‘Uniformity’ in nursing: It’s about time…again.
Read Donna Cardillo’s June blog here.
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“Meeting Mondays” boosts staff nurses’ committee participation
Designating one day a month for meetings increased frontline nurses’ involvement in committees and councils.
A multifaceted gem
Through poetry, Susan Wilcox Stelton, MSN, APRN-BC, CWOCN, reflects on the many facets of nursing.
A new patient-acuity tool promotes equitable nurse-patient assignments
When a 2 acuity rating isn’t truly a 2
A North Dakota nurse makes photography her second calling
Becky Graner’s photographs capture nature in all its facets – fierce, serene, or on the cusp of extinction.
A nursing journey: Design, autonomy, and accountability
Maritza A. Lara, MS, RN, PHN, recipient of the Jeannine Rivet National Leadership Award in 2021, immigrated to the United…
A textile tribute to the ideals and icons of nursing
Rita Bergevin, MA, RN, BC, created a banner that depicts both the gentleness and tenacity embodied by our nursing pioneers.
A world of caring nurses
A photographic celebration of nurses around the world
A Year of Gifts
Our editor-in-chief reviews important accomplishments in the past year and presents a nursing "wish list".
Are extended work hours worth the risk?
Today, 75% of hospital nurses work 12-hour shifts. But studies
show a link between nurse fatigue and preventable medical errors.
Associate degree nurses shifting to long-term care
According to a study in Nursing Economics, many nurses with associate degrees who would have otherwise been employed in hospitals…
Baby boom: More photos from the NICU
Editor’s note: Our May 2008 “American Nurse, American Talent” department featured newborn photographs taken by Cheryl Briggs. They were so…
Baby pictures: Preserving precious moments in the NICU
For one nurse, taking pictures of preemies develops into an art form.
Battlefield nursing at the Boston Marathon
Three yellow balloons danced through the air, hovering over the finish line after being released by the bomb blast that…
Behind the curtain: Creating an in situ simulation experience
Go "behind the curtain" to learn how simulation is being used to prepare hospital-based nurses for urgent situations.
Being a nurse, but also a daughter or son to our aging parents
Nurses come to the profession to provide care for individuals and, in some cases, populations. It is what we do…
Biosimilars: An alternative to biologics
Biosimilars may help lower drug costs for patients. Takeaways: Biologics and biosimilars are classes of drugs used to treat many…
Boston Globe story highlights nurses who cared for suspected terrorist
“For bombing suspect’s nurses, angst gave way to duty,” published in the Boston Globe, highlights nurses’ emotional response to caring…
Building a compelling business case for nursing and quality indicators
The author outlines how to make a business case for clinical quality measures, including how to use NDNQI data to substantiate your position.
Building a sense of community on nursing units
Jeff Rawson, a new nurse graduate, works on a behavioral health unit. His manager believes his transition is going well—until…
Care during crisis
ANA brings nurses, experts together to shape practice policy during disasters
Care without gaps
ANA, nurses nationwide work to improve transitions in care Mary Maryland, PhD, APRN,BC, ANP, has had to rely on good…
Caring for my best friend
Like many of my colleagues, I became a nurse because of my desire to help people. I wanted to relieve…
Celebrating the art and science of nursing
The day before undergoing lifesaving, high-risk surgery, a young woman sat with her fiancé by her side. The charge nurse,…
Challenging nursing’s sacred cows
Do you routinely instill normal saline solution into endotracheal tubes before suctioning? Use only the Glasgow Coma Scale for neurologic assessment? Evidence on these and other sacred cows of nursing practice might surprise you.
Characteristics of nursing excellence
What’s behind Magnet®-recognized organizations? By Lillee Gelinas, MSN, RN, CPPS, FAAN I’ve learned a lot through the years about the characteristics…
Charge Nurse University: Preparing future nurse leaders
A leadership development program helps staff nurses with high leadership potential become the hospital’s next nurse leaders.
Collaborating on technology: A learning exchange between U.S. and U.K. nurses
An immersion study found that shared governance helps healthcare organizations keep up with technology.
Creating more than just a journal club
How to create an innovative journal club – and keep it going.
Dangers of the 12-hour shift
Rose Sherman has a thoughtful blog on nursing’s “third rail”—the 12-hour shift. In the blog, she notes that although nurses…
During an emergency: Be safe!
Thousands of accidental chemical spills and leaks take place in this country each year. Providing nurses with adequate first-receiver training can help ensure that we can care for contaminated patients without endangering ourselves.
Effective peer reviews in 3 easy steps
Most well-respected journals are peer reviewed, although controversy exists as to its true value. The International Committee of Medical Journal…
Ensuring quality and saving time
The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators® tracks the care nurses provide, helping to improve nursing practice, patient outcomes, and the work environment.
