Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases: A Comprehensive Nursing-Focused Overview

Virtually all of us who have spent time in the outdoors have either heard about or experienced an encounter with a tick. Diseases transmitted through the bite of a tick represent a growing health concern in the United States and around the world. Tick bites can affect individuals who live in, work in, or travel to wooded, grassy, or brush-filled environments. Ticks are generally more active during warmer months of the year (usually April through September), but they can be active any time the temperature is above freezing. Therefore, taking precautions can be close to a year-round activity, including an increased emphasis during vacation travel when the climate may differ from that of your usual environment. Nurses play an essential role in patient education, prevention, early recognition, clinical management, and public health surveillance of these diseases—and their credibility and trusted relationships enable impactful opportunities.

Adult deer tick, Ixodes scapularis/via Wikimedia Commons

The following summary outlines key facts about tick biology and transmission, clinical manifestations of major tickborne diseases [TBDs], prevention strategies, post-bite care, public health reporting, and updates on vaccines—particularly for domestic and international travelers.

Understanding ticks and disease transmission

Ticks are blood-feeding arachnids capable of transmitting pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and protozoa, […]

2025-08-25T11:04:09-04:00August 25th, 2025|infection control, infectious diseases, Nursing, Public health|0 Comments
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Person-Centered Care of LGBTQ+ Adults: And Other Recommended Reading from AJN’s September Issue

The September issue of AJN is now live.

How can nurses create more inclusive and affirming health care environments for patients who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning, or have other gender identities and sexual orientations? Read this month’s CE article, “Best Practices for Person-Centered Nursing Care of LGBTQ+ Adults,” to learn more.

Our September AJN Reports, “Enrollment in Nursing PhD Programs Continues to Slide,” examines a trend that threatens nursing education and research into patient care.

In “Using the Brøset Violence Checklist Beyond Behavioral Health and the ED: A Mixed-Methods Study,” Russell-Babin and colleagues note that “Evidence has shown that the Brøset Violence Checklist (BVC), a six-item scale that takes less than two minutes to complete, demonstrates predictive validity for violent behavior in psychiatric and emergency settings.” Their study aimed to determine the relationship between BVC scores and the incidence of violent behavior among patients on adult medical–surgical, telemetry, progressive care, and intermediate and intensive care units.

The latest article in the Evidence-Based Decision-Making series, “Establishing Benchmarks,” reviews benchmarking in nursing practice; explains external and internal benchmarking; identifies sources for benchmarks; and outlines steps for benchmarking, including its application in DNP projects. […]

2025-08-21T13:07:50-04:00August 21st, 2025|Nursing|0 Comments
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Some Gentle Reminders for Ensuring Appropriate Language Interpretation for Patients

Photo by Ling App on Unsplash

When I began nursing school, I never could have imagined how quickly I would be thrust into the heart of health care, quite literally. During my first semester, I started clinical rotations on a cardiovascular unit, where I began to understand the phenomenal intricacies of the human heart. It was a time of discovery, as I learned to navigate the complexities of blood pressure readings, mean arterial pressures (MAP), electrocardiograms (ECGs), cardiac catheterizations, and even the life-changing left ventricular assistive devices (LVADs).

By the time I began my second semester, I found myself in a cardiovascular surgical intermediate care unit, a place that would push me further into the depths of cardiac care. There, under the watchful eye of my clinical preceptor, I had the responsibility of caring for patients who had undergone some of the most intricate and high-stakes procedures imaginable. It was during this semester that I encountered a powerful lesson that has stayed with me long after graduation and well into my early years as a registered nurse.

A lesson in why clear communication really matters.

A Spanish-speaking Hispanic woman with coronary artery disease was admitted to our cardiac unit. Her electronic medical record noted Spanish […]

2025-08-11T14:15:43-04:00August 11th, 2025|family, family experience, Nursing, patient engagement, patient experience, patient safety|0 Comments
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Reducing Assessment Frequency: And Other Recommended Reading from AJN’s August Issue

The August issue of AJN is now live.

Does decreasing comprehensive physical assessments from twice daily to once daily in the general care setting affect patient safety or care quality? The authors of “Optimizing Nurses’ Time: Reducing Assessment Frequency in General Care” discuss a quality improvement project that addressed this question.

This month’s CE article, “Auto-Brewery Syndrome: Diagnosis and Treatment of This Little-Known Condition,” outlines presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up and the nursing implications for the care of these vulnerable patients. (Open access)

In “Health Care Workers and Burnout: A Cross-Sectional Study,” Vidal and colleagues note that “the effects of trauma-informed care practices on health care worker burnout, in the context of stressors such as workplace violence, are not fully understood.” Their study explores associations between workers’ attitudes toward trauma-informed care, worries about workplace violence, and burnout through a survey administered as part of a public health initiative.

Our August AJN Reports, “Barriers to Full Practice,” examines the American Medical Association’s push against APRN independence.

The latest article in the Nursing Research, Step by Step series, “Reporting Guidelines: An Overview,” explains reporting guidelines relevant to nursing research, how they’re developed, and why they’re important; introduces the EQUATOR Network, […]

2025-07-24T14:40:03-04:00July 24th, 2025|Nursing|0 Comments
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Nurses as Vital Partners in the Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance

Photo: Shutterstock

Reducing the impact of antimicrobial therapy is a part of fundamental practice for health care providers, pharmacists, microbiologists, and public health professionals. Inclusion of nurses in the conversation regarding actions and implementation to achieve this end has often been an afterthought.

However, the number of nurses practicing across every health care setting makes us critical and active partners. What, specifically, are the roles and actions of nurses in addressing antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), and safe patient care and outcomes? Let’s first review the basics of the problem.

Nursing Activities Relevant to Antimicrobial Use and Stewardship

The approximately 5.77 million active nurses in the United States are widely trusted and well positioned to provide education on antibiotic use and influence behavior related to antimicrobial therapy. Their universal presence in health care settings empowers them to play a role as frontline actors in antimicrobial stewardship across inpatient, outpatient, and community settings. To make this happen, programs supporting appropriate use require commitment from health care leadership, available expertise in antimicrobial drug use, regular performance evaluation, […]

2025-07-14T10:38:24-04:00July 14th, 2025|Nursing, patient safety|0 Comments
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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.
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