News on Nursing Education
Salon Events Ignite Nurses’ Health Conversations
In Chicago,the concept is simple and the results can be life-changing. Invite a group of nurses to your home, prepare a simple dinner (or order pizza) and encourage a conversation about the nursing profession. With a little bit of guidance, guests soon will be brimming with energy, and before they leave, they’ll have a renewed sense of purpose about their profession. It’s called a "nursing salon" and it’s hoped the concept grows in other cities.
Pedal to the Metal: IOM Report Serves as Nurse Leader Catalyst
Many Southern states mobilized quickly last year in order to begin the process of meeting the goals outlined in the Institute of Medicine’s and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s report “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.” The IOM recommendations were the catalyst last year for Southern states to form action coalitions and launch targeted efforts to improve nursing education and leadership. Laying the groundwork in 2011 was a crucial step that brought together key people who will see efforts through the reform era, particularly in Florida, North Carolina and Texas.
Nurse Managers: Who’s the Boss?
In some hospitals across the country, nurse manager roles are hard to fill. Nursing leaders and researchers say there’s no question it’s tough to find and keep nurse managers. Yet hard data on these turnover rates is seemingly nonexistent. Why are nurses so reluctant to step into these leadership positions?
School Nurses Become Medical Safety Net
In California’s Central Valley, school nurses are applying more than Band-Aids. They are often the sole medical "safety net" provider for a community where nearly 70 percent of the 2,841 students are Latino and about 75 percent of students receive free or reduced-price meals. Some of the school nurses even reach into their own pockets to ensure a low-income family’s medical care is provided.
Nurse Researchers Find Disparities in Pain Treatment
Pain is generally undertreated in the United States, but low-income and minority patients are even less likely to receive guideline-recommended pain treatment in virtually all health care settings, according to the authors of a new paper from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Penn Nursing professor Rosemary Polomano, RN, PhD, FAAN, and others propose broad advocacy initiatives for targeted education in pain disparities as part of graduate and continuing medical education, and in licensure, accreditation and certification programs for medicine, nursing and allied health professionals.
NJ Nurses Train to Coordinate Their Patients’ Care
In New Jersey, a new crop of nurses is being trained as population care coordinators—nurses who serve as part coach, part health advocate to improve coordinated follow-up and preventive and wellness care. The program is a collaboration among Horizon Healthcare Innovations (HHI) and its education partners Duke University School of Nursing and Rutgers University College of Nursing.
Two Bills Would Remove Limits on Missouri Nurses’ Ability to Practice
Nurse practitioners say existing Missouri laws are preventing them from providing the best possible care to their patients, and lawmakers seem to agree. Currently, advanced-practice nurses in Missouri must have a collaborative practice agreement with a nearby physician, but House Bill 1371 and Senate Bill 679 would eliminate that requirement. The changes would apply to nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and clinical nurse specialists.
