Thank You Congressman Christopher Shays (CT)

Pictured: Congressman Christopher Shays

As a member of the House Nursing Caucus, I joined in support for the National Nurse Act because I am hopeful that creating a National Nurse Office within the Office of Public Health and Science will help encourage individuals to enter the nursing profession and improve the state of healthcare from the perspective of nurses.

A 2001 report by the General Accounting Office (GAO) found the recruitment and retention of nurses and nurses aides are major concerns for health care providers and this shortage is expected to become more serious as the population ages and the demand for nurses increases.

This is why I have consistently worked for increased federal funding for nurse education programs. A strong corps of qualified nurses is a critical part of quality healthcare and I am committed to improving the federal government's role in addressing the nursing shortages nationwide.

Family Support for Office of the National Nurse

Our family supports the creation of the Office of the National Nurse, to deliver the message of prevention to all Americans. We have three sons, ages 7, 4 and 3 months. All of them would benefit greatly in the future from the educational resources presented through such an office.



Each of our sons was delivered by an excellent physician, but it was the delivery nurse each time that impressed us the most. Thousands of women in this country benefit each day from the care given by their nurses during delivery, which makes the process of birth safer and more physically reasonable. The Office of the National Nurse will provide programs to address high-burnout in the nursing profession and also promote the status of these dedicated nurses everywhere.

Jenni Charrier
Orono, MN

Jean Watson's theory selected as framework at St. Joseph Hospital, Orange, California

Saint Joseph Hospital in Orange, California has selected Jean Watson's Theory of Human Caring as the framework on which we base our nursing practice. Burlew Medical Library has prepared a selective bibliography of articles by or about Watson from 1996-. This list of articles is in part 1 (articles available to SJO/CHOC employees) and part 2 (articles which could be ordered for SJO/CHOC employees. SJO/CHOC employees need only contact Burlew Medical Library to request any of these articles. Individuals at other entities should contact their own medical libraries.

Additionally, we will be offering a special viewing of a moving and inspirational DVD on the "Theory of Human Caring" which was produced by SJH nurses.

One hour sessions are scheduled in the Zhoul auditorium on

Monday Sept 18 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm 2006
Tuesday Sept 19 7:30 am - 8:30 am
Tuesday Oct 3 7:30 - 8:30 am
Monday Oct 16 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm
Friday Nov 3 7:30 am - 8:30 am
Monday Nov 6 12:00 noon -1:00 pm

No registration is required and breakfast/lunch will be served to St. Joseph Hospital of Orange staff.

Along these same lines, there is a very cool Nursing Theory Link page out of Clayton State University Department of Nursing where you can read about many nursing theories.

Evidence Based Library Science Conference

Evidence Based Library & Information Practice4th International Conference"Transforming the Profession"May 6-11, 2007, Chapel Hill-Durham, North Carolina, USA http://www.eblip4.unc.edu/ The Evidence Based Library and Information Practice Conference(EBLIP4) is an exciting international event that has emerged inresponse to the growing interest among all types of libraries in usingthe best available evidence to improve information practice. The conference on May 6-9, 2007 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina will be followed by two days of continuing education. The conference provides a forum for the presentation of high quality papers and posters aswell as examples of how EBLIP is being implemented in library and information settings around the globe. EBLIP4 invites submissions for contributed papers and posters including both original research and innovative applications of EBLIP in library and information management. Papers that deal with library support of evidence-based practice in other fields such as health, social work and public policy are also welcome.

Full instructions to authors may be found at http://www.eblip4.unc.edu/ Chapel Hill-Durham is located in the middle of the Eastern United States close to the Raleigh-Durham international airport. This central location in the Research Triangle area is only a short drive from scenic locations in North Carolina. The beaches are approximately two hours to the east and the mountains are two hours to the west. Washington DC is a 4.5 hour drive or 30 minutes by air. Important Dates

December 1, 2006 Submission deadline for abstracts for papers and posters
February 11, 2007 Final decisions for accepted papers
February 15, 2007 Final decisions for accepted posters
March 15, 2007 Submission deadline for full papers

Carol Perryman MSLISTRLN Doctoral FellowSchool of Information & Library ScienceUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Thank You Congresswoman Anna Eshoo

Pictured: Congresswoman Eshoo

"Nurses have been indispensable to the health and well-being of the American people throughout our history and they play an increasingly vital role in our modern health care system. Along with the high level of care they give individual patients, nurses provide critical leadership in educating people about the early warning signs of disease and the steps necessary to maintain a health lifestyle.

