What Obama Told Us (Nurses) in the West Wing Yesterday About Health Care Reform
Nurses do know the importance of these elements of health care reform.
Obama Follows Up Reform Speech By Addressing Nurses (including AJN’s Diana Mason) at White House
Said President Obama this morning, to a White House audience of nurse leaders (including Diana Mason, AJN‘s editor-in-chief emeritus): “You’re the bedrock of our medical system. . . Few people understand . . . as you do why we need reform.” Click the image above to go to a page where you can watch the full speech, and be sure to check back here for Mason’s account of her visit to the White House.
Sure Nurses Are Honest, But They’re Also Highly Skilled Professionals
Comments such as “I have to call the doctor; I can’t make that decision” would be better stated as “I will consult with the doctor and we will determine the next step together.” Instead of saying “I’ll be taking care of you today,” say “I am your registered nurse and will be coordinating your care today.” Many different people in uniforms or scrubs wander in and out of patients’ rooms every shift. Let’s introduce ourselves along with our profession so that patients get a better idea of what we really do in the nursing profession
Is It Ethical for a Nurse to Decline the H1N1 Vaccine?
By Douglas Olsen, PhD, RN. Olsen is an AJN contributing editor who co-coordinates the journal’s Ethical Issues department and a nurse ethicist with the National Center for Ethics in Health Care at the Veterans Health Administration in Washington, DC. The views he expresses here are meant to stimulate discussion of this topic and not to serve as pronouncements guiding what nurses should or shound not do. The views are his alone and should not be construed as representing those of AJN or of the National Center for Ethics in Health Care or the Veterans Health Administration.
Public health experts advocate widespread flu vaccination for people who give direct care to patients. However, in the past less than 40% of health care workers have been vaccinated for flu, and in a recent Nursing Times survey from the UK 30% of nurses said they would decline H1N1 vaccine and only 37% said “Yes” they would take the vaccine. Here are some thoughts on how to sort out the question from an ethical perspective.
Nurses, as patients, should be accorded the same respect for their decisions about health care, including the right to refuse a treatment, that is due to all patients. In ethics this is called respect for patient autonomy.
Professional obligation. However, nurses have a professional obligation to do as […]
Obesity and Advice: Should Nurses Practice What They Teach?
I recently read a story that was blunt about the contradictions of being an obese health care provider. I don’t consider myself overweight or obese, but maintaining a weight I am happy with is an ongoing challenge. Dr. Nick Yphantides, who says that he lost over 250 pounds, got tired of telling patients, “Do as I say, not as I do,” and realized that he needed to change if he expected patients to take his message to heart.
Nurses are teachers in the most basic sense. We often take advantage of “teachable moments” with our patients on a variety of topics. One of our primary roles is that of educator. As a student, I found myself most drawn to teachers I could relate to—those that “walked their talk.” One of my favorite professors taught my psych rotation both in the classroom and in the clinical setting. She made our rotation interesting, not scary, and was an amazing role model on many levels. I remember her as calm, intelligent, and empathetic. She was also stylish and fit. As a 19-year-old student, I thought she was pretty cool. One of my first positions after the highly recommended but dreaded “year in med-surg” was as a staff nurse in a psychiatric unit. I loved it, and often found myself drawing on past lessons […]