RNs Value Work Environment over Staffing Ratios

November 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

(MedPageToday) Although nurse staffing levels are important, healthcare managers should also consider the general work environment when planning improvements that influence patient care, results of a cross-sectional survey suggest.

A single incremental increase in nurses’ ratings of the physical work environment “corresponded to an almost five times greater likelihood of nurses rating patient care as being high quality,” according to Maja Djukic, PhD, RN, of the New York University College of Nursing in New York City, and colleagues.

“Similarly, one incremental increase in [nurses'] rating of organizational constraints decreased the odds of reporting their patients received high-quality care by 44%,” the wrote online in Health Care Management Review. [Read more...]

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Nursing program bid fails for MSU

November 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

(Register-Herald Reporter) Mountain State University students were notified Monday that the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education will not accredit the university’s undergraduate nursing program.

The announcement came from Mountain State University President Dr. Charles Polk in an e-mail to all students.

“This morning the University received the accreditation decision from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Unfortunately, the CCNE has declined to extend accreditation to the University’s undergraduate nursing program. We are currently exploring our options and will keep you informed. [Read more...]

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Healthcare Drives Private-Sector Employment in Garden State

November 26, 2011 By 1 Comment

(NJ Spotlight) Healthcare accounted for nearly half of the private-sector jobs created during the past 12 months, and this job creation engine has been rolling along for years. Between 1990 and 2009, three of every five jobs created in New Jersey were in healthcare “and that’s a pretty astounding number,” said Aaron Fichtner, assistant commissioner for labor planning and analysis in the state Department of Labor. “It’s safe to say healthcare has been our strongest industry in New Jersey overall,” he noted.

Numbers like these have inspired a major initiative to train New Jerseyans who receive public assistance for careers in healthcare. The goal of the Northern New Jersey Health Professionals Consortium is to help 5,000 people escape poverty by entering the healthcare industry over the next five years. Classes began at community colleges during the summer, and so far 368 have enrolled and 22 have finished school and landed jobs, according to Justin E. Doheny, project director. [Read more...]
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On The Job with Deborah Moon Curry

November 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

(The Gadsen Times) Deborah Moon Curry stays busy with two jobs. She is an associate professor in the school of nursing at Jacksonville State University. She also works part time as a nurse practitioner at Doctors’ Care in Gadsden. Now, at 54, she is getting ready to make a change.

Deborah Moon Curry is an associate professor in the school of nursing at Jacksonville State University. She is retiring at the end of this semester to return full time to clinical work at Doctors’ Care in Gadsden.

After 18 years, this is her last semester to teach at JSU. When the semester wraps up, Deborah will begin working full time at Doctors’ Care, allowing her to spend more time doing the clinical work she has always enjoyed. [Read more...]

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Why I Love My Job: Maria Rosario “Charo” F. Lazana, BSN, RN, OCN

November 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

(AJC.com) Job: Clinical nurse supervisor, 5 Tower Oncology, Northside Hospital-Forsyth

Northside Hospital Maria Rosario “Charo” F. Lazana is a clinical nurse supervisor at Northside Hospital-Forsyth.

What I do: “I provide direct patient care and supervise the nursing operation of 5 Tower.”

How I got into this: “I was a BMT [bone marrow transplant] nurse [at BMT of Northside Atlanta] for 7 years and my nursing goal is to have a management position.

“When Niti [my previous manager] told me about the clinical supervisor job opening, I immediately applied because I know this is what I want, and Niti is such a great manager; she will bring the best in me. So this is really a great opportunity for me.” [Read more...]

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School nurses show their skills

November 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

(Boston Globe) Students at Boston Latin Academy are mourning the loss of a 12-year-old classmate who fell ill at school on Friday and died Monday from a probable case of bacterial meningitis. The students are sad, frightened, and full of questions about the transmission of the infectious disease. While outside experts are on hand to help them cope, the most consistent and comforting medical presences are the two school nurses who staff the 1,700-student school.

The nurses who recognized the seriousness of the stricken girl’s symptoms quickly called for an ambulance. One of them accompanied her to the hospital. Tragically, the seventh-grader succumbed to the infection. But the quick work by the nurses allowed city health officials to assess the situation, identify students who may have been in close contact with the girl, and refer them to their own doctors for preventive treatment with antibiotics. [Read more...]

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Heroic nurse runs to aid of teen shot in the head

November 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

(Des Moines Register) Leslie Logel called 911, then decided she had to run outside and help a Des Moines 17-year-old who had just been shot in the head.

“I thought, oh, his poor mother,” said Logel, a registered nurse. “I wanted to help save him for his mother.”

Logel applied pressure to the wounds of Andrew Scruggs until police and medical workers arrived Tuesday afternoon. The shooter has not been located.

It was the second time this year Scruggs has been shot. He may owe his latest chance for survival to Logel, a caseworker with the nonprofit Lutheran Services in Iowa. [Read more...]

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School nurses help fight diabetes

November 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

(Coastal Courier) Georgia school nurses are on the front line in providing essential care during school hours that allows children with diabetes to stay in class and learn. With obesity, a contributing cause of type 2 diabetes, rising at epidemic rates among adolescents, the school nurses also provide wellness education to children, teachers and staff about how to avoid developing this debilitating — but, in most cases, preventable — chronic disease year-round. This especially is important in November, which is American Diabetes Month.

About 215,000 — or 1 in every 400 — U.S. children or adolescents up to 20 years old have diabetes, a chronic disease marked by high blood glucose (sugar) levels due to defects in insulin production and/or activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the majority of cases (1.7 per 1,000) in this young age group have type 1 diabetes, the causes of which are independent of lifestyle factors, type 2 diabetes (formerly called adult-onset diabetes) has risen to record levels among American teens, with an obesity epidemic and low levels of physical activity being the major contributing causes of onset. [Read more...]

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PA State prison nurses protest outsourcing services

November 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

(The Times Leader) PA State corrections nurses stood outside S.C.I. Retreat on Wednesday to protest a move to outsource health care and other services in state prisons.

Standing alongside Route 11 next to the bridge providing access to the medium-security state correctional institution, the nurses held placards proclaiming “safety is not for sale” and “quality care here keeps you safe out there,” reflecting the nursing union’s position that the move would threaten public safety.

The protest was organized by SEIU Healthcare PA, which represents 320 nurses at the state’s 27 correctional facilities and 10 of the 17 nurses at SCI Retreat. [Read more...]

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Handling with care: Officials prepare for nursing shortage

November 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

(The Birkshire Eagle) Gayle Armstrong has been a nurse in the Berkshires for 30 years and a nursing teacher at Fairview Hospital for 10. But at age 60, she wants to know: Who will take care of her when she retires?

With seemingly everything in the U.S. health-care landscape in flux, one thing has been known for years: In the not-too-distant future, there won’t be enough nurses to care for an expanding, aging population.

By 2025, some industry reports say, the work force will be more than 250,000 registered nurses short due in large part to a dearth of qualified nursing teachers and an aging work force. [Read more...]

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