Ethics and global health outreach programs
Plan ahead to ensure a successful and respectful experience. Takeaways: Embarking on a global health trip includes both logistical and…
Eye of the beholder: Grand rounds at the museum
“What do you see in his eyes?” asks Dr. Rothenberg. After a brief pause, someone replies, “He looks sad.” Another…
Florence Nightingale: Moments of interface between past and present
During a recent clinical orientation with a group of about 170 nursing students, I projected a slide bearing a well-known…
From our readers: Do we really know who our patients are?
Both nurse leaders and educators need to teach and model not only day-to-day nursing skills but the importance of connecting…
From our readers: Harp song — A journey to remember and embrace the heart of nursing
“The aim of all spiritual paths, no matter their origin or the rigors of their practice, is to help us…
From our readers: How a ‘45-year-old STEMI’ showed me the human side of nursing
I worked as an emergency medical technician-paramedic for almost 8 years in a rural area before I became a registered…
From our readers: My first code—A retrospective report of a premature promotion and a crisis situation
The elevator’s walls were covered in bronze and silver raised metal squares that gave the appearance of a magic eye…
From our readers: One nurse’s journey into patienthood
As I lay on the table staring up at the ceiling tiles and waited for my biopsy to begin, I…
From our readers: Pack your bags: Preparing for a global health nursing experience
A nurse with overseas volunteer experience gives advice to those who want to follow in his footsteps.
From our readers: The making of a newsletter
When I was working as an ICU nurse on the evening shift, I could tell you what was happening on…
From our readers: Using theater improvisational games to enhance interpersonal skills in nurses
Learn how to "play the game" to help nurses and students build skills.
From our readers: What it means to be a nurse
A nurse shares her meaning of nursing.
From our readers…A cycle of caring
It began a long time ago A woman walks through the dark room, with just a candle to light her…
From our readers…Hourly rounding benefits patients and staff
Studies have shown hourly rounding decreases call light usage and unit noise levels, increases patient satisfaction, and reduces falls. Some…
From our readers…Hunger advocacy for nurses
Since the mid-1990s, the number of hungry people worldwide has been steadily increasing. Currently about 925 million people worldwide are…
From our readers…Lights, camera, action—and don’t giggle!
The author shares the rewards of creating a video about what telephone triage nurses do.
From our readers…Value all your skills
Anyone who’s been a nurse for more than 10 years will agree with me: you can make big leaps from…
From your ANA President
Helping nurses strengthen their delegation skills
From Your ANA President
No matter how long we’ve been in practice, we can all remember our nursing school experience. Giving our first injection,…
From Your ANA President
ANA plans to grow stronger by staying ahead of the curve.
Frontiers of nursing education
As student needs and priorities shift, education adapts. By Janet Boivin, BSN, RN In less than half a century, nursing…
Gifts that keep on giving
December turns our hearts and minds to the holiday season. We juggle work time and family demands to prepare for…
Go ahead, make my day
A Nurses’ Week reminder to recognize nurses every day.
Good intentions eclipsed
Leah Curtin discusses how negative effects of work on work/life balance and mandatory overtime affect patient care.
Grace under fire: Surviving and thriving in nursing by cultivating resilience
Resilience can be an asset to you in your career.
Headlines from the Hill
Be the change
Headlines from the Hill
Find out what has been accomplished during the 112th Congress and what healthcare professionals stand to lose if our country goes over the "fiscal cliff."
Health, safety, & wellness
Putting knowledge into practice on the path to healthy aging
Health, safety, & wellness
By promoting and consuming nutritious foods, nurses can improve their own and their patients’ health.
Health, safety, & wellness
Nursing is a rewarding profession based on caring, giving, helping, and educating. It involves caring for others, from beautiful newborns…
High-flow nasal cannulas: Risks and benefits in response to COVID-19
Nurses need to understand the nuances of this therapy. Takeaways Nurses should know the risks, benefits, and controversy surrounding high-flow…
Hospice nursing: A slower pace of care
It had never occurred to me before, but it makes perfect sense—hospice care moves at a slower pace than typical…
How do you improve pharmacist and nurse communication?
By Julie Cullen, Managing Editor, American Nurse Today I thought the best way to answer that question would be to…
How do you look?
Recently, I rushed to the emergency department (ED) at my local hospital to meet a relative who’d been taken there…
How innovation and design thinking can improve care
Empathy and collaboration create opportunities to help vulnerable populations. Takeaways: Design thinking is a problem-solving tool driven by the needs…
How one hospital helps staff nurses pay for advanced academic degrees
An innovative funding program is helping to create a highly educated nursing workforce.
