Compassion Fatigue Impacts Nursing
The Wall Street Journal published an article on January 3, 2012, discussing compassion fatigue and the toll it can take on nurses and their patients. Compassion fatigue is defined as a “combination of secondary traumatic stress and burnout from increasing demands of nursing.” Symptoms may be physical or emotional and may lead to work-related concerns.
Large Percentage of Schools Lack Nurses
National Public Radio reported that “more than half of American public schools don’t have a full-time nurse, and the situation is getting worse as school systems further cut budgets.” Some school nurses cover several different schools. As she rotates among schools, one nurse has taught school staff how to handle certain emergencies in her absence.
Prominent Nurse Nominated to Lead Health Agency
On November 23, 2011, President Obama nominated Marilyn B. Tavenner, to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services within the Department of Health and Human Services. Ms. Tavenner currently serves as Principal Deputy Administrator to the same agency. Previously, Ms. Tavenner served as the Secretary of Health and Human Resources under former Governor Tim Kaine. Ms. Tavenner received her BS in nursing and MA in health administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. Current CMS Administrator, Donald Berwick, MD, announced his resignation effective December 2, 2011.
Nurses Counted in Medically Underserved Populations Recommendations
The Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on the Designation of Medically Underserved Populations and Health Professional Shortages Areas issued its final report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on October 31, 2011. The Committee was tasked with developing new methodologies for designating medically underserved communities and populations with health professional shortages and/or high unmet needs for health services. The designations are used in dozens of federal programs to help calculate and channel federal resources to communities in critical need. Of particular interest to nursing, the Committee has suggested altering the methodology to recognize that nurse practitioners, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives provide “significant primary care services in our Nation” and include these professionals in the counting of population-to-provider ratios.
Patient and Nurse Safety May Be Linked
A study in BMJ Quality & Safety found a correlation between patient safety climates and nurse working conditions. Examining injury outcomes, safety climates and working conditions in 29 nursing units in one urban, level-one trauma center, the study found that the safety climate was associated with patient falls, pulmonary embolisms/deep vein thrombosis and decubitus ulcers and with nurse injuries such as needlesticks, splashes, slips and falls. The study also finds that increased turnover in nursing units should be considered a risk factor for both nurse and patient injuries.
Do Nurses Tweet?
The Springer Publishing Company conducted a survey of 1,107 nurses in September 2011, on the social networking practices of nurses. According to the survey, 68% of nurses use Facebook, 11% use Twitter, and 27% have downloaded free nursing or medical applications (“apps”). Approximately 42% of respondents own an e-book reader.
Nurses Add Doctorates
A number of health professionals, including nurses, are earning doctorates. An article in the New York Times explores if the advanced degree brings with it a change in scope of practice. The article also discusses if patients benefit by receiving care from nurses holding doctorates versus those with master’s degrees.
Text4Health Task Force Offers Recommendations
An intergovernmental task force, known as Text4Health, issued recommendations and guidelines for consideration by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The September 19, 2011, document noted that mobile telephones and other portable information technologies offer “unprecedented opportunities” to communicate and improve health information for the U.S. population. The task force suggested that the agency build evidence-based health text message libraries that are free and open to the public while conducting research on the effectiveness of health text messaging programs. The group also recommended that HHS investigate the privacy and security risks associated with text messaging health information and establish guidelines for appropriate use.
$71.3 Million for Expanding Nursing Training and Education
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $71.3 million in grants to expand opportunities in nursing education and training. 109 awards were made to assist registered nurses in completing graduate education to become qualified nurse faculty. Support for advanced nursing education, nurse retention programs, and for increasing the number of racial and ethnic minorities underrepresented among registered nurses was also included in the funding projects. A list of institutional awardees may be found here.
Preventive Services for Women: Closing the Gap
The Institute of Medicine issued a consensus report focused on “what preventive services are important to women’s health and well-being.” The IOM examined a number of measures, including tests, procedures, devices, medications, education and counseling, and recommended the adoption of specific preventive services for women. Some of those recommendations include screening and counseling for women and adolescent girls for interpersonal and domestic violence in a culturally sensitive and supportive manner; at least one well-woman preventive care visit annually for women; and a fuller range of contraceptive education and counseling.
