The call for a highly educated nursing workforce has been delivered by nurse experts, supported by studies conducted by the Institute of Medicine and Carnegie Foundation, and endorsed by professional nursing organizations. Yet, we still drag our feet when it comes to returning to school.

One of the most common excuses I hear from nurses about returning to school is that it is too expensive. Over the past year, more attention has been devoted to whether a college education is a wise ...

Last week I found myself in Annapolis, MD standing before the Senate Executive Nominations committee discussing my recent appointment to the Governor’s Wellmobile Advisory Board. I am extremely proud to be affiliated with this nurse-led care initiative, managed by the University of Maryland School of Nursing, that brings health care to underserved communities throughout Maryland. Using mobile vans, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer screenings, health education, medication assistance, and other ...

As a member of the nurse leader team at Gannett Healthcare Group, I have an opportunity to talk with nurses across the country. Recently, I have noticed our conversations turning to the issue of compassion fatigue.

I find that nurses are anxious to share their feelings, frustrations, and fears as it relates to this topic. However, one important concept that I have learned is that burnout is often confused with compassion fatigue.

Although the symptoms can be similar, ...

Celebrating nursing excellence is near and dear to our hearts at Nurse.com and once again we are seeking nominations of nurses who deserve to be honored at the 2011 Nursing Excellence Awards Galas.

I am certain that you know nurses who exemplify all that nursing should be — nurses you would want to care for you or your loved ones, who have advanced the profession, taught or mentored you as you progressed along your career path, or gone beyond the call of duty to improve the lives ...

Among the new members of 112th Congress sworn in on January 4, 2011 were four nurses – Renee Elmers, R-NC, Diane Black, R-Tenn, Ann Marie Buerkle, R-NY, and Karen Bass, D-Calif – bringing the total number of nurses currently serving in Congress to seven. In addition, many nurses serve in elected and appointed positions in state legislatures and local governments across the nation.

Yet, nurses remain largely invisible in policy making circles.

For years nurses quietly ...

Have you noticed that every January we are bombarded with advertisements for exercise equipment and diet aids? As a nation, we engage in many unhealthy behaviors and struggle to modify our lifetstyle choices. Personallly, I find it alarming that obesity is expected to be our next major health battle. But as a nation, we are trying to improve. According to a Consumer Reports phone survey, 90% of American adults believe that they ate healthfully, despite data that suggests otherwise.

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Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, my mother was hospitalized. Her surgery went well and she is recuperating as expected. However, the event occurred at a time when I was deep in thought about the future of nursing and creating an exemplary healthcare experience.

As I sat at my mother’s bedside in the ICU and later in the step-down unit, I observed the nurses and other members of the healthcare team and contemplated the experience through the lens of a family member instead of ...

In the midst of the 1980s nursing shortage, the American Academy of Nursing embarked on a study to examine why some hospitals acted as magnets that attracted and retained RNs. This seminal work became the foundation for the creation of the Magnet Recognition Program and was based on the premise that better nursing work environments produced better patient outcomes.

Today, the term Magnet is synonymous with excellence.

Over the course of the past 20 years, the number ...

I was on my way to a meeting of Maryland nurse executives when I learned of the shooting at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore. Just a few weeks earlier a Franklin Hospital nurse suffered facial injuries when she was beaten by a patient. In August, a nurse was punched, kicked and choked by a psychiatric patient at the Erie County Medical Center. We expect to feel safe in our workplace but it seems as though violence is erupting around us. Given the increased stress people are experiencing, ...

At NurseWeek’s Career Fair in Houston, Texas, Susan Baimbridge, RN, CCRN-CSC, ADCNS-BD, from St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, spoke about blood conservation during cardiac surgery. Here are some interesting facts she noted during her presentation.

1. Blood transfusions date back to the 17th century when they were used to change the humor of patients.
2. It was not until the Civil War that hemorrhage was recognized as a cause of death.
3. Transfusion medicine began during World War II.

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I recently had the privilege of spending a day with a group of nurses at Kennedy Krieger
Institute in Baltimore, MD. Known for its groundbreaking work in treating children and adolescents with brain disorders, these nurses shared some amazing success stories. One particular story involved a young girl who had sustained life threatening injuries resulting from a traumatic fall. She arrived at Kennedy Krieger in a coma. Six months later the young patient had recovered to the point where she ...

A colleague gave me a copy of Atul Gawande’s The Checklist Manifesto for my birthday. While I had heard about the book, little did I know what I was in for when I opened the cover.

The book grabbed me from the start. Gawande quickly makes the case that knowledge is both a blessing and a curse. However, he advocates that in order to create safer healthcare environments and reduce medical errors, we must develop strategies that build on the knowledge we have.

Throughout ...

I am helping my mother prepare for an elective surgical procedure and as I look at the experience through her eyes, I am reminded that hospitals can be intimidating places.

We realize that the more consumers know about what to expect during a hospital stay, the more effectively they will be able to participate in their care. But in this age of information, where advice is easily accessible, what resources really help prepare patients for what to expect during hospitalization? Here ...

There has been a lot of “buzz” about the vuvuzelas at soccer’s 2010 World Cup. You know what I am referring to – those 3-foot long plastic horns creating the sound of a million buzzing bees.

Along with cheering on their teams, my family loudly complains about the annoying sound these horns make. They rant that it is difficult to hear the calls and enjoy the play. As a health care professional I am more concerned with the affects of such loud and constant noise. As usual, when I voice ...

An article in the today’s Washington Post, written by Darryl Fears, states, “Health-care economists and other experts say retirements in that group [nurses] over the next 10 to 15 years will greatly weaken the health-care workforce...” I am glad to see more attention being paid to the implications of losing our most experienced nurses.

Several years ago, I heard David DeLong, an expert on the aging workforce; speak about the notion of lost knowledge. He remarked that as highly experienced ...