One Question That Can Change the Diagnosis: Why Travel History Matters

A college student presents to the emergency department with fever, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea after returning from a spring break humanitarian mission trip to Haiti. During the nursing assessment, the patient reports having brushed their teeth with water that might have been untreated and recalls receiving multiple mosquito bites. What might at first appear to be a routine case of gastroenteritis comes in this case with concern for dengue, malaria, typhoid fever, or cholera. The patient’s travel history changes not only the differential diagnosis but also the urgency of testing, treatment, and infection-control decisions.

One simple question can change a patient’s outcome: Have you traveled recently? According to the CDC, nearly half of travelers to low- and middle-income countries become ill during or after travel. Although many illnesses are mild, some require hospitalization, and others may not become apparent until weeks or even months after returning home. Some syndromes can present years after travel.

Why travel matters.

According to the WHO, international travel is on the rise. Millions of people are traveling for professional, personal, and humanitarian reasons. International travel exposes people to infectious diseases that may be uncommon in the United States. Contaminated food and water, insect bites, animal exposures, health care […]

2026-08-28T09:50:45-04:00August 28th, 2026|infectious diseases, Nursing, Public health|0 Comments
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‘Brain Rot’ in Nursing Students: And Other September Issue Highlights

The September issue of AJN is now live.

Here are some highlights. Some articles are open access or temporarily free; others will require log-in for access.

The painting on this month’s cover evokes the power of the mind. It’s a nod to “AI Dependency and Brain Rot Among Nursing Students: A Mixed-Methods Study,” in which Sağlam and Kalanlar surveyed and interviewed undergraduate nursing students to explore the relationship between excessive use of AI tools and “brain rot,” or cognitive deterioration associated with overconsumption of digital technologies and online content. The authors note that the concept of brain rot “remains largely unrecognized by nursing academia, despite its potential to influence cognitive, emotional, and behavioral domains.”

Pediatric fractures are a common reason for ED visits, yet distinguishing accidental injuries from those caused by physical abuse remains a complex clinical challenge. The September CE article, “Beyond the Spiral: Identifying Abuse-Related Pediatric Fractures,” clarifies common misconceptions, such as that all spiral fractures are inherently suspicious, by situating them within the broader evidence base related to pediatric orthopedic injury.

The latest article in our Evidence-Based Decision-Making Series, “Dissemination: Sharing the Story,” presents dissemination as a core competency for DNP students and shows how dissemination can be intentionally […]

2026-08-24T10:05:28-04:00August 24th, 2026|Nursing|0 Comments
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E-Bikes and Kids: Permission Is Not Preparation

When a student returns to my middle school after an e-bike or e-scooter crash, the emergency may be over, but the injury is not. I see the cast and crutches, the concussion plan, the missed classes, the headaches that linger, and parents still trying to understand how an ordinary ride changed so much. That is why “Are you ready to ride?” must mean more than having permission to leave the driveway.

I have been a nurse for more than 30 years, the last 11 of them as a school nurse. I am not usually the nurse at the crash scene. I am the nurse who sees what comes next. I see the student navigating hallways on crutches. I see the child who insists the headache is gone because they are tired of missing gym or practice. I see the parent coordinating appointments, transportation, schoolwork, and recovery while wondering when life will feel normal again.

Outside our schools, the change arrived silently. Dismissal once meant the rumble of buses, parents calling through open car windows, and the rattle of bicycle chains. Now students glide away with a quiet electric hum, heading to practice, work, friends’ homes, and the growing independence every generation of teenagers has wanted.

That […]

2026-08-12T15:41:12-04:00August 12th, 2026|Nursing, Public health, school nurses|0 Comments
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Is It Possible to Delight in the Work of Nursing?

siyam ensari/unsplash

In a recent conversation I had with a very young nurse, she shared about her hope and deep desire to “be a good nurse.” I picked up on the stress in her voice as she described her admiration for her preceptor and her feeling of being overwhelmed with the steep learning curve during orientation. I couldn’t help but wonder how she defined a “good nurse,” and whether that definition was realistic or oppressive.

This prompted me to ask the question in my social media circles, “How would you describe a good nurse?” I wanted to hear from both health  care workers as well as people who were not.

There were a lot of responses, but one that stood out to me from a friend who is not in health care was this:

“Delights in their work and does it with excellence.”

This stood out because I rarely hear nurses talk these days about delighting in their work. After all, I remember my own recent response to a good friend when she casually asked me how work was going. I paused as I always do when trying to answer that question. After a few moments, my response to her was, “It’s always hard to know how to answer that. . . […]

2026-08-03T14:43:12-04:00August 3rd, 2026|Nursing, nursing perspective, Patients, pediatrics|2 Comments
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A Nurse Practitioner’s Lesson in Grace

Photo by Katie Moum on Unsplash

It looked as though I had life figured out. I was working my dream job as a nurse practitioner in primary care. I had completed the treatments for thyroid cancer, finished my DNP degree, and was starting a postdoctoral fellowship. Life was great, and I was excited to build my career. I had no idea the challenges I was about to face.

An unexpected shift in personality.

I have always been a laid-back, quirky person. When I was not working, you could find me sewing and crafting. I am even-tempered and not easily angered. Then my usual calm demeanor began to change; I started getting annoyed and angry about things that normally wouldn’t have bothered me. My thoughts became a loop of negative commentary: “You are not good enough,” “You don’t belong,” “Nobody really likes you,” “Everything would be better without you.”

Slowly, I started feeling physically unwell. I was tired, and not a normal tired; no amount of rest would alleviate the fatigue. It became difficult to drag myself out of bed each morning. My body felt sore and stiff, and every muscle ached. I was constantly freezing, even in the summer heat. I had a nagging, throbbing headache, and […]

2026-07-27T10:15:19-04:00July 27th, 2026|Nursing, patient experience|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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