“Grit is an essential component of a great nurse. Hardy, tenacious, tough nurses are the result of experience and knowledge.”—Linda Koharchik, author of the January Teaching for Practice column

The January issue of AJN is now live. Here are some of the articles we’re pleased to have a chance to publish this month.

CE: Original Research: Antineoplastic Drug Administration by Pregnant and Nonpregnant Nurses: An Exploration of the Use of Protective Gloves and Gowns

Despite longstanding recommendations for the safe handling of hazardous drugs, it’s not known whether nurses—including those who are pregnant—wear protective gloves and gowns when administering chemotherapeutic drugs. This study examines this practice among nurses in the Nurses’ Health Study 3.

CE: Addressing Food Insecurity in Vulnerable Populations

The authors discuss the factors that contribute to food insecurity and the populations at greatest risk, as well as screening tools and resources for vulnerable patients.

Teaching for Practice: Helping Students to Be Gritty

Strategies for fostering grit—a trait marked by perseverance and resilience and associated with success—in nursing students.

Cultivating Quality: Early, Nurse-Directed Sepsis Care

This article describes a single-center, multiyear quality improvement initiative designed to promote early recognition and treatment of sepsis and examines its effect on sepsis-related mortality rates, bundle adherence, and the need for rapid response team calls.

Book of the Year Awards 2018

The most valuable texts of the year, as chosen by AJN’s panel of judges.

There’s much more in our January issue, including:

  • An AJN Reports on the long-term effects of toxic stress in childhood.
  • A Safety Monitor column on protecting patients with latex allergies.
  • A Profile of Ernest Grant, president of the American Nurses Association.

Click here to browse the table of contents and explore the issue on our website.

A note on the cover:

This month’s cover photo shows nine-year-old Yeslin and other immigrants held at the Berks County Family Residential Center in Leesport, PA. Established in 2001, it’s one of three family detention centers in the United States—facilities where asylum seekers are kept in custody while their cases are processed.