A just-released study says nurses are afraid to speak up if they notice physicians making mistakes. The study, The Silent Treatment: Why Safety Tools and Checklists Aren’t Enough to Save Lives , was conducted by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) and the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) in partnership with VitalSmarts, a corporate and organizational performance training company. The study involved interviews of more...  Read More »

Virtual technology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, is allowing nurses to interact as avatars with each other and with patients using the website Second Life. Vanderbilt was given $1.6 million by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to create and launch the project through the agency’s Nurse Education Technologies program, reports The Tennessean. Right now, the project is only a pilot while the university conducts research. In the Second...  Read More »

When a patient walks through those hospital doors, just how many people are there to assist him or her? Nursing blogger, The Nerdy Nurse, recently discussed this topic in a post “How many people are involved in patient care?” When her preceptor was showing her an infection control report, author realized just how many people take part in the care of a new patient. She thinks most noses don’t think about how much goes on behind the scenes of patient care....  Read More »

Forget top 40 hits or country music, radio has some new voices: registered nurses. Nurse Talk has hit the air in the San Francisco Bay Area and Boston Metro Area. The show was created by Casey Hobbs, RN, a 30-year veteran of nursing, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Hobbs’ goal is to make the nursing profession more visible. Segments of the show include advice for other nurses, healthcare news, and phobias of the week. The show occasionally features guests,...  Read More »

Imagine being a premature baby. How does it feel to go from a safe, comfortable uterus to the bright, loud, and often painful world of a hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)? Neonatal nurses at Martin Memorial Health Center in Palm City, FL, got a chance to find out when they partook in a program called “Preemie for a Day.” The educational program let nurses experience what it was like to go from birth to admission into the NICU, reports TCPalm.com....  Read More »

As a nurse, have you ever been praised for your work with a patient? The Boston Globe is holding a Salute to Nurses award program for people to nominate local nurses who have exceeded their usual duties and provided noteworthy care. The nurses’ stories will be told through stories, photos, and videos. The awards will be announced in early May. Check out the site to read some of the heartfelt stories from previous years’ winners. Does your area have ways...  Read More »

What would you do if you saw lasagna, pizza, cupcakes, or chocolates spread out on a table on your floor? You’d eat it, right? Theresa Brown, RN, explains just how much nurses love to eat in The New York Times Well blog Patients and their families often bring their nurses gifts of some type of food. With stress eating a common problem, Brown explains that it’s easy for nurses to eat their feelings. However, the food also represents a deeper meaning and...  Read More »