How to comment on government regulations
You can get directly involved in developing public health policy by submitting your comments on proposed government regulations to federal departments and agencies.
How to make the most of your nursing minutes
Feel like you’re running in place sometimes? Heed advice of the author of this article.
Imposter syndrome: When you feel like you’re faking it
Colleen Jackson recently was promoted to a clinical manager position on her unit. At first, she was thrilled with the…
In good company: Perspectives on sitting with patients
A quick Google search for “patient sitter jobs” yields 47 million results. A similar search for “registered nurse jobs” produces…
In praise of nursing residency programs
The author explains how a residency can take the nurse beyond
doing nursing to being a nurse in the fullest sense.
Independent NP practice in retail clinics saves money
According to a study in Health Affairs, the cost per episode treated by nurse practitioners (NPs) in retail clinics was…
Interprofessional collaboration made easy
Strategies for improving results. Takeaways: Interprofessional collaboration can be added to bedside rounding and other existing teams. Patient engagement and…
Interwoven art of understanding
Communicating with crochet.
Introducing the new voice of nurses
Welcome to the premier issue of American Nurse Today—the official journal of the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the new…
Investigating nurses’ dressing change techniques
Original nursing research explores nurses’ rationales for using sterile technique instead of clean technique in particular circumstances – and reveals wide practice discrepencies.
Is hospice care a two-way street?
As a non-nurse, my perception of why nurses decide to work in hospice care centers around patients and families—relieving pain,…
Is nursing a profession or a job?
Click here to read Is nursing a profession or a job? from our guest blogger, Donna Cardillo, MA, RN.
Is nursing a stigmatizing label that needs to go?
Read the perspective of a “nonnurse”.
Is the school nurse in?
ANA promotes strategies to help meet students’ health and safety needs.
Issues up close
What’s your health risk? Find out with ANA’s new online assessment tools.
Issues up close
Genomic science has crossed the horizon of health care into our everyday lives, transforming our understanding of health and illness.…
It was called medicine: Now it’s called nursing
In the beginning, there was a single entity called “medicine” and everything health care–related was medicine. Then there were wars;…
Kangaroo care: Making the leap to an evidence-based practice
The authors explain how they used an evidence-based practice model to establish a new nursing practice – kangaroo care for healthy newborns.
Leadership insights
The American Nurses Association (ANA) Leadership Institute is designed to enhance leadership knowledge and professional skills to prepare nurses for…
Leading at the bedside and beyond
A typical definition for a leader is one who has the ability to influence. Florence Nightingale, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin…
Mentorship programs and novice nursing faculty
Caring, supportive mentors can help ease faculty shortage. Takeaways: Mentoring is one strategy to help solve nursing faculty shortages. Good…
Money can’t buy happiness
Money might buy a brief thrill, but not long-term happiness.
National Priorities Partnership explores nursing’s contributions to healthcare transformation
Seeking to address major healthcare challenges, the National Priorities Partnership recognizes the many contributions nurses are making to advance its goals and transform health care. This article details the steps needed to optimize nursing’s contributions in specific areas.
Neonatal nurses: Providing care at the beginning of life
About 400,000 low-birth-weight infants are born in this country every year. Their survival rates have been improving steadily, thanks to…
New film spotlights nurses
“NURSES: If Florence Could See Us Now” is a new documentary that showcases the challenging and diverse world of nursing.…
Nine principles of successful nursing leadership
There is an extraordinary quality of spirit that prompts one to aspire to lead. These nine principles will help you…
Nurising’s contribution to patient care
Editor’s note: This month’s column is cowritten by Rebecca Patton and Margarete L. Zalon, President of the American Nurses Foundation.…
Nurse practitioners should be eligible to serve as “medical homes” for primary care
Nurse practitioners should be eligible to serve as “medical homes” for primary care By Eileen Shannon Carlson, JD, RN Congress…
Nurse voices are needed now more than ever
Nurses can help retool our healthcare system by telling government leaders what they need to know.
Nurses are driving quality in all care settings
Improving the processes of care promotes better quality.
Nurses caring and sharing
From the U.S. to Uganda, in sleek American hospitals and makeshift Afghan clinics, nurses give of themselves to transform lives. Compelled by a deep passion to aid people in need, nurses help sustain human dignity and humanity through their caring presence and heart-to-heart sharing.
