Nurses spend more time with patients than most other types of providers and have unique insight into patient care and the the healthcare system.

Be a Nurse. Be a Writer. Don’t Be a ‘Nurse Writer.’

I adore nurses. If I thought I could handle the math (or another round of schooling), I might become a nurse. I respect the profession and understand that 95% of the hands-on care provided by our health care system is provided by nurses, not physicians.

            That said (and I know this is going to irritate a lot of people), I think that the nurse who describes her- or himself as a “nurse writer” (or a nurse poet, nurse researcher, nurse attorney, and so on) is doing a disservice to both the writer and the profession. To me (and not to some of my colleagues here who are nurses, I hasten to add), adding “nurse” before “writer” is a bit of a cop-out. […]

2016-11-21T13:38:31-05:00March 4th, 2009|career, nursing perspective|21 Comments
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Language Alert! Obama’s “Providers”

In his speech to Congress last night, President Obama referred to “doctors and health care providers.” I’m not sure why he used this language and I may be splitting hairs, but some people might question why he wouldn’t consider physicians to be “health care providers.” Perhaps it’s because physicians hate the phrase. I have heard more than one physician object to it, even when it’s intended to represent all of the people who are involved in providing health care to people. Physicians seem to find it demeaning. It’s almost as if they don’t want to be part of the team—they want to be apart from it and always in the lead, even if they aren’t best suited to be the one leading the team (for example, when a patient with mental health and complex social problems is being seen by an interdisciplinary team that is headed by a social worker who is the best person to coordinate the patient’s care). […]

2016-11-21T13:38:45-05:00February 25th, 2009|career, health care policy, nursing perspective|2 Comments
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Welcome to Off The Charts

Welcome to AJN’s blog, Off the Charts. As the name implies, the blog will be a place for spontaneous discussions of issues and happenings in the world of nursing and health care. What an opportunity to get nursing perspectives to a general audience concerned about health care. That’s one of the beauties of the Web. We’ll start with posts twice a week, but hope to get to daily writing. Unlike the articles published by AJN, blog posts will not be peer reviewed. We’ll look to readers to provide corrections, reactions, and other perspectives on topics. Comments are welcome if they are not abusive or otherwise inappropriate.

This is actually my second experience with blogging. I’ve been making occasional posts as a guest contributor on a blog sponsored by Disruptive Women in Health Care. The site includes bloggers from all lengths of the political continuum and topics that are quite diverse. Check it out.

But also check out this blog on a regular basis. Bookmark it or connect to it from the AJN Web site. AJN launched its new Web site in February and will continue to unfold exciting features over the coming year. You can access articles from AJN, podcasts of issue highlights and interviews with authors and thought leaders in nursing and health care, videos, news alerts, and more.

Diana J. Mason, Phd, […]

2016-11-21T13:38:59-05:00February 23rd, 2009|nursing perspective|0 Comments
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Content disclaimer

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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