Mary Pappas, BSN, RN, is the nurse at St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens who first notified officials of the swine flu outbreak. She’s been interviewed by the New York Times and by National Public Radio in the last two days. This morning she found time to speak with AJN about her experiences. […]
Photo by AlphaTangoBravo/Adam Baker, via Flickr.
The following comes to us from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
Swine Flu Guidance for Clinicians & Public Health Professionals [as of April 29, 2009, 1:45 AM ET]
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/guidance/
Clinicians should consider the possibility of swine influenza virus infections in patients presenting with febrile respiratory illness. If swine flu is suspected, clinicians should obtain a respiratory swab for swine influenza testing and place it in a refrigerator (not a freezer). Once collected, the clinician should contact their state or local health department to facilitate transport and timely diagnosis at a state public health laboratory.
Interim Guidance for Clinicians on Identifying and Caring for Patients with Swine-origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection [as of April 29, 2009 2:00 AM ET]
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/identifyingpatients.htm
Interim guidance is provided here for nurses and clinicians who might provide care for patients with swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) or suspected swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus infection. It will be periodically updated as information becomes available.
Transmission
Transmission of swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) is being studied as part of the ongoing outbreak investigation, but limited data available indicate that this virus is transmitted in ways similar to other influenza viruses. Seasonal human influenza viruses are spread from person to person primarily through large-particle respiratory droplet transmission (e.g., when an infected person coughs or sneezes near a susceptible person). Transmission via large-particle droplets requires close contact between source and recipient persons, […]
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) takes nursing very seriously. Their latest publication, “Nursing’s Prescription for a Reformed Health Care System,” makes it clear that workable health care reform in the United States is not going to happen without a major reenvisioning of the role nurses can play at every level of health care. Put another way, it’s not just about the technology and the physicians. The new RWJF brief
“combines case studies with analysis and policy recommendations, and arrives on the desks of lawmakers and health care reformers just as Congress and the President begin to piece together what promises to be the most significant overhaul of the nation’s health care system since the creation of Medicare. . . .‘Nurses have created model programs in acute care, primary care and public health settings that are improving the health status of individuals and communities,’ the brief declares. ‘These initiatives are expanding access, improving quality and driving down costs.’”
These initiatives include
• “comprehensive, community-based care for the elderly”
• “nurse-managed health centers and retail clinics”
• initiatives such as TCAB (Transforming Care at the Bedside) aimed at supporting quality and patient safety in the workplace
-Jacob Molyneux, AJN senior editor
“Patient dies, nurse cries.” That’s how we sometimes refer to the Reflections column, the personal essay about some aspect of health care that appears inside AJN’s back cover each month. It’s the kind of self-protective humor you develop at a nursing journal. We’re not making light of real pain. Often, in fact, we’re quite moved by submissions, both ones we accept for publication and ones we don’t. Nor is every Reflections actually about a patient dying or a nurse grieving. Most, probably, are not. […]
“Nurses don’t have a monopoly on compassion,” writes Kim over at Emergiblog in a thought-provoking post about—among other things (including vintage nurses’ uniforms)—some words of wisdom from a doctor colleague on why people visit the ER over seemingly minor problems.
-Jacob M., AJN senior editor