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In the Circle
Award Cites Multidisciplinary Team
Collaboration
Editor's note: Part of the AACN Circle of
Excellence recognition program, the AACN Multidisciplinary Team Award recognizes
a multidisciplinary team that clearly practices key principles of collaboration
and multidisciplinary practice. The recipients were given $2,500 to fund
projects. In addition, individual recipients were presented a personalized
plaque. Following are exemplars submitted in connection with these for 2003.
Code Blue Team
Evansville, Ind.
Deaconess Hospital
Leaders in the Cardiovascular Services
Department identified an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of the Code
Blue Team. Applying the hospital's continuous quality improvement process to
enhance quality and document patient outcomes, the team was restructured to
include one RN from each unit, a pharmacist, a respiratory therapist, emergency
department physicians and ad hoc members from various disciplines. A specially
trained response team that included the specific roles of code coordinator,
medication nurse, documentation specialist, respiratory therapist and ED
physician was developed. Five subcommittees-public relations, policy and
procedures, education, audits, and equipment-were also established to enhance
the Code Blue Team's work. In addition, specialized role training sessions were
developed; mock code blue drills were initiated; the National Registry of
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation was started; new standardized crash carts were
instituted; and new biphasic defibrillators were purchased.
Through collaboration of the multiple
disciplines, enhanced code blue processes and initiation of a designated
response team, the Cold Blue Team documented positive code blue patient
outcomes. For 100% of six clinical indicators monitored, the hospital performed
better than the national benchmark. Nursing staff anxiety about code blue events
was reduced, and confidence with code blue proficiency was enhanced. Physician
satisfaction with code blue events increased, and hospitalwide patient
satisfaction improved.
General Thoracic Surgery Team
Rochester, Minn.
Mayo Clinic
The General Thoracic Surgery Team, which
included representatives from the multiple disciplines that provide care across
the continuum for the thoracic surgical patient, participated in an Institute
for Healthcare Improvement service breakthrough series on quality improvement
techniques. Lessons learned included listening to and involving patients and
their families to improve care. Patient satisfaction surveys were used to
provide feedback on areas to focus quality improvement. Staff satisfaction was
also addressed as a key component in providing quality patient care.
The General Thoracic Surgery Team used the
survey results to focus quality improvement activities. Pain management,
discharge planning, patient safety, sleep at night and overall staff
satisfaction were identified. Mutual respect and trust within the
multidisciplinary team allowed the team to focus on the patients. The General
Thoracic Surgery Team acted as the "mothership" for other teams formed to
address issues identified through the surveys.
The General Thoracic Surgery Team meets
monthly. Representatives from the other teams provide progress reports. Ideas
are generated to help provide direction and feedback. Surveys continue as a
means for obtaining feedback.
The idea of multidisciplinary teams has
become the way work is accomplished. Acknowledgment of the contributions of all
team members reinforces a positive culture that promotes exchange of ideas for
improvement in patient care practices. Staff who work in other areas float into
our unit and comment that the approachability of all, including the surgeons,
makes their float experience a positive one. The trusting, respectful
environment that is evident on a daily basis has also been a great recruitment
tool.
General Thoracic Surgery Pain Team
Rochester, Minn.
Mayo Clinic
Managing pain for the postoperative
thoracotomy patient is a challenge on the thoracic surgical intermediate-general
care unit, and the thoracic surgical staff works closely with the Inpatient Pain
Service to manage the patients with epidurals postoperatively. Staff
satisfaction surveys, which included feedback from nurses, surgeons, residents
and physician assistants, indicated the need to improve the process for managing
postoperative pain. In response, the General Thoracic Surgery Pain Team was
formed, including physicians, physician assistants, and nurses from the
postanesthesia recovery area, intensive care, intermediate-general care unit and
the Inpatient Pain Service. Members identified topics such as staff knowledge
and attitudes about pain, pain assessment, and knowledge of pharmaceuticals and
the Inpatient Pain Service processes.
As a result, staff education was included
in quarterly team days and pain resource manuals were developed. An algorithm
was developed to assist surgical residents with management of postoperative pain
once the epidural is removed. The algorithm is part of resident orientation and
has been placed as a quick reference in patient charts. Twelve nurses were
identified as pain resource nurses. The pain resource nurses received additional
education by "shadowing" in the Inpatient Pain Service, and revisions to
Inpatient Pain Service order sets resulted in a decrease of unnecessary calls to
the service.
