Diane Szulecki, editor, Author at Off the Charts

June Issue: Cardiac Devices for Heart Failure, Using EHR Data for Research and QI, More

“When nurses practice real self-care, they come to a place of self-respect, learn to hear their own voice, and recognize when their expressed needs are ignored. “—Emily Stice Laker in her Viewpoint article, “Nurses Need More Than Self-Care”

The June issue of AJN is now live. Here’s what’s new. Some articles may be free only to subscribers.

CE: Guideline-Directed Cardiac Devices for Patients with Heart Failure

The author reviews current device therapies for heart failure and uses a composite case to demonstrate how bedside nurses can help patients understand treatment options, potential complications of implantation, and post-op care.

Special Feature: Assessing EHR Data for Use in Clinical Improvement and Research

This article introduces nurses to the secondary analysis of EHR data, first outlining the steps in data acquisition and then describing a theory-based process for evaluating data quality and cleaning the data.

Nursing Research, Step by Step: Diagnostic Studies: Measures of Accuracy in Nursing Research

This article, one in a series on clinical research by nurses, reviews the use of diagnostic and screening tests and tools in nursing research and clinical practice.

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Diane Szulecki, editor2022-05-31T09:08:10-04:00May 31st, 2022|Nursing|0 Comments

May Issue: Addressing Nurse Burnout, New Chest Pain Assessment Guidelines, More

“This is the third Nurses Day celebrated since the start of the pandemic and nurses’ work has gotten more recognition than ever. But is that recognition enough?”—AJN senior clinical editor Christine Moffa in her editorial, “Honoring Nurses Where They Need It”

The May issue of AJN is now live. Here’s what’s new. Some articles may be free only to subscribers.

Original Research: Combating the Opioid Epidemic Through Nurse Use of Multimodal Analgesia: An Integrative Literature Review

This review presents strong evidence on the benefits of multimodal analgesia in reducing opioid use for pain management in the acute care setting.

CE: Chemicals in the Home That Can Exacerbate Asthma

The authors describe how the use of cleaning and disinfectant products may affect asthma and asthma-related symptoms and report the findings of a recent study they conducted that identified how these products could reduce asthma control in older adults.

Effective Holistic Approaches to Reducing Nurse Stress and Burnout During COVID-19

This quality improvement project evaluated the use of serenity lounges—dedicated rooms where nurses can take workday breaks to relax and rejuvenate—and massage chairs on nurses’ anxiety, stress, and burnout.

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Diane Szulecki, editor2022-04-25T09:32:36-04:00April 25th, 2022|Nursing|0 Comments

April Issue: Trauma-Informed Care, Nurses’ Experiences During COVID-19, More

“As nurses we all care. It’s what we do. We care until our hearts hurt like an overused muscle.”—Eileen J. Glover in her Reflections essay, “The Suffering of Simone”

The April issue of AJN is now live. Here’s what’s new. Some articles may be free only to subscribers.

Original Research: Losing the Art and Failing the Science of Nursing: The Experiences of Nurses Working During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The authors of this qualitative descriptive study sought to understand nurses’ work experiences in various U.S. health care settings during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to learn more about barriers to and facilitators of their work.

CE: Trauma-Informed Care in Nursing Practice

This article presents the six foundational principles of trauma-informed care, using a case study to discuss the application of these core principles in nursing.

Improving Accuracy in Documenting Cardiopulmonary Arrest Events

The authors describe a quality improvement initiative to compare the timeliness and accuracy of paper-based versus electronic documentation of live cardiopulmonary arrest events.

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Diane Szulecki, editor2022-03-30T09:43:18-04:00March 30th, 2022|Nursing|0 Comments

Spotlight on the Art of Nursing

Duty, colored pencil on paper, 8” × 10”, 2021. © Isabella Calisi-Wagner.

AJN‘s Art of Nursing column this month features Duty, a drawing of a nurse who cared for New York City artist and writer Isabella Calisi-Wagner as she recovered from emergency brain surgery in 2020. Calisi-Wagner remains friends with the nurse today. She says she drew the portrait to “celebrate the dedication of nurses.”

Another recent artwork honoring nurses in AJN is Double Shift, a charcoal drawing by artist and retired RN Therese Cipiti Herron. She explains that the image captures the “essence of exhaustion” experienced by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, referencing nurses being utilized for extended shifts and performing in crisis mode. “I salute nurses as they carry on like never before,” she says.

In the early days of the pandemic, news reports about health care workers’ lack of access to adequate PPE inspired artist Jim Leitz to paint Get Them What They Need! This work was featured in AJN‘s June 2020 issue.

Each month in the Art of Nursing column, AJN publishes visual art and poetry related to nursing, health, and health care. Interested in submitting […]

Diane Szulecki, editor2022-03-09T09:25:13-05:00March 9th, 2022|Nursing|0 Comments

March Issue: Assessing Movement-Evoked Pain, Medical Aid in Dying, More

“Hope may be hard to find at times, but it’s what sustains us.”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her editorial, “Making It Through March”

The March issue of AJN is now live. Here’s what’s new. Some articles may be free only to subscribers.

CE: Assessing Movement-Evoked Pain

This article discusses the importance of assessing pain during movement, especially in postoperative patients; what such an assessment can reveal about the intensity, impact on patient functioning, and tolerability of pain; and protocols and tools for completing these assessments.

Medical Aid in Dying: What Every Nurse Needs to Know

The author provides an overview of aid in dying in the United States—offering an illustrative case report that highlights the struggles of one patient and his family—and discusses the nurse’s role and nursing implications.

Conversations: ‘How Can Acute Care Recover from the Pandemic?’

Four nursing leaders weigh in on the challenges faced by acute care nurses today—and identify opportunities for change.

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Diane Szulecki, editor2022-02-28T09:46:49-05:00February 28th, 2022|Nursing|0 Comments

About Diane Szulecki, editor

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