Examiner.com highlighted an interesting study from the journal Stroke that showed nurse-led behavioral interventions helped reduce depression in stroke survivors. The intervention, called Living Well with Stroke, involves treating patients who suffer from depression as a result of a stroke with counseling sessions. Nurses specifically trained in stroke rehabilitation played an important role in the intervention, helping patients improve...  Read More »

Three major nurses’ organizations will be combining to form a new organization newly named National Nurses United, reports the San Francisco Business Times. The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, the United American Nurses, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association are merging to form a membership that will be 150,000 strong. A founding convention will be held in December in Scottsdale, AZ, according...  Read More »

Being a nurse in the emergency department (ED) unfortunately involves treating patients who have been victims of crimes. Caring for these patients can be difficult, but if you had the chance to help the authorities catch the perpetrator of the crime, would you? A new program led by William S. Smock, MS, MD, professor of emergency medicine at University Hospital and Louisville Metro Police surgeon in Louisville, KY, is teaching nurses how...  Read More »

An Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) study has found that more than half of emergency department (ED) nurses have experienced physical violence at work, according to an ENA press release. Physical violence includes getting spit on, hit, pushed or shoved, scratched and kicked. The more detailed statistics are just as alarming. One in four nurses have experienced such abuse more than 20 times in the past three years, and one in five nurses...  Read More »

A pleasant nature, an air of confidence, and a good memory are three qualities a Los Angeles Times reader used to describe good nurses in a recently published letter to the editor. The reader says she has spent a lot of time in hospitals during the past two years with sick relatives and has come to appreciate the effect a good nurse can have on a hospital stay. She says good nurses take the lead with the patient and develop a rapport with...  Read More »

New mothers face a number of changes and challenges when they bring a newborn home from the hospital. In Durham, NC, a new program is providing some much-needed assistance. Durham Connects, a program that provides free nurse visits to any Durham resident following the birth of a child, began in August. About a month after delivery, a nurse visits the new family to provide a physical, discuss important health issues, and provide a basket...  Read More »

The phones were supposed to fall silent. Dial tones were supposed to replace the comforting voices of nurses. Ask-A-Nurse, the free call-in nurse service run by Centura Health in Colorado, was supposed to shut down due to financial pressure this summer. Not anymore. Calls and emails flooded in from the community since the plan to close was announced on July 9. Leaders from Centura, the largest family of hospitals and healthcare services...  Read More »

Nurses aim to spend the bulk of their time in direct contact with patients. Other responsibilities, such as paperwork and gathering supplies, often get in the way. To remedy the problem, 21 hospitals across six Rocky Mountain states are joining a Rapid Adoption Network (RAN) that will allow them to share information about clinical practices and seek ways to improve them. The RAN was created in response to a recent Veterans Health Administration...  Read More »

While estimates of the number of students with mental health issues vary, there is no denying that action needs to be taken to reverse this upward trend. According to the American Psychiatric Associations, nearly 50% college students admit to being depressed, and 10% have contemplated suicide. According to the American College Health Association, 52% of students surveyed felt that things were hopeless, with 36% saying they have felt so...  Read More »

The Nintendo Wii, a game system that requires users to act out the game with a motion-sensor controller, has become part of the therapy routine for a growing number of providers around the country. Although its original intent was simply to be a fun way to spend some time, therapists using the system are swearing by its results. “I got interested in it because of my nephew, who played it all the time,” says Lane Blondheim, MSPT, MT,...  Read More »