Sharps injury prevention
A look at safety 20 years after legislation passes. (more…)
Innovation at the frontline of nursing
Current healthcare challenges require reinvigorated frontline staff. The American Hospital Association’s 2023 Environmental Scan provides a comprehensive and sobering account of the current workforce crisis, specifically within hospitals. The report highlights the fragility of healthcare workers, which only increased during…
Innovating to meet patient needs
Highlighting the 2020 ANA Innovation Award winners Earlier this year, the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the American Nurses Foundation announced the winners of the 2020 ANA Innovation Awards, powered by BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical…
A nurse’s nudge for a better year, more or less
While visiting a friend of mine in Austria over New Year’s, I noticed a poster-sized handwritten note in German on their refrigerator door; one side was labeled “more,” and the other side, “less.” My friend and his wife explained that…
Pediatric pain management
An individualized, multimodal, and interprofessional approach is key for success. Takeaways: Many pediatric patients experience unnecessary pain because of undertreatment and inadequate pain management after surgery. Barriers to pediatric pain management include inadequate provider orders, insufficient time to provide pain…
A new sense of gratitude
In 2021, giving thanks is different. In November, Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to stop and reflect on the people and events that have made a difference in our lives. However, this year feels different when it comes to expressing…
Job loss and preparing for the future
Seek support, take your time, and plan strategically. Editor’s note: This is the second article in a two-part series on nurse job loss. You can read Part 1 at https://www.myamericannurse.com/unplanned-and-unforeseen-nurse-unemployment. Many nurses never expect to be terminated from their positions,…
RaDonda Vaught sentenced to three years’ supervised probation
Former nurse RaDonda Vaught was sentenced to three years’ supervised probation Friday in a Tennessee court. Back on March 25, Ms. Vaught was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide stemming from the death of a patient at Vanderbilt University Medical…
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and the trajectory of care
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease whose pathophysiology isn’t understood, results in upper and lower motor neuron dysfunction. This neural damage leads to muscular atrophy, spasms, and fasciculations (involuntary muscle contractions).
Reflections on Nightingale in the Year of the Nurse
Nurses continue to build bridges for patients and their families. Takeaways: 2020 is the Year of the Nurse and Midwife. Established by the W.H.O to celebrate nurses’ role in transforming health care throughout the world, the designation also coincides with…
Advocating for protections
Self-care also critical during COVID-19 pandemic. (more…)
Nurse preceptors and new graduate success
By offering support and feedback (including positive reinforcement), preceptors can help reduce new nurses’ anxiety and increase their self-confidence so they can become progressively more independent and successfully adjust to their new role.
Let’s hear it for the boys
Diversity in nursing—including nurses of all genders, races, ethnicities, and backgrounds—ensures empathetic and equitable patient care. Takeaways: Nursing struggles to reach an equitable number of applicants and matriculants across gender and ethnic categories. Men throughout history have played a role…
COVID-19 patients fared worse on ECMO than non-COVID-19 patients: Study
Pneumonia patients with COVID-19 who required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) fared worse than those without COVID-19, according to a study that looked at six years of patient data. After the study, published in the American Journal of Critical Care (AJCC),…
Ethics and personal safety on the frontlines of COVID-19
I’m an emergency department (ED) nurse and worry about becoming critically ill from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite years of pandemic anticipation and months of awareness that a new coronavirus had pandemic potential, the American healthcare system was massively unprepared…
Hospital and skilled nursing facility collaboration reduces infections
IN RESPONSE to healthcare challenges presented by antibiotiresistant infections, increasingly more complex patients, and patient transfers from hospitals into long-term care facilities, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is requiring that all federally supported skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) have…
A system’s Pathway to Excellence® journey
Learn how one organization achieved both designation and redesignation. Takeaways: BayCare Health System set a goal of achieving Pathway to Excellence® designation for all 14 of its acute-care hospitals by the end of 2018. Initial designation of four of BayCare’s…
Seeing Nurse Unseen and why we tell nursing stories
October marks Filipino American History Month. This month, the documentary Nurse Unseen is being screened in major U.S. cities, highlighting Filipino nurses’ ongoing contributions. The film explores the complex history of Filipino nurses in the United States and their experiences…
Changing a culture through Pathway to Excellence®
Increased nurse confidence can result in improved patient outcomes. Takeaways: Direct care nurses drive nursing excellence using Pathway standards Empowering nurses to have a voice in their practice leads to improved patient care quality, staff satisfaction, and staff retention Leadership…
Ethical Issues in Healthcare
High ethical standards are essential in healthcare. Four fundamental principles lay the foundation for healthcare ethics. Autonomy honors patients’ right to make their own decisions. Beneficence helps patients advance their own good. Nonmaleficence does no harm to patients. Justice ensures that patients are treated…