No matter how long you are in the nursing profession, you will always have to deal with patients and the patient’s family members. When a patient is hospitalized, it can be a very difficult time for their family, causing them to become more sensitive then normal. It is important to remember how you treat the patient and their family. Here are a few scenarios that can aggravate the patient and their family, and suggestions to help avoid...  Read More »

In a continuing effort to recognize nurses, the Center to Champion Nursing in America (CCNA) is requesting high quality photos that depict nurses’ work and the relationships they form with patients and families. The winning photograph will be featured in an AARP print and/or web publication. CCNA hopes to gather images of nurses across all healthcare settings in professional practice and leadership roles, as well as in recruitment...  Read More »

A recent Orlando Sentinel article discusses the Oregon Center for Nursing’s (OCN) “Are you man enough to be a nurse” campaign that was launched in 2002. The campaign included a poster designed to recruit males to enter the nursing profession and help break down stereotypes, according to OCN, which used a black and white poster with men dressed in scrubs, business suits and athletic clothing and asks “Are you man...  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...  Read More »

A lot of different reasons bring people to the field of nursing, but for Angela Ronquillo, RN, it was an accident that brought her back to her passion for her career. Ronquillo was already a nurse when an accident left her immobile for months, reports The Times-Picayune, and this accident brought Ronquillo to a place where she was able to discover her true calling. Twelve years ago, Ronquillo suffered a debilitating back injury after a porch...  Read More »

Two registered nurses from Winkler County Memorial Hospital in Kermit, TX are being prosecuted for reporting complaints to the Texas Medical board about a physician’s standard of practice, according to the local CBS affiliate. The American Nurses Association (ANA) has joined the Texas Nurses Association (TNA) to criticize the state’s response. Both associations worry about the precedent the action sets for future nurse whistle...  Read More »

As HCPro continues its countdown to Nurses’ Week, our focus moves to improving the image of nursing. Bedside caregivers are at the forefront of healthcare every day as they care for patients and families and interact with physicians and peers. So isn’t it time to set high standards and improve the image of nursing? During your Nurses’ Week preparation, put celebrating the profession on your list of activities and empower...  Read More »

Coughing and sneezing into a shirt sleeve may sound repulsive, but it’s one nurse’s hope for effectively stopping the spread of flu and cold viruses. Retired nurse anesthetist Michele Strocel invented the patent-pending CoughCover, a disposable, five-layered piece of fabric users can adhere to their sleeves and into which they can cough or sneeze. The patch captures cough or sneeze debris and kills the germs with an antiviral...  Read More »

The care a nurse delivers is undoubtedly critical to his or her patients’ health. Not so evident is how critical this care is to the economy, but the American Nurses Association (ANA) aims to change this viewpoint with a new study. The ANA has released The Economic Value of Professional Nursing, a study published in the journal Medical Care that calculates the economic worth of nursing. The study was proposed in 2003 in an effort...  Read More »

Similar to drilling for oil, global climate change, and political party allegiance, talk of unions in healthcare stirs people’s passions on both sides of the debate. But if you are considering working in a facility where nurses belong to a union, it’s important to understand some of the commonly used lingo and your roles and responsibilities as part of a unionized labor force. Get started by familiarizing yourself with the following...  Read More »