On February 4, 2010, Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced into the US House of Representatives HR 4601, a bill to create an Office of the National Nurse, according to Medscape.com. Blumenauer argued the case for such an office, saying that such a position would complement the Surgeon General (an office that is 140 years old) in helping face the challenges of public health. Alisa Schneider, MSN, RN, vice resident of the National Nurse Network Organization (NNNO),...  Read More »

Here’s a unique resource I think readers might be interested in. The American Nurses Association (ANA) plans to launch a diversity awareness resource center, reports Joe Cantlupe for HealthLeaders Media. ANA executives say the center’s aim is to ensure fair treatment of all patients, no matter their backgrounds, as cultural competency is a clear responsibility for nurses who work with patients every day. The center, which will launch in the next...  Read More »

A growing popularity of book clubs is hitting the medical field. This ABC News report explores why literature is beneficial for physicians, nurses, and any other caretaker. Reading literature written from a patient’s point of view, such as The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the memoir of the late French Elle Editor-in-Chief Jean-Dominique Bauby (who essentially wrote the book through blinking after a stroke left him almost completely paralyzed), helps...  Read More »

A Washington DC hospital’s decision to fire 21 hospital employees-15 of whom were nurses-for missing work during the blizzards that occurred between Feb. 5 and Feb. 11 has drawn attention from Nurses United of the National Capital Region and the American Nurses Association (ANA), reports Joe Cantlupe, for HealthLeaders Media. The dismissals at Washington Hospital Center, the largest private nonprofit hospital in the DC area, have generated widespread...  Read More »