Archive for May, 2009

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Update on Charla Nash, Victim of Chimp Attack

May 18, 2009
Used with permission.

Charla Nash. Used with permission.

I’ve been very moved by the story of Charla Nash since I first heard of her being mauled by her friend’s chimpanzee, and I posted about it here more than a month ago. It’s probably because I’m both a nurse and an animal lover that it has affected me so much. I was relieved to hear that the family does not blame the chimp. Said her brother Michael, “I do not blame Travis. He is an animal that acted as a chimpanzee. Living in a cage is cruel for this animal and amounts to mental torture.” Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

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Comparative Containment: Swine Flu (H1N1) Prompts Japan to Closes 1,000 Schools

May 18, 2009
Photo by elmimmo, via Flickr.

Photo by elmimmo, via Flickr.

The New York Times reports today that, with 121 reported cases of H1N1 virus so far, Japan has taken aggressive measures to contain its spread, closing 1,000 schools and kindergartens. Overreaction, or admirable thoroughness?

“Japan is well known in public health circles for being exceptionally nervous about flu; it has an aging population and a national obsession with cleanliness that makes even Switzerland look messy.

“Masks are common on subways because it is considered rude to lack one if you are sneezing. Before the outbreak began last month, Japan used about 60 percent of the world’s stock of the antiviral drug Tamiflu.”

Posted in H1N1 virus (swine flu) | 1 Comment »

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CDC Guidance on Pregnant Women and H1N1 Virus (Swine Flu)

May 15, 2009
Photo by karindalziel, via Flickr.

Photo by karindalziel, via Flickr.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has posted guidance on managing pregnant women with “confirmed, probable, or suspected” H1N1 influenza A or who have come into close contact with those who might have it. A recent MMWR report documents the course of the illness in three of the 15 cases in pregnant women that were confirmed as of May 12 and notes that, historically, pregnant women seem to be more susceptible to influenza.

 

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And this just in: “WHO Chief Warns Against False Security About Flu“

Posted in H1N1 virus (swine flu) | Leave a Comment »

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Nurses Arrested at Senate Hearing on Health Care Reform

May 14, 2009
Photo courtesy of California Nurses Association.

Photo courtesy of California Nurses Association.

Some nurse activists, along with like-minded physicians, celebrated National Nurses Week by getting arrested at a Senate Finance Committee meeting on health care reform. They were protesting the meeting’s lack of representation for those who support a single-payer health care system.

Why does this matter? We’re hearing a lot lately about related issues like the intensifying debate over cutting health care costs,  but most Americans, including nurses, simply don’t have time to follow the intricacies of health care reform—even if they’re well aware that over 45 million Americans don’t have health insurance and even if (as nurses and as patients) they agree that something needs to be done about this ever-worsening problem. Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in health care reform, nursing perspective | 10 Comments »

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The Psychology of Burn Pain: What Nurses Need to Know

May 13, 2009
The June issue of AJN includes the second part of a two-part article on burn pain (here’s the first part; for the best versions of both parts, click on “article as PDF”). Addressing the psychological component of this pain is key to the patient’s recovery. Below are some tips from Frank Costello, a clinical nurse specialist on a burn unit at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City, who spoke with editor-in-chief Diana Mason. (A podcast of the full interview with Costello can be found here.)

Burnpainscreenshot2

 

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Posted in audio interviews, Diana Mason, editor-in-chief emeritus, pain control | Leave a Comment »

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Give Us A Whirl: Submit Poems and Visual Art to AJN’s Art of Nursing

May 13, 2009
Artist at Work by ms. Tea / Tracy Ducasse, via Flickr.

Artist at Work by ms. Tea / Tracy Ducasse, via Flickr.

