse faculty shortage

Every year across the United States, qualified nursing student applicants are turned away from entering nursing programs secondary to the nursing faculty shortage, and lack of educational space…

American Nurse Today Wins Two ASHPE Award

American Nurse Today, the official journal of the American Nurses Association (ANA), today announced that its June 2009 cover, Autism Today, has been named “Best Cover” by the…

AN ABUSE OF PATIENT TRUST

Stating that the hours residents work is “an abuse of patient trust,” patient safety expert Lucian Leape has attacked the new limits on first-year residents’ shifts set by…

An issue nurses can’t avoid

I am sure each of us has our own opinion about insurance coverage for contraception and abortion. And as health professionals, many of us undoubtedly will be dealing…

And now we go to debate

The Senate made history Saturday evening at 8 PM, November 21, 2009. It voted to open debate on H.R. 3590, its $848 billion healthcare reform bill.

Angels don’t always have wings

Angels are generally thought of as having wings and appear quietly, but on October 1, 2017, hundreds of angels descended on Las Vegas wearing scrubs amidst noisy chaos.…

Are 12 hour shifts safe?

12-hour shifts have become the norm in hospitals and most nurses love them. One can work 3 days and have 4 days off, there is one less major…

Art: A healing tool for nurses

Art relics have been found in remains of the earliest human civilizations—from the paintings in caves, carved stones, and clay figures, to jewelry made of beads, metals, and…

Attitude is everything

Growing up I heard a lot about the importance of a good attitude and a strong work ethic. As a father I am passing down those life lessons…

Be prepared for anything

Hurry up and wait. It’s the expression used in the emergency department (ED) to explain the frustration patients experience waiting anxiously for results. It’s the same expression used…

Bioidentical Hormones And Compounding Drug Deaths

The current tragic situation regarding contaminated compounded steroid injections causing stroke and death should alert women to the danger of using mass produced compounded bioidentical hormones as a…

Break the cycle: A new nurse’s plea to end bullying

Bullying and incivility remain the norm in nursing today despite efforts to raise awareness. Bullying is cyclical—people who were bullied often perpetuate the cycle by becoming bullies themselves.…

Chock-full of new ideas?

Albert Einstein once said, “The only sure way to avoid making mistakes is to have no new ideas.”

Choosing the right patient-lift equipment

Have you ever been faced with a patient mobility challenge at the point-of-care when your patient had to be moved but moving the patient alone was not within…
fund funding research nursing

Cleveland is backwards on health care reform

On June 22, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released a 142-page draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (BCRA). The measure was drafted in secret over…

Cooling The Hot Flashes

Women are either lucky or unlucky when it comes to the hallmark symptom of the menopause
commitment service graduate

DC Fil-Ams speak out on Trump and immigration

WASHINGTON, DC – What was billed as a briefing by immigration and justice department officials to provide the Filipino community here accurate information on current US immigration policy…

Don’t take out your hankies yet!

It is said that the famous English statesman Benjamin Disraeli countered his opponents’ claim that “Figures do not lie” with, “There are three kinds of lies lies, damned…

Don’t just do it

It’s not enough to motivate people by telling them to “just do it”. Greatness isn’t an accident, and it doesn’t come easy. I love reading and watching motivational…

Donning an identity

Do the clothes nurses wear at work define their identity as a professional? Currently, the traditional white uniform is rarely worn in the clinical setting. For the nurses…

Downtime: The time to nurse

Not long ago, I walked down a hospital corridor of a medical-surgical unit and found all the work stations on wheels (WOWs) flush to one side, with nurses…

Duck or swan?

A conversation with colleagues that addressed cultural challenges and the need for more cultural awareness prompted this blog. Many of us had experienced injustices and situations of apparent…

Everyday tasks as a link to critical thinking

One of the most frustrating hurdles for aspiring nurses is to leap and land on their feet while jumping over the directive of “think like a nurse.” Thinking…

Failure is not an option…or is it?

As a soldier, I arrived in Iraq in February 2004. The trip was exhausting but ended with the most spectacular sunset. It was absolutely breathtaking. The sky was…

Find your unicorn—be your own unicorn

Traditionally, nursing schools use an apprentice model for educating future nurses. The traditional learning system casts student nurses as being rule followers by stewards who are heavily policy…

Finding healing through compassion fatigue

When I joined the nursing profession, I never imagined sharing my most vulnerable thoughts and emotions as a nurse and a human just a few years into my…

First-day jitters

Thoughts crash in my mind, like a storm brewing in an endless sea of desolation fueled by anxiety and fear. It’s my first day on my own as…

Focusing on Safe Patient Handling 2017-2018

As we ended 2017, I reflected on some of the feedback I’ve received from the blogs that I wrote during the year. Most people’s comments have been very…

Get over it!

