AJN in September: Predicting Injurious Falls, Military Sexual Trauma, Recognizing MI, More

AJN0916.Cover.OnlineThe September issue of AJN is now live. Here are some articles we’d like to bring to your attention.

CE Feature: “Original Research: Predicting Injurious Falls in the Hospital Setting: Implications for Practice”

Despite years of research and increasingly evidence-based practice, falls continue to be the most commonly reported adverse events experienced by hospitalized adults. Yet most of the relevant research has focused on predicting and preventing falls in general; there has been little focus on injurious falls. In an attempt to identify which patient factors are associated with injurious falls in hospitalized adults, the authors of this retrospective study analyzed 10 variables. Their findings may help hospital clinicians to identify at-risk patients and create better fall-related injury prevention interventions.

CE Feature: “Military Sexual Trauma in Male Service Members”

The experience of military sexual trauma (MST), which can result from assault, battery, or harassment of a sexual nature, may jeopardize the mental health of service members. This article discusses the unique ways in which men may experience MST and examines how social stereotypes of masculinity, myths surrounding sexual assault, and military culture and structure often influence a man’s interpretation of an attack and his likelihood of reporting the incident or seeking treatment. It also describes current treatments for MST-related mental health conditions and addresses implications for nurses and other health care […]

2016-11-21T13:00:58-05:00August 26th, 2016|Nursing, nursing perspective|0 Comments

Information for Nurses Who Help in Disasters

Nurses are often at the front lines of disaster response. How prepared are nurses—and the hospitals and other facilities where they may work?

Louisiana National Guard at Baton Rouge River Center, Aug 15, 2016, after major flooding pushed residents from homes. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Garrett L. Dipuma/RELEASED) Louisiana National Guard, Baton Rouge River Center, Aug 15, 2016, after flooding pushed residents from homes. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Garrett L. Dipuma/RELEASED)

The television news reports have recently been full of the devastating flooding in Louisiana. Especially heart-wrenching are the images of people, especially frail […]

Viewpoint: Some Arguments for More Autopsies

Detail from Rembrandt's 'The Anatomy Lecture of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp' Detail from Rembrandt’s ‘The Anatomy Lecture of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp’

When families ask whether they should get an autopsy, what will you tell them?

When I was a nursing student at the University of Michigan, we learned anatomy by working on human cadavers. The experience left me with a deep appreciation for the beauty of the human body (even when ravaged by disease) and fundamentally shaped my view of a nurse’s role in health and healing.

The Viewpoint essay in the August issue of AJN, “When Families Ask About an Autopsy,” reemphasizes the role of the human body as a teaching tool. Author Billie Holladay Skelley points out that autopsies can also

  • provide definitive answers about the cause of death (offering reassurance to family members).
  • reveal undiagnosed genetic conditions.
  • improve our understanding of diseases and disease trends.
  • and foster advances in treatment.

Virtual or minimally invasive autopsies may be more acceptable to some families while still offering some of the benefits of a full autopsy. […]

2016-11-21T13:01:01-05:00August 19th, 2016|Nursing|0 Comments

AJN Blog Subscribers: Four Old Blog Posts Were Sent Out in Error Today

A mea culpa to AJN blog subscribers. System glitch!

If you received four new posts today in your inboxes, they were sent out in error. These are in fact old posts that we were just updating in small technical ways, and notifications should not have gone out to subscribers about these posts.

Very sorry to flood your inboxes! Of course, having said that, some of these posts are still very much worth a read….800px-Woman-typing-on-laptop

Nurses Take Action on Moral Distress

Nurses gather at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing to address this growing problem.

A nurse struggles to reconcile repeated surgeries and transfusions for a premature infant with the child’s slight chance of survival. An oncology nurse knows a patient wants to refuse treatment but doesn’t do so because his physician and family want him to “fight on.” A nurse on a geriatric unit knows she is not giving needed care to patients because of inadequate staffing.

From left, Katherine Brown-Saltzman, Kathryn Trotochaud, Lisa Lehmann, Heidi Holtz From left, Katherine Brown-Saltzman,
Paula Goodman-Crews, Lisa Lehmann, Heidi Holtz

Situations like these are not rare for nurses and often give rise to moral distress—that is, when nurses recognize their responsibility to respond to care situations but are unable to translate their moral choices into action.

Moral distress in nursing has risen to unprecedented levels, contributing to burnout and staff shortages and imperiling safe, quality health care.

Seeking solutions.

Nursing researchers, clinicians, organization representatives, and other stakeholders convened in Baltimore on August 11-12 for an intense invitational workshop called State of the Science Symposium: Transforming Moral Distress to Moral Resiliency in Nursing. The meeting focused on how to best address moral distress.

The 46 participants heard from experts on […]

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