“Pain is a complex experience. Offering patients an opportunity to express their feelings, listening to their words, looking into their eyes and sensing their uncertainty are all part of the compassionate side of healing.”—Barbara Wukovits in her September Reflections column, “My Pocket of Care”

The September issue of AJN is now live. Here’s what’s new. Some articles may be free only to subscribers.

CE: Acute Ischemic Stroke

A review of ischemic stroke pathophysiology; risk factors; presentation; and the evidence-based treatments, nursing assessments, and monitoring protocols that are critical to patient recovery.

CE: Reimagining Injurious Falls and Safe Mobility

This article by the author of the Hendrich II Fall Risk Model proposes a new approach to fall prevention—one grounded in evidence-based protocols known to positively impact the health of older adults.

AJN Reports: The Troubling State of Public Health

How underfunding, attrition, and COVID-19 are affecting the nation’s public health agencies and nursing workforce.

Perspectives on Leadership: Supporting Frontline Staff During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Nursing leaders at an academic medical center in Boston reflect on the initial COVID-19 patient surge and identify key actions taken to provide clinical and emotional support to frontline staff who cared for these patients.

Mental Health Matters: Improving Mental Health Awareness

The author discusses the importance of raising nurses’ awareness about mental health problems and early detection, as well as the need to say and do something when the person experiencing mental illness is in their own home.

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

  • An Editorial on the crisis in acute care nursing.
  • A Viewpoint on the need for greater awareness of sex chromosome variations.
  • An In the News article on COVID-19’s psychological toll on children.

Click here to browse the table of contents and explore the issue on our website.

A note on the cover.

This month’s cover honors the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The memorials (from left to right) in New York City; Shanksville, Pennsylvania; and Arlington, Virginia, stand in tribute to the 2,977 lives lost that day. Among the victims were 11 nurses—read about them in this tribute from AJN‘s September 2002 issue.