Okay, so you are angry about the shameless slicing and dicing of healthcare reform legislation–angry about the inane so-called debate and the blatant lies and fear mongering; angry…

Gratitude to those who trust us

There is a ritual in medical schools to hold a memorial service to honor those who have donated their bodies or body parts to advance medical education and…

Has the Public Option Been Opted Out?

This weekend radically changed the great health reform debate of 2009. With President Obama abandoning the “public plan” option, many on the left think that all that will…

Health policy in nursing education

“We have to solve the access issues in healthcare. We can’t decrease healthcare disparities if people don’t have access to care…this is a political conversation…we need to have…

Healthcare reform act: Who gets paid how for what

As healthcare providers (including physicians and advanced practice nurses [APNs]) evaluate healthcare reform’s various payment options, they need to assess the impact these changes will make on who…

Helping hands of nurses

In the Army I learned what it meant to never give up as well as what it meant to succeed. I quickly mastered my mind and body to…

Here we go again!

 Few things make people grouchier than change, which may well explain why so many people working in healthcare delivery today are so crabby. Just ask any patient. Change…

How long has it been going on

My husband, our Miniature Poodle Sunny, and I are very fortunate to live on a quiet street with friendly neighbors. The age-group of the families who live here…

How to be well

What is good health? The absence of disease? What is wellness? The ability to function optimally? These are some of the things I am going to discuss in…

Hurricane Harvey: Nurse on the Frontlines

Jennifer Gentry, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, is the chief nursing officer at CHRISTUS Spohn Hospitals Corpus Christi–Shoreline & Memorial in Corpus Christi, Texas. She’s also a member of the…

I could never do that job

This picture is just a small example of what also happens in a pediatric hospital. My child’s three year battle with infantile leukemia created a unique circumstance introducing…

I dreamed a dream

Ten years ago, an eccentric individual stepped on the stage of Britain’s Got Talent to chase a dream of being a professional singer. She didn’t look the part,…
The nursing profession’s potential impact on policy and politics

I’ll bill you

Mrs. Anderson is a well-spoken, poised black woman with a flawless face. She is surrounded by silk-encased pillows and is wearing a tasteful dressing grown with a coordinating…

I’m Not Hungry!

Is it one of life’s little tricks that ultimately places you at the table with a beloved parent who is barely touching – or consuming – their food?

ICU delirium by proxy

In the intensive care unit (ICU), patients and families learn coping mechanisms to deal with stressful events and potential changes in their lives; however, the length of stay…

Improving practice to reduce falls in the nursing home

Falls, typical incidents among older adults in the nursing home, are associated with debility, functional impairment, and mortality. Falls resulting in injury and medical complication have proven to…

Improving the use of patient-lift devices

As mentioned in last month’s blog, which discussed importance of equipment selections, I stated a few points to consider before making patient-lift equipment purchases. This month I plan…

Is Menopause Bad For Your Health?

Here is a promised summary of what really can happen to the body as a result of menopause. This comes from the established scientific literature; so do not…
Is nursing a profession or a job?

Is nursing a profession or a job?

February’s guest, Donna Cardillo, MA, RN looks into Nursing as a profession and not just a job. I recently read an article on the web where the nurse…

It is time to be presidential

At his news conference on Wednesday, President Obama at least gave lip service to bipartisanship and compromise.

Keeping it simple

Given the fast pace of nursing work environments, implementing innovative ideas or processes in clinical settings can be challenging. This is especially true if the worker perceives that…

Launching yourself in nursing leadership

Editor’s note: At American Nurse Today, we believe every nurse can be a leader. This article is the first in what will be occasional guest blogs by Rose…

Leading innovation

In April of 2019, I had the privilege of attending the ANA Quality and Innovation Conference where Inspiren, the healthcare technology company I co-founded with fellow nurse, Michael…

LESBIANS AND MENOPAUSE

About 5% of women will have their primary emotional and sexual relationship with other women.

