The June issue of AJN is now live. Here are some articles we’d like to bring to your attention.

CE Feature: Mental Health Matters: Antipsychotic Medications

In recent years, more adults—and teenagers—are taking at least one type of psychotropic medication, the majority of which are prescribed by primary care and family physicians. This first article in a series on commonly used psychotropic medications for the treatment of mental illness reviews the mechanisms of action, adverse effects, and contraindications of first-generation typical and second-generation atypical antipsychotics.

CE Feature: Original Research: The Experiences of Pregnant Smokers and Their Providers

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10.7% of women nationwide reported smoking during their last trimester. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ initiative Healthy People 2020 targets tobacco use, including smoking during pregnancy, as a continuing major health concern in this country. Yet bringing the U.S. Public Health Service’s 2008 clinical practice guideline, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, into routine prenatal care remains challenging.  The authors of this study conducted focus groups of pregnant smokers and their providers, most of whom were RNs, to better understand their experiences and to gain insights to help providers best deliver the stop-smoking message.

Clinical Feature: Irritable Bowel Syndrome

The authors of this article review the epidemiology and pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and recent developments in the field of IBS research, summarize diagnostic and treatment strategies, and discuss implications for nursing practice.

Perspectives on Palliative Nursing: Advance Care Planning: The Nurse’s Role

This article in a series on palliative care developed in collaboration with the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association discusses how nurses can promote the practice of advance care planning in their facility and overcome the challenges associated with its implementation.

There’s much more in our June issue, including an AJN Reports on the potential of telemedicine and telehealth to improve rural access to care, and a Policy & Politics article that examines how women could be negatively affected if Affordable Care Act is replaced. Click here to browse the table of contents and explore the issue on our website.

A note on the cover:

This month’s cover features four paintings by British artist Bryan Charnley, whose later work depicts his experience with schizophrenia. The paintings are part of a series of 17 self-portraits Charnley created during the last few months of his life while experimenting with varying doses of antipsychotic medications. His artwork, he wrote, aimed to “state with depth what it is to be human and schizophrenic.” For information on Charnley and to see more of his paintings, visit bryancharnley.info.