This is part of the April 2013 issue of Sharing Nursing's Knowledge.

Coffee-table books are designed to draw attention, and that is precisely what nurses got after the 2012 publication of a hefty tome featuring portraits of nurses from all walks of life.

The American Nurse has caught the eye of reporters for some of the largest-circulation publications in the country, including USA Today, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, National Public Radio, and the Huffington Post.

Dozens of other news outlets, such as the Lancaster New Era in Pennsylvania and local news programs in Louisiana and Northern California, have also covered the book’s release, as have trade publications like the American Journal of Nursing and Johns Hopkins Nursing Magazine, according to the book’s website.

The book, by photographer and filmmaker Carolyn Jones, tells the stories of 75 nurses working in various locations across the country—from a maternity ward in Baltimore to remote homes in Appalachia to a prison in the South. It is poised to get even more attention after completion of a  feature-length documentary film about six of the book’s subjects.

The book was supported by Fresenius Kabi USA, an international health care company that focuses on products for the therapy and care of critically and chronically ill patients. It is designed to elevate the voice of nurses in the United States, according to the book’s website.

Speaking to the nation’s nurses in a video statement, Rhonda Collins, MSN, RN, a nurse who is vice president and business manager at Fresenius Kabi USA, says: “We recognize you for who you are. We see you, and we appreciate everything you do.”

Newspaper readers and television viewers, it appears, are getting the message.

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This is part of the April 2013 issue of Sharing Nursing's Knowledge.

“A nurse practitioner may be in your future — if he or she is not already in your present. This is a kind of super-nurse, who’s gone through four years of nursing school plus at least two more years of training in diagnosing and treating disease. Nurse practitioners may specialize in women’s health, pediatrics or cardiac care … I went to a superb nurse practitioner for years... When I had a complaint she considered beyond her expertise, out came her pad and the name of a specialist to call. Her accessibility was a big plus… Cutting health-care costs—and making health-care services more convenient for consumers—demands moving basic medical services away from hospitals and, in many cases, doctors’ offices. Sometimes we need a doctor; sometimes we don’t. A well-trained nurse practitioner can help point us in the right direction.”
-- Froma Harrop, Nurse Practitioners Can Help Save Big Health-Care Dollars, Columbus Dispatch, March 30, 2013

“I have watched my daughter, Sam, in action several times. She has volunteered for several years during the flu shot clinics at the health department. But her finest moments were the ones taking care of her dad while he was dying.  The tenderness and careful attention she gave him was indescribable … I imagine she gives that kind of care to all her patients. She has sat with families while they waited on their loved one to pass. She has encouraged dying people to go with confidence and poise. Going through it with her dad has given her a special love for helping the dying to die peacefully. Going the extra mile is important in any professional field. In the nursing field, it is the difference between being a nurse and being a great nurse. It just doesn’t hurt to do everything you can for a patient. And it could be the difference between life and death.  Appreciate those hard working nurses. They have tough jobs.”
-- Anita Goza, Those Hardworking Nurses, Waurika News-Democrat, March 27, 2013

This is part of the April 2013 issue of Sharing Nursing's Knowledge.

Survey of Nurses: Hospitals’ Patient Safety Programs Lacking

A new survey of hospital nurses in the United States, the United Kingdom, and China finds that nurses lack confidence in their hospitals’ safety programs.

The online survey, conducted by a research firm for the American Nurses Association (ANA) and GE Healthcare, included 500 respondents from the United States and 200 each from the United Kingdom and China. Each country's responses were given equal weight in the final results. Among the findings:

• Ninety-four percent of nurses report that their hospitals have programs in place that promote patient safety, but only 57 percent believe those programs are effective.
• Just 41 percent describe their hospital as “safe.”
• Ninety percent of nurses believe it is important that nurses not be penalized for reporting errors or near misses, but 59 percent agree that nurses often hold back in reporting patient errors in fear of punishment (67 percent in the United States, 62 percent in the United Kingdom, and 49 percent in China). Sixty-two percent agree that nurses often hold back in reporting near misses for the same reason (69 percent in the United States, 65 percent in the United Kingdom, and 54 percent in China).
• Thirty-three percent of nurses said that "poor communication among nurses at handoff" has increased the risk of patient safety incidents in their hospitals in the past 12 months. Thirty-one percent said "poor communication with doctors" has also increased the risk of patient safety incidents.

This is part of the March 2013 issue of Sharing Nursing's Knowledge.

For three years, Congress has failed to fund a federal panel that was created to address a dire shortage of health care professionals—and now the news media is beginning to take note.

The unfunded panel broke through the media silence in January when Politico, an inside-the-Beltway publication that covers Congress and the White House, ran a story about it. In February, the New York Times followed up with its own piece.

Officially called the National Health Care Workforce Commission, the panel was created in 2010 under the health reform law to address concerns over a short supply of health care providers at a time when demand is growing, thanks to the aging population and an influx of newly insured people expected to enter the health care system next year.

A leading nurse researcher, Peter Buerhaus, PhD, RN, FAAN, a professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University, was tapped to chair the commission and 15 members were appointed. But Congress never appropriated funds for it—a phenomenon that was noted at a recent hearing before a U.S. Senate subcommittee.

“It’s a disappointing situation,” Buerhaus told the New York Times. “The nation’s health care work force has many problems that are not being attended to. These problems were apparent before health care reform, and they will be even more pressing after health care reform.”

This is part of the March 2013 issue of Sharing Nursing's Knowledge.

“[W]e continue to be stretched in terms of being able to fill the demand… I know, particularly in the Dayton area, there is a need for mental health nurse practitioners. We have recently partnered with the Veterans Administration to develop a pysch mental health practitioner program that will help meet the need of all our returning veterans, many of whom have depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other problems related to having served in a particular conflict and who are trying to re-integrate into society.”
-- Rosalie Mainous, PhD, APRN, NNP-BC, dean, School of Nursing, Wright State University and RWJF Executive Nurse Fellow, Wanted: Specialty Nurses, Springfield News-Sun, February 22, 2013

“We need to be keeping more data, recording our expertise and speaking up for ourselves so when people say quality of care, they will also say, quality of nursing.”
-- Susan B. Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN, RWJF senior adviser for nursing, Nurses Need to Pull Up a Seat at the Table, Hassmiller Says, Lund Report, February 20, 2013

This is part of the March 2013 issue of Sharing Nursing's Knowledge.

Study: APRN-Staffed Clinic Produces Shorter Wait for Diagnoses at Lower Cost for Women with Benign Breast Conditions

A nurse-based approach to diagnosing women with breast conditions is saving money and producing shorter wait times for diagnoses, according to an article in the January issue of Health Affairs.

In 2008, the Virginia Mason Medical Center, a Seattle-based multidisciplinary health care network that logs 800,000 outpatient and 17,000 hospital visits per year, opened a new breast care clinic, with the goal of streamlining the diagnosis and care for women with breast conditions. These include such benign conditions as cysts and fibrocystic breast disease, as well as breast cancer. As part of the clinic’s model, Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) take the lead role in diagnosing patients, working with on-site equipment to perform mammography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging. Patients whose conditions cannot promptly be confirmed as benign meet with breast surgeons for diagnosis and care, if appropriate.