Building The Science of Nurse Education

Last month, the Nursing Education Perspectives Journal published a study conducted by Joanne R. Duffy, Marilyn Frenn and Barbara Patterson that analyzed grants given by the National League for Nursing between 2008 and 2010. The analysis determined that increased funding from various sources will be necessary to continue to build the science of nurse education.

Click here to read the full text of the article.

Ohio Senate Revives Bill To Expand Nurses’ Prescription Drug Authority

On Wednesday, Brandon Glenn, of medcitynews.com, reported about a new bill (SB-83) being introduced in the Ohio Senate that will expand Nurse Practitioners' power to prescribe schedule II controlled substances. This bill is almost identical to a bill that had passed in the State House of Representatives last year although it never made its way to the Senate floor. Under current law, Nurse Practitioners' must apply for and obtain a certificate to prescribe schedule II controlled substance and they are limited to a 24 hour supply provided only to terminally ill patients. This legislation aligns with recommendations made by the IOM's Initiative on the Future of Nursing committee's report: "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health."

Click here to read the news article

Click here to read SB-83.

Click here to find similar blogposts relating to the IOM committee's recommendations.

American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing Releases Position Statement on RN's Role in Ambulatory Care

Yesterday, the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) released a position statement on the essential role of Registered Nurses in ambulatory care settings. The goal of this position statement is to educate others about the usefulness of RNs in ambulatory care and to reinforce support for RNs in these settings.

Click here to read the press release.

Click here to read the position statement (PDF).

Nursing Informatics: What Devices & Apps Are Available For Nurses?

With the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference in full swing today, I thought it would be appropriate to focus a blogpost on the growing trends of nursing informatics. Yesterday, Angela Lewis, of advanceweb.com, detailed the many devices, apps and e-books that nurses may find extremely useful in both clinical and academic settings. Technology has continued to progress to the point that many nurses feel comfortable utilizing new 'hi-tech gear' to assist them in their decision making on a daily basis.

Click here to read the article.

Click here & here to read some blogs discussing the 'best technological products' for nurses to utilize.

Two Indiana Nursing Schools Collaborating to Help Students Easily Advance Their Education

Last week, wane.com reported how a new agreement between Ivy Tech and University of Saint Francis will make it easier for nurses to continue their education and obtain MSNs without having to leave the local area. The agreement, signed last week by the two universities, laid out a plan that will have now reserve 25 percent of the seats in the master's nursing program at the University of Saint Francis for Ivy Tech graduates. his is an innovative approach to encourage those who have obtained an associate’s degree in nursing to pursue a higher degree. This agreement directly aligns with recommendations made by IOM's Initiative on the Future of Nursing committee's report: "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health."

Click here to read the news article.

Click here to find similar blogposts relating to the IOM committee's recommendations.

Nurse Practitioners Become a Growing Part of Primary Care in Pennsylvania

Yesterday, pennlive.com discussed how the role of Nurse Practitioners in Pennsylvania will see continued growth with the announcement that Highmark Inc., a health insurer, will recognize NPs as primary care providers. Creating a more balanced reimbursement rate is a critical step in recognizing and utilizing NPs around the country. The article provides a great deal of important information such as the difference between NPs and physicians as well as sharing the experience of individuals who have become nurse practitioners over the years. Expanding the role of Nurse Practitioners is also a reccomendation made by the IOM's Initiative on the Future of Nursing committee's report: "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health."

Click here to read the article.

Click here to read other blogposts discussing the IOM's recommendations.

Nurse Practinioners Call for More Safeguards in Use of Opioids for Pain Management

Last week, nurse.com reported the publishing of a new white paper from the Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation that discussed interrelated issues associated with prescription opioid abuse, diversion and pain management. Prescription drug abuse has become a very pressing issue over the past 5 years with approximately 5 million Americans having reported using opioids for non-medical reasons. The paper, “Managing Chronic Pain With Opioids: A Call for Change,” makes recommendations for health care providers to spend more time educating the patient about the medical uses of prescription opioids as well as the repercussions of misusing, abusing and diverting these drugs.

Click here to read the news article.

INQRI's most recent cohort features two research teams investigating both pain management and substance abuse issues.

Click here to read more about these and INQRI's other most recent grantees' projects.