Participation by all members of the team
and implementation of the described activities have increased healthcare
provider knowledge of pain management for the thoracic patient, as measured by a
staff knowledge and attitudes test. Staff satisfaction surveys have shown that
there has been a positive trend in satisfaction in the ability to meet patients'
pain management needs. The team is a valued resource for those caring for
thoracic surgical patients and continues to be supported in meeting on a
quarterly basis to monitor survey results and address new concerns as they are
identified.
Shawnee Mission Regional Cardiac and
Vascular Center, Surgical Cardiovascular Quality Improvement Team
Shawnee Mission, Kan.
Shawnee Mission Med. Center
The Shawnee Mission Regional Cardiac and
Vascular Center Surgical Cardiovascular Quality Improvement Team was established
to optimize the care of heart surgery patients and their families. The team is
made up of representatives of each discipline and department that participates
in the care and outcome of this patient population. Frontline staff, physicians,
managers and administrators all come to the table to have an equal voice in
addressing process improvement issues.
This group recognized that our outcomes
compared favorably to key quality indicator benchmarks monitored in the National
Society of Thoracic Surgeons database. Although current performance met
standards, we believed there was significant potential to further improve
quality and control costs. Interdisciplinary collaboration among members of the
team with the cardiovascular clinical nurse specialist and surgeon supported
multifaceted synergistic results. Process improvement initiatives focused on
decreasing blood utilization, atrial fibrillation, ventilator times, wound
infections, length of stay and readmissions.
Multiple improvements made by this
collaborative interdisciplinary team over a three-year period resulted in a
saving of approximately $1.5 million, a high level of patient satisfaction and
clinical outcomes that were consistent with a center of excellence. Clearly,
this team has demonstrated how representation and involvement of key
stakeholders throughout the continuum of care can yield powerful results.
Group Tackles Needs of Advanced
Practice Nurses
Volunteers Meet
in California
to Examine Initiatives
Members of the 2003-04 Advance Practice
Work Group are (from left, seated) John
Dixon, Carol Rauen and Linda Bell and
(from left, standing) Riza Mauricio, Mary
Lou Sole, Nancy Munro, Kristine Peterson
and Kelly Thompson-Brazill.
By Carol Rauen, RN, MS, CCNS, CCRN
Chair, Advanced Practice Work Group
The 2003-04 Advanced Practice Work Group
met for the first time in August in Costa Mesa, Calif., to tackle initiatives
related to issues and practice needs of advanced practice nurses in acute and
critical care. Specifically, the group is accountable to AACN members and the
national Board of Directors for:
� Reviewing and making recommendations
regarding resources to support advanced practice critical care nurses
� Evaluating topics and speakers for the
Advanced Practice Institute held in conjunction with the National Teaching
Institute
� Continuing to develop the API based on a
gap analysis and to review the call for abstracts to provide diverse clinical
topics with patient management and
pharmacology focus
� Selecting topics and accepting
assignments to write the advanced practice column in AACN News
The five members who were appointed to the
group for 2003-04 were selected from a list of 60 incredibly talented and
accomplished professionals who volunteered to serve. In an effort to ensure that
the needs and interests of most APNs would be represented, consideration was
given to choosing members who represented different regions of the country,
different work environments and different specialties. The members for this year
are Chair Carol Rauen, RN, MS, CCNS, CCRN, assistant professor at Georgetown
University School of Nursing and Health Studies, Washington, D.C.; Riza
Mauricio, RN, MSN, CCRN CPNP, pediatric nurse practitioner, Critical Care
Services, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, and instructor-faculty for the
Department of Pediatrics Intensive Care Services, Baylor College of Medicine,
Texas Medical Center, Houston; Nancy Munro, RN, MN, CCRN ACNP, nurse
practitioner for Cardiac Thoracic Services at INOVA Alexandria Hospital,
Alexandria, Va., and a part-time faculty member at the University of Maryland
School of Nursing, Baltimore; Kristine Peterson, RN, MS, CCRN, CCNS,
cardiovascular and critical care clinical nurse specialist at Methodist
Hospital, Park Nicollet Health Services, St. Louis Park, Minn.; Mary Lou Sole,
RN, PhD, CCNS, FAAN, professor and coordinator of the CNS track at the
University of Central Florida School of Nursing, Orlando, and an ICU staff nurse
at Orlando Regional Medical Center; and Kelly Thompson-Brazill, RN, MSN, ACNP,
nurse practitioner in Trauma and Surgical Critical Care at University Health
Systems of Eastern Carolina, Greenville. John Dixon, RN, MSN, is the AACN Board
of Directors liaison, and Clinical Practice Specialist Linda Bell, RN, MSN, is
the national office staff liaison
The group's agenda focuses on four areas:
Information Sharing
Dixon and Bell reviewed AACN's major
strategic initiatives: staffing, workplace environment and end-of-life issues.