Nurses on the front lines during pandemics
An annotated bibliography. Editor’s note: This article has undergone peer review. Key Points Infectious disease outbreaks are an emerging global…
Nurses speak up about climate change
By Julie Cullen, Managing Editor, American Nurse Today The past few days have seen a lot of news coverage of…
Nurses’ crucial role in preventing and documenting conditions not present on admission
Medicare has reduced its reimbursement for hospital-acquired conditions. Will some hospitals try to offset the shortfall by slashing nurse staffing?
Nursing – today and beyond
Nursing is in the midst of revolutionary changes. How are these changes affecting the profession today—and how are they likely…
Nursing ethics for the 21st century
In August 2014, ANA participated as a strategic partner with 50 nursing leaders who came together in Baltimore for a…
Nursing quality: Strength in numbers
"In God we trust. All others must bring data." The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators® (NDNQI®) collects data that can improve the quality of care.
Nursing’s ethical commitment to effective patient communication
Nurses need more than solid technical skills to provide ethical care. A recent AMA Ethical Force Program report casts a spotlight on effective patient communication as an essential component of care. This article points out parallels between the AMA report and the ANA’s Code of Ethics.
Nursing’s quality crosswalk
To promote optimal patient outcomes, ANA’s National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators identifies crucial nursing and patient care efforts that affect patient outcomes and safety.
Nursing’s memes: Ideas that mold the profession
We need to pay attention to the memes that are catching and spreading within our profession.
On the record with Pamela Cipriano, Editor-in-Chief
Terry Ratnre, RN, MFA, asks American Nurse Today Editor-in-Chief Pamela Cipriano to weigh in on some of the most pressing issues in nursing.
Our journey along the Pathway to Excellence®
A rural community hospital shares its story of designation and re-designation. Takeaways: Pathway to Excellence® is an evolving process that…
Passion – the ultimate motivator
I didn’t grow up wanting to be a nurse. No one in my family had any occupational connection with healthcare.…
Patient-centeredness as algorithm
Patient-centeredness is a process that must be owned by all, from top to bottom.
Perioperative nurses: Keeping surgical patients safe
Perioperative nurses work on the front line caring for patients undergoing operative and other invasive procedures. They collaborate with patients,…
PhD vs DNP
Takeaways: The doctor of nursing practice (DNP) is a terminal degree designed to prepare experts in nursing practice. The doctor…
Physician supports APRNs in Atlantic article
John Rowe, a physician who is professor in the department of health policy and management at the Columbia University Mailman…
Picture perfect
Help build a pictorial legacy of nursing.
Piquing new nurses’ interest in gerontologic nursing
It’s no surprise to nurses who choose to work with older adults that many of their current or future colleagues…
Powering policy with nurse expertise
Jeri Milstead is inducted into the ANA Hall of Fame. Jeri Milstead, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, has built her legacy…
Puzzling over family presence: Word search at the bedside
The patient’s family makes an initial judgment about a nurse within 60 seconds—so your first words are crucial. Find out how to make every second count.
Pyelonephritis
Early identification results in a positive outcome. Candance Walker* is a 28-year-old woman who arrives in a wheelchair in the…
Q&A with David Westman, Executive Director of the Emergency Nurses Association
What is the Emergency Nurses Association? The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), an ANA organizational affiliate, is devoted to safe practice…
Q&A with the Executive Director of AWHONN
In May, we celebrate Nurses’ Week, Women’s Health Week, and Mother’s Day. In the spirit of these celebrations, we asked…
Questioning common nursing practices: What does the evidence show?
To improve patient outcomes, nurses need to challenge practice traditions.
Reflections on the heart of nursing
In 1995, I toured the Florence Nightingale Museum in London. On the walls were letters that chronicled a lifetime of…
Sacred cow round-up
Evidence-based nursing practice obliges us to embrace innovation and let go of our sacred cows.
Safe staffing saves lives
ANA’s “Safe Staffing Saves Lives” campaign fights for safe nurse staffing legislation.
Say it isn’t so: Eradicating the fear of retaliation
Many patients are too intimidated to ask a healthcare provider about their care, fearing retaliation if they’re seen as confrontational or complaining.
Scope and standards-of-practice documents: Guiding you to leadership success
Starting a new job in a new specialty can be a daunting experience. I recently transitioned to a new role…
Senior care: Are we prepared for the impending healthcare crisis?
Ready or not, we’re on the brink of a senior healthcare crisis.
Shaving as a metaphor for nursing
Over the course of history, people have used metaphors to explain, contrive, reflect, and refute human phenomena. Health care (and…
So you want to be an emergency nurse?
How to get going in this exciting specialty.
Speak to be heard: Effective nurse advocacy
Learn how to be a more effective advocate.
Staffing though Web-based open-shift bidding
If you’re a nurse-manager who continually struggles to fill open shifts, find out how online shift-bidding technology can boost staffing efficiency, decrease costs, and enhance nurses’ satisfaction and retention.
