About Diane Szulecki, editor

Editor, American Journal of Nursing

February Issue: Contraception Options Update, Polypharmacy’s Dangers, Managing Urinary Incontinence, More

“Yes, we need to be fiscally responsible, but nurses’ main priority shouldn’t be patient throughput or implementing changes that save money while compromising care and patient outcomes. Nurses must be enabled to nurse.”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her editorial, “Who Will Be Left to Care?”

The February issue of AJN is now live! Here are the highlights:

CE: An Evidence-Based Update on Contraception

A comprehensive review of the major characteristics of nonpermanent contraceptive methods, including combined hormonal contraceptives, progestin-only methods, nonhormonal methods, and recent innovations in contraception.

CE: Mitigating the Dangers of Polypharmacy in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

The author explores the factors that contribute to polypharmacy in
older adults, examines its negative physiological and economic effects, and outlines strategies to promote safe and appropriate medication prescribing.
[…]

2020-01-27T09:45:06-05:00January 27th, 2020|Nursing|0 Comments
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Looking Back to Look Forward: Top Health, Nursing, Policy, and Clinical Practice News of 2019

Photo via Flickr / Luis Marina

Each January, AJN takes a close look at the most noteworthy health care–related news of the past year, from general health stories and policy to specific nursing and clinical issues. Which stories stood out in 2019? Here’s a rundown:

Health care news

  • Negative trends intensify for key measures of population health and access to care. As life expectancy declines again in the United States, signaling a three-year trend, the Affordable Care Act remains under threat from GOP-sponsored litigation; children have been losing coverage; new work requirements and paperwork barriers are undercutting Medicaid coverage gains; and rising drug costs are in the spotlight.
  • Cyberattacks and hospital data security. Health care organizations’ cybersecurity spending lags behind that of other industries.
  • A changing climate. As environmental protections are weakened or rolled back, new research details the significant and long-lasting health consequences of climate change.
  • Women’s reproductive health. The U.S. maternal mortality rate continues to rise, and several states have passed legislation to curtail abortion access.
  • Society in distress. In 2019, Americans experienced the public health consequences of political discord, poverty, and unaddressed social needs, as magnified by the crisis at the border and rising rates of gun violence and homelessness.

2020-01-14T09:16:17-05:00January 14th, 2020|health care policy, Nursing|0 Comments
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January Issue: Spiritual Distress and Cancer, Recruitment of Foreign-Educated Clinicians, AJN Book of the Year Awards, More

“Nurses and midwives together constitute half of the global health workforce, and by declaring 2020 the ‘Year of the Nurse and Midwife,’ the World Health Organization is recognizing their critical roles in achieving global health goals.”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her editorial, “Putting 2019 Behind Us”

With the new year upon us, the January issue of AJN is now live. Here are the highlights:

CE: Original Research: The Recruitment Experience of Foreign-Educated Health Professionals to the United States

The authors discuss the current state of international recruitment and report on the findings of their study of foreign-educated health professionals and recruiters to further illuminate the recruitment experience.

CE: Assessing and Managing Spiritual Distress in Cancer Survivorship

This article describes the concept of spiritual distress and illustrates how nurses can incorporate into practice evidence-based recommendations for addressing cancer survivors’ spiritual needs. […]

2019-12-30T08:20:07-05:00December 30th, 2019|Nursing|0 Comments
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December Issue: Diabetes Burnout, Hematologic Childhood Cancers, Malnutrition Readmission Prevention, More

“Now more than ever, nursing is in a position of influence.”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her editorial, “Anticipating a Banner Year for Nursing”

The December issue of AJN is now live. Here’s what’s new:

CE: Original Research: Experiences of Diabetes Burnout: A Qualitative Study Among People with Type 1 Diabetes

Diabetes burnout has been described as feelings of exhaustion and frustration related to the demands of managing the illness, resulting in inconsistent self-care behaviors. The authors of this study conducted in-depth interviews with adults who have type 1 diabetes and current or previous experiences of diabetes burnout, revealing more about the nature of burnout and its contributing factors.

CE: Hematologic Childhood Cancers: An Evidence-Based Review

This article provides an overview of the approaches used to treat hematologic childhood cancers, explains which treatments are indicated for the various types of leukemia and lymphoma, and discusses nursing care of the child and family.
[…]

2019-11-25T09:41:53-05:00November 25th, 2019|Nursing|0 Comments
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November Issue: Chronic Pain and Opioids, CVDs in Pregnancy, Preventing Patient Self-Harm, More

“[S]eeing this patient, his return, his presence, his enduring love, was a gift. Because some days in health care, you don’t really know what hope you are fighting for or for whom.”—Hui-Wen (Alina) Sato, author of the November Reflections column, “Beholding the Returning Light”

The November issue of AJN is now live. Here’s what’s new:

CE: Implementing Guidelines for Treating Chronic Pain with Prescription Opioids

An overview of five tools outlined in the CDC’s 2016 opioid safety guideline—prescription opioid treatment agreements, urine drug screening, prescription drug monitoring program databases, calculation of morphine milligram equivalents, and naloxone kits—and their relevance to primary care nurses.

CE: Gestational Hypertension, Preeclampsia, and Peripartum Cardiomyopathy: A Clinical Review

The authors discuss three of the most common pregnancy-specific cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors, prevention, assessment, and management.
[…]

2019-10-28T10:00:42-04:00October 28th, 2019|Nursing|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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