March Issue: Preventing Functional Decline in Hospitalized Older Adults, Tumor Lysis Syndrome, More

“Nurses do the big things, but I am thankful for all the small things: for bringing peace in the eye of the storm…for providing us coordinates when we felt lost…for making us laugh—for doing the things that we remember, the things that last years later.”—Holly Bills in this month’s Reflections article, “The Little Things Nurses Do”

The March issue of AJN is now live. Here’s what’s new. Some articles may be free only to subscribers.

CE: Tumor Lysis Syndrome: An Oncologic Emergency

What nurses need to know about preventing and treating this serious condition, including recognizing its clinical presentation, identifying at-risk patients, and monitoring and managing symptoms and laboratory values.

Original Research: Impact of a Bedside Activity Device on the Functional Status of Hospitalized Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This pilot study evaluated the use of a device equipped with exergames—interactive video games that incorporate physical exercise—in preventing functional decline and increasing patients’ independence in basic activities of daily living.

Skin Assessment in Patients with Dark Skin Tone

The authors provide basic information about the assessment of dark skin tone and call for action in academia and professional practice to ensure the performance of effective skin assessments in all patients.

[…]

2023-02-27T09:43:34-05:00February 27th, 2023|Nursing|0 Comments
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Cast Into the Shadows: COVID-19’s Power Over Non-COVID Cases

As a pediatric ICU nurse in a hospital that has not experienced an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 patients, it has taken me some time to register the ways this pandemic has affected my perspective and practice.

Non-COVID diagnoses left in the shadows.

Photo by Unjay Markiewicz/ Unsplash

I recently took care of two young patients, each with acute and unexpected conditions. One was under post-operative care after a brain tumor had been removed the day before. The other had been newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. What stood out to me as I interacted with their families was that these were some of the only people I would interact with in this period who did not have COVID foregrounded in their mental and emotional space. This feeling was followed by the sobering realization that this was only because they found themselves dealing with something just as insidious, if not more so.

In both cases, the families observed confusing symptoms in their children and had to wrestle with whether or not to go to the ED in the midst of a pandemic. Only when the symptoms became so severe and concerning did these families decide they could no longer avoid the ED. Now facing an inpatient hospital stay […]

2020-06-02T09:32:44-04:00June 2nd, 2020|family experience, infectious diseases, Nursing, nursing stories, patient engagement, Public health|1 Comment
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February Issue: Caring for Hodgkin Lymphoma Survivors, Acute Flaccid Myelitis, Reducing Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia, More

“I experienced the inestimable value of a healing garden . . . Regardless of diagnosis, age, circumstances, or ability to pay, nature willingly extends her gifts and does not forsake us.”—Elaine C. Meyer, author of the February Reflections column

The February issue of AJN is now live. Here are some highlights.

CE: Original Research: Midlife Hypertension and Hypercholesterolemia in Relation to Cognitive Function Later in Life in Black Women

In light of a lack of research on the associations between vascular risk factors and cognitive function in black older adults, the authors explored the relationship between two such risk factors in midlife—hypertension and hypercholesterolemia—and cognitive function later in life among black women.

CE: Caring for Survivors of Hodgkin Lymphoma

This article—winner of the 2018 Nurse Faculty Scholars/AJN Mentored Writing Award—provides an overview of Hodgkin lymphoma, the most common late effects of treatment, and current recommendations for survivor surveillance and screening.

Cultivating Quality: A Nurse-Driven Oral Care Protocol to Reduce Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia

The authors describe a quality improvement initiative to implement an oral care protocol in the adult in-patient care areas of a level 1 trauma hospital and evaluate its impact on the incidence of hospital-acquired pneumonia.

2019-01-25T09:58:43-05:00January 25th, 2019|Nursing|1 Comment
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January Issue: Managing Post-Op Pain, Head and Neck Cancer Symptom Management, Predatory Journals, More

The January issue of AJN is now live. Here are some of the articles we’re pleased to have a chance to publish this month.

CE: Oral Care for Head and Neck Cancer Symptom Management

The authors describe an evidence-based practice change at a radiation oncology center designed to reduce the severity of oral mucositis in adults receiving radiation treatment for head and neck cancer.

CE: Managing Postoperative Pain

This article reviews the recommendations of the American Pain Society’s postoperative pain management guideline and discusses its historical context and the current events that may affect its implementation in clinical practice.

Original Research: Increasing the Connectivity and Autonomy of RNs with Low-Risk Obstetric Patients

A qualitative study explores the perspectives of patients, RNs, certified nurse midwives, and other providers regarding a new prenatal connected care model aimed at reducing in-office visits and creating virtual patient–RN connections.

Predatory Journals: Alerting Nurses to Potentially Unreliable Content

Nurse authors and readers need to know about the harmful online phenomenon of predatory journals and understand how to identify and avoid the unreliable content published in these journals. […]

2017-12-29T11:18:42-05:00December 29th, 2017|Nursing|0 Comments
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A Program of Mindfulness Practice for Nurses at a Boston Cancer Center

By Jacob Molyneux, senior editor

The Thea and James Stoneman Healing Garden at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a source of tranquility and relaxation for nurses, patients, and families. Photo by Sam Ogden, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The Thea and James Stoneman Healing Garden at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a source of tranquility and relaxation for nurses, patients, and families. Photo by Sam Ogden, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Maybe you already practice some version of meditation or mindfulness in your daily life. If not, you may at least have read or watched a news story recently about mindfulness and its various uses with or by everyone from elementary school students to professional athletes to drug addicts in recovery to CEOs looking to improve their focus, as well as many of the rest of us.

Or maybe you saw the final episode of the television series Mad Men a few weeks ago, with the advertising man Don Draper sitting cross-legged at a California coastal retreat, deep in meditation.

Some critics of […]

2016-11-21T13:02:26-05:00June 8th, 2015|career, Nursing, nursing perspective, personal health practices|0 Comments
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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