CDC Image of the H1N1 Influenza Virus (Swine Flu)
Here are more images from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Seeds of Change? Nurses Want Prescribing Power When It Comes to Health Care Reform
According to a useful overview by the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, nurses, insurers, and others are fighting to be included in the health care reform debate. We know the insurers can take care of themselves, so let’s focus on the nurses:
Hundreds of nurses last week rallied on Capitol Hill in an attempt to have their voices and opinions on health care reform heard and included as lawmakers begin to draft legislation, Roll Call reports. The rally included the California Nurses Association – National Nurses Organizing Committee, the American Academy of Nursing, the American Nurses Association and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. According to Roll Call, some of the groups disagree on the details of reform, including whether reform should include a single-payer system, but are united in their effort to be included in discussions on overhaul legislation. Michelle Artz, a lobbyist for ANA, said, “We want to make sure this isn’t a physician-centric dialogue” (Ackley, Roll Call, 5/18).
As far as I know, the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) wasn’t actually present at that rally. But what matters is that there is growing recognition that effective health care reform will not happen without the involvement of nurses. The […]
I Might Like Nurse Jackie
I will probably be stoned by some of my colleagues for not boycotting a program that revolves around a nurse who has an addiction. But as far as I can tell, Nurse Jackie is tough, funny, and, above all, a smart nurse who is a fierce advocate for her patients.
Update on Charla Nash, Victim of Chimp Attack
I’ve been very moved by the story of Charla Nash since I first heard of her being mauled by her friend’s chimpanzee, and I posted about it here more than a month ago. It’s probably because I’m both a nurse and an animal lover that it has affected me so much. I was relieved to hear that the family does not blame the chimp. Said her brother Michael, “I do not blame Travis. He is an animal that acted as a chimpanzee. Living in a cage is cruel for this animal and amounts to mental torture.” […]
Comparative Containment: Swine Flu (H1N1) Prompts Japan to Closes 1,000 Schools
The New York Times reports today that, with 121 reported cases of H1N1 virus so far, Japan has taken aggressive measures to contain its spread, closing 1,000 schools and kindergartens. Overreaction, or admirable thoroughness?
“Japan is well known in public health circles for being exceptionally nervous about flu; it has an aging population and a national obsession with cleanliness that makes even Switzerland look messy.
“Masks are common on subways because it is considered rude to lack one if you are sneezing. Before the outbreak began last month, Japan used about 60 percent of the world’s stock of the antiviral drug Tamiflu.”