“The reality of an insufficient health care workforce and underfunded health care system is all too evident. . . . Perhaps things will change after this, and we will be ready the next time. I hope so.”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her May Editor’s Note, “Life, Interrupted“

In case you’d like a break from COVID-19 headlines and want to keep up with some other nursing and health care topics, the May issue of AJN is now live. Here are the highlights:

Original Research: Exploring the Effects of a Nurse-Initiated Diary Intervention on Post–Critical Care Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

The authors examine how collaborative diary writing—by patients, visitors, and interdisciplinary team members—can affect the development of posttraumatic stress disorder and symptom severity in critical illness survivors.

CE: Managing Pain in Critically Ill Adults: A Holistic Approach

A review of the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s PADIS guidelines—and how they go beyond the earlier PAD guidelines—in providing specific guidance related to assessment and management of pain, use of opioids in critical illness, and use of adjunctive analgesia.

New Series: Strip Savvy: A Case of Bradycardia and Extreme Fatigue

This is the first article in a new series on the basics of electrocardiography (ECG) interpretation. After presenting a case scenario and an ECG strip, the authors take readers step by step through analyzing the heart rhythm.

Cultivating Quality: Caring for Visually Impaired Patients in the Hospital: A Multidisciplinary Quality Improvement Project

To improve the experiences of visually impaired patients (VIPs) at their hospital, a team of nurses developed a VIP care program that included educational resources for staff and toolboxes containing daily care items for VIPs.

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

  • An AJN Reports on the dramatic rise in hospital mergers and acquisitions.
  • An EBP 2.0: Implementing and Sustaining Change article on a pancreatic enzyme medication self-management initiative.
  • The first article in a new series, Eye on the Future of Nursing, exploring ways in which frontline nurses may be affected by recommendations of the National Academy of Medicine Future of Nursing 2020–2030 study.

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 features an ED nurse ready to care for patients with COVID-19 at Antrim Area Hospital, Antrim, Northern Ireland.