Promoting Nursing Students’ Ethical Development in the Clinical Setting

Ethics professor discusses high-fidelity patient simulation exercise with student. Photo courtesy of Linda Koharchik.

I once spent an hour in an ambulatory surgery PACU when interviewing for work at the place. A few minutes into my visit, one of the patients awoke in tears. The PACU RN proceeded to slap the woman across the face. An open-handed, full-face slap. “No crying here!” she snapped.

I was floored, and reported the incident to the clinic’s medical director. This nurse not only assaulted a patient, she did so in full view of a visitor (me). I suspect that if, instead, I had been an instructor from their medical center with students in tow, she would not have behaved differently. And would I have responded differently if students were present? Would I have confronted the nurse while other patients were watching, to make clear to the students that willfully harming a patient can never be tolerated?

Approaches to ethical instruction.

In “Promoting Nursing Students’ Ethical Development in the Clinical Setting” (free until December 13) in the November issue of AJN, Linda Koharchik and colleagues discuss the ways in which we can further students’ […]

2017-11-29T15:45:34-05:00November 29th, 2017|Nursing|2 Comments

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

How I Spent My Summer: Funding the Cost of a Nurse’s Education

Photo by Julianna Paradisi/2017

At a neighborhood grocery store, I picked up a few items for dinner, one of which was a preroasted chicken still warm and juicy from the heat lamp display.

After ringing up the total, the checker began bagging my purchases. Before placing the chicken in a bag, she put a rubber band around the container to prevent it from accidentally opening, and then wrapped it in a separate paper bag as a further precaution against leakage.

I thanked her for the extra care. No one waited behind me, so we exchanged a bit of small talk. It was a weekend, and she asked if I had plans. “No, my husband and I work in health care, and it’s his weekend on,” I said.

“What area of health care?” she asked. I told her I’m a nurse and work with cancer patients. Expecting the cringe I usually get from laypeople when I say this, I quickly added, “It sounds sad, but I really love my work.”

Her face lit up. “I’m a nursing student! I’m taking exams to become a CNA so I can work with patients while I finish my BSN.”

Her news delighted me. I have strong intuition, and I felt sure she would make a terrific nurse. I […]

2017-08-22T15:07:48-04:00August 22nd, 2017|Nursing, nursing students|2 Comments

The National Student Nurses Association: Always a Kick

By Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN editor-in-chief

IMG_2262Once again, the annual National Student Nurses Association (NSNA, www.nsna.org) convention was packed—full of high-energy, engaged nurses-to-be.  Approximately 3,000 attended this year’s meeting in Orlando from March 31 to April 3.

The NSNA meeting easily rivals those of other associations, with seemingly round-the-clock House of Delegates and state chapter caucuses (one could observe LOTS of pizza cartons moving between hotel and meeting rooms), a guidebook app, a daily convention newspaper, an impressive exhibit hall, professional motivational speakers (though motivation does not seem to be an issue with this group), award presentations, and a full slate of educational and career information sessions.

Nursing leaders and representatives from most major nursing organizations, including the ANA, National League for Nursing, American Red Cross, and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, were there to meet students and talk about initiatives to get these future nurses ready for the real world. They received lots of practical advice, including sessions on interprofessional collaboration, disaster nursing, how they can get involved on boards, legal aspects of licensure, tips and practice for taking the licensing exam . . . even one session on how to get started writing, led by yours truly! […]

Latino Nurses in the United States: Numbers Don’t Reflect Demographic Trends

“Increasing [the] numbers of RNs from minority backgrounds is a prime consideration in reducing the substantial racial and ethnic disparities in health.” – National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice

indexThe U.S. Census Bureau estimates that, by the year 2060, Latinos, currently 17% of the population, will make up almost 29% of the total U.S. population. Will the diversity of the nursing workforce reflect the diversity of the populations we serve? The authors of “Latino Nurses in the United States: An Overview of Three Decades (1980-2010)” provide us with a demographic baseline against which to measure our future diversity progress:

“In 2010 (the latest data available), there were 1186 non-Latino white RNs for every 100,000 non-Latino whites in the U.S., yet only 311 Latino RNs for every 100,000 Latinos in the U.S.”

The authors review historical information on Latino nursing in the U.S., offer a state-by-state profile from the five states with the largest Latino populations (California, Florida, Texas, Illinois, and New York), and recommend modifications to existing nursing school recruitment, admission, and retention strategies. […]

2016-11-21T13:01:26-05:00February 24th, 2016|career, Nursing, nursing perspective|0 Comments
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