That's why I'm proud to cosponsor H.R. 4903, The National Nurse Act of 2006. The creation of a federal Office of the National Nurse would be an invaluable addition to our efforts to combat disease and improve public health awareness. As head of the office, the National Nurse would be able to help set national health priorities and implement a systematic education effort with media campaigns and coordinated community-based projects. Just as important, the initiative will help address our nation's critical nursing shortage by raising public consciousness about the benefits of joining the nursing profession.

For all these reasons, I heartily support The National Nurse Act."

Advertise on this Blog

More than 200 nurses and prospective nurses visit this blog every day. If this is the market you would like to reach and you would like to advertise on my blog please contact me at nurseaim@hotmail.com for rates.

Thank you,

Amy Robbins

In Support of An Office of the National Nurse

Pictured: Dina Wolkoff with 8 year old niece Vivian

I'm honored to support the Office of National Nurse.
The National Nurse Team has taken leadership to fill a significant leadership gap in this nation. The Office of National Nurse will coordinate a nationwide network of skilled nurses across this country, at the local level. The Office of National Nurse will inform policy decisions on the health and well-being of all Americans, and carry out these policies.

With the complexity of our nation's infrastructure, the reliability and comfort of a National Nurse network will benefit our nation. I stand by the team and all of the other supporters of this bill.

Dina Wolkoff
Senior Special Gifts Officer
Middlebury College, Vermont

Back to School!

This semester is Peds and OB. I like my instructors sofar (though nobody will take the place of Instructor Fantastic in my heart).

I'm a little pissed off because I'm having to take a statistics class. It's not so bad by itself, but I already took Stat as a math class in Houston. But does the school want that credit? Noooo, they want Psychology Statistics. I've fought and pleaded. I've asked to take a test, but to no avail! Basically I'm paying them money to sit around and re-learn things I've already mastered. On top of that, I find that many nurses are none-to-bright about math, and the pace of study is agonizingly slow compared to the first go-round. Let's hope I don't go crazy. ^_^;;

I'm still working as a tech in the PCU. I'd never really considered PCU as a place to start a nursing career, but it's becoming more appealing all the time. First of all, the patient ratio is lower than Med-Surg, but the patients aren't quite as critical as in the ICU. Secondly, the hospital is interested in "cross-training" people in ICU and ER skills in order to provide more options for "floating" extra staff in times of low census. Thirdly, I like the floor I'm on, and wouldn't mind working with these people in a larger capacity.

I've always been far more interested in critical care than anything else, mostly because I'm not too fond of children or surgery or the like. And I want to be in a place that will challenge me and keep me on my toes. Still keeping my options open, but it looks like this hospital has accomplished it's own goals by recruiting me for this job: getting me comfortable with this facility and reeling me in for employment after graduation.

We'll see how things work out when I graduate. If I don't end up in Texas, I really hope I end up right where I am.

Tomorrow I'm going to spend clinicals in Labor and Delivery. I reaallly hope a baby is born in the time that I am there, because I feel like that would be much more exciting than just hanging out with a woman moaning in labor for 8 hours. o_O

Taken two tests sofar. I actually made an A on the second one! (I'd almost forgotten how it felt to make A's on big tests with this funky grading scale!) My extra preparation is paying off. I'm making time to read the chapters before lecture and staying at least 2 hours afterwards in the library for review. And that works. (Well... except when a question is vague or weird. But that's not my problem.)

I really really want to do well this semester so I can increase those decimals after the 3 in my nursing gpa. I want to be inducted into Sigma Theta Tau! They only take the upper percent of the class, so I don't know what my chances are. If I keep making As though, maybe they'll improve. ^_^

Thank You Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (CA)

Pictured: Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey

The National Nurse team is grateful to Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey who became the 26th cosponsor of HR 4903.

Here is her statement:

H.R. 4903 will help to alleviate the nursing shortage in the United States and make a big difference in tackling our country's most pressing healthcare problems. As we strive to improve the quality of care of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, an addition of well-trained nurses to the workforce will be welcome and necessary.

Nurse From Tennessee Supports HR 4903

My name is Wendy Vogel, MSN, FNP, AOCNP

I am a board certified oncology and family nurse practitioner, practicing in the state of Tennessee.

I support the National Nurse Act of 2006 because nurses need to have a legislative voice in the United States. We have much to contribute to America's healthcare. We have been "silent partners" for far too long. We are great advocates for preventive care. We now know that there are even ways to prevent cancer! An organized approach will offer thorough education to all Americans, families, and communities. This also will bring recognition to the role of nursing in healthcare.

