About Diane Szulecki, editor

Editor, American Journal of Nursing

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.

Double Shift, charcoal on paper, 11” × 14”, 2021. © Therese Cipiti Herron.

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.

Get Them What They Need!, watercolor, 5” × 5”, 2020. © Jim Leitz.

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

2022-03-09T09:25:13-05:00March 9th, 2022|Nursing|0 Comments
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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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2022-02-28T09:46:49-05:00February 28th, 2022|Nursing|0 Comments
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February Issue: Racism in Nursing, Employer Vaccine Mandates, More

“Members of the health professions team should recognize, and join their colleagues in dismantling, structural racism.”—Bernice Rumala and Kenya Beard in their February Viewpoint article, “Resilience Will Not Erase Structural Racism”

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

Special Feature: An Overdue Reckoning on Racism in Nursing

The authors discuss a project they launched to encourage honest discussion of racism in nursing and promote meaningful actions all nurses can take to achieve an antiracist nursing profession.

CE: Using Smart IV Infusion Pumps Outside of Patient Rooms

An overview of one medical center’s use of an innovative IV pump relocation practice in response to COVID-19—and how nurses addressed concerns for safety and efficacy.

Update from the CDC: Understanding Filtering Facepiece Respirators

A discussion of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) respirator approval process, the competition from non-NIOSH-approved respirators, and how to ensure your respirator offers adequate protection.

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2022-01-31T09:10:42-05:00January 31st, 2022|Nursing|1 Comment
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Ready to Write for Publication? AJN’s Manuscript Wish List

The American Journal of Nursing (AJN) is currently seeking article submissions in a number of topic areas and of various types. Please read this short post for more information, and pass the link along to anyone you know who might have a particular area of expertise or interest to write about.

AJN publishes original research, quality improvement (QI), and review articles as CE and feature articles. We also publish shorter, focused columns. Submissions must be evidence based and are peer reviewed.

Clinical features should cover epidemiology, pathology, current research, “what’s new” in knowledge and/or treatment, and nursing implications. Feature articles are usually 5,000 to 8,000 words.

We currently seek articles on these clinical topics:

  • Diabetes management
  • Orthopedic topics—joint replacement, spinal injuries
  • Most pediatric topics—but especially pain, scoliosis, adolescent mental health
  • Best practice in anticoagulant therapy
  • Acute/critical care updates (new guidelines, research)
  • Autoimmune disorders (such as lupus)
  • Infectious disease and public health
  • Polycystic ovary syndrome, gynecologic cancers
  • Managing/troubleshooting skin rashes
  • Parenteral and enteral feeding update

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2022-01-26T10:11:38-05:00January 26th, 2022|career, Nursing, nursing career, writing|0 Comments
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January Issue: The Year in Review, Nurses’ COVID-19 Communication Challenges, More

“Innovations and revelations that came about because of the pandemic . . . will perhaps drive badly needed system changes. There is reason to hope that 2022 will be a better year.”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her January editorial, “2021: A Year of Hope and Heartbreak”

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

Original Research: Nurses’ Experiences of Caring for Patients and Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Communication Challenges

This qualitative descriptive study examined nurses’ perceptions and experiences of communicating with patients and families under the pandemic’s socially restrictive practices and policies.

In the News: The Year in Review: 2021

The top health care, clinical, and social justice news stories of the year, plus stories to watch in 2022. Also see our coverage of nursing and COVID-19, the pandemic’s hidden toll, and the climate crisis.

CE: Diagnosing and Managing Migraine

An overview of migraine pathophysiology, prevalence, risk factors, assessment, and acute and prophylactic treatment in the outpatient primary care setting.
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2021-12-28T11:14:28-05:00December 28th, 2021|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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