Leveraging nursing’s many opportunities

In this second decade of the 21st century, the nursing profession is in the midst of a period of expansive growth with the emergence of numerous gains and…

Life Is A Journey

Three and a half years ago a tremendous change occurred in my life. While at the shore, I collapsed with a massive brain hemorrhage. I went from enjoying…

Making Retirement Fulfilling

Retirement can be difficult for men and women for a number of reasons. Many believe that their self worth is directly related to their career. Then upon retirement…

Mass shootings, mental health, and nursing

The day after the horrific mass shooting incident at Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, I began my undergraduate nursing lecture with a piece on mass shootings. I…

Medication Madness

The combined number of pill bottles on my parents’ nightstand totaled 28 when laid end to end. That did not include any repeats – but represented the sum…

Medication with food: What does it really mean?

As nurses, at some point you may have provided discharge instructions or outpatient instructions to a patient that “this medication must be taken with food.” However, does the…

Meds Questions? Just Ask!

If you have ever had occasion to find yourself in the hospital for any length of time, chances are a pharmacist reviewed the medications you were taking at…
outfit nurse clothes attire work

Men won’t take ‘female’ jobs, Why?

Wives are partly to blame for the fact that men won’t take ‘female’ jobs, professor says. These days, jobs are plentiful, but good jobs — the ones that…

Mental illness and addiction

If you have a mental illness, you may be at greater risk for both substance abuse and addiction. If you have an addiction problem, you may be putting…

Mentorship through positive relationships

Mentorship is an important concept for new nurses, as they work to navigate the profession and learn needed skills for success in their new role. The nurse role…

Mindful speaking

As nurses we deliver crucial care to patients. We help to support families in times of distress, welcome new life into the world, and help provide care at…

More than just machines

Over the past couple of years, I’ve written a lot about the various parts and pieces that make up safe patient handling (SPH) programs. If you’ve followed my…

MY OBJECTIVES AND WHO I AM

Often referred to as the “godfather of menopause”, Wulf Utian, a reproductive endocrinologist and gynecologist, started the world’s first center dedicated to menopause research in Cape Town, South…

Myths about being a new nurse

During my 8 years as an RN, I’ve had the opportunity to precept several nurses and student nurses. After the students graduate and start their careers, I continue…

Noncompliance or healthcare illiteracy?

The health care industry is focused on reducing costs and improving performance to maximize reimbursement. Inherent in the success of this is patient education and assumption of responsibility…
The nursing profession’s potential impact on policy and politics

Not ‘just a nurse’

It’s just another day for just another nurse as I make my way through the busy corridors of this sprawling facility. The hallways are bustling with activity as…

Nurses: It’s time to march!

While many professions may look back at their inception and theories in awe at how vastly they differ from present day, one could easily argue to the contrary…

Nursing’s Future

Quite some time ago, I uploaded a photograph of myself for the Johnson & Johnson’s Campaign for Nursing’s Future Mosiac. 

Once more unto the breach

  In Shakespeare’s Henry V (act III, scene I), King Henry, faced with overwhelming force, urges his soldiers forward

Only You Know What Is Right For You

Sometimes you have to take charge of your health problem. For example, I was once diagnosed with a rotator cuff problem and the orthopedic surgeon wanted to operate.…

PART 4 – OSTEOPOROSIS, THE SILENT EPIDEMIC

 The direct relationship between failing ovarian function and an increase in bone loss and fractures was one of the earliest observations in the history of the science of…

PART 6 – VISION

How frequently do you think eye conditions are discussed during menopause-related consultations

Pathway to innovation

Imagine you’ve been trying to get a child to sleep for the past 2 hours. You have tried many strategies, but there also were many things that prevented…

Patience: An antidote to despair

Some say having patience is a good thing. Ambrose Bierce defined patience as “a minor form of despair disguised as a virtue”. I take the middle ground, believing…

Patient advocacy: Sooner better than later

This patient could be us, our family, or other people we love. Vulnerable, scared, helpless. Do we listen to our patients? How can we support them and their…

Premium Hikes Resuscitate the Public Option?

As the public option faded—and was declared dead by most—the phenomenon of insurers pricing their policies beyond what consumers can afford took off like a jet!

