(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Meditation?
Maybe you have more power than you think.
Soccer Brain: Teaching Families about the Dangers of Head Injuries in Youth Sports
By Diana Mason, AJN editor-in-chief-emeritus
I’ve been disturbed by a relative’s seeming lack of concern about his teenage son’s repeated head injuries from playing soccer. I think he doesn’t believe what I tell him about the long-term consequences of head injuries sustained in sports such as football and soccer. So brava to Jane E. Brody, the New York Times Personal Health columnist, for writing about it. She included a symptom guide that sets out what’s of concern and the importance of monitoring those with head injuries for at least 72 hours.
Every emergency room nurse and any nurse who attends youth sporting events should share this article with the parents of children who play contact or collision sports. I’m sending it to my relatives. See AJN’s article on combat-zone traumatic brain injuries for more on the topic.
Is It Ethical for a Nurse to Decline the H1N1 Vaccine?
By Douglas Olsen, PhD, RN. Olsen is an AJN contributing editor who co-coordinates the journal’s Ethical Issues department and a nurse ethicist with the National Center for Ethics in Health Care at the Veterans Health Administration in Washington, DC. The views he expresses here are meant to stimulate discussion of this topic and not to serve as pronouncements guiding what nurses should or shound not do. The views are his alone and should not be construed as representing those of AJN or of the National Center for Ethics in Health Care or the Veterans Health Administration.
Public health experts advocate widespread flu vaccination for people who give direct care to patients. However, in the past less than 40% of health care workers have been vaccinated for flu, and in a recent Nursing Times survey from the UK 30% of nurses said they would decline H1N1 vaccine and only 37% said “Yes” they would take the vaccine. Here are some thoughts on how to sort out the question from an ethical perspective.
Nurses, as patients, should be accorded the same respect for their decisions about health care, including the right to refuse a treatment, that is due to all patients. In ethics this is called respect for patient autonomy.
Professional obligation. However, nurses have a professional obligation to do as […]
Nurse Organizations Oppose Move to Allow Non-Licensed Personnel to Give Insulin to Students (Despite ADA Testimony Supporting the Practice)
A scenario is playing out in California that may have far-reaching consequences for nursing and for school children with diabetes. At issue is a move by the California Department of Education to allow non-nurse, unlicensed school personnel—so, teachers, aides, administrators, and others—to administer insulin to children while at school or at school functions if licensed personnel are unavailable.
Obesity and Advice: Should Nurses Practice What They Teach?
I recently read a story that was blunt about the contradictions of being an obese health care provider. I don’t consider myself overweight or obese, but maintaining a weight I am happy with is an ongoing challenge. Dr. Nick Yphantides, who says that he lost over 250 pounds, got tired of telling patients, “Do as I say, not as I do,” and realized that he needed to change if he expected patients to take his message to heart.
Nurses are teachers in the most basic sense. We often take advantage of “teachable moments” with our patients on a variety of topics. One of our primary roles is that of educator. As a student, I found myself most drawn to teachers I could relate to—those that “walked their talk.” One of my favorite professors taught my psych rotation both in the classroom and in the clinical setting. She made our rotation interesting, not scary, and was an amazing role model on many levels. I remember her as calm, intelligent, and empathetic. She was also stylish and fit. As a 19-year-old student, I thought she was pretty cool. One of my first positions after the highly recommended but dreaded “year in med-surg” was as a staff nurse in a psychiatric unit. I loved it, and often found myself drawing on past lessons […]