About Jacob Molyneux, senior editor/blog editor

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

Interesting Times: On “Death Panels” and the Health Policy Debate

This New York Times article is worth a look.

Reporters Jim Rutenberg and Jackie Calmes trace how the “death panel” rumors that are currently dominating the national debate over health care reform have grown—one might say metastasized—over time, and it names the people responsible for propagating these falsehoods.

As our readers know, at AJN we usually avoid taking sides in partisan political fights. We focus on issues that are important to nurses and their patients, and when we publish articles that concern health care policymaking, we try to present the facts as objectively as possible. […]

Role Reversal: Remember That Nursing Student You Almost Failed?

Although I'd been a nurse for more than 20 years, this was the first time I had been so completely dependent on the health care system. I felt vulnerable. I knew too much. I needed to feel confident that the ED nurse assessing my injuries would do a thorough job and give unqualified support to a fellow nurse-turned-patient.

‘EKG’ May Sound Right, But It’s Not

A cranky curmudgeon

I underwent laparoscopic repair of an umbilical hernia two weeks ago (my 10 incisions are healing nicely, thank you, although the itching is nearly unbearable). In preparation for the operation, I was asked to have blood work done and to undergo an electrocardiogram.

When I arrived at the office where the electrocardiogram would be performed, the woman at the desk asked me what I was there for. I said, “An ECG.”

And then she “corrected” me: “You mean EKG.”

She also told me that the person who was to perform the procedure wasn’t in that day and that I’d have to come back and. . . . I needed her information—and I couldn’t afford to tick her off—so I didn’t respond.

But I wanted to. […]

AJN, the Conference, or What’s So Great About Poster Sessions?

In addition to the preconference workshops, keynote presentation, concurrent sessions, and panels that are the norm for large, national meetings, the conference will also include poster sessions. I think many nurses not involved in research or from academia ignore posters and think of them as “not-quite-good-enough-to-be-real-sessions” topics. That’s far from the truth in most instances, especially in established conferences that have “name” presenters filling program slots. We see poster sessions as a way to highlight new work, work that may not have broad appeal but is important, or that extends topics covered in a session.

Bloggers Who Blur Line Between Product Reviews and Paid Advertising May Face Regulation

I listened with interest because I frequently receive requests from companies that want us to casually mention their products or Websites on this blog. What the marketers who send these promotional materials don't seem to know is that AJN maintains a very clear separation between editorial and advertising content. This is very very important to us at a time when there are daily reports of research that's been ghostwritten by pharmaceutical companies and of influenctial physicians and health care reporters with close ties to various health care industries.

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