Nursing Programs Continue To Expand To Meet The Needs Of The Changing Roles Of Nurses

Last week, Elizabeth Donald, of the Bellville News Democrat, reported that Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) has established a new doctorate of nursing practices degree. Ms. Donald explained how the nursing program was formed to meet the needs of nurses seeking to use their doctorate degree in a clinical setting. The article also mentioned the importance of lifelong learning and how the nurses of the future will not only have to fill the looming nursing gap due to the expansion of the medical sector but also fill the gap left by the baby boomer generation retiring over the next twenty years.

The establishment of the new doctorate program as well as continuing to engage nurses in life-long learning align with the recommendations made by the IOM's Initiative on the Future of Nursing committee's report: "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health."

Click here to access the news article.

Click here to find other blogposts related to the IOM's groundbreaking report.

Nurses Can Become Desensitized To Hospital Sounds

Yesterday, Michele Norris, host of the National Public Radio program, All Things Considered, had a conversation with Boston Globe reporter Liz Kowalczyk regarding her investigation on how hospital staff can ignore or not react with urgency to patient alarms. The interview discussed the issues with cardiac monitors whether it is the lack of nurses monitoring their status or how patients who do not require their use causing many false alarms, thus creating what the interviewee claims, 'alarm fatigue'.

Click here to access the transcript of the conversation.

Click here to download the audio interview (MP3 format).

INQRI Grantee, Patricia Dykes, Featured On AOL News

On Sunday, Robert W. Stock of AOLnews discussed how over the past preventative falls have increased over 50% without explanation. The catch to this story is that the rise in falls never happened; they have been merely been catalogued more since an update in federal death certificate laws in the 1990s. Mr. Stock goes onto to speak about two studies that attempt to lower the rise in preventative falls; one of which was led by Patricia Dykes, DNSc, RN, FAAN, an INQRI grantee. Dr. Dykes research team, co-led by Blackford Middleton, M.D., M.P.H., M.Sc.-C.I.R.D, found that computer-enabled nursing directions specifically created for each individual patient can considerably reduce falls among the elderly.

Click here to read the news article.

Click here to read more about Dr. Dykes' research study.

Click here to read similar posts discussing the issue of preventative falls.

INQRI's Spring Webinar Series Kicks Off Monday, March 7th At 3pm EST

It is with great pleasure that we announce the first of INQRI's spring webinar series: Collaborative Approaches to Care: Nurses on Multidisciplinary Teams. The webinar will be facilitated by Robert Ferrer (University of Texas Health Science Center) and feature: Gerri Lamb (Arizona State University), Cheryl Dennison (Johns Hopkins University, Joanne Disch and Dough Wholey (University of Minnesota)

Click here to register and find out more information about this exciting webinar.

Mentoring Nursing Students: A New Approach For Transitioning Recent College Graduates Into The Work Place

Early this morning, Suzanne Hoholik detailed in The Columbus Dispatch how Ohio is one of three states to be involved in a pilot project that pairs new nurses to mentors in order to reduce high turnover rates and improve patient outcomes. This pilot project was implemented to counter the one in four (25%) of new nurses that leave their jobs within their first year of employment.

Click here to read the article.

Performance-Based Payment Incentives May Harm Nursing Conditions

Highly touted as a way in which to improve patient outcomes, pay-for-performance incentives have been gaining steam in hospitals nationwide. However, as reported on endnurse.com, a recent study published in Health Affairs suggests that linking reimbursement to quality of care goals could undermine the nursing workforce and shake up the nursing practice environment. The study, conducted by Ellen Kurtzman, RN, MPH, FAAN, assistant research professor in the GW School of Nursing, suggests that while payment incentives do have favorable effects on patient outcomes, they have little to no positive effect on nurse staffing and turnover rates.

Click here to read the article.

Click here to directly access the study, login credentials are necessary to access Health Affairs articles.

Nurses Without Borders

Last week, Karen Stabiner, of the New York Times, described a range of charitable organizations nurses participate in across the country. Ms. Stabiner detailed the work of the faith community nurse movement, which contrary to its name, is not limited to individuals of any one religion. While these nurses do not provide direct health services, they assist elderly in day to day activities such as driving or helping them with any questions they might have regarding health insurance. These nurses provide critical time to rest for tired, over burdened caregivers who have little to no free time of their own.

