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

Women’s History Month: Nurses Started What?

Lillian Wald and other notable nurse pioneers, 1923The first paragraph of Maureen Shawn Kennedy’s editorial in the March issue of AJN, “Securing Our Place in History,” ends with a thought-provoking suggestion:

In 1980, after realizing that women were largely missing from the history books, a group of women formed the National Women’s History Project . . . and, in 1987, were successful in getting Congress to designate the month of March as Women’s History Month. . . .This year’s theme, “Weaving the Stories of Women’s Lives,” reflects the . . . tenet that “ [k]nowing women’s achievements challenges stereotypes and upends social assumptions about who women are and what women can accomplish today.” One might substitute the word nurses for women in this statement.

Public health nursing, school nurses, hospice, and many other crucial areas of health care today began with the efforts of nurses. Noting the many accomplishments of Lillian Wald, Lavinia Dock, Annie Goodrich, M. Adelaide Nutting, and the other nurses in the 1923 group photo on our March cover, shown as they gathered to celebrate the opening of the new headquarters of the Henry Street Visiting Nurse Service, Kennedy urges nurses today to learn about this tradition and to envision how they can carry it forward:

“The story […]

2016-11-21T13:02:53-05:00March 11th, 2015|career, Nursing, nursing perspective|0 Comments
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Telling the Truth, Keeping a Patient’s Trust

“Am I going to be okay?” Ami gasps. Her breath hitches, her chest rising and falling in spasms. One of my hands holds a mask to her face; the other hand holds hers. Pain has made her strong—my fingers are almost as white as her pale face, radiant with fear.

Illustration by McClain Moore for AJN. Illustration by McClain Moore for AJN.

That’s the start of the Reflections essay in AJN‘s February issue, “Am I Going to Be Okay?” Nurses tell patients ‘it’s going to be okay’ because the words can keep them calm, because no one can tell the future, because it’s comforting to hear ritualized phrases from a caregiver—even when they’re not, strictly speaking, true.

But are there times when more honesty is desirable? The author of this short Reflections essay delves into one such situation where the patient needs, above all, to feel trust for her nurse. […]

2016-11-21T13:02:53-05:00March 9th, 2015|narratives, Nursing, nursing perspective, patient engagement, Patients|1 Comment
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Addressing Alarm Fatigue in Nursing

by flattop341/via flickr by flattop341/via flickr

By Amanda Anderson, a critical care nurse and graduate student in New York City currently doing a graduate placement at AJN.

“Will you please silence that alarm?!” The nurse is on the phone, and can’t reach the screaming cardiac monitor. It’s a normal request, considering that we’re working together in an ICU and the alarm has been ringing for awhile.

But her request for silencing the alarm isn’t issued to me; she’s talking to the unit clerk. Stuck in my patient’s room, I watch as this untrained staff member taps the flashing rectangle on the unit’s central monitor. Without having first been appropriately evaluated, the ringing disappears, along with the words “Multifocal PVCs.”

Later, the same unit clerk absentmindedly turns off a sounding alarm, without encouragement from a nurse. I’m floating today, and although I’ve just met her, I can’t help but ask, “Do you know what that alarm was saying? Was it accurate?”

She is clearly startled by my admonishment, but I persist. “A lot of the alarms around here do seem to be false, but what if this one wasn’t? Do you have the training to know the difference, and to report it?”

If looks could kill, the one that meets my gaze is certainly homicidal, but it’s paired with a grumbled promise to never touch the screen again. So maybe […]

2016-11-21T13:02:55-05:00March 2nd, 2015|Nursing, nursing perspective, Patients|5 Comments
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AJN in March: Post-ICU Syndrome, Workplace Conflict Resolution, Prostate Cancer Options, More

AJN0315.Cover.OnlineAJN’s March issue is now available on our Web site. Here’s a selection of what not to miss.

New program for postintensive care syndrome (PICS). With increased ICU survival rates, we are seeing more complex cognitive, physical, and psychological sequelae. The authors of “Critical Care Recovery Center: An Innovative Collaborative Care Model for ICU Survivors” share how they created and implemented an evidence-based collaborative care program for ICU survivors to reduce morbidities that can affect their quality of life. This CE feature offers 2.5 CE credits to those who take the test that follows the article.

Helping men with localized prostate cancer make informed decisions. The information men receive at diagnosis of prostate cancer can be overwhelming. “Early Localized Prostate Cancer” reviews the multiple treatment options available for men with newly diagnosed, low-risk, localized prostate cancer and explains how nurses can help these men make informed decisions. This CE feature offers 2.5 CE credits to those who take the test that follows the article.

Further explore this topic by listening to a podcast interview with the author (this and other free podcasts are accessible via the Behind the Article podcasts page on our Web site, in our iPad app, or on iTunes). […]

2016-11-21T13:02:56-05:00February 27th, 2015|career, Nursing, nursing perspective, nursing research, patient engagement|0 Comments
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Tips for Getting a Nursing Job Interview in the Age of Electronic Applications

Illustration by the author

Julianna Paradisi, RN, OCN, is an oncology nurse navigator and writes a monthly post for this blog. The illustration is by the author.

Twenty-plus years ago I was job hunting in Portland, without a local connection in health care. Prepared with an Oregon nursing license, I applied for the only two open pediatric ICU positions in the city, found in newspaper want ads. The positions were in the same unit. Having several years of PICU experience, I was hopeful that I’d get an interview.

Two weeks went by without a phone call for an interview. Worse, I noticed that only one of the postings remained. With nothing to lose, I called the hospital’s human resources department.

“Hi, I applied for the positions of pediatric intensive care nurse at your hospital,” I said. “I see that one has been filled. I have seven years of experience, including transport of critically ill children, and PALS certification. I’m curious if there’s a reason I haven’t been offered an interview? I know if the manager meets me, she’ll love me.”

“I’ll look up your application, and get back to you,” was the response. Half an hour later, the PICU nurse manager called to set up an interview. “I’m sorry,” she explained. “Your application didn’t make it to my desk. Apparently it was misplaced by HR.”

I was hired at the interview, and […]

2016-11-21T13:02:56-05:00February 26th, 2015|career, healthcare social media, Nursing, nursing perspective|2 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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