About Diane Szulecki, editor

Editor, American Journal of Nursing

AJN’s Top 10 Articles of 2020

What captured the interest of AJN‘s readers in 2020? More than just COVID-19, suprisingly! Though the pandemic dominated our collective attention, other topics in nursing continued to resonate. We’ve compiled a list of the past year’s most-read (new) articles below—all are currently free to access.

1. “COVID-19 Brings Changes to NP Scope of Practice”

2. “Staffing Ratios and Burnout”

3. “Perceived Barriers to Rapid Response Team Activation Among Nurses”

4. “CE: Acute Care for Patients with Dementia”

5. “Urinary Incontinence in Older Adults”

6. “Original Research: How Magnet Hospital Status Affects Nurses, Patients, and Organizations: A Systematic Review”

7. “CE: Opioid Use Disorder: Pathophysiology, Assessment, and Effective Interventions”

8. “CE: Mitigating the Dangers of Polypharmacy in Community-Dwelling Older Adults”

9. “Mirror Therapy in the Management of Phantom Limb Pain”

10. “CE: PANDAS: Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infection”

2021-01-06T08:16:31-05:00January 6th, 2021|Nursing|0 Comments
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January Issue Highlights: Understanding the CBC, COVID-19 Timeline, Book of the Year Awards, More

“As we move into 2021, my wish for this new year is that we resolve to approach it with a renewed sense of purpose . . .”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her editorial, “2020: A Year of Let Down and Loss”

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

Original Research: Nurses’ Perspectives on Caring for Patients with Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders

This study explored direct care nurses’ understanding and interpretation of do-not-resuscitate orders in relation to caring for hospitalized adults with such orders, and examined the misconceptions many nurses have about the meaning of DNR orders.

2020: The Year of COVID-19

A timeline of key events and milestones illustrates how the pandemic has unfolded over the past year.

CE: Back to Basics: The Complete Blood Count

The author discusses the meaning and function of complete blood count components, highlighting the important pathophysiological evidence they provide.

[…]

2020-12-29T09:28:31-05:00December 29th, 2020|Nursing|0 Comments
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December Issue Highlights: Community-Acquired Pneumonia, Nurses’ COVID-19 Experiences, More

“As we go forward from this difficult year, we should take great pride in the fact that, perhaps for the first time, nurses’ work, commitment, and skills are visible all over the world.”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her editorial, “Moving On from the (Unimaginable) Year of the Nurse and the Midwife“

The December issue of AJN is now live. Here are some highlights.

Original Research: Assessing Organizational Focus on Health Literacy in North Texas Hospitals

“This mixed-methods study adds to the growing body of evidence for a lack of health literate practices in health care organizations.”

Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Review of Current Diagnostic Criteria and Management

This article discusses the 2019 American Thoracic Society/Infectious Diseases Society of America guideline on CAP diagnosis and treatment and provides an update on risk factors, signs and symptoms, and recommendations for treatment, discharge, and prevention.

Special Report: Frontline Nurses Say ‘Never Again’

A summary of a new report from the Frontline Nurses WikiWisdom Forum—an initiative of New Voice Strategies, the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and AJN—in which nurses share their COVID-19 experiences and offer strategies to successfully manage future health care crises.

[…]

2020-11-23T09:26:16-05:00November 23rd, 2020|Nursing|0 Comments
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November Issue Highlights: Family Presence During Resuscitation, Autism Spectrum Disorder, More

“I’m by no means a Pollyanna, but I believe incessant dwelling on the negatives doesn’t help any of us; we also need to examine the positives.”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her editorial “Finding Reasons to Be Thankful“

The November issue of AJN is now live. Here are some highlights.

Original Research: Family Presence During Resuscitation: Medical–Surgical Nurses’ Perceptions, Self-Confidence, and Use of Invitations

“The sample of 51 medical–surgical nurses reported overall neutral perceptions of FPDR. Yet 63% had never invited family members to experience resuscitation.”

Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Nurse’s Role

The authors discuss epidemiology, screening, and diagnosis, as well as appropriate early actions nurses can take when this condition is suspected.

AJN Reports: The Politicization of COVID-19

How partisanship has contributed to the U.S. failure to control the spread of the disease.

[…]

2020-10-26T09:50:53-04:00October 26th, 2020|Nursing|0 Comments
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October Issue Highlights: Data on RN Suicides, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Starting a Research Project, More

“As a nurse, I believe in science as a guide for our actions….As a human being with morals, empathy, and compassion, I believe there are lines no person, certainly no government leader, should cross.”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her editorial, “No Time for Silence”

The October issue of AJN is now live. Here are some highlights.

Original Research: Suicide Among RNs: An Analysis of 2015 Data from the National Violent Death Reporting System

The authors of this study sought to determine the number of suicides and estimated rate of suicide among RNs. Their findings indicate that RNs may die by suicide at higher rates than the total employed population in the 16-to-64-year age range.

From the CDC: Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder

An evidence-based review of the risk factors for autism spectrum disorder, its epidemiology, common concurrent conditions, evaluation, diagnosis, treatments, and outcomes.

New Series: Nursing Research, Step by Step: How Does Research Start?

This article—the first in a new series on clinical research by nurses—focuses on how to start the research process by identifying a topic of interest and developing a well-defined research question.

[…]

2020-09-28T08:47:02-04:00September 28th, 2020|Nursing|1 Comment
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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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