Racism, Social Justice, and Nurses

By Karen Roush, PhD, RN, FNP-BC

The murder of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer, following so quickly on the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, shot down while jogging in February, and Breonna Tayler, an EMT with plans of becoming a nurse who was killed by police in her own home in March, coalesced years of anger, fear, and despair into an extraordinary outcry for racial justice that has not been seen since the civil rights movement.

Black Lives Matter.

Credit: National Nurses United

The chilling casualness with which Derek Chauvin ended George Floyd’s life over nearly nine agonizing minutes exposed more dramatically than anything else why we need to insist that black lives matter. The fact that it took four days for any charges to be brought against Chauvin, and over two months for the murderers of Mr. Arbery to be charged, only serves to reinforce what many have been saying for a long time, that all lives do not matter equally.

People have filled the streets of large cities and small to march in solidarity for racial justice and the end of police brutality. (Looters and rioters are not part of the protests and unwelcome by those marching for justice.) Not everyone may agree on how […]

2020-06-12T13:22:12-04:00June 11th, 2020|Nursing, Public health|3 Comments
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Nurses, Dying, and Who Gets to Decide

by Ramon Peco/via Flickr

On Wednesday, a California court declared the state’s right-to-die law unconstitutional. The End of Life Act (AB-15) was passed in 2016 in a special session called by Governor Gerry Brown, and permitted physicians to prescribe medications to a patient “for the sole purpose of ending his or her life.” California was one of just a handful of states that had such legislation. Reports note that an appeal is likely.

And also last week, Australian scientist and right-to-die advocate David Goodall, who was 104 years old, flew to Basel, Switzerland, to take advantage of its right-to-die law and end his life. According to the New York Times, Goodall, whose health had been deteriorating since a fall, said, “One wants to be free to choose his death when death is at the appropriate time.” Mr. Goodall lamented that his home country didn’t allow him to die there.

An ongoing debate.

These events last week underscore the struggle over whether people have a right to choose to end their lives and who should decide that. It’s also why we are very pleased to highlight this important topic in the current issue of AJN.

In “Assisted Suicide/Aid in Dying: What Is the Nurse’s Role?”, ethicist Ann Hamric and colleagues report on […]

2018-05-18T14:04:40-04:00May 18th, 2018|Nursing|1 Comment
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AJN in November: Preeclampsia Management, Health Conditions Associated with Military Service, More

The November issue of AJN is now live. Here are some articles we’d like to bring to your attention.

CE: Preeclampsia: Current Approaches to Nursing Management

A clinical review of current practice related to preeclampsia risk assessment, prediction, and management, plus updated diagnostic criteria from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Task Force on Hypertension in Pregnancy.

CE: Original Research: Primary Care Providers and Screening for Military Service and PTSD

Evidence shows that veterans who receive their health care from private sector employers are less likely to be screened for military service—and therefore may not be treated for service-related health conditions. Here, the authors explore whether rural Pennsylvania providers offer this screening to their patients.

Creating a Fair and Just Culture in Schools of Nursing

What strategies can nursing schools use to create a fair and just culture? The second part in a two-part series.

Perspectives on Palliative Nursing: Liberty and Justice for All 

When an unauthorized immigrant suffers a brain injury, who decides when treatment is withdrawn? An ethical dilemma touches on issues of clinician autonomy and justice versus patient and family autonomy.

There’s much more in our November issue, including:

2017-10-30T09:25:26-04:00October 30th, 2017|Nursing|0 Comments
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AJN in October: Nursing Student Errors, Septic Shock Resuscitation, the Ethics of Workarounds, More

The October issue of AJN is now live. Here are some articles we’d like to bring to your attention.

CE: Original Research: Exploring How Nursing Schools Handle Student Errors and Near Misses

The authors investigate nursing school policies and practices for reporting and tracking student errors and near misses. The first part of a two-part series.

CE: Assessing Patients During Septic Shock Resuscitation

How to integrate capillary refill time and skin mottling score into the perfusion reassessment after initial fluid resuscitation—as recommended by revisions to the Surviving Sepsis Campaign six-hour bundle.

Obesity and Sexual Dysfunction: Making the Connection

Obesity affects patients’ general health, but does it affect their sexuality? A review of the evidence on obesity and sexual functioning, plus nursing considerations for addressing weight-loss strategies with patients.

Workarounds Are Routinely Used By Nurses—But Are They Ethical?

How nurses can be creative problem solvers without resorting to workarounds that may be ethical in intent yet potentially harmful in their consequences.

[…]

2017-09-29T08:30:14-04:00September 29th, 2017|Nursing|0 Comments
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A Nurse Takes a Stand—and Gets Arrested

image via Wikimedia Commons / Jacklee

Douglas P. Olsen, PhD, RN, associate professor, College of Nursing, Michigan State University, writes about ethical issues for AJN.

On July 26, Alex Wubbels, charge nurse at the University of Utah Hospital burn unit in Salt Lake City, showed extraordinary ethical courage that will serve as an example for my students for a long time to come. She refused a police detective access to an unconscious patient so he could draw a blood sample, citing clear violation of hospital regulations, which require patient consent, a court warrant, or that the patient is under arrest. After a short, tense discussion, she was roughly handcuffed and put in a police vehicle by the detective. I recommend watching the video of the incident, although parts of it are quite disturbing. According to various analyses reported in the media, the hospital and Wubbels were legally correct and the detective’s view of her legal obligations was wrong.

All treatment, even the most minimally invasive, can be refused by a patient and therefore requires the patient’s informed consent. There are limited exceptions under which treatment can be provided without patient consent. These include:

2017-09-02T09:55:06-04:00September 2nd, 2017|Ethics, Nursing|11 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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