AACN's advanced practice members are positioned well to influence these
important issues.
AACN President Dorrie Fontaine, RN, DNSc,
FAAN, President-elect Kathleen McCauley, RN, PhD, CS, FAAN, and CEO Wanda
Johanson, RN, MN, also addressed the group. Fontaine explained her "Rising
Above" theme for the year and how APNs could help to foster this natural
follow-up to the "Bold Voices" theme promoted by immediate Past President Connie
Barden, RN, MSN, CCNS, CCRN. All three wanted to hear our views on advanced
practice nursing and how AACN can best serve this section of the membership.
In addition, the group had the opportunity
to explore how PDA technology can assist APNs in their practice. AACN Education
Resources Specialist Marianne Martineau demonstrated software that is available
through AACN's online PDA Center (www.aacn.org > Bookstore > PDA Center) and
sought suggestions from the group regarding other helpful technology.
AACN Resources and Opportunities
In keeping with AACN's efforts to
continually evaluate its resources and education with respect to meeting the
needs of members faced with a rapidly changing acute and critical care
environment, the group reviewed and provided recommendations regarding resources
for APNs:
� Catalog products-The AACN Resource
Catalog lists numerous products to help APNs support their practice, including
guidelines, reference cards, books, lectures
on tape, CE opportunities, journals, certification review materials, patient and
family brochures, and PDA resources.
� Web site-The AACN Web site (www.aacn.org)
includes an area dedicated to advanced practice nursing. Included in the
valuable information that has been
assembled specifically for APNs are educational opportunities, public policy and
licensure issues, CDC updates, certification, chapters, links to other helpful
sites,
and list serve information. This site is updated on a regular basis, so you will
want to add it to your regular "surfing" routine to stay informed. Because this
area is
available only to AACN members, you must log on first. Then, click on the
Clinical Practice Link and Advanced Practice.
� Journals-As part of their membership fee,
all AACN members receive Critical Care Nurse and the American Journal of
Critical Care, which contain important articles
and information for APNs. Subscriptions to both are also available to
nonmembers. AACN members are also eligible for discounts on subscriptions to the
"must get"
AACN Clinical Issues: Advanced Practice in Acute and Critical Care.
� Affiliations-AACN has cultivated
affiliations with several nursing, medical and allied health organizations.
These affiliations serve multiple purposes for our
association and its members, including discounts on products and services
afforded by the organizations. In addition, these types of collaboration can add
strength
to public policy initiatives. Links to these organizations' information,
articles and guidelines can be found on the AACN Web site.
� Educational opportunities-Because of the
wide range and changing needs of AACN members who are APNs, the NTI has been
expanded to include the API. This
conference-within-a-conference is dedicated to the educational needs of the APN.
Other educational opportunities include the journals and CE options.
� Volunteer opportunities-Many exciting
ways exist for APNs to share their expertise by volunteering with AACN. Work
groups are a perfect example. Other options
are serving on a review panel, writing certification test items, reviewing or
authoring manuscripts for a journal, serving as a mentor, and serving in a
leadership
position at the local or national level.
API Curriculum
One of the Advance Practice Work Group's
major charges is to evaluate topics and speaker selection for the API. The goal
for the API is to meet the diverse educational needs of APNs. The work group
discussed these needs and reviewed abstract proposals that were submitted as
advanced practice topics. An exciting collection of topics and speakers has been
assembled to meet the educational needs of APNs in areas such as pharmacology,
advanced physiology, new diagnostic and treatment options, and advanced skills.
AACN News Articles
This is the first of six columns that will
be written by members of the Advanced Practice Work Group for AACN News in the
coming year. The following topics will be discussed:
� Maintaining identity as nurses when
functioning in an acute care nurse practitioner role
� Title protection for the clinical nurse
specialist
� The NP-CNS blended role
� How the APN can contribute to a healthy
workplace environment
� Blueprint of the API in May 2004 in
Orlando, Fla.
As you can see, the Advanced Practice Work
Group spent a busy weekend concentrating on its accountabilities. Members are
confident they will continue to articulate the voice of APNs as they assist AACN
in meeting the needs of APNs throughout the year. Representing and serving the
APN membership is both exciting and humbling.
Distinguished Research Lecturer Award
Nominations Due Dec. 1
Dec. 1 is the deadline to submit
nominations for the Distinguished Research Lecturer Award for 2005. The
recipient will present the Distinguished Research Lecture at the 2005 NTI in New
Orleans, La. The lecture is sponsored by a grant by Philips Medical Systems.
