The December issue of AJN is now live.

Some articles in this issue will be open access or free to access for a set period; others will require log-in or subscription. Below are some articles of note we’d like to draw your attention to.

This issue has two original research articles. The first is of these is an observational cohort study looking at implementation of a continuous video monitoring program to decrease falls in a long-term acute care hospital setting. This article is open access.

The second original research article in our December issue is “Investigating the Relationships Among Nurses’ Stress, Sleep Quality, and Mental Health, and the Mediating Role of Coping Strategies and Social Support: A Cross-Sectional Study.” According to the authors, “This study highlights strong associations between stress, sleep quality, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, with coping strategies and social support as potential mediators.”

An integrative review (currently free to read) looks at what we currently know (and don’t know but need to study) about best practices for implementing hospital-based virtual nursing.

Our editorial by editor-in-chief Carl Kirton indulges a little word play in its title, “The Rise of AI.” But the topic is very serious and should concern us all, because the AI in question is not artificial intelligence but anti-intellectualism. Writes Kirton as he surveys recent attacks on higher education or the federal government’s attempts to make faculty, clinicians, and students as well as their institutions conform to rigid rules that would limit free exercise of thought and inquiry,

“When confirmation bias is used as a strategy, it can be problematic, particularly when it’s used to deceive people or to advance a personal or political agenda.”

(All editorials are free to read.)

Our Focus on DEI column this month addresses “Empowering Nurses to Prevent Suicide in Marginalized Communities,” our Specialty Spotlight is a succinct exploration of her job by an ambulatory care nurse, and our Viewpoint column on supporting emergency nurses when patients die argues for more consistent debriefings as well as trainings.

Nursing in a conflict zone: a firsthand account from Gaza. Switching gears to contemporary events, our AJN Reports, based on an interview AJN conducted with a nurse practitioner working with Doctors Without Borders in central Gaza at the height of the recent catastrophic conflict, describes the challenges of providing high-quality nursing care to a beleaguered and starving population under near-impossible conditions.

Finally, don’t miss the extensive health care news sections, the Drug Watch and Journal Watch sections, our monthly Reflections column, and more.

Browse and subscribe.

You can subscribe to AJN, America’s most respected and oldest (125 years and counting) general interest nursing journal, for just $52.00 for a year (12 issues), whether for yourself or as a gift (the holidays are coming). AJN stands out from other nursing journals for the variety and timeliness of its content, the rigor of its editing, and the continuing attention to appearance, including covers that often feature original and vivid artwork and illustrations. Or just read us online at https://ajnonline.com.