Staffing levels are the center of attention at Tufts Medical Center in Boston as registered nurses announced on Monday the threat of a one-day strike. The Massachusetts Nurses Association, the labor union that represents 23,000 members, told The Boston Globe that recent staff cuts mean nurses are caring for even more patients at a time. The union also says the changes have changed the hospital from one of the best staffed in Boston to the worst. The union and...  Read More »

The American Nurses Association (ANA) is holding a contest for nurses to make their own videos sharing what leadership means to them. In two minutes or less, the ANA asks registered nurses or nursing students to share what the phrase “I am a Nurse; I am a Leader” means to them. A panel of ANA judges will select the top five videos and then post them online for the public to vote and select their favorite. The contest ends May 1 and public voting will occur...  Read More »

An ambulance service in North Carolina has launched a new program that lets people who call 911 with minor concerns speak to a nurse before deciding whether to be transported to a hospital by ambulance. Nurses at Carolinas Medical Center and Presbyterian Hospital, in Charlotte, NC, are on hand to speak to people who call 911 with minor problems such as nausea, nosebleeds, or constipation, if they prefer not to be immediately transported by ambulance. The new...  Read More »

Annual competency assessments can sometimes be a tiresome task for nurses and for educators. Every organization completes assessment differently. At St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, OK, staff were bored of the repetitiveness of annual competency assessment, while managers were frustrated with the lack of staff completing requirements. To get staff interested and engaged in the competency assessment, educators decided to hold a fair around the theme of the...  Read More »