Click here to read the fascinating article.

Nursing Industry Facing A Critical Shortage

The looming nursing shortage is a topic of interest we have covered in the past, yet news stories covering this topic still make their way onto the blog. Why do we continue to still cover this topic? Because of the sheer importance of the critical issue at hand.

Yesterday, Dana Hunsinger, of the Indianapolis Star, described the dire situation that Indiana medical practices are facing. Ms. Hunsinger discussed how ~54% of all nurses in Indiana are over the age of 45 and when polled, 52% of those aged 55-64 stated they would retire within the next 4 to 9 years. The article continued to explain how there will be over 2,000 openings in 2011 for the nursing sector, with no near term solution in sight.

Click here to read the news article.

You may access similar stories from different states experiencing the same nursing shortages here and here.

Nurse practitioners Seek Larger Role In Connecticut Care

Over the weekend, the Hartford Courant reported that nurse practitioners in Connecticut are seeking to practice to the full extent of their training and abilities. Connecticut is one of 28 states that currently does not allow nurse practitioners to practice on their own without the supervision of a physician. In addition to practicing independently, nurse practitioners in CT are also striving to change current insurance companies' policies and become eligible for insurance reimbursements. The goals laid out by Connecticut NPs and the implications of expanding their scope of practice was made available in October of last year in the IOM's Initiative on the Future of Nursing committee's report: "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health."

Click here to read the news article.

Click here to read all previous posts related to the IOM's Initiative on the Future of Nursing.

Nurse Anesthetists' Scope of Practice Challenged in CA

Yesterday, californiahealthline.org reported that the California Medical Association (CMA) and the California Society of Anesthesiologists (CSA) have challenged nurse anesthetists' ability to give anestethics without the supervision of a physician. This challenge looks to overturn a decision made by Gov. Schwarzenegger in June of 2009 that allowed the sate of California to 'opt out' of federal regulation requiring physicians to oversee nurse anesthetists during the treatment of Medicare beneficiaries. Currently, California is one of sixteen states that have opted out of this regulation.

Click here to read the news article.

Caring for the Chart or the Patient? A Nurse's View

Yesterday, Theresa Brown of the New York Times discussed the emphasis hopitals, the CMS and accredidating agencies have put on charting documentation. In this fascinating op-ed, Ms. Brown examines the impact that constant charting has on patients and how there are many important, nuanced tasks a nurse performs that does not get charted. Make sure to check out the comments section as there are some very interesting contributions from fellow readers.

Click here to read the news article.

Nurse Practitioners in Texas Call for Greater Independence

Yesterday, Kim Krisberg reported on AARP.com that Texas nurse practitioners have made multiple legislative attempts to expand their scope of practice and treat the medically undeserved to no avail. Ms. Krisberg quoted Amanda Fredriksen, director of advocacy at AARP Texas, as stating, "We think that allowing advanced practice registered nurses to practice to the full extent of their training would help address that. We've got this whole cadre of health care professionals that we're not making the best use of".

The viewpoints expressed by Ms. Krisberg's article align with recommendations made by the IOM's Initiative on the Future of Nursing committee's report: "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health."

Click here to read the news article.

Click here to read all previous posts regarding the Intiative on the Future of Nursing.

Johns Hopkins Nursing Welcomes First Cohort of BS To MSN Students

Yesterday, Johnathan Eichberger of The JHU Gazette detailed how the first group of students will begin the Johns Hopkins University's Accelerated BS to MSN with Paid Residency program. Mr. Eichberger explained that the program takes approximately 34 months and includes a one year accelerated baccalaureate program in which students may take up 12 graduate courses in addition to their undergraduate class, a one year residency and then continue on with part-time graduate courses while continuing their full-time work.

This program coincides with the recommendations made by the IOM's Initiative on the Future of Nursing committee's report: "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health." The report made explicit recommendations addressing the need for nurses to continue their education, obtain higher level degrees as well as introducing nurse residency programs; all of which JHU has accomplished with the establishment of this program.

Click here to read more about the JHU Accelerated BS to MSN program.

Click here to read all posts regarding the IOM's Initiative on the Future of Nursing committee's report.