Post-Sandy Emotional Self-Care for Nurses and Others

Hurricane Sandy, from International Space Station at 16:55:32 GMT on Oct. 29, 2012 / NASA

By Donna Sabella, MEd, MSN, PhD, RN, mental health nurse, AJN contributing editor, and coordinator of the monthly Mental Health Matters column

With the recent devastation caused by Sandy in the mid-Atlantic and New England areas we need to be mindful that the harm done in such events goes beyond property and the physical domains. Many exposed to Sandy’s wrath may be suffering from varying degrees of stress and psychological trauma. It is important to remember that, along with taking care of our physical needs, in the process of getting back to normal we also need to be mindful of our emotional needs and reach out for help as necessary.

As health care providers we nurses pride ourselves on being able to handle anything that comes our way as we strive to give patients the best care possible, but it is important for us to be aware of our own emotional needs during times of crisis and disaster. Sandy is considered a disaster—for those affected by the storm, either directly or indirectly, the experience can lead to thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are outside our usual range, and which may indicate it’s time to seek help. Below, I offer some information that provides tips on how to take psychological care of ourselves after Sandy :

2016-11-21T13:08:52-05:00November 19th, 2012|nursing perspective|0 Comments
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To Err is Human . . . To Improve Elusive?

Peggy McDaniel, BSN, RN, is an infusion practice manager and occasional blogger

As a nurse working in the quality improvement and patient safety arena, I’m not surprised that the title of a recent article at Fierce Healthcare got my attention: “Hospitals Are Bad for Your Health.” The article highlights a recently released report from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General based on a study of Medicare patients discharged in 2008. Among other things, it revealed that “44% of adverse or temporary harm events were clearly or likely preventable.” The usual culprits were to blame:

  • infections
  • medication errors
  • surgery-related errors
  • patient care issues

Most of these have been previously labeled as “never events” by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), and currently hospitals are not being reimbursed for the costs incurred if one or more of these happen to a patient while in the hospital. CMS was the first to implement such a pay-for-performance model—and major insurance companies have followed their lead.

In recently published NEJM study, 63% of the adverse events reported in the hospitals studied were deemed preventable. This study was disheartening because we recently passed the 10-year anniversary of the release of the

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2016-11-21T13:14:47-05:00December 1st, 2010|nursing perspective|3 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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