Study: Nurses Lack IT training

A new study in eWeek finds that most nurses receive minimal or no IT training. Information literacy is integral to an understanding of how to approach Evidence Based Nursing.

Please post your comments below if you have any great ideas/suggestions on this topic.

Resources for teaching EBM

David Rothman from Syracuse, NY, just posted on his blog a very comprehensive list of resources for teaching EBM/Evidence Based Medicine. Most of the resources were compiled by puting a call out to the MEDLIB-L for assistance.

Travel Nurse: Earn Money While Visiting With Family

When my husband and I got married we decided we wanted to live near extended family so we (and our children) could remain close to them. The only problem was that my parents lived in Georgia, and his lived in Utah… so we had to pick. We chose Georgia.

After our son turned one, we decided we wanted to spend some time “out west” to let him get to know his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that live out there better, and to enjoy the sites. We didn’t have a whole lot of money with my husband in school so we knew that one of us would have to work if we wanted to stay for the whole summer.

That is where travel nursing helped out. My husband was not going to be in school for the summer, so we planned for him to stay home with our son while I worked. Most of the hospitals there wanted me to work three twelve hour shifts per week (which is what I preferred anyways). I had the choice of working either an 8 or 12 week assignment. We chose the 8 week one so we could have one month off to vacation. There were so many things to do out there that we enjoy (i.e. hiking, camping, rafting, and biking). All our travel (relocation) expenses were reimbursed (tax-free). We received a monthly housing stipend which was just an added bonus since we stayed with family. We ended-up making $12,080 in two months! Now try and beat that for a career! Now that my son is almost five, we often reflect back on that summer in Utah. What a great time we had, and how grateful I am that I chose nursing as a career.

Pressure Ulcers among Eldery Patients Early in Hospital Stay: Abstract with commentary by Dana Rutledge, RN, PhD

Abstract: Pressure Ulcers among Elderly Patients Early in Hospital Stay

Background. Pressure ulcers among elderly hospital patients diminish quality of life and increase the cost of hospital care. Evidence suggests that pressure ulcers can arise after only a few hours of immobility. The goals of this study were to estimate the incidence of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers in the first 2 days of the hospital stay and to identify patient characteristics associated with higher incidence.
Methods. A prospective cohort study was performed between 1998 and 2001. A total of 3233 patients 65 years old or older admitted through the Emergency Department to the inpatient Medical Services at two study hospitals were examined by a research nurse on the third day of hospitalization. Pressure ulcers were ascertained using standard criteria and were classified a either preexisting, possibly hospital-acquired, or definitely hospital-acquired.
Results. There were 201 patients with one or more possibly or definitely hospital-acquired pressure ulcers for a cumulative incidence of 6.25 (95% confidence interval, 5.4% - 7.1%). Most of the pressure ulcers were stage 2, and the majority were in the sacral area or on the heels. In multivariable analysis, pressure ulcer incidence was significantly associated with increasing age, male gender, dry skin, urinary and fecal incontinence, difficulty turning in bed, nursing home residence prior to admission, recent hospitalization, and poor nutritional status.
Conclusions. A small but significant proportion of elderly emergently admitted hospital patients acquire pressure ulcers soon after their admission. New models of care may be required to ensure that preventive interventions are provided very early in the elderly person’s hospital stay.
Baumgarten, M. et al. (2006). Pressure ulcers among elderly patients early in hospital stay. Journal of Gerontology: MEDICAL SCIENCES, 61A, 749-754.

Commentary by Dana N. Rutledge, RN, PhD, Nursing Research Facilitator

Were you surprised at any of the predictors of pressure ulcers in this hospitalized elderly patients? You probably were not. Studies using the Braden Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Scale confirm that problems with moisture, mobility/activity, and nutrition are all predictors of pressure ulcer development. What is new about the Baumgarten et al. study is that in 6.2% of the patients, pressure ulcers developed within 3 days of hospital admission!! Earlier studies have not specifically looked at this time interval.
What were the strengths and limitations of the study. Strengths include the large sample size, use of 2 hospitals (one in Pennsylvania, one in Oregon), the large sample of African Americans, and use of trained research nurses to evaluate the study measures. Limitations are that the study involved only a brief one-time observation of the patients and that hospital-acquired and preexisting pressure ulcers may have been somewhat misclassified.
Taking these into account, what is the take home message for the practicing nurse? Elderly patients admitted to medical units may be prone to develop pressure ulcers within 3 days of admission. Thus, given recent trends towards shorter hospital stays, the potential for breakdown is high. Nurses MUST put preventive measures into place early!!

