Nursing

Nursing Headlines

Want to receive headlines like these in your inbox? Subscribe to one of our free Nursing e-Newsletters

  • From the desk of Adrianne E. Avillion, DEd, RN

    A few months ago I offered some information about nursing apps, the wonderful programs you can download for your smart phones or tablets. It occurs to me that some of us use apps as a teaching strategy. There are some issues that impact this strategy.

  • Free nursing app features new tools for nurses

    Robert Freeman, a registered nurse at Beth Israel Hospital in New York, designed an app for nurses that includes a database of over 10,000 medical abbreviations and a news feed specific to the nursing profession. Freeman said the idea for a nursing app came to him when a colleague could not decipher an abbreviation on a patient's chart. He indicates that nursing students will benefit the most from using the app as a learning tool, but that it will also improve efficiency and productivity for all nurses by quickly answering queries.

  • How to retain nurses by focusing on the reasons they entered the profession

    Recognizing and building upon nurses' dedication to their line of work could be essential to improving nurse retention rates. A survey of 900 nurses revealed that the single common variable reported by nurses from all age groups regarding why they chose nursing was a commitment to healing and an attachment to the nursing profession. As a nurse leader, it is important to acknowledge the reasons your staff chose to pursue a career in nursing and reinforce those choices.

  • ANA honors six hospitals for outstanding quality

    The American Nursing Association (ANA) has recognized six hospitals for outstanding nursing quality with regard to nursing performance and improved patient outcomes. The ANA selected the winners from among the 1,800 U.S. hospitals that participate in the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI), which tracks patient outcomes and links those outcomes to nurse staffing factors such as certification, turnover, education, and nursing care hours. Using the database, nursing units are able to compare their performance on a community, regional, and national level.

  • From the desk of Adrianne E. Avillion, DEd, RN

    Simulation equipment allows learners to practice anything from CPR to intravenous insertion to surgery. The realism that sophisticated simulation equipment allows is truly mind-boggling! However, few of us have unlimited financial resources to devote to the purchase of a never-ending array of newer, more sophisticated, and more expensive pieces of equipment. How can we make what we have last a bit longer? How do small hospitals (and even smaller professional development departments) provide the simulation experience on a shoestring budget?

  • CMS initiative designates "innovation advisers" to improve healthcare

    As part of a new initiative from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), 73 "innovation advisers" from across the country have been appointed to work on innovative projects in their respective institutions. The group, consisting of physicians, nurses, hospital executives, and public health and policy experts, will work closely with CMS to improve the programs they initiate and to share ideas and processes that can then be applied on a larger scale. The ultimate goal is to find alternative methods of reducing costs and improving health.