Nurses spend more time with patients than most other types of providers and have unique insight into patient care and the the healthcare system.
(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Meditation?
Maybe you have more power than you think.
Soccer Brain: Teaching Families about the Dangers of Head Injuries in Youth Sports
By Diana Mason, AJN editor-in-chief-emeritus
I’ve been disturbed by a relative’s seeming lack of concern about his teenage son’s repeated head injuries from playing soccer. I think he doesn’t believe what I tell him about the long-term consequences of head injuries sustained in sports such as football and soccer. So brava to Jane E. Brody, the New York Times Personal Health columnist, for writing about it. She included a symptom guide that sets out what’s of concern and the importance of monitoring those with head injuries for at least 72 hours.
Every emergency room nurse and any nurse who attends youth sporting events should share this article with the parents of children who play contact or collision sports. I’m sending it to my relatives. See AJN’s article on combat-zone traumatic brain injuries for more on the topic.
Nurse Organizations Oppose Move to Allow Non-Licensed Personnel to Give Insulin to Students (Despite ADA Testimony Supporting the Practice)
A scenario is playing out in California that may have far-reaching consequences for nursing and for school children with diabetes. At issue is a move by the California Department of Education to allow non-nurse, unlicensed school personnel—so, teachers, aides, administrators, and others—to administer insulin to children while at school or at school functions if licensed personnel are unavailable.
Blogging Nurses: Latest ‘Change of Shift’ Roundup Now Up at Emergiblog
Want to keep up with the nursosphere? The most recent Change of Shift, a regular compendium of links to blog posts by nurses, nursing students, and sundry others is now up over at Emergiblog.
Stopped Caring About Health Care Reform? Maybe There’s a Cure…
The health of the health care system will affect you as professionals and as citizens for a long time to come. But if you’re not political activists on the left or the right, there’s a good chance that, like many busy people, you’ve grown pretty sick of the daily news on the topic. Why? Here’s an excerpt from an excellent post on what’s missing from the news and why this means that so-called up-to-the-minute news can hide the real story as often as it can reveal it:
At the scale of news, almost every story looks complicated. Health reform is an impossible-to-follow morass of Congressional committees, policy proposals, industry talking points, and think tank reports. Pull back the lens a bit, however, and you see a fairly straightforward story whose basic contours haven’t changed all that much since 1994. […]