2016 Nurse Faculty Scholars/AJN Mentored Writing Award Winner

AJN0916.Cover.OnlineAnd the Winner Is….

We’re pleased to announce that the winner of the 2016 Nurse Faculty Scholars/AJN Mentored Writing Award is Denise M. Eckerlin, BSN, RN, a predoctoral fellow at the University of Washington School of Nursing in Seattle. She won for her CE feature article published in the September issue of AJN,Military Sexual Trauma in Male Service Members.”

Eckerlin coauthored the article with her mentor, Andrea Kovalesky, PhD, RN, an associate professor in the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Washington Bothell, and Matthew Jakupcak, PhD, a clinical psychologist and researcher at the Northwest Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center in the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle. She will receive an award certificate and $500. […]

AJN in September: Predicting Injurious Falls, Military Sexual Trauma, Recognizing MI, More

AJN0916.Cover.OnlineThe September issue of AJN is now live. Here are some articles we’d like to bring to your attention.

CE Feature: Original Research: Predicting Injurious Falls in the Hospital Setting: Implications for Practice

Despite years of research and increasingly evidence-based practice, falls continue to be the most commonly reported adverse events experienced by hospitalized adults. Yet most of the relevant research has focused on predicting and preventing falls in general; there has been little focus on injurious falls. In an attempt to identify which patient factors are associated with injurious falls in hospitalized adults, the authors of this retrospective study analyzed 10 variables. Their findings may help hospital clinicians to identify at-risk patients and create better fall-related injury prevention interventions.

CE Feature: “Military Sexual Trauma in Male Service Members

The experience of military sexual trauma (MST), which can result from assault, battery, or harassment of a sexual nature, may jeopardize the mental health of service members. This article discusses the unique ways in which men may experience MST and examines how social stereotypes of masculinity, myths surrounding sexual assault, and military culture and structure often influence a man’s interpretation of an attack and his likelihood of reporting the incident or seeking treatment. It also describes current treatments for MST-related mental health conditions and addresses implications for nurses and other health care professionals.

2016-11-21T13:00:58-05:00August 26th, 2016|Nursing, nursing perspective|0 Comments

Sexual Assault Survivors, SANEs, and the Nonreport Option

Figure 1. Process in the nonreport optionBy Sylvia Foley, AJN senior editor

Until recently, survivors of sexual assault had to make quick decisions about whether to report the assault to law enforcement. Those who chose not to report it weren’t entitled to a free medical forensic examination, and many felt further traumatized by this situation.

The Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 changed this. It added a “nonreport” option, which mandates that survivors be given medical forensic examinations even if they choose not to cooperate with law enforcement or the criminal justice system; states must pay for these medical examinations, regardless. In order to receive certain federal funds, states had to comply by 2009. States have responded in various ways. (Click the image above for an enlarged view of the steps followed in Texas.) But there has been little investigation into the impact of the new provision.

An important question. How has the nonreport option affected survivors, sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs), and victim advocates? To learn more, Laurie Cook Heffron and colleagues conducted a study in Texas. They report on their findings in this month’s original research CE, “Giving Sexual Assault Survivors Time to Decide: An Exploration of the Use and Effects of the Nonreport Option.” The following abstract offers a […]

2017-07-27T14:47:35-04:00March 14th, 2014|nursing perspective, nursing research|0 Comments

AJN’s March Issue: New Series on Systematic Reviews, HIV Update, C. Diff on the Rise, Sexual Assault, More

AJN0314.Cover.OnlineAJN’s March issue is now available on our Web site. Here’s a selection of what not to miss, including two continuing education (CE) articles that you can access for free.

Advances in HIV testing and treatment. The photo on our cover, showing members of  Sexy With A Goal (SWAG), a program provided for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals affected by HIV and AIDS by the AIDS Service Center of New York City’s Lower East Side Peer Outreach Center, reflects the changing face of the AIDs epidemic. Thirty years ago, a diagnosis of HIV was tantamount to a death sentence. But the young men on our cover prove that this is no longer the case. With advances in treatment and patient advocacy, education, and support, HIV is now a chronic, manageable disease. A CE feature, “Nursing in the Fourth Decade of the HIV Epidemic,” discusses HIV epidemiology and policy in the United States, the HIV care cascade, advances in HIV testing and treatment, and how nurses can continue to have a positive impact on the HIV epidemic.

If you’re reading AJN on your iPad, you can watch a video describing one author’s early experience with an HIV-infected patient by tapping on the podcast icon on the first page. The video is also available on our Web site. A

New option for victims of sexual assault. Until recently, survivors of sexual assault were not […]

Sexual Assaults: Is the Military Finally Starting to Get It?

By Maureen Shawn Kennedy, AJN editor-in-chief

March 26, 2010: A poster supporting the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) program. (U.S. Navy photo illustration/Released) March 26, 2010: A poster supporting the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) program. (U.S. Navy photo illustration/Wikimedia Commons)

On June 7, the U.S. Air Force command named Maj. Gen. Margaret H. Woodward director of its Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office. She replaces her predecessor, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, who was charged with sexual assault in early May.

Announcement of his arrest came the day before the Department of Defense was to hold a press briefing to tout changes intended to improve the handling of sexual assaults. Also on June 7, the U.S. Army command suspended Major General Michael T. Harrison, the commanding general of the U.S. Army in Japan for failing to “to report or properly investigate an allegation of sexual assault.”

At the press briefing, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said he was “outraged and disgusted” at the allegations against Krusinki. Hagel also asserted that “ [a]ll of our leaders at every level in this institution will be held accountable for preventing and responding to sexual assault in their ranks and under their […]

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