Thank You Congressman Tom Lantos (CA)

Pictured: Congressman Lantos

Congressman Tom Lantos, representing San Mateo and San Francisco, California and a strong supporter of the nursing profession, signed on to HR 4903 just prior to the August recess. Here is his statement about the National Nurse Act of 2006:

"The National Nurse Act of 2006 (H.R. 4903) establishes a new Office of the National Nurse to encourage people to enter tis vital profession, to encourage people to teach in our nursing schools and to promote public health. The shortage of crucially-needed nurses in our nation's healthcare system illustrates how important this legislation is. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this bill introduced by my colleague Congresswoman Lois Capps. It will promote methods of achieving better health care and make grants for public education on health priorities."

Trip database-- free access

Trip Database :Turning Research into Practice

For the last 4 years, the Trip database has been a subscription service, but as of Sept 2006, it is once again a free resource. TRIP describes itself as " the Internet's leading resource for Evidence-Based Medicine allowing users to easily and rapidly identify the highest quality evidence from a wide range of sources." This site has recently been evaluated by a team from the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. Although not nursing focused, this free resource is a great one-stop source for answering clinical questions. The site supports Boolean searching and returns results that you can then filter by such entities as : evidence based synopses, clinical questions, systematic reviews, guidelines, e-textbooks, clinical calculators and even by medical speciality. You can also sign up for the Trip Blog on their web site.

Evidence Based Nursing Blog "Down Under"

I have come across a blog devoted to "Evidence-Based Nursing & Midwifery" which is being published by Stephen Barnett Darwin from Northern Territory, Australia. This site does primarily emphasize evidence based nursing from a OB/midwifery perspective.

A Nursing Evidence Based Practice Tutorial

We previously blogged about "The Evidence Based Knowledge Portal which was developed by the Eskind Biomedical Library at Vanderbilt with grant funding and includes tutorials addressing facets of statistical analysis and critiquing the medical literature as well as virtual practice cases that allow users to explore principles of EBM. This is an amazing tutorial but its orientation is toward medicine rather than nursing. Dana Rutledge recently told me about a great Evidence Based Practice Tutorial from Penn State University Libraries that is very comprehensive and oriented towards nursing. This tutorial also offers audio and some video and details the four overall steps in Evidence Based Practice. Two clinical scenarios are offered and the user also has available to them a listing of appraisal tools and an extensive list of EBP terminology.

Our blog discussed in Evidence Soup blog

Evidence Soup : show me the evidence : looking at uses and absues of evidence in everyday life is a very interesting blog put together by Tracy Allison Altman. This blog is not devoted exclusively to healthcare, but does concentrate on medical/nursing issues. It's interesting that both our blogs have subtitles along the lines of "show me the evidence"!!. On August 11, Evidence Soup gave our blog a nice plug. Thanks.

Julie's August picks from the literature

Some of these recent articles really intrigued me. Employees at St. Joseph Hospital, Orange or Children's Hospital of Orange County can access these online or request them through Burlew Medical Library. Others should consult medical libraries with whom they have privileges.

Accession Number 2009223633 NLM Unique Identifier: 16816597.Author Coopey M. Nix MP. Clancy CM.Title Translating research into evidence-based nursing practice and evaluating effectiveness.Source Journal of Nursing Care Quality. 2006 Jul; 21(3): 195-202. (9 ref)

Accession Number 2009232462 NLM Unique Identifier: 16767023.Author Giuliano KK.Title Continuous physiologic monitoring and the identification of sepsis: what is the evidence supporting current clinical practice?Source AACN Advanced Critical Care. 2006 Apr-Jun; 17(2): 215-23. (36 ref)

Accession Number 2009232451 NLM Unique Identifier: 16767019.Author Albert NM.Title Evidence-based nursing care for patients with heart failure.Source AACN Advanced Critical Care. 2006 Apr-Jun; 17(2): 170-85. (41 ref)

Accession Number 2009211028 NLM Unique Identifier: 16766627.Author Munro CL. Grap MJ. Jablonski R. Boyle A.Title Oral health measurement in nursing research: state of the science.Source Biological Research for Nursing. 2006 Jul; 8(1): 35-42. (47 ref)

Words of Support

Thank you to Kathy Quan who put a link to the online petition in support of an Office of the National Nurse on her website, About Nursing .

In Kathy's words:

If you are interested in seeing the Office of the National Nurse come to fruition, there is a petition you can sign to send your request to Congress.

While you are signing the petition, why not submit your email to receive the National Nurse weekly newsletter. It is free and has the very latest information about HR 4903, the National Nurse Act of 2006.