This is the start of a new series on nursing. We'll have a bit more conversation in this article to set up the future ones. Sources of this dialogue are at the bottom.

In 2004 the report Keeping Patients Safe: Transforming the Work Environment of Nurses cited this example:

I was a ‘new nurse’. I’d been practicing only a few months when I was assigned an elderly patient who was scheduled for abdominal surgery that morning and needed a urinary catheter. I knew about, but hadn’t performed this procedure before, and neither had the other nurses on the floor- we were new graduates. I asked my head nurse if she would supervise me while I placed the catheter, but she was late for a meeting and assured me that it wasn’t difficult and I would be fine.

I went to get the supplies but there were no prepackaged catheterization trays on the floor. I ran to the floors above and below, they were out too. As I passed the nursing station, the clerk told me that OR wanted to know where the patient was. I began to round up the supplies one by one. Article continued →

Nurses Make Care Happen-Part 2

The reform of the US health system has not been without controversy. But in forced change there lies great opportunity. In seeking to avert the collision course of an aging chronically ill population with a financial inability to maintain the current system, policy makers have had to reflect and discover a hitherto unrealized fact, that nurses are the backbone of the health care system, both by virtue of their numbers and diversified involvement in caring for patients. With informatics being mandated into the health care system the nursing profession is in an ideal position to create a synergy between their work and technology. Article continued →

In the continuing search for increasing the quality of patient care, stakeholders, especially government, have focused on technology as one way of achieving that goal. What has this journey looked like and how are nurses involved?

Nurses are the health care professionals that will spend the most time caring for patients, therefore technology will impact their work the most. Article continued →

Communication is always a buzzword being utilized in any profession, because of its influence on productivity and outcomes. Ineffective communication contributes to lost time, misunderstanding, strained relationships, and inhibits future communication. In health care communication is even more critical because it is not numbers, buildings, or sales targets that are the ultimate goal, it is people; patients and their health. Good, bad, or nonexistent communication has been shown to impact the patient’s outcome. Article continued →

What would a hospital that consistently provided the best care for their patients and had a fulfilled staff look like?

All the necessary components for optimal care are present in the nation’s health care system, however, the execution to achieve maximum potential in all clinical locations is questionable.

An ideal acute care setting would first of all view the patient as an essential partner in the care environment. Instead of present care systems being planned around the providers they would involve the patient and family as integral to any decision made about treatment. Article continued →

The US health care system is adjusting from a focus on acute episodic care to an increasing management of patients with chronic preventable conditions. This is accompanied by the realization that health disparities are a major factor in contributing to these chronic conditions. The fact that many millions more citizens will now be accessing health care because of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has prompted discussion about the most efficient way to care for these potential new patients. Ideas such as the medical home and patient centered model have received a lot of attention.

But as in all aspects of life what is new is actually an idea that has come full circle. Lost among the new verbiage is a model of care that has been practiced for many decades. It is called public health but in recent times has been made over with new terms. But at the core of the discussion are still the same principles; prevention and health delivery in the context of the patient's community. Article continued →

Two major events are contributing to increased demand for health care in the US. With the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, many more citizens will have access to the health care system. By 2015 10.000 people per day will turn 65.

This steady aging of the population will cause the likelihood that more patients will require health care services. Health care professionals and policy makers are slowly realizing these trends must be addressed. Article continued →