About Betsy Todd, MPH, RN

Former clinical editor, American Journal of Nursing (AJN), and nurse epidemiologist

Staying Current with Sepsis Tools, Definitions, and Practices

© Alamy Stock Photo.

Whatever happened to SIRS? Why don’t we use the term “severe sepsis” anymore? And what’s a qSOFA score?

Changing knowledge, changing practices.

Since the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine launched the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) in 2002, there has been an ongoing search for best practices.

Education campaigns have focused on early diagnosis and aggressive treatment. Best practices continue to evolve rapidly. As our understanding of sepsis pathophysiology has increased, definitions have changed and “sepsis bundle” interventions have been updated. […]

2018-02-09T09:57:19-05:00February 9th, 2018|guidelines, Nursing|0 Comments
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Simple Intervention Decreases Oral Mucositis from Head and Neck Cancer Treatment

A painful effect of cancer treatment.

Nurse Cindy Dawson provides patient education on oral care kit used in a nurse-led intervention to reduce oral mucositis severity in adults treated for head and neck cancer. Photo courtesy of Kay Klein.

Years ago, when I worked with patients being treated for head and neck cancer who had been admitted for one reason or another, I felt helpless in the face of their extremely uncomfortable oral mucositis. None of our topical concoctions seemed to bring much relief to these patients, who had often endured disfiguring surgery as well.

While there is as yet no perfect solution to this uncomfortable side effect from the radiation or chemotherapy used to treat head and neck cancers, a group of oncology staff nurses and their colleagues have demonstrated that a consistent, standardized approach to oral care for these patients may significantly alleviate the pain of this almost universal treatment effect.

Consistent, standardized oral care.

After reviewing the literature on oral care, Cullen and colleagues enhanced their usual patient teaching […]

2018-01-12T09:13:13-05:00January 12th, 2018|Nursing, nursing research, patient experience|1 Comment
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What if Our Antibiotic Prescribing Practices are Wrong?

How often have you emphasized to patients, family, and friends that they must finish their prescribed antibiotics, even if they feel better? A provocative new analysis in BMJ takes a close look at why standard antibiotic protocols may promote, rather than prevent, antibiotic resistance.

The authors’ arguments center around two key points:

  • The length of a course of antibiotic therapy is not evidence based, but rather “set by precedent [and] driven by fear of undertreatment.”
  • Typical, prolonged courses of these drugs cause endogenous or colonizing bacteria to become antibiotic resistant. It is these “collateral” organisms, they argue, and not the organism that has actually caused the infection, that drive the spread of antibiotic resistance.

Individualized antibiotic courses.

The BMJ authors present a strong argument for more individualized courses of antibiotic treatment. Unfortunately, when the news media picked up this story, much of what was written and broadcast erroneously suggested that everyone should simply stop their antibiotics when they feel better. […]

2017-12-13T10:41:02-05:00December 13th, 2017|infection control, Nursing, Public health|0 Comments
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Promoting Nursing Students’ Ethical Development in the Clinical Setting

Ethics professor discusses high-fidelity patient simulation exercise with student. Photo courtesy of Linda Koharchik.

I once spent an hour in an ambulatory surgery PACU when interviewing for work at the place. A few minutes into my visit, one of the patients awoke in tears. The PACU RN proceeded to slap the woman across the face. An open-handed, full-face slap. “No crying here!” she snapped.

I was floored, and reported the incident to the clinic’s medical director. This nurse not only assaulted a patient, she did so in full view of a visitor (me). I suspect that if, instead, I had been an instructor from their medical center with students in tow, she would not have behaved differently. And would I have responded differently if students were present? Would I have confronted the nurse while other patients were watching, to make clear to the students that willfully harming a patient can never be tolerated?

Approaches to ethical instruction.

In “Promoting Nursing Students’ Ethical Development in the Clinical Setting” (free until December 13) in the November issue of AJN, Linda Koharchik and colleagues discuss the ways in which we can further students’ understanding […]

2017-11-29T15:45:34-05:00November 29th, 2017|Nursing|2 Comments
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‘Micro’ and ‘Macro’ Strategies for Nursing to Thrive as a Profession

At last month’s annual convention of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN), nurse and health care economist Peter Buerhaus received the Anthony J. Jannetti Award “for extraordinary contributions to health care.” Buerhaus, a professor of nursing at Montana State University College of Nursing, is widely known across health care disciplines for his research on health care costs and value, especially in regard to nurses and nursing. In his keynote talk, Buerhaus shared some of his recent research findings and offered some “micro” and “macro” nursing strategies for thriving amid today’s health care challenges.

Nurses maintain status as highly trusted professionals.

Click to expand. Most trusted professions, Gallup 2017 poll.

He began by reminding the group of some of the reasons that nurses are respected and trusted in America. People believe that nurses ensure quality of care, protect patients and maintain safety standards, and provide advice on personal health issues.

Studies show that we maintain this trusted status even when the media reports on the mistakes of individual nurses. And after good media attention, as when Alex Wubbels protected her patient or when nurses play key roles in disaster relief efforts, our approval ratings soar.

Accomplishments of NPs have reinforced good reputation of nurses.

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2017-11-17T10:20:27-05:00November 15th, 2017|Nursing, nursing research|0 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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