Structural empowerment and the Magnet® Model: A perfect fit
Nursing literature abounds with descriptive and predictive studies of structural empowerment and its relationship to nurses’ trust, commitment, control over…
Study: Supplemental nurses compared to permanent nurses
Supplemental nurses and permanent nurses share similar education levels, but supplemental nurses are slightly less experienced, more racially and ethnically…
Survey: Nurses Spend 53% of Shift on Tasks Besides Patient Care
Survey: Nurses Spend 53% of Shift on Tasks Besides Patient Care
SWAT nursing: A unique specialty
What does SWAT stand for? So Where Are They? Smart, Witty, and Talented? Smiling, Willing, Able, Technical? (more…)
Synchronicity: Meeting Mother Teresa
In 1981, I attended the International Conference of Nurses meeting in Los Angeles. I took this opportunity to visit a…
Taking the first steps to serving on a board
Nurses have a singular perspective on patient care and community health. With our training and experience, we can inform and…
Talent-management strategies: Bridging the multigenerational gap in nursing
In today’s dynamic nursing environment, we are seeing four generations, creating a remarkable “cross-pollination” of RNs from across the Traditionalist…
Tap your way to fast relief
Want to reduce physical and psychological stress? Emotional Freedom Techniques may be able to help.
Technology, transformation, and the nursing workforce
Nursing informatics professionals are ready to lead the transformation to a technology-enabled healthcare environment.
Television show highlights 1950s nurse midwives
“Call the Midwife,” a television show on PBS, shows nurse midwives as positive influences in 1950s London. The show is…
Telling nursing’s stories: Reality or fiction?
“You’re going to do what?” my colleagues asked when I told them I planned to quit my job to write…
The caring-quilting connection
Even if you’re not a quilt connoisseur, you’re sure to appreciate the beauty and handiwork of this nurse’s quilt. Its creator sees profound parallels between quilting and nursing.
The Choluteca bridge: What’s wrong with this picture?
Have you ever heard of the Choluteca Bridge in Honduras? Designed to withstand even the strongest hurricane, it survived Hurricane…
The essence of nursing
In health care today, technological advances grab headlines while clinicians’ documentation duties mount almost daily. Is basic nursing care receding…
The frontlines of patient care: How one nurse showed appreciation for Nina Pham
Amy Duncan, RN, is an ED and neonatal ICU nurse at Trinity Mother Frances Health System in Tyler, TX. When…
The importance of being unreasonable
Nurses, on the whole, are a darn nice group of people. After all, nurses have a reputation for being caring,…
The Maslow effect: A humanist legacy for nursing
In the late 1960s, psychologist Abraham Maslow was moved by the kindness of the nurses and nursing students he encountered…
The Nurse Executive’s Coaching Manual
With the incredibly changing and challenging environment of health care, today’s nurse leaders are required more than ever to consistently think about developing others and sustaining a committed and engaged workforce.
Therapeutic storytelling in nursing practice
Storytelling is a useful way to promote holistic care. The next time your patient shows poor coping ability, you might want to ask him to tell a story about what he’s experiencing.
This sculptor creates with surgiucal drill and diamond burrs
Meet pediatric nurse Anthony Walker who expresses himself in wonderful sculptures.
Trust me. I’m a nurse
Reconciling trust, ethics, and caring. Takeaways: For 17 consecutive years, nurses have received the highest rating in the Gallup honesty…
Viewpoint: Industry, influence, and nursing
Use your critical-thinking skills to assess industry-funded research. (more…)
WEB EXCLUSIVE! Cardiovascular nursing: Dynamic and in demand
February is Cardiovascular Professionals Month. To mark the occasion, American Nurse Today asked Joanna D. Sikkema, MSN, ANP, President of…
What every nurse should know about hemophilia
Learn about the causes of this disorder, current treatments, and important nursing considerations.
What new nurses like
According to a Nursing Research and Practice study of 1,152 newly registered nurses, what they like best about nursing can…
What to expect from correctional nursing
Takeaways: Correctional nursing is a growing specialty that’s evolving to meet the needs of incarcerated populations in a variety of…
When nurses precept students: Views from both sides of the equation
The author highlights differing viewpoints of the precepting experience.
When nurses speak up, they pay a price
Leah Curtin discusses the effects of whistleblowing on nurses’ lives
Why making the rounds makes sense
Nursing rounds are making a comeback – but this time, they’re based on research and structured for maximum efficiency.
Why must I make a service commitment?
During my senior year of nursing school, I tried to do everything right to prepare for my first nursing job.…
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