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

American Academy of Nursing Spotlights Veteran Health Care, Names New ‘Living Legends’

By Maureen Shawn Kennedy, AJN editor-in-chief

Have You Ever Served? For me, the annual meeting of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) is a great venue for networking and connecting with old friends (including some from nursing school days 40 years ago). And there are always interesting sessions such as the Living Legends awards and a presentation about veterans’ health.

Few schools of nursing teach nursing history anymore, and unless you’re plugged into a professional association you won’t know about the accomplishments of those who’ve shaped the profession. That’s a shame. Nursing has been rich with women and men of action who’ve forged new ways of thinking about, practicing, and teaching nursing. At this year’s AAN meeting, four nursing movers and shakers were added as “living legends” (the Academy’s highest honor) during the event that’s always a highlight at the annual meeting. This year’s “class” includes:

(Ret.) General Clara Adams-Ender, whose army career began as a private and ended as a brigadier general (she was the first nurse to become a general!) and chief of the Army Nurse Corps.

Hattie Bessent, a staunch advocate and leader in creating opportunities in nursing for minority groups.

Margaret Miles, a pioneer in pediatric nursing whose research and work with parents of critically ill children has led to family-centered care practices in ICUs.

Jean Watson, whose ground-breaking theory development, research and practice around the science of caring is known around the world.

The health needs of veterans. […]

2016-11-21T13:06:13-05:00October 24th, 2013|nursing perspective, nursing research|1 Comment
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Safe and Less Safe Breast Milk Sharing, Plus Some Notable New Blog Posts by Nurses

Figure. The milk room, Mothers' Milk Bureau, Children's Welfare Association, New York City, 1930s, where breast milk donations were collected under careful supervision. Photo from the AJN archives. Figure. The milk room, Mothers’ Milk Bureau, Children’s Welfare Association, New York City, 1930s, where breast milk donations were collected under careful supervision. Photo from the AJN archives.

By Jacob Molyneux, senior editor

Today’s post was going to consist solely of links to a few posts by nurse bloggers that seemed worth your attention. But first, since everyone is tweeting about it this morning:

Breast milk sharing. Breast milk purchased or otherwise obtained via the Web can be tainted, according to a New York Times article today summarizing a new study published in Pediatrics. Money quote:

The report found that breast milk bought from two popular Web sites was often contaminated with high levels of bacteria, including, in a few instances, salmonella. The amounts detected in some samples were sufficient to sicken a child.

It so happens that AJN covered breast milk sharing just last year in an AJN Reports article called “Breast Milk Sharing is Making a Comeback, But Should It?” We looked at the lack of regulation of […]

2016-11-21T13:06:14-05:00October 21st, 2013|nursing perspective|1 Comment
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Why Don’t We Pay Attention to Oral Care in the ICU?

By Maureen Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN editor-in-chief

“Although meticulous oral care has been shown to reduce the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), oral care practices among critical care nurses remain inconsistent, with mouth care often perceived as a comfort measure rather than as a critical component of infection control.”

scanning electron micrograph of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria, one several types that can cause VAP/CDC Scanning electron micrograph of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one of several bacteria types that can cause VAP/ CDC image

So begins one of our CE feature articles in the current issue of AJN. In “Mouth Care to Reduce Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia” (which you can read for free), the authors discuss why mouth care is so important among the interventions to reduce VAP—and why it is often not given a high priority among patient care procedures.

I have to confess that in my clinical days, mouth care was done almost as an afterthought. In our critical care unit, we were always diligent in monitoring vitals signs and IV fluids, suctioning, turning and positioning the patient, but oral care usually was a perfunctory task, completed with a few quick swipes with lemon-glycerine swabs.

Booker and colleagues explain why oral care deserves the careful attention we give to other measures. They also review the research on […]

2016-11-21T13:06:16-05:00October 16th, 2013|nursing perspective, nursing research|2 Comments
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The 10 Most Popular Articles on AJN Right Now

From boliston, via Flickr From boliston, via Flickr

The 10 current “most viewed” AJN articles are below. Sometimes we’re surprised by the ones that go to the top of this list. At other times, the high interest in the article makes perfect sense. Most of these articles are currently free, either because they are CE articles or because they are shorter opinion pieces or the like. We hope you’ll have a look.—Jacob Molyneux, senior editor

“The Care of Pregnant Women in the Criminal Justice System” 

CE article. Overview: Current practices in the treatment and transfer of pregnant inmates in this country may negatively affect maternal and fetal health or well-being. Some violate federal or state laws; others conflict with standards of obstetric care and are widely considered unethical or inhumane. This article discusses these practices; their legal status; and implications for nursing practice, policy, and research.

“Developing a Vital Sign Alert System”

CE. Overview: This article describes the implementation of a nurse-designed, automated system for enhancing patient monitoring on medical–surgical and step-down nursing units. The system . . . was found to substantially reduce out-of-unit codes without increasing nurses’ workload.

“Mouth Care to Reduce Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia”

CE. Overview: Despite the well-established association between good oral hygiene and the prevention of VAP, the importance […]

2016-11-21T13:06:21-05:00October 11th, 2013|nursing perspective, nursing research|0 Comments
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Taking Postpartum Mood Disorders Seriously

By Jacob Molyneux, AJN senior editor

Durer, Melancolia/Wikimedia Commons Durer, Melancolia/Wikimedia Commons

Last week, you probably heard that a 34-year-old mother was shot and killed by police after a car chase that ended with her trying to ram her car through White House barriers, her infant child still strapped in a car seat in the back.

Miriam Carey’s mother told reporters that her daughter was suffering from postpartum depression, though a number of commentators have pointed out that the extremity of her apparent delusions and the violence of her behavior suggest the more severe condition called postpartum psychosis (especially if it turns out that her condition was not chronic but instead began after she’d given birth).

Some estimates of the rate of major or minor depression in new mothers are as high as nearly 20%. AJN published a feature article (free until November 8) on this topic several years ago. The article describes postpartum depression and several related conditions (postpartum psychosis, panic attacks, PTSD, etc.) and discusses prevalence, risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, interventions, and the potential long-term effects on children.

Postpartum depression can be powerful and hard to face, as it comes at a time that often combines social isolation with the expectation that one […]

2016-11-21T13:06:22-05:00October 9th, 2013|nursing perspective|1 Comment
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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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