About Amy M. Collins, managing editor

Managing editor, American Journal of Nursing

Behind Our Ambivalence About Flu Vaccines

By Amy M. Collins, editor

Influenza virus particle/CDC

Tis the season to start thinking about getting the flu vaccination. Every year I consider doing so, but due to my own personal vaccine angst I usually decide to just take my chances (while simultaneously lecturing elderly family members to make sure they get theirs, of course).  Working in Manhattan, with the vaccine available at most pharmacies and even vaccine access through work, gives me very little reason to forgo vaccination. And my theory that I am young and strong and can brave illness gets weaker as I pass the point of being able to comfortably claim youth. Riding the subway every day amid a festival of germs reminds me that I should know better.

The vaccine has caused a stir over the past few years: during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, people worried about whether or not to get the new combined vaccine, and the question of mandatory vaccination for health care workers remains a hot topic even now.

But a new report, The Compelling Need For Game-Changing Influenza Vaccines, released by scientists at the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, suggests that the flu vaccine may not be as effective as it is touted to be. According to the report, influenza vaccinations provide only modest protection for healthy young and middle-aged adults, and little if any protection for those 65 and older—those who are […]

2016-11-21T13:08:55-05:00November 9th, 2012|Nursing|3 Comments
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AJN’s October Issue: Breast Cancer, Celiac Disease, the Fall Elections, More

AJN’s October issue is now available on our Web site. Here’s a selection of what not to miss, including two continuing education (CE) articles, which you can access for free.

All women who inherit a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation have a significantly increased risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer or both. This month’s original research article, “Being Young, Female, and BRCA Positive,” explores the psychosocial consequences in young women who test positive for one of these mutations—especially where it concerns marriage and childbearing. This CE article is open access and can earn you 2.1 CE credits.

Diagnosis of celiac disease in adults is often missed or delayed because clinicians often consider it to be a childhood disease. “Celiac Disease: A Medical Puzzle,” provides an overview of this widely underrecognized disease, outlines the pathophysiology and the four types of celiac disease, addresses diagnosis and disease management, and offers illustrative stories in the interest of raising nurses’ awareness of the disease. This CE article is open access and can earn you 2.1 CE credits. For more information, listen to a podcast with the authors.

Being unaware of the realities of licensure can damage a nurse’s career, even permanently. “Common Misconceptions About Professional Licensure” is part one of a three-part series that will discuss nursing disciplinary actions and provides tips for maintaining one’s license in good standing. For more, listen to a podcast with the author, […]

2016-11-21T13:09:11-05:00October 1st, 2012|Nursing|0 Comments
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AJN’s September Issue: Bariatric Surgery, Biomarkers, Mobile Technology for Nurses, More

AJN’s September issue is now available on our Web site. Here’s a selection of what not to miss, including two continuing education (CE) articles, which you can access for free.

It’s no surprise that obesity and overweight are on the rise in this country, and nurses will likely find themselves caring for patients who have undergone bariatric surgery at some point in their career. “Outcomes and Complications after Bariatric Surgery” reviews the five most common procedures, outcomes and complications of surgery, and pre- and postoperative patient care. This CE article is open access and can earn you 2.5 CE credits.

Nearly 40% of all surgeries in the United States are performed on adults ages 65 and older. A common complication of surgery in this population is postoperative delirium, which is associated with extended lengths of stay, higher patient care costs, increased morbidity, and greater risk of death. “Postoperative Delirium in Elderly Patients” evaluates risk factors for postoperative delirium in elderly patients and examines potential intervention strategies. This CE article is open access and can earn you 2.5 CE credits.

Smartphones, e-readers, and tablets are everywhere, including at the bedside. In “Tablet Technology for Nurses,” Megen Duffy provides a guided tour of the potential uses and pitfalls of mobile technology for nurses—plus a comparison of the iPad and Kindle Fire.

Whether to predict, diagnose, or monitor disease, biomarkers are useful in every step of patient care. “Biomarkers: […]

2016-11-21T13:09:24-05:00August 31st, 2012|Nursing|0 Comments
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Campaign-Inspired Hot Summer Friday Thoughts

By Shawn Kennedy, AJN editor-in-chief

Commuting in and out of Manhattan gives me plenty of time to listen to the radio and of course, with Election Day a mere 90 days away, the presidential campaign offers reporters a lot of fodder for commentary. And of course, the evening papers and television stations—both national and local—augment what’s on the radio all day. Here’s a sampling of health care–related campaign news that I’ve heard and read this week.

According to the Kaiser Foundation’s Health Tracking Poll, July figures show that overall, two thirds of Americans support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but when it comes to whether their own states should expand programs, support drops to less than half (49%), while 43% want to keep the status quo. Importantly for candidates, “four in 10 Americans say they could still change their minds on the law.”

My take: The failure of the Democrats to adequately explain the reforms, together with the misinformation from the Republicans (death panels—need I say more?), are leaving the public confused.  The winner in November will be the candidate who can convince the voters that the ACA is either good or bad for them on a person level. (And yes, the economy is now the overriding issue, but health care will keep resurfacing as an emotional and “values” issue in the coming months.)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–Nevada) accused candidate Mitt Romney of not paying taxes for 10 years while he was […]

2016-11-21T13:09:30-05:00August 10th, 2012|health care policy, nursing perspective|0 Comments
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AJN’s August Issue: A Metaphorical Prison, a Found Manuscript, a Nurse Carries the Torch, More

AJN’s August issue is now available on our Web site. Here’s a selection of what not to miss, including two continuing education (CE) articles, which you can access for free.

Nurses play a crucial role in inpatient programs for anorexia in adolescents, but how do the patients view them? Our Original Research article, “An Inpatient Program for Adolescents with Anorexia Experienced as a Metaphorical Prison,” describes the experience of adolescents in an Australian inpatient behavioral program and how both nurses’ and patients’ perception of the program as a metaphoric prison negatively affected the development of therapeutic relationships between them. This CE article is open access and can earn you 2.5 CE credits.

Health information technology (HIT) is a central aspect of current U.S. government efforts to reduce costs and improve the efficiency and safety of the health care system. But what does this really mean for nurses? “Health Information Technology and Nursing,”  the first article in a series of three on HIT and nursing, will examine the federal policies behind efforts to expand the use of this technology. This CE article is open access and can earn you 2.1 CE credits.

Accord­ing to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 348,000 unlicensed as­sistive personnel were employed in the hospital set­ting in 2011. Our Cultivating Quality article, “Continuing Education for Patient Care Technicians: A Unit-Based, RN-Led Initiative,” explores how one teaching […]

2016-11-21T13:09:36-05:00July 27th, 2012|Nursing|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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