Genomics, Technology, and Nursing: A “Focus on the Whole Person”

UK National DNA Infographic/ by blprnt_van, via Flickr Creative Commons

By Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, editor-in-chief emeritus. Mason often writes for this blog about policy and research issues.

Last week, I attended the annual conference of CANS, the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science, the “research-facilitation arm” of the American Academy of Nursing. The title of the conference was “Technology, Genetics and Beyond: Research Methodologies of the Future.” 

‘Genomics’ vs. ‘genetics.’ I’m not a genomics researcher but I found the sessions enlightening in two ways. First, I admit to struggling with the terminology (and jargon) of the field. I was reminded today that the correct term for the field is “genomics,” since “genetics” refers to the study of single genes and thus limits the focus of study mostly to rare diseases.  Genomics looks at associations among genes in the whole person—a shift in perspective that was enabled by the mapping of the human genome.

Targeted interventions. The second enlightenment came from keynote speaker and senior nurse researcher Christine Miaskowski, a dean and a professor of physiological nursing at the University of California at San Francisco School of Nursing. She noted that this shift to a focus on the whole person is what makes nurses and nursing […]

2016-11-21T13:21:36-05:00October 21st, 2009|nursing perspective, nursing research|0 Comments
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TCAB: What’s Your Hospital Doing to Improve Care?

By Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, AJN Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

November 2009 report cover

What makes a “good hospital”? A patient might have the best surgeon in the world; but as any nurse will tell you, that patient will die unless the surgeon has a top-notch nursing staff to ensure that the patient is well prepared for the surgery and well supported during the recovery period. Too many hospitals have lost their understanding of what’s essential to ensure great clinical and financial outcomes.  In such hospitals, nurses aren’t included in decision making, have little local authority, are penalized for identifying factors that lead to poor care, and can’t claim excellent team relationships.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program has helped to identify the factors that lead to excellence in nursing care, granting Magnet status to hospitals that provide such excellence. Now an initiative known as Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) has provided the framework and tools for empowering bedside nurses to become  agents for change. TCAB nurses work with other health care team members to improve care processes and effectiveness, focusing on four areas:  the safety and reliability of care, teamwork and job satisfaction, patient and family satisfaction, and “value-added care.” (Increasing the amount of […]

2016-11-21T13:21:37-05:00October 20th, 2009|nursing perspective, nursing research|0 Comments
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Administering Drugs through a Feeding Tube—Are You Sure You’re Doing It Right?

Drug Administration through an EFT

By Sylvia Foley, AJN senior editor

Research indicates that a “surprising number of nurses”  fail to follow guidelines for preparing and delivering drugs through an enteral feeding tube. (Do you find this surprising? Tell us in the comments!) This can result in medication error and tube obstruction, reduced drug effectiveness, and an increased risk of toxicity.

In this month’s CE feature Drug Administration Through an Enteral Feeding Tube, author Joseph I. Boullata describes the factors to consider before doing so and examines the gap between recommended and common practice. He also explains what the most recent guidelines from the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) recommend and why.

The ASPEN guidelines include:

  • Do not add medication directly to an enteral feeding formula.
  • Administer each medication separately though an appropriate access site.
  • Liquid dosage forms should be used when available and if appropriate; only immediate-release solid dosage forms may be substituted.
  • Dilute the solid or liquid medication as appropriate and administer using a clean oral syringe.
  • Avoid mixing medications intended for administration through an EFT.

For the complete guidelines, check out Table 1 in the article. And for more on this and other aspects of  enteral nutrition, visit ASPEN to read the full 2009 Enteral Nutrition Practice Recommendations. (ASPEN guidelines are free, but site registration is required.)

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2016-11-21T13:21:58-05:00October 5th, 2009|nursing research|2 Comments
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Medical Research–You Get What You Pay For

But someone is paying for the production of the content on the Internet—if it’s not a reputable organization or journal, who is it? Is it unbiased? Is it evidence-based, and who vetted the evidence and the authors? Let the readers—and their patients—be wary of what they read online and ask themselves just who paid for it, and why.

2016-11-21T13:22:25-05:00September 15th, 2009|nursing research|2 Comments
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AJN Conference: It Won’t Be Your Typical Round of Lectures and Talking Heads

By Diana J. Mason, editor-in-chief emeritus

AJNConferenceWe at AJN know that there are myriad ways that nurses learn about best practices in care. While we hope you read AJN every month, we know that many nurses would like the opportunity to hear from and talk firsthand with experts in clinical care. On October 4, 5, and 6, you’ll have that opportunity in Chicago at AJN’s first conference: Advancing Excellence in Clinical Practice. This will not be the typical conference where you are lectured to endlessly. The sessions are designed for lots of interaction with participants, in the belief that building sound best practices requires critical analysis of the evidence, local adaptation of idealized approaches to care, and refining what works according to specific circumstances. […]

2016-11-21T13:22:46-05:00September 3rd, 2009|nursing perspective, nursing research|0 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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