First off, here’s some (perhaps) startling news: the work you’ll find in our Art of Nursing department might not be by a nurse or even about nursing, although of course it often is. It will somehow pertain to health or health care, and it will—we heartily believe—be worth the reader’s while. So, whether you’re a nurse or not, if you’re thinking about sending us a poem or visual art, why not give it a whirl? (We’ll also consider very short fiction—950 words or less.) As long as your work makes a connection to health or health care, is previously unpublished, and is well made, we’ll consider it happily. Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in nursing perspective, writing and nursing | 5 Comments »

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How Secure Are Your Medical Records? Farrah Fawcett Discusses Possible Breaches in Patient Confidentiality By Health Care Providers

May 12, 2009

“As time went on and more stories appeared, Fawcett said she grew convinced that information about her medical condition was being leaked by someone at UCLA. Whenever she sought treatment there, word always got out. Even when the tabloid reports were false, she said, they were based on a morsel of truth.”

Photo by k.steudel, via Flickr.

Photo by k.steudel, via Flickr.

ProPublica‘s Charles Ornstein has conducted an interview (co-published yesterday in the Los Angeles Times; the article includes a short video) with Farrah Fawcett about living with a terminal illness under constant media scrutiny. Fawcett has been particularly critical of the National Enquirer, and of UCLA Medical Center for not protecting her medical records from employees who may have been releasing information to the media. At one point, she even set a trap to prove her suspicions were correct. As the Obama administration makes digitized health records a priority in its health care reform plans, how might this affect patient privacy, and are you (and your institutions) ready for the issues that might arise?

–Jacob Molyneux, AJN senior editor

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Posted in health care reform, legal issues | 1 Comment »

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School Nurses Do a Whole Lot More Than Applying Ice and BandAids

May 12, 2009
Photo by adrigu, via Flickr.

Photo by adrigu, via Flickr.

Recently, school nurses have been given a lot of recognition from the media, including AJN (here’s the most recent post, which contains links to several others). I was really happy to see them finally getting the credit they deserve. I was a school nurse for a while and I know firsthand how often they are taken for granted.

The first year, I worked for the New York City Department of Health as a per diem nurse, going to a different school almost every day to fill in for nurses that were out for the day. The following year I worked full-time at a school for the NYC Department of Education. (Department of Health nurses take care of mainstream students and Department of Education nurses are placed in schools to care for children with special needs.) I couldn’t believe how poorly I was treated by administration, students, and teaching staff. I quickly realized that school nurses were considered to be either glorified Band-Aid distributors or the place where children went to avoid classes they didn’t enjoy.  Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in nursing perspective, professional identity, school nurses | 4 Comments »

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‘No, but my husband is’: Nurse Humorist’s Life Hasn’t Been Easy

May 11, 2009

nursehumorscreenshot

There was the guy who stepped on a rusty nail and requested “a technical shot,” the girl who complained, “I’m hurting in my semi privates,” and the patient who boasted, “I’m so crazy I’m tripolar.”

While there’s a lot of “nurse humor” out there, much of it fairly outrageous or disgusting—and very necessary, as a way of letting off steam—we get the feeling from Terry Foster‘s popularity that his jokes, anecdotes, and delivery may actually be a few cuts above. Christine Moffa, AJN‘s clinical editor, concurs: “I’ve seen him perform . . . . He’s very funny. Tears-streaming-down funny.” Foster’s also been through some rough times, including a brain tumor and the death of his young wife.

Has anything even remotely funny (that you can share without breaking patient confidentiality!) happened to you lately on the job? How important is a good sense of humor in the nursing profession?

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Posted in nursing perspective | 1 Comment »

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Nurse Practitioners and Health Care Reform: “A Solution in Plain Sight” say Former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala and PA Governor Ed Rendell

May 8, 2009
“Lion’s Gate Bridge Sunrise,” by thelastminute, via Flickr.

“Lion’s Gate Bridge Sunrise,” by thelastminute, via Flickr.

The American Academy of Nursing just held a news briefing on nurse-managed care and health centers as solutions for our ailing health care system. Former Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary and now president of University of Miami, Donna Shalala; Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell; Tine Hansen, CEO of the National Consortium of Nursing Centers and executive director of the Convenient Care Association; and Susan Sherman, president of the Independence Foundation, sent a coherent message: nurse practitioners (NPs) have developed an infrastructure of health centers and convenient care clinics (such as MinuteClinics) that can help our nation reform a health care delivery system that is currently unable to meet the primary health care needs of its people. Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Diana Mason, editor-in-chief emeritus, health care reform, nurse practitioners | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

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