AJN June Issue: Genomic Advances in CF, LGBT Care Disparities, Denying Smokers Jobs, More

AJN0614.Cover.OnlineAJN’s June issue is now available on our Web site. Here’s a selection of what not to miss.

The newborn featured on our cover this month is wrapped in a blanket decorated with a string of letters—better known as genetic code. Today, all newborns in the United States are screened for various inherited and congenital conditions, but the use of genomic sequencing at birth could provide information beyond what current screen­ing already provides—health information to go in their medical records for use in detecting and managing disease.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is one disorder that has been affected by recent developments in the field of genetics. The discovery of the CF gene in 1989, along with advances in molecular genet­ics, made it possible to screen for CF through DNA testing. Early diagnosis and prompt treat­ment of CF has been shown to improve patients’ overall health and survival. Genetic advances have also led to the development of promising drugs to treat CF. For more on the impact of genomic advances on diagnosis and treatment, and implications for nursing practice, read, “Genomic Breakthroughs in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis,” and  earn 2.3 CE credits by taking the test that follows the article.

LGBT health care disparities. The health care disparities that affect people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) are closely tied to sexual and social stigma […]

2016-11-21T13:04:38-05:00May 29th, 2014|nursing perspective|0 Comments
Read More

Critical Care Nurses: Heading Home to ‘Focus the Flame’

By Shawn Kennedy, AJN editor-in-chief

AACN president-elect Teri Lynn Kiss AACN president-elect Teri Lynn Kiss

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) National Teaching Institute ended last Thursday, just in time to get folks home for Memorial Day weekend. Last week, my post was about the opening session and awards. Here are some more highlights from the rest of the week:

Concurrent sessions were plentiful—too many to choose from. My top two favorites were one on transfusing blood and blood products and another on managing pain, agitation, and delirium. New this year were sessions related to health care financing, a nod to the fact that all nurses need to be cognizant of the cost of care. My other “must attends” were the poster sessions—these are largely by up-and-coming researchers and teams doing innovative projects. current AACN president Vicki Good current AACN president Vicki Good

Handling conflicts with colleagues. A “super session” by Christine Cashen, a professional speaker, had everyone on their feet in a standing ovation. Extremely funny and with a clear message about handling conflict with colleagues (a very big issue in nursing, as we know), Cashen was a huge hit. […]

2016-11-21T13:04:42-05:00May 27th, 2014|career|1 Comment
Read More

Memorial Day Weekend: Thanks to the Nurses Who Lost Their Lives While Serving

Vietnam Women’s Memorial, courtesy of Kay Schwebke

AJN wishes all of our U.S. readers (and everyone else too) a safe, restful Memorial Day weekend, whether you are driving to the shore or the hills, staying put and having a barbeque, finishing a dissertation, running a 10K, working all weekend in the emergency department, gardening, or binge-watching episodes of a TV show on Netflix (you know who you are).

But let’s not forget the meaning of this pause to express gratitude to all soldiers and nurses who lost their lives in service to this country, and to their families. I still remember the Memorial Day parade that started downtown in our small New England town and passed our house almost a mile later, the rolling sound of the drums getting nearer for a long time, the old guys in various uniforms passing by, a few nurses in uniform among them.

We’d join the kids circling behind on bicycles as the parade went along the final stretch to the cemetery across from my grandparents’ house, turned slowly in, and marched on until it came to a stop near the center. A hush would fall then in the cemetery with its tall trees. There were no cell phone cameras then. There was nothing to break the quiet. No one was sending or getting texts. No one had earbuds in.

Even as kids we knew it meant something, that silence, and we knew enough to respect it, no matter what we […]

2023-05-26T09:56:27-04:00May 23rd, 2014|career, nursing history|0 Comments
Read More

MERS: A Lucid Overview of What Nurses Need to Know

By Jacob Molyneux, AJN senior editor

Coronaviruses derive their name from the fact that under electron microscopic examination, each virion is surrounded by a "corona," or halo. This is due to the presence of viral spike peplomers emanating from each proteinaceous envelope. CDC image by: Cynthia Goldsmith/Maureen Metcalfe/Azaibi Tamin Coronaviruses derive their name from the fact that under electron microscopic examination, each virion is surrounded by a ‘corona,’ or halo. CDC image by Cynthia Goldsmith/Maureen Metcalfe/Azaibi Tamin

In recent weeks, there have been a number of news stories following the first U.S. cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) and the first transmission of the virus that occurred on U.S. soil. This novel coronavirus (the common cold is a coronavirus; so is SARS) can cause respiratory failure and death. So far, the number of identified cases are relatively few, though the numbers are growing. Disease surveillance has been aggressive since the first case was identified in Saudi Arabia.

Back in January, before the U.S. had seen its first cases, infection prevention specialist Betsy Todd provided a clear, engaging overview of MERS in […]

2016-11-21T13:04:43-05:00May 22nd, 2014|Nursing|0 Comments
Read More

Pioneering Spirits, Kept Promises: Critical Care Nurses in Denver

By Shawn Kennedy, AJN editor-in-chief

In Denver for the annual National Teaching Institute of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), I’m once again overwhelmed by the size and breadth of the meeting. It’s not just the attendance, though it drew over 7,000 nurses. Perhaps it’s the Colorado Convention Center, which seems to go on forever. (Fittingly, there’s a mammoth blue bear two stories high peering in one of the glass walls.)

Big Blue Bear, Colorado Convention Center, Denver Big Blue Bear, Colorado Convention Center, Denver

While trying to find my way to a session, I met a nurse who was there with her mother. Mom’s a Boston ER nurse and her daughter is a critical care nurse in New Hampshire. Every year they do a mother-daughter trip to either this meeting or the Emergency Nurses Association meeting. Kudos to them!

Sociologist, inspirational speaker, and comedian Bertice Berry mc’d the opening session, quickly warming up the audience. A highlight was the presentation of AACN’s Pioneering Spirit awards to Loretta Ford (founder, along with physician Henry Silver, of the first NP program in 1965), Carrie Lenburg (pioneer in nontraditional and distance learning), and Lucian Leape (a physician who spearheaded the movement to reduce medical errors).

Some quotes from these feisty folks who had major impacts on […]

2016-11-21T13:04:44-05:00May 20th, 2014|career, nursing perspective, nursing research|0 Comments
Read More

Comment ground rules

1. Please be respectful.
2. We moderate all comments.

Content disclaimer

Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Go to Top