http://www.rnjournal.com http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/relationships_among_the_elderly_the_effects_on_ones_health_and_psychosocial_well_being.htm Advances in medicine are allowing many adults to live longer lives than previous generations. In fact, the elderly population is becoming one of the largest growing sectors of the present population. Recently, researchers have begun studying what factors contribute to successful aging. These studies are showing that the impact of family and social relationships plays an important part in one’s health and psychosocial well being. http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/relationships_among_the_elderly_the_effects_on_ones_health_and_psychosocial_well_being.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/nurses_legal_plight.htm A poem...! http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/nurses_legal_plight.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/looks_can_be_deceiving.htm I asked his family to step out for a moment so I could empty his JP drains. I emptied them into a basin and I noticed that they were very dark. I inspected them a little closer and I noticed it had a greenish tinge to it. Remembering what the surgeon had said about the possibility of a bowel perforation I got concerned and called the surgeon. http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/looks_can_be_deceiving.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/culturally_competent_nursing_in_homecare.htm Homecare nurses must be culturally aware in order to appropriately care for homecare patients. Culture plays a part in the care of all types of patients but it plays a more important role in homecare. http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/culturally_competent_nursing_in_homecare.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/the_importance_of_supporting_mothers_who_breastfeed.htm There are many health benefits to breastfeeding children such as lower mortality rates, ideal nutritional values, and long term benefits such as healthy weights and higher intelligence later in life. The positive aspects of breastfeeding extend to maternal health as well, such as lower rates of breast and ovarian cancers and decreased occurrences of post-partum depression. http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/the_importance_of_supporting_mothers_who_breastfeed.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/maximizing_pain_relief_in_pediatric_patients.htm Pain management is a complex issue that has become increasingly significant in the nursing profession; so much so that the assessment of pain has become known as the fifth vital sign. This issue becomes even more crucial when attempting to manage pain in pediatric patients. http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/maximizing_pain_relief_in_pediatric_patients.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/to_gown_or_not_to_gown.htm The Center for Disease Control (CDC) states that standard precautions should be used for all patients and should be enough to prevent the spread of most MRSA cases. However, in acute-care settings the CDC recommends additional contact precautions be implemented when there are ongoing MRSA transmissions, current infections, previous colonization, and in other special circumstances. http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/to_gown_or_not_to_gown.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/family_presence_during_cpr_in_the_emergency_department.htm A descriptive survey conducted in 2000 (Myers, et al 2000) investigated attitudes and beliefs of patients’ families and ER staff members about FWR. The survey reported that 98% of patients’ families indicated that they had a right to be present and would do it and would participate in FWR again; 100% of family members said that FWR was helpful to them, and 95% said it was helpful for the patient. It also showed that 70% of professionals surveyed after their participation in FWR actually produced a higher level of “professional” behavior along with a more “professional” bedside dialog amongst the health care team. The survey also indicated that having the family in the resuscitation room prompted the staff to take the patient’s dignity, privacy, and need for pain management into greater consideration when compared to an un-witnessed resuscitation effort. (Myers, et al 2000) http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/family_presence_during_cpr_in_the_emergency_department.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/keeping_a_positive_outlook_my_clinical_experience_as_a_student_nurse.htm My experience in my senior year clinical preceptorship was without a doubt unique but I feel its uniqueness was in what I made of it, something every nursing student can do for themselves. If there is one lesson to gain from reading about my experiences it should be that the success of a clinical, whether a preceptorship or group experience, is entirely what the student makes of it. http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/keeping_a_positive_outlook_my_clinical_experience_as_a_student_nurse.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/managing_diabetic_patients_on_dialysis.htm The chronic state of diabetes mellitus (DM) mainly type II, is an increasingly common cause of end stage renal disease (ESRD) in all countries, accounting for 51% of dialysis patients in the U.S. and 39% in Europe. Patient survival is much worse than for non-diabetic patients, with a large proportion of patients dying within the first 3 months of dialysis (excluded from USRDS data). In North America, chronic diabetes (e.g., poorly controlled), has shown as a major cause of death associated with cardiovascular diseases. Usually the outcome is better for transplanted patients. http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/managing_diabetic_patients_on_dialysis.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/a_solution_for_solving_the_nursing_shortage_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_recruitment_of_foreign-trained_nurses.htm The Nursing shortage is not only an American dilemma but a phenomenon threatening the entire global community. Developed, as well as undeveloped, countries are experiencing an increasing number of high ratios of nurse to patient statistics. http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/a_solution_for_solving_the_nursing_shortage_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_recruitment_of_foreign-trained_nurses.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/memories_from_a_haitian_cholera_treatment_center.htm In January and February of this year I worked in Haiti with United States NDMS DMAT and ImSurt teams providing medical and surgical care to the victims of the January 12th earthquake. What I experienced during those weeks only partially prepared me for what I would experience upon my return to Haiti http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/memories_from_a_haitian_cholera_treatment_center.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/i_am_dedicating_this_poem_to_all_the_nurses.htm I WAS MERELY TWENTY SOMETHING, WHEN I STARTED MY CAREER. NURSING WAS MY DREAM AND NOW IT IS MY FEAR http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/i_am_dedicating_this_poem_to_all_the_nurses.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/where_are_the_children_-pediatrics_in_an_integrated_format.htm Integrating pediatric content is a challenge to nurse educators. Limited information exists regarding the most effective method of teaching pediatrics. Nurse educators disagree on placement of pediatric content. Pediatric concepts are at risk of getting lost or deemed unimportant as other concepts are expanded. This article will examine the experience of educators in a nursing program that integrated pediatric content. The benefits and disadvantage of teaching pediatrics in an integrated format will be discussed. http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/where_are_the_children_-pediatrics_in_an_integrated_format.htm http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/hiv_crisis_in_africa.htm The human immuno-deficiency virus/acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is of pandemic magnitude. The World Health Organization has declared AIDS as a global health emergency. Awareness of the serious global impact has climaxed, taking its place with the bubonic plague of the Middle Ages. The worst is yet to come, for there are 36 million infected and 22 million deaths from this disease. http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/hiv_crisis_in_africa.htm