About Jacob Molyneux, senior editor/blog editor

Senior editor, American Journal of Nursing; editor of AJN Off the Charts.

Normal Blood Pressure — in 1914

That’s an excerpt from an October 1914 article about blood pressure that was published in AJN (our older articles only exist in PDF versions, so click the PDF link in the upper right corner of the article landing page).

Maybe, though, in the absence of the many medications we now have to treat hypertension, these really were “normal” (that is, realistic) blood pressure levels for adults as they aged! It’s funny how, in so many areas, we keep on redefining the meaning of this oft-used phrase: “normal changes related to aging.”

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2016-11-21T13:19:39-05:00February 3rd, 2010|Nursing|1 Comment
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Oh for a Thimbleful of Gratitude!

By Christine Moffa, AJN clinical editor

I had surgery 12/28 and spent four days on med-surg afterwards. I literally spent 3/4 of my time sleeping (bliss! oh rapture unforseen!), but *every single time* anyone came into my room for any reason (meds, IV change, turn off the freaking IV alarm, phlebotomist, housekeeping, whatever), I said “thank you.” I got the feeling I was abnormal. . . . So. How often do your pts say thank you, and does it come as a surprise when they do?

It’s been a few years since I’ve worked directly with patients, but in the past when I had a particularly tough day I would tell people that “nursing is a thankless job.” I’m talking about the kind of day when you barely had time to use the bathroom, never mind eat something, and the only feedback you heard from patients and administration was about what you didn’t get done. So when I saw a post (excerpted above) called “How often do your pts thank you?” at Allnurses.com, it hit a nerve.

The responses to the post were mixed, with some saying it’s common to be thanked by patients and others arguing the opposite. Maybe it’s regional—I’ve only worked on the East Coast, and in my experience complaints seem to get more air time than gratitude. Or maybe it’s just the times we’re living in. Either way, I’m sure most nurses would say they didn’t choose this career in the hope […]

2016-11-21T13:19:44-05:00January 29th, 2010|nursing perspective, patient engagement|7 Comments
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CDC Guidance for Relief Workers and Others Traveling to Haiti

This notice is to advise relief workers and other personnel traveling to Haiti to assist with the humanitarian response following the January 12th earthquake near Port-au-Prince. Conditions in the area remain hazardous, including extensive damage to buildings, roads, and other infrastructure.

The above is the start of a guidance document for relief workers heading to Haiti that is now available at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site. It gives useful information on recommended vaccines; insect-borne and other infectious diseases; key items to bring; safety precautions related to accident risk, exposure to human remains, and animals; and psychological and emotional difficulties.

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2016-11-21T13:19:46-05:00January 28th, 2010|Nursing|0 Comments
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“As Comforting as a Rodeo Clown”: When Competence Is at Odds with Bedside Manner

Then it comes to me. This is the same recovery nurse who brought our son out of anesthesia when he had ear tube surgery. This is the woman who jostled him in her arms like she was mixing pancake batter in a Tupperware container, who insisted “baby need stimulus,” dancing away from me as Luke reached and screamed.

That’s from the Reflections essay in our February issue, and is written by a patient who tells a funny (and insightful) story of finding himself dependent for a second time on a nurse and doctor he’d sworn to himself he’d never let near him again. So, does it help to hear the patient perspective sometimes? (For the best reading experience, click through to the PDF version.)

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2016-11-21T13:19:47-05:00January 28th, 2010|Nursing|0 Comments
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If Health Care Reform Were an ICU Patient . . .

The idea that the Health Care Reform bill is on life support is disappointing, but not surprising. It was admitted in a weakened state of health. It appears suspiciously a victim of domestic violence by special interest groups. The bruises on its body resemble the outline of handprints of the insurance companies it was created to protect our citizens from.

So writes nurse-artist-blogger JParadisi RN in a recent post, which (whatever your beliefs about whether we should do something major soon about the increasing numbers of uninsured Americans and the skyrocketing costs of health care) has particular resonance as President Obama prepares to address the nation tonight about this and other issues.


(Full disclosure: Paradisi’s artwork appeared on the October 2009 cover of AJN.)

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2016-11-21T13:19:49-05:00January 27th, 2010|health care policy, nursing perspective|2 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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