AJN’s November issue is now available on our Web site. Here’s a selection of what not to miss.
New RNs. Hospitals invest in orientation or residency programs for newly licensed nurses, but turnover rates for first-year nurses remain relatively high. This month’s original research article, “Hearing the Voices of Newly Licensed RNs: The Transition to Practice,” looks at the orientation experience of new nurses in order to explore how institutions can best transition new nurses from an academic to a clinical setting. If you’re reading AJN on your iPad, you can listen to a podcast interview with the author by clicking on the podcast icon on the first page of the article. The podcast is also available on our Web site.
Starting an IV. Nurses are often faced with the challenge of starting an IV line in a patient who is dehydrated, has suffered trauma, or is in shock. This month’s Emergency CE feature, “Intraosseous Vascular Access for Alert Patients,” describes how nurses can use this fast, safe, and effective route for delivering fluids and medications when IV access fails. Earn 2.1 CE credits by reading this article and taking the test that follows. Don’t miss the video demonstration of the placement of an intraosseous (IO) needle in the proximal tibia using an IO access power driver (click on the video icon on the first page of the article if you’re using your iPad, or click here).
Measuring dyspnea. Though many studies show that dyspnea is an important indicator of adverse outcomes, including death, little is known about its general prevalence in hospitalized patients. “Routine Dyspnea Assessment on Unit Admission” describes a nurse-led pilot study that sought to test the feasibility of measuring dyspnea as part of the initial patient assessment performed by nurses in a large urban hospital. You can earn 2.4 CE credits by reading this article and taking the test that follows.
Coccidiodomycosis is a fungal infection that’s endemic to the southwestern U.S. It is often misdiagnosed, as early symptoms often mimic those of pneumonia, and delayed treatment can result in debilitating outcomes for patients and high medical costs. Our Emerging Infections article, “Coccidiodomycosis: A Differential Diagnosis for Visitors to the Southwest,” outlines what nurses in both endemic and nonendemic regions need to know about this costly, debilitating, and often misdiagnosed fungal infection. Don’t miss the podcast interview with the author (click on the podcast icon on the first page of the article if you’re using your iPad, or visit our podcasts page).
Other must-reads include an In Our Community article on the creation of a community garden to help patients with type 2 diabetes take care of themselves, a Safety Monitor report on caring for class III obese patients, and a Profile on Laurel Edinburgh, a nurse who developed a runaway intervention program to prevent sexual exploitation of young girls.
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