Higher nurse workloads due to inadequate staffing have a direct impact on patient outcomes after surgery, a new study has found. The large-scale study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing showed that higher nurse workloads negatively impacted all patients, but interestingly, older black patients were three times more likely than older white patients […]
Editor’s Letter Happy October! I am sure most everyone is happy to have a reprieve from the heat. It is hard to believe the year is almost over. November will be here before we know it and we will all be heading to the polls to vote. Is it time to start brainstorming goals and […]
We are all familiar with the end-of-shift “report”, in which patient care is handed off from the departing to the oncoming shift. This has traditionally involved a verbal report given at the beginning of the shift, detailing the particulars of each patient’s care since admission and what took place during the preceding shift. Pre-recorded shift […]
California has a strict nurse-to-patient ratio law, but since there haven’t really been any penalties for failing to adhere to it, the law has been hard to enforce. A measure to give the department of public health more authority to crack down on hospitals that don’t obey the law has been vetoed by Governor Jerry […]
Consider the following scenario: It is a typical busy morning on the ward. The unit is full to capacity. One of the nurses called in sick prior to the beginning of the shift, and thus far no replacement has been found. The other nurses have had to pick up the slack, increasing their patient load […]
The role of the case manager in home care is taking on greater importance and urgency, according to this article on Nurse.com. The Affordable Care Act is a big part of why, as it requires a greater level of coordination with its measures to control costs, improve transitions to home care, and prevent readmissions. For […]
Are nurses at the manager level barriers to the implementation of nursing care based on best practice? A survey published in the Journal of Nursing Administration seems to suggest so. The survey, which was answered by 1,015 American Nurses Association members, found that there many barriers to the implementation of evidence-based practice are still present. […]
Editor’s Letter It is hard to believe September is here already and Labor Day has come and gone. As we say farewell to the carefree days of summer and turn toward autumn, most American children are either returning to the classroom or have already been back to school for a few weeks. Likewise, school nurses […]
It’s September, and kids everywhere are going back to school. And school nurses everywhere are there to serve them when they’re hurt, or sick, or in need of other medical attention. In this article on Brookline, Massachusetts’ Wicked Local website, a RN and school nurse named Patricia Laham seeks to answer the question, “What does […]
There has been more and more emphasis on increased education for nurses. It’s becoming increasingly common for employers to require that nurses go back to school to receive more education. Nurses are also calling for their peers to gain more education as a way to make their voices heard. The MSN degree — a master’s […]
