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 »

If you’re a young nurse, I’m sure you rely on older, more experienced nurses for help. Not only is their expertise valuable, but older nurses make up so much of the nursing workforce that hospitals need them. The nursing shortage is certainly looming, making it more important than ever to ensure that older nurses who wish to stay working beyond retirement age can do so, reports Rebecca Hendren for HealthLeaders Media in her latest column. The Health...  Read More »

West Boca (FL) Medical Center’s Jill Wiser, RN, had a unique view of the utility of medicine vial caps, syringe holders, and paint samples. Wiser turned the materials into five mosaic-like abstract pieces of art that are now on display at the medical center, reports Nurse.com. The pieces are made by assembling the caps on a piece of canvas about 3 feet wide. The nurse’s station, CNO office, and nursery are all decorated with the pieces. Wiser also...  Read More »

The Well blog in the New York Times this week explores an interesting and ever-present topic: why nurses bully each other, or “eat their young,” as many nurses call it. In it, Seattle nurse, consultant, and author Kathleen Bartholomew is mentioned-she literally wrote the book on the topic, which might be worth checking out: Ending Nurse-to-Nurse Hostility: Why Nurses Eat Their Young. The blog explores the reasons behind such abusive behavior, in...  Read More »

This will be an interesting trial to follow for nurses and all healthcare professionals, sure to set some precedent about nurse and physician reporting. Anne Mitchell, a former administrative nurse at Winkler County Memorial Hospital in Kermit, TX, will stand trial in a week at a state courthouse for “misuse of official information” after she anonymously reported a physician to the Texas Medical Board in April 2009, according to the New York Times....  Read More »

A recent survey found that one-third of registered nurses say they won’t be working in their current job one year from now, and almost half say they plan to change career paths or reduce their direct patient care hours through a less demanding job within the next three years, according to AMN Healthcare–a healthcare staffing organization-which conducted the survey. The data was collected from 1,399 respondents, and according to AMN Healthcare,...  Read More »

What an incredible story by The Missoulian about nurses’ connections throughout the world. The article tells the story of Michele Sare, RN, founder of Nurses for Nurses International, who arrived in Haiti on January 12with the purpose of teaching a local public health class. Less than an hour later, the 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck, and Sare’s entire purpose for being there changed. Sare spent the next week side by side with a small group of...  Read More »

Many employers try to discourage their employees from smoking, but what about denying employment because the applicant smokes? Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, TN, will no longer hire employees who smoke, reports The Chattanooga Pulse. The hospital plans to drug-screen prospective employees for nicotine. If tested positive, the hospital will rescind its offer of employment. Brad Pope, the vice president of human resources, told the Pulse that the reason for...  Read More »

An interesting piece written by Rebecca Hendren for HealthLeaders Media bridges nurse retention and sleeping. The article highlights a new graduate nurse retention program in Lynchburg, VA, that offers a formal sleep education class that explains how to get better sleep and why sleep is important. The program was created after the nurse retention coordinator, Cheryl Burnette, began to see a potential tie between nurse retention of new graduates and sleep. Around...  Read More »