AJN’s March Issue: New Series on Systematic Reviews, HIV Update, C. Diff on the Rise, Sexual Assault, More

AJN0314.Cover.OnlineAJN’s March issue is now available on our Web site. Here’s a selection of what not to miss, including two continuing education (CE) articles that you can access for free.

Advances in HIV testing and treatment. The photo on our cover, showing members of  Sexy With A Goal (SWAG), a program provided for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals affected by HIV and AIDS by the AIDS Service Center of New York City’s Lower East Side Peer Outreach Center, reflects the changing face of the AIDs epidemic. Thirty years ago, a diagnosis of HIV was tantamount to a death sentence. But the young men on our cover prove that this is no longer the case. With advances in treatment and patient advocacy, education, and support, HIV is now a chronic, manageable disease. A CE feature, “Nursing in the Fourth Decade of the HIV Epidemic,” discusses HIV epidemiology and policy in the United States, the HIV care cascade, advances in HIV testing and treatment, and how nurses can continue to have a positive impact on the HIV epidemic.

If you’re reading AJN on your iPad, you can watch a video describing one author’s early experience with an HIV-infected patient by tapping on the podcast icon on the first page. The video is also available on our Web site. A

New option for victims of sexual assault. Until recently, survivors of sexual assault […]

2016-11-21T13:05:18-05:00February 28th, 2014|nursing perspective, nursing research|0 Comments
Read More

AJN’s Top 15 Most Viewed Articles in 2013

by rosmary/via Flickr by rosmary/via Flickr

We thought readers might be interested in seeing which articles and topics got the most page views in 2013. Many of these articles are open access, including a number of CE articles as well as the articles from our Evidence-Based Practice: Step by Step series. Some articles require an AJN subscription or individual article purchase. Several of the articles in this list were from recent years other than 2013; a couple were much older, but are evidently still relevant, since not every idea in nursing is ephemeral or subject to improvement by the next generation.—Jacob Molyneux, senior editor

1. “Asking the Clinical Question: A Key Step in Evidence-Based Practice” – (March, 2010) – part of AJN‘s EBP series

2. “Improving Communication Among Nurses, Patients, and Physicians” – (November, 2009)

3. “The Seven Steps of Evidence-Based Practice” – (January, 2010) – part of our EBP series

4. “Nurses and the Affordable Care Act” – (September, 2010)

5. “From Novice to Expert: Excellence and Power in Clinical Nursing Practice” – (December, 1984; not HTML version; readers must click through to PDF version)

6. “COPD Exacerbations” – (CE article; February, 2013)

7. “Therapeutic Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest” – (CE; July, 2012)

8. […]

2016-11-21T13:05:35-05:00January 24th, 2014|Nursing|0 Comments
Read More

Tightly Scripted: One NP’s Experience with Retail Clinics

By Karen Roush, MS, RN, FNP-C, AJN clinical managing editor

Retail health clinics (walk-in clinics that are in a retail setting such as a drugstore or discount department store)KarenRoush have become an effective mode of providing increased access to care for many people and a growing source of employment for nurse practitioners (NPs). Their place in the health care arena may take on even more significance as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) increases access to care for previously uninsured people.

I worked as an NP in a retail clinic for about six months while working on my PhD. I left because of concerns I had about the model of practice. It didn’t have to do with the fact that I had to mop the floor at closing time or collect the fees and cash out the “drawer” every night. Nor because I spent eight hours alone in a small windowless room tucked away in the back of a drugstore. Those aspects were not great, but they weren’t deal breakers.

What was a deal breaker was the rigid programming of my practice. The computer was in control. From the moment the patient checked in at the kiosk outside my door, every action was determined by the computer.

The organization I worked for prided itself on following […]

2016-11-21T13:06:09-05:00November 1st, 2013|career, nursing perspective|2 Comments
Read More

The 10 Most Popular Articles on AJN Right Now

From boliston, via Flickr From boliston, via Flickr

The 10 current “most viewed” AJN articles are below. Sometimes we’re surprised by the ones that go to the top of this list. At other times, the high interest in the article makes perfect sense. Most of these articles are currently free, either because they are CE articles or because they are shorter opinion pieces or the like. We hope you’ll have a look.—Jacob Molyneux, senior editor

“The Care of Pregnant Women in the Criminal Justice System” 

CE article. Overview: Current practices in the treatment and transfer of pregnant inmates in this country may negatively affect maternal and fetal health or well-being. Some violate federal or state laws; others conflict with standards of obstetric care and are widely considered unethical or inhumane. This article discusses these practices; their legal status; and implications for nursing practice, policy, and research.

“Developing a Vital Sign Alert System”

CE. Overview: This article describes the implementation of a nurse-designed, automated system for enhancing patient monitoring on medical–surgical and step-down nursing units. The system . . . was found to substantially reduce out-of-unit codes without increasing nurses’ workload.

“Mouth Care to Reduce Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia”

CE. Overview: Despite the well-established association between good oral hygiene and the prevention of VAP, the […]

2016-11-21T13:06:21-05:00October 11th, 2013|nursing perspective, nursing research|0 Comments
Read More

Using Evidence-Based Practice to Reduce CAUTIs

By Karen Roush, AJN clinical managing editor

Using evidence-based practice to . . .

Fill in the blank. There’s something on your unit that could be improved—the rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), the engagement of family in care, the readmission rate of patients with heart failure, patient satisfaction with pain management. Whatever it may be, you have the ability to improve it. This month we have a CE article (link is below) about an evidence-based practice (EBP) project to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs).

Scanning electron micrograph of S. aureus bacteria on the luminal surface of an indwelling catheter with interwoven complex matrix of extracellular polymeric substances known as a biofilm/ CDC Scanning electron micrograph of S. aureus bacteria on the luminal surface of an indwelling catheter with interwoven complex matrix of extracellular polymeric substances known as a biofilm/ CDC

The really interesting thing about this article, and what makes it especially helpful for beginner quality improvers out there, is that it doesn’t just describe an effective project to reduce CAUTIs. It also describes how to do an EBP project, step-by-step. The author, Tina Magers, a novice EBP mentor, followed the seven steps outlined in AJN’s Evidence-Based Practice series and describes the actions involved in each step. It’s a great how-to on applying evidence to practice. Here’s the overview/abstract of this useful June CE article, “Using Evidence-Based Practice to Reduce Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections”:

Overview: In […]

2017-05-27T10:29:02-04:00May 31st, 2013|nursing perspective|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