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Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases: A Comprehensive Nursing-Focused Overview

Virtually all of us who have spent time in the outdoors have either heard about or experienced an encounter with a tick. Diseases transmitted through the bite of a tick represent a growing health concern in the United States and around the world. Tick bites can affect individuals who live in, work in, or travel to wooded, grassy, or brush-filled environments. Ticks are generally more active during warmer months of the year (usually April through September), but they can be active any time the temperature is above freezing. Therefore, taking precautions can be close to a year-round activity, including an increased emphasis during vacation travel when the climate may differ from that of your usual environment. Nurses play an essential role in patient education, prevention, early recognition, clinical management, and public health surveillance of these diseases—and their credibility and trusted relationships enable impactful opportunities.

Adult deer tick, Ixodes scapularis/via Wikimedia Commons

The following summary outlines key facts about tick biology and transmission, clinical manifestations of major tickborne diseases [TBDs], prevention strategies, post-bite care, public health reporting, and updates on vaccines—particularly for domestic and international travelers.

Understanding ticks and disease transmission

Ticks are blood-feeding arachnids capable of transmitting pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and protozoa, […]

2025-08-25T11:04:09-04:00August 25th, 2025|infection control, infectious diseases, Nursing, Public health|0 Comments
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Some Gentle Reminders for Ensuring Appropriate Language Interpretation for Patients

Photo by Ling App on Unsplash

When I began nursing school, I never could have imagined how quickly I would be thrust into the heart of health care, quite literally. During my first semester, I started clinical rotations on a cardiovascular unit, where I began to understand the phenomenal intricacies of the human heart. It was a time of discovery, as I learned to navigate the complexities of blood pressure readings, mean arterial pressures (MAP), electrocardiograms (ECGs), cardiac catheterizations, and even the life-changing left ventricular assistive devices (LVADs).

By the time I began my second semester, I found myself in a cardiovascular surgical intermediate care unit, a place that would push me further into the depths of cardiac care. There, under the watchful eye of my clinical preceptor, I had the responsibility of caring for patients who had undergone some of the most intricate and high-stakes procedures imaginable. It was during this semester that I encountered a powerful lesson that has stayed with me long after graduation and well into my early years as a registered nurse.

A lesson in why clear communication really matters.

A Spanish-speaking Hispanic woman with coronary artery disease was admitted to our cardiac unit. Her electronic medical record noted Spanish […]

2025-08-11T14:15:43-04:00August 11th, 2025|family, family experience, Nursing, patient engagement, patient experience, patient safety|0 Comments
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Nurses as Vital Partners in the Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance

Photo: Shutterstock

Reducing the impact of antimicrobial therapy is a part of fundamental practice for health care providers, pharmacists, microbiologists, and public health professionals. Inclusion of nurses in the conversation regarding actions and implementation to achieve this end has often been an afterthought.

However, the number of nurses practicing across every health care setting makes us critical and active partners. What, specifically, are the roles and actions of nurses in addressing antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), and safe patient care and outcomes? Let’s first review the basics of the problem.

Nursing Activities Relevant to Antimicrobial Use and Stewardship

The approximately 5.77 million active nurses in the United States are widely trusted and well positioned to provide education on antibiotic use and influence behavior related to antimicrobial therapy. Their universal presence in health care settings empowers them to play a role as frontline actors in antimicrobial stewardship across inpatient, outpatient, and community settings. To make this happen, programs supporting appropriate use require commitment from health care leadership, available expertise in antimicrobial drug use, regular performance evaluation, […]

2025-07-14T10:38:24-04:00July 14th, 2025|Nursing, patient safety|0 Comments
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R3: Resilient Nurses Initiative Seeks to Redefine the Nursing Narrative

A film created to spark meaningful conversations about nursing.

With support from a state-funded grant, the R3: Resilient Nurses Initiative has embarked on a project to further its mission of promoting renewal, resilience, and retention in the nursing profession—a short film. In collaboration with the Dracopoulos-Bloomberg iDeas Lab at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, the team created Harnessing the Promise of Nursing.

The film includes interviews with a diverse array of Maryland nurses

The film aims to spark meaningful conversations that help nurses reconnect with their power, purpose, and value—ultimately strengthening and sustaining the nursing workforce.

Featuring interviews with Maryland nurses across generations and practice areas, the film offers a diverse range of voices and perspectives. It seeks to shift outdated narratives about nursing by highlighting both the profession’s challenges and its profound rewards. Through this lens, the film explores strategies for building a more sustainable future for nurses.

‘Capturing authentic, first-person experiences.’

A central theme of the project is the importance of nurses using their own voices to shape the story of their profession. By capturing authentic, first-person experiences, the film reclaims the narrative—centering it on pride, agency, and the essential role of nurses in health care. It also explores the generational, experiential, and cultural differences that […]

2025-06-30T16:04:36-04:00June 30th, 2025|Nursing|0 Comments
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The World Can Use Our Help: A Nurse’s Thoughts on Retirement

After a varied, fulfilling, and fascinating 43-year career as a nurse, I finally retired. To be honest, I was a little anxious about it. After all, what would I do with all that free time?

So many of my colleagues were continuing to work long past the age of 65. But my husband and I had planned to move across the country when we retired, from Connecticut to California where our daughter and her family were living. Now that time had arrived.

Once we settled in the San Francisco Bay area, I looked around to see what I could do. I have always said that “everyone needs to be needed.” But where was a retired nurse needed? It soon became evident that volunteer opportunities abounded. I volunteered one day a week in a clinic for the underserved and unhoused, providing patients with health education. That is, until the clinic closed due to financial constraints. Back to square one.

An eye-opening experience.

Then the perfect opportunity presented itself. When I […]

2025-06-25T09:36:20-04:00June 24th, 2025|nurse retirement, Nursing, Public health, volunteering|6 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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