Hiring Nurses to Address Surplus – In the Philippines
The Philippine government announced that it plans to hire 12,500 nurses next year along with 200 doctors and 1,021 midwives. The nurses will be hired to fill new nursing positions. It is estimated that there are nearly 300,000 nursing graduates unemployed or underemployed in the Philippines. According to Philippine Senator Franklin Drilon, the employment action will help address a deficiency of nursing staff in state hospitals, “This is good news… I am glad that our health system will be given a temporary relief due to the hiring of additional nurses.”
An Approach to Curbing Disruptive Behaviors
The New York Times reports on a new approach to selecting medical school candidates at Virginia Tech Carilion. Using multiple mini interviews, candidates are assessed on how willing they are to work in teams and on their emotional behavior, among other skills. The article, New for Aspiring Doctors, the People Skills Test, explains that the ability to interact socially is a valuable skill in the health care setting.
Redesigning Nursing Practice to Incorporate Technology
“Re-designing nursing practice to take advantage of various technology offerings has widespread implications for nurse educators, administrators and regulators,” notes an article by D. F. Mahoney, RN, in Gerontechnology. The article, The Aging Nurse Workforce and Technology, suggests that technology offers a possible solution to supporting and retaining the nursing workforce.
GAO Recommends Action to Prevent Sexual Assaults
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued the June 2011, report, “VA Health Care: Actions Needed to Prevent Sexual Assaults and Other Safety Incidents.” The agency was asked to determine whether sexual assault incidents are fully reported within Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities.
After reviewing records and policies from 2007 to 2010, the GAO found that nearly 300 sexual assault incidents reported to VA police were not communicated to leadership within the VA or with the Office of the Inspector General, as required by regulation. Noting the lack of appropriate risk assessment tools, GAO recommended nonetheless that reporting and monitoring of sexual assault incidents improve within the VA. The report further noted that the agency obtain better tools for identifying risks and addressing vulnerabilities within its facilities, such as ensuring the security of nursing stations at inpatient mental health units and relocating high-risk patients to rooms closer to the nurses’ stations.
New York Times Prints Op-Ed on Bullying
In the New York Times, Theresa Brown, an oncology nurse, wrote an opinion-editorial, “Physician, Heel Thyself,” on concerns over bullying in the healthcare setting. She states, “What can be done to counter hospital bullying? For one thing, hospitals should adopt standards of professional behavior and apply them uniformly, from the housekeepers to nurses to the president of the hospital. And nurses and other employees need to know they can report incidents confidentially.
New Cancer Genomics Research Tool
A new online resource on the use of genomic information in cancer care has been launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute. CancerGem KB, short for Cancer Genomic Evidence-based Medicine Knowledge Base, aims to provide information on cancer human genome epidemiology and aggregated evidence on cancer genomic tests in transition to clinical and public health practice. Intended for researchers, health care providers, public health professionals and policy makers, the site is accessible for those interested in scientific information o the use of genomic information in cancer care and prevention.
Creating a Culture of Safety
"Safety culture plays a big role in health care," notes Carolyn Clancy, MD, Director of the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. In her May column on navigating the health care system, Dr. Clancy discussed how a safety culture creates better care for patients. Dr. Clancy points out a study from the University of North Carolina that surveyed nurses at 148 hospitals about their willingness to report errors, noting that nursing units with more open communication had fewer medication errors.
Nurse Staffing May Impact Patient Outcomes
A study on nurse staffing and its impact on patient outcomes was published in Medical Care, a journal of the American Public Health Association. Using data from 54 hospitals belonging to the University Health System Consortium, the study determined that higher nurse-to-patient staffing ratios “protected patients from poor outcomes.” Yet, the report also noted that in hospitals with a higher safety-net status, or those facilities that treat critically-ill and underserved populations, factors in addition to nurse staffing may be at play.
Radiation and Pregnancy: Understanding Possible Health Effects
With the devastating news from Japan on radiation leaks from its damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, pregnant patients may have questions about health effects on fetuses from exposure to radiation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has prepared a fact sheet on prenatal radiation exposure. The CDC advises pregnant women who are concerned about radiation exposure to contact their health professional.