Protect your nursing license

Upon graduation, nurses are expected to uphold professional standards, guidelines, and principles from the American Nurses Association (ANA). It’s paramount for nurses to understand how important it is…

Psychiatric needs of children in foster care

Our foster care system is in dire straits. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, in the United States alone, over 400,000 children are currently in…

Ready…set…code

As the clock slowly pushed toward three o’clock, motionless hands grinding the gears that perpetuate the workday stood as a moribund reminder of each still moment. Like the…

Remember the psych patient care tech

First let me say, I’m not a published author or blogger of articles for nurses, nor am I your typical administrative type. I like to say I speak…

Rescuing nursing theory

I recently spent one summer working as a clinical instructor in a course that required 12-hour experiences on a very busy inpatient floor. As any clinical instructor, student,…

Resolutions

This time of the year is a busy time in the gym as most Americans find themselves replete with goals for the new year—mostly recycled from last year’s…

Revitalizing the Vagina

If only everything else in the body was so simple to treat as the vagina. Despite this good news, just too many women remain ignorant about the options…

Role of young nurse leaders in ending bullying

Food for thought: Rather than dining on our young, how might we—the next generation of nurse leaders—model positive professional behaviors and help to end the hazing, the bullying,…

Safe patient handling demonstrates professional practice

Many hospitals strive to achieve Magnet® designation to highlight the clinical accomplishments achieved within their organizations. One evidenced-based practice that can be used to demonstrate what Magnet considers…

Safe patient handling: The process program

Although safe patient handling (SPH) programs are designed to reduce employee injuries related to manual patient lifting and repositioning, many programs are limited to being marginally effective at…

SEXUAL PROBLEMS AROUND MENOPAUSE

Human sexual behavior has come under the eye of medical scientists, and nowadays sex-related problems get diagnosed into specific categories.

Shall we Privatize Medicare?

<p>At the point, I simply do not know what to say about the budget debate – but this much is certain it’s not about money so much as…

Sharing your humanity as a nurse

Note: This blog is based on a keynote address that the author gave to the graduating nursing class at William Paterson University. As much as you feel joy…

She Did It!

My mother has been in her new home for just over a year. She was among the first residents of a brand new assisted living facility, just a…

Standardization creates limitations

In today’s nursing practice, varying opinions about how to best implement safe patient handling (SPH) programs exist. Some nurses offer suggestions based on personal experiences, which is both…

Staying current on the basics

Having been a registered nurse for almost 10 years, I’ve been fortunate to have only been a patient for the happy occasions of welcoming my children into the…

Stop bullying in schools and save a life

Seven Bridges Charles was born in 2008 with serious health issues that required 26 subsequent surgeries and required him to wear a colostomy pouch. News reports stated that…

Strategies for effective patient communication

Communication is an exchange of information between two persons—a sender and a receiver. But it doesn’t end there. Feedback is an essential component because it closes the loop…

Stuck in a hospital room? Maybe not

Imagine being stuck in a hospital room day after day, for as many as 21 days, not seeing or experiencing a change of scenery except for a stretcher…

Suffering

Suffering is an ephemeral state. Not physical pain exclusively but also the mental state that accompanies pain of all degrees. Pain is what the person says it is…

Super committee’s failure affects us all

It was difficult to believe Congress could do more to tarnish its already sad, do-nothing reputation. But the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

Supporting the next generation

The greatest impact on who we become as nurses evolves from the transition from nursing school to graduate nurse, a stage of intense vulnerability, uncertainty of expectations, and…

Supreme Court Upholds the Affordable Care Act

The Supreme Court today upheld key provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but there are still many uncertainties for hospital executives. Two key pieces are apparent even…

The 10-Mile, $1000 Ambulance Trip

Last October, I finally faced the fact that my beloved father’s life was ending. He was over 96. He had just suffered several major seizures which hospitalized and…

The catastrophic threat of Clostridium difficile

Clostridium difficile (C. diff) is becoming a common microorganism in the healthcare systems and poses a catastrophic threat to the United States. It costs the healthcare system up…
What’s a rapid triage assessment?

The do’s and don’ts of triage orientation

Three months out of nursing school I was assigned to orient to the triage nurse role in a fast-paced urban emergency department (ED). Patients and their support systems…
What’s a rapid triage assessment?

The down and dirty of triage acuity scales

An unexpected fall from a ladder, a motor vehicle accident, a sudden onset of acute chest pain…these are merely a few of the reasons people find their daily…

The memory of all that

There is no telling when, but they percolate into my head unsummoned, like a musical worm whose melody you cannot shake off. Sometimes it comes when I am…

THE REAL EFFECTS OF MENOPAUSE

In my opening blogs I have hoped that you would accept my observation that the menopause was a critical time in a women’s life cycle

The regurgitated young

The image displayed above depicts an inexperienced, light-hearted, eager nursing student.  I will never forget the day this picture was taken because it was my first clinical experience. Nevertheless,…
The Snugli story

The Snugli story

Ann Moore with baby in Snugli. My journey, post-graduation from the University of Cincinnati took me to New York City where I taught pediatric nursing at Babies Hospital,…

The sound(?) and the fury

A few of my nursing friends and I were headed to Carowinds, an amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a day of fun when I first saw…

THE TRUE EFFECTS OF MENOPAUSE

 In my last blog I promised to explain the impact of menopause-related hormonal changes on body organs and tissues by addressing the critical question –“What really are the…

The vital role of health literacy

Healthcare professionals should know that most, if not all, patients have low health literacy, according to The Joint Commission. The U.S. National Library of Medicine notes that health…

Time: A nurse’s friend or foe?

