Why the ‘Greatest Generation’ Is Bagging Groceries (No, It’s Not Because of Taxes)

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

In surfing the Web Monday, I came across this interesting tidbit on the blog run by Gary Schwitzer, creator of HealthNewsReview.org, a site devoted to assessing the accuracy of health news coverage. He quoted statistics from a report  by the Center for Public Integrity, which claims that “there are eight lobbyists for every member of Congress.” The number of lobbyists went from about 1,400 in the first quarter of 2009 to nearly 3,700 by year’s end. 

I see elderly people in the supermarket bagging groceries—some may like the company, but others are doing it to pay for medical care not covered under plans. My uncle—one of the “greatest generation”—used to cut his pills in half to make them last longer. Does this qualify as “rationing care”? […]

2016-11-21T13:19:04-05:00March 2nd, 2010|health care policy, nursing perspective|5 Comments
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Mississippi Midwifery Law Hoopla: Another Failure in Public Education?

By Gail M. Pfeifer, MA, RN, AJN news director


It seems even when doctors and nurses unite on an issue, there’s controversy. The Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure and the Mississippi Board of Nursing (MBON) both support state bill No. 695, which would allow only certified nurse-midwives to practice midwifery in the state, according to the December 2009 issue of the state board’s magazine. Melinda Rush, executive director of MBON, wrote that there have been “incidences of death and harm to infants born in situations that were less than safe,” and urged nurses to support the bill.

I wonder though, if the board did its homework on educating the public about their concerns. One objector to the bill wrote a letter to Governor Barbour, asking him to veto the bill if it lands on his desk, because “midwives are more qualified than Drs [sic] to deliver healthy low-risk babies.” And responses to an article on the topic in The Commercial Appeal indicate that consumers think the bill will entirely block women from having home births, literally pushing all deliveries into the hospital. Although the bill was amended to grandfather in professional non-nurse midwives with more than five years of experience, Birth Action Coalition is also urging Mississippi residents to oppose the bill, because it […]

2016-11-21T13:19:06-05:00March 1st, 2010|Nursing|5 Comments
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Notes from the Web

Here are a few items of interest on today’s Web as these huge wet snowflakes actually start to accumulate on rooftops here in NYC and the horizon (New Jersey, that is, across the thin wedge of the Hudson River you can see from AJN offices) closes steadily in:

Kim at Emergiblog has a nice post dealing with changing her mind about whether or not she wanted to get a BSN.

And this post by Anne Dabrow Woods at In the Round (excerpted below) got our attention for its honesty about the difference between treating a condition in the hospital and treating it at home in a family member—and also because it put a human face on an article we ran in our February issue about ostomy complications and management.

My oldest daughter was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when she was 7 years old and despite aggressive treatment for her disease; she required a total colectomy, temporary ileostomy, and an ileo-anal anastamosis when she was 12. As a nurse I thought I was equipped to care for her ileostomy; was I ever wrong. I had experience taking care of hospitalized patients with ostomies, but I quickly learned caring for someone who is active is a totally different story.

In his most recent post, Anonymous Doc is as usual thoughtful and honest (except for that anonymity thing, of course . . . which does, whatever its drawbacks, kind of free him up as a writer). He moves from […]

2016-11-21T13:19:09-05:00February 25th, 2010|health care policy, nursing perspective, students|0 Comments
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The Job Description Doesn’t Say You Get to Choose Your Patients

He was a pedophile, just released from jail after 20 years. His diabetes required two different types of insulin. He had acute renal failure and a recent ileostomy.

“They didn’t know what to do with him,” the previous nurse said, “so they dumped him on our doorstep.”

The Reflections essay in the March issue of AJN tells one nurse’s story of holding fast to her responsibility to provide compassionate and quality care to all patients, whatever they may have done in the past, whoever they might be. We hope you’ll click the link above, read it, and let us know your thoughts (the best version to read is reached by clicking through to the PDF version).

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2016-11-21T13:19:11-05:00February 24th, 2010|career|8 Comments
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Revamping CE

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

I finally got to the bottom of my inbox. There I found a transcript of a Webcast I had listened to back in December. I had forgotten about it and am amazed that there wasn’t more buzz around it because there’s a call for a drastic overhaul of continuing education for health professionals.

 

On December 4, the Institute of Medicine released a report, Redesigning CE in the Health Professions, which is the result of consensus recommendations by (what else?) a group of experts.

The experts were harsh in their criticisms, claiming that there are “major flaws in the way CE is conducted, financed, regulated and evaluated.” They also noted conflicts of interest and varying regulations from state to state, and pointed out that the scientific basis of CE is underdeveloped and lacks an interdisciplinary format.

You can read the full report online—but briefly, it calls for a federal “blue ribbon panel” to develop an interprofessional, independent Continuing Professional Development Institute to provide oversight to ensure reforms, new processes and accountability. 

Changes are coming . . . and it’s about time.

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2016-11-21T13:19:12-05:00February 22nd, 2010|Nursing|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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