The ideal candidates for this award should:
� Be nationally recognized for
publications, presentations, and/or mentorship in research relevant to acute
and/or critical care clinical practice,
� Be viewed as a consultant in their area
of expertise,
� Have made significant contributions to
acute and critical care nursing practice through research,
� Be a dynamic and interesting speaker
(nominators should cite an example of nominee's expertise in public speaking).
Following are past recipients of the award:
1982 Ada Lindsey, RN, PhD
1983 Karin Kirchhoff, RN, PhD
1984 Pamela Mitchell, RN, MS, CNRN, FAAN
1985 Susan Woods, RN, MN
1986 Kathleen McCormick, RN, PhD, FAAN
1987 Susan Karen Donaldson, RN, PhD
1988 Kathleen Stone, RN, PhD
1989 Carolyn Murdaugh, RN, PhD, CCRN
1990 Marguerite R. Kinney, RN, DNSc, FAAN
1991 Kathleen Dracup, RN, DNSc, FAAN
1992 Ellen Rudy, RN, PhD, FAAN
1993 Elizabeth Hahn Winslow, RN, PhD
1994 Elaine Larson, RN, PhD, FAAN
1995 Dorothy Brooten, RN, PhD, FAAN
1996 Marita Titler, RN, PhD, FAAN
1997 Marianne Chulay, RN, DNSc, FAAN
1998 Suzanne Burns, RN, MSN, RRT, CCRN
1999 Barbara Riegel, RN, DNSc, CS, FAAN
2000 Sandra Hanneman, RN, PhD, FAAN
2001 Barbara Daly, RN, PhD
2002 Barbara Drew, RN, DNSc, FAAN
2003 Kathleen Puntillo, RN, DNSc, FAAN
2004 Cathleen Guzzetta, RN, PhD, HNC, FAAN
The recipient for 2005 will be selected in
January by the Distinguished Research Lecturer Panel. The awardee receives a
$1,000 honorarium and $1,000 toward NTI expenses, as well as a plaque.
The 2005 Distinguished Research Lecturer
nomination form is available online at www.aacn.org > Membership > Awards >
Distinguished Research Lecturer. For more information, call (800) 394-5995, ext.
321; e-mail, dolores.curry@aacn.org.
Practice Resource Network
Q:
Can you tell me the difference between protocols, standards, guidelines and
clinical pathways? These terms seem to be used interchangeably, so I'm not
really sure what the correct usage is.
A:
This is a very good question, because the terms are used in different ways,
making it difficult to understand the use based on the context of the topic.
Standards
The American Nurses Association defines
standards as "authoritative statements that describe a level of care or
performance common to the profession of nursing by which the quality of nursing
practice can be judged."1 These broad standards provide a foundation for
evaluating all nursing practice, regardless of specialty or level of education.
Nursing standards can also be used as a basis for determining an expected legal
standard of care.2
Guidelines
Guidelines, on the other hand, have been
defined by multiple organizations, including JCAHO and the U.S. Agency for
Health Care Research and Quality. Guidelines are generally accepted as being a
systematic set of recommendations that are evidence-based and that provide
direction for patient care.2 Guidelines, such as those posted by the National
Guideline Clearinghouse at www.guideline.gov, are based on available evidence
about patient populations and should be flexible enough to consider the
individual patient presentation and needs.
Protocols
Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary3
defines protocols as "an explicit, detailed plan of an experiment, procedure or
test." AACN has used the term "protocols" to describe a series of documents
"designed to provide the latest research findings in patient care in a format
that is easy to understand and integrate into clinical practice � Users are
encouraged to select those elements that are applicable to guide practice in the
users' own setting."4 Protocols can be considered as the "if, then" statements
to guide practice-if this happens, then do this. Some protocols, such as the
ACLS protocols, are written as algorithms. Others, such as a particular research
protocol or chemotherapy administration protocol, use a more directive approach.
Clinical Pathways
Clinical pathways are sequential, projected
plans of care for specific patient populations, based on the known trajectory of
particular surgeries or disease processes. Clinical pathways may be developed
within an institution or service line and consider patient management consistent
with the practice of the attending physicians and multidisciplinary team, and
include the expected patient outcomes. These pathways may be supported by
preprinted order sets that include orders most commonly written for that patient
population.5
References
1. American Nurses Association. Standards
of Clinical Nursing Practice. Washington, DC: 1991:21.
2. American Nurses Association. Legal
Aspects of Standards and Guidelines for Clinical Nursing Practice. Washington,
DC; 1998.
3. Dorland's Illustrated Medical
Dictionary, 30th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier; 2003.
4. American Association of Critical-Care
Nurses. Protocols for Practice. Aliso Viejo, Calif.