By Maureen Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN editor-in-chief
April is one of those months most people like, I think—the weather becomes consistently warmer and flowers appear. And this month, we at AJN are especially delighted because we launch our very own iPad app! As a temporary introductory offer, you can download the app for free (click here, or search under American Journal of Nursing in the iTunes app store) and get the full April issue. (Eventual pricing is still being determined.)
It’s another way AJN is providing you with accurate, evidence-based information in formats that allow you to access it when and where and how you want it. Don’t forget to subscribe to our always free audio podcasts, too—there are monthly highlights and interviews with authors.
And April is a stellar issue. This month we focus on examining how we treat people with disabilities. The cover, the editorial, and two features all deal with how we need to do better in this area. In the original research article, Suzanne Smeltzer and colleagues report on their survey of people with disabilities, querying them on interactions with nurses during hospitalizations. Their findings are sobering and should serve as a wake-up call when providing care to people with disabilities when they are hospitalized.
There’s also a poignant piece, “Hard Lessons from a Long Hospital Stay,” describing the experience of one of the authors of the research article, Michael Ogg, who despite being severely disabled from multiple sclerosis, lives independently. Yet during his four hospitalizations, he was mostly bedridden, unshaven, and often left unfed because the system is not geared towards people with disabilities nor are nurses familiar with providing care for them.
I hope these articles will increase awareness and spur some changes in how hospital-based nurses view and interact with people with disabilities (and also among faculty who are developing curricula). There’s also an interview with the authors of these pieces—just click on the podcast icon when reading the article on our Web page (or tap the icon when on the iPad).
‘Course, there’s also another CE article in the issue, articles dealing with latent tuberculosis in health care workers, managing cancer fatigue, a QI report on early post-op ambulation, news, Drug Watch, the Reflections essay, Art of Nursing, and more. You can go right to the issue on our Web site, or download the app and check it out on your iPad (the graphics are awesome!), or of course read it in print—your choice on how you want to keep up to date.
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