Seneca the Younger, a Roman philosopher from the first century noted, “It’s not that we have little time, but that we waste a good deal of it.” While…

To complain or not to complain…

It always begins innocently, doesn’t it? “I’m just venting,” you think to yourself. But the more it goes on, the more infectious and toxic it becomes. One complaint…

TRUE EFFECTS OF MENOPAUSE – PART 2 HOT FLASHES

 Hot flashes and night sweats, after menstrual irregularity, are the most common symptoms of menopause, and can be the most disruptive and disabling. I call these vasomotor symptoms…

Understanding moral disagreement

Moral disagreement can be painful and involve deeply held beliefs. This combination may lead to conflict and even more disagreement—as a pebble dropped into a pool of water…

Understanding the “Blue Dog” Democrats

Blue Dog Democrats are dragging their paws…And Blue Dog, Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee, is leading the pack in its “in your face” opposition to Speaker Pelosi’s determination…

Vital importance of immunizations

As a nurse and new mother, there’s one topic that seems to be at the forefront of many conversations. Immunizations. Are you going to immunize? Are you not…

Wake up and smell the opportunities

When someone asked Edward Everett Hale, the first chaplain of the United States Senate, if he prayed for the Senators, he said, “No sir. I look at the…

Warm up to Innovative Cold Weather Workouts

By Caroline Hill When the weather outside feels frightful—your normal outdoor workout routine starts to feel that way as well. Winter poses a lot of extra challenges when…

What could derail healthcare reform

 While I am anything but happy with the Senate’s healthcare reform bill (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), it certainly is better than the status quo. It…

What my students taught me about civility

“Nursing students have a responsibility to model civility and encourage respectful social discourse. Collaborating with faculty and taking a leadership role in co-creating classroom and clinical norms have…

What some people didn’t learn in school

Editor’s Note: Welcome to the first blog from Nancy Brent. As a nurse attorney, Nancy brings a special perspective to the issues facing today’s nurses. 
What’s a rapid triage assessment?

What’s a rapid triage assessment?

Five patients arrive simultaneously into the emergency department (ED) waiting room. Who will you see first? Who will go straight to an ED bed? Who can wait for…

Whats happening on the Hill?

I can’t think of a time when so many people in health care have watched so closely what’s happening on Capital Hill in regard to healthcare services. Here’s…

When it rains, it pours

Murphy’s Law says that if something can go wrong, it will. There is nothing to prepare an individual for the chaos that consumes an emergency department (ED). Education,…

When nurses experience loss

Nursing is a job where exposure to grief and loss may be a frequent occurrence. The nurse is challenged with the difficulty of how to cope while working…

When the culture of compassion fails in nursing

Is it incivility, horizontal violence, bullying, ageism, policy failure or racism? It’s difficult to comprehend the lack of compassion and humanness from one nurse to another. It happened…

Why can’t we get along?

Rarely a day goes by that I don’t receive a question or call about a nurse being the victim of verbal abuse, bullying, or intimidation, or even being physically threatened.…

Working in rhythm

There are two things that I have often thought to be consistent with modern day nursing program’s focus of emphasis: teaching students how to write state boards and…

Working within the parameters

Safe patient handling (SPH) is a much-needed solution to address widespread injuries occurring among nurses performing patient care. Injuries that result from manually lifting human beings often happen…

Working-out or lifting patients

As I prepare for my evening workout at the gym today, it’s more than likely that I will use weights greater than 35 pounds when performing various exercises.…

Your choice but staff’s voice

It’s common for those who see demonstrations of mechanical patient-lift equipment to praise them as excellent tools.But when it comes to using this equipment in clinical practice, do…

Your injury, your fault?

Ok, so let’s be honest, you were injured on your nursing job because you didn’t follow proper procedural techniques right? I mean, you’ve been taught how to lift,…

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