Recently added articles from MedSurg Nursing:
Nurse's assessment of caregiver burden.(CNE SERIES)
May 01, 2009; ... After her father was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease 2 years ago at age 70, Carrie assumed sole responsibility for his care. Carrie has been married for 15 years and has two young sons. She quit her part-time job at a local bank to assume care for her father. After her mother died from ...
Treatment-related fatigue and exercise in patients with cancer: a systematic review.(Research for Practice)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... The incidence of fatigue among patients with cancer is well-documented, with 75%-99% of patients who undergo chemotherapy describing it as increasing with every cycle (Nail & Jones, 1995). Similarly, 69% of patients receiving radiation therapy report increased fatigue with each treatment ...
Power dynamics, health policy, and politics.(Professional Issues)
May 01, 2009; ... Now front and center in the Public's minds, health care policy issues were influential topics during the Presidential primary debates and primary elections last year. National attention has turned once again to the dilemma of the rising number of uninsured Americans. As the staggering ...
Leadership: social identity and guiding from within.(On Leadership)
May 01, 2009; ... WHEN A LEADER ASSUMES the responsibility of leading a new unit, group, or organization, there is always a question of "How will I fit?" People in the organization will have serious concerns about how well the new leader will understand their organization. Some leaders will position ...
Caring: an affordable, timeless value.(from AMSN Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses)
Mar 01, 2009; ... We hardly can escape the dominance of the economy pervading nearly every aspect of contemporary American life. Hospitals and businesses are announcing hiring freezes, reducing travel expenditures, canceling or delaying projects, and laying off workers. Your 401(k) may now look like a 401 ...
Is it time to change our perspectives on nursing documentation?(Editorial)
Mar 01, 2009; ... Many nurses do not value the time and effort needed to document the care they provide, often perceiving that documentation takes away from time spent at the bedside in direct patient care (Gugerty, 2006). I'm hoping for the day when our perspectives on documentation become more positive, ...
A nursing approach to pain in older adults.(CNE SERIES)(Report)
Mar 01, 2009; ... Barrett (1998), Cowling (1997), and Butcher (2006) explored ways to apply Martha Roger's science of unitary human beings to their nursing research and practice. The theory and knowledge they developed can help nurses transform their careers into vocations which reflect reverence for all ...
Implementing a rapid response team to decrease emergencies outside the ICU: one hospital's experience.(Research for Practice)(intensive care units)
Mar 01, 2009; ... Patients enter hospitals expecting treatment for chronic or acute conditions, but few expect to experience an adverse event. However, aging of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001), greater acuity of patients admitted to hospitals, and ongoing shortages of health care workers ...
Casualties of war: compassion fatigue and health care providers.(CNE SERIES)
Mar 01, 2009; ... "Our nights are broken by sounds of nearby mortars, the drone of medevac (medical evacuation) helicopters, and endless nightmares. Each new day brings us more patients who wrench our hearts. Then we get up and do it all again. We've become intimately familiar with the brutalities of war" ...
Development of abdominal wound dehiscence after a colectomy: a nursing challenge.(Advanced Practice)(Report)
Mar 01, 2009; ... Wound healing is fundamental to surgical practice. The process of wound healing occurs through a cascade of interrelated intercellular and extracellular processes with the ultimate goal being tissue repair or functional integrity of the tissue. However, wound healing does not always ...
Bar-code technology for medication administration: medication errors and nurse satisfaction.(Research for Practice)
Mar 01, 2009; ... Administration of medications takes up to 40% of nurses' time in providing patient care (Armitage & Knapman, 2003). Multiple stages to the medication process include order entry, transcription and verification, dispensing, medication administration, and consumption by the patient. Inherent ...
JCR launches Health and Safety Design service to develop patient-safe environments.(MEDSURG MINUTE)(joint commission resources)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... Joint Commission Resources (JCR) launched of a new consulting program to help health care organizations across the nation create a patient-safe environment by critically evaluating, applying, and implementing science-based evidence surrounding the relationship between design, patient ...
What do nurses know about post-operative nausea and vomiting?(Research for Practice)(Report)
Mar 01, 2009; ... Nurses on a gynecologic unit will note that many of their patients experience nausea and vomiting after surgery. However, do these nurses also understand why their patient population is at a high risk for postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV)? Three risk factors for developing PONV are ...
Survey methods.(Research Roundtable)
Mar 01, 2009; ... Two research articles in this issue used surveys to collect data to answer their research questions. Suitable for many purposes, surveys are being employed with increasing frequency mainly due to the ease of using computerized surveys. Many readers may have created surveys in the work ...
The medical-surgical nurse's guide to testicular cancer.(Cancer: Caring and Conquering)
Mar 01, 2009; ... Although a rare cancer, testicular cancer is the most common solid tumor in males ages 15-35 (Jemal et al., 2007). It is treatable and often curable. The American Cancer Society (ACS) (2008) expected 8,090 new cases of testicular cancer and 380 deaths from the disease in the United States ...
Skin failure in the acute care setting.(Preparing for Certification)(Report)
Mar 01, 2009; ... Skin is the largest organ of the human body and, like other organs, it can fail, especially in the geriatric population. The aging process results in a loss of fatty tissue, collagen, and skin elasticity, as well as a decrease in vascularity and sweat gland function (Langemo & Brown, ...
AMSN members can view past issues of MEDSURG Nursing online.(MEDSURG MINUTE)(academy of medical-surgical nurses)
Mar 01, 2009 ... AMSN members have a valuable new benefit. Past issues of MEDSURG Nursing are now available for viewing and ...
PCA delivery systems.(Nursing Pharmacology)(patient-controlled analgesia )
Mar 01, 2009; ... For patients experiencing moderate-to-severe pain, the patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) system offers patient-orientated pain management that also is safe and effective (King & Walsh, 2007). The most commonly used drugs in the PCA delivery system, the drug contraindications and adverse ...
Grad school in your pajamas.(Professional Issues)
Mar 01, 2009; ... Lunches are packed, bottles made, and the coffee is still steaming in my favorite mug as I usher my husband and two kids out the door. The dog assumes his position on the couch as I shuttle my pajama-clad self to the computer. Headphones cover my bed head and I begin to type furiously ....
The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).(try this: Best Practices in Nursing Care to Older Adults)(Reprint)
Mar 01, 2009; ... WHY: Sleep is critical to health and sense of well-being. However, normal aging changes, medical problems, psychiatric problems, and psychosocial issues can alter the pattern and quality of sleep as one grows older, and, thus affect the quality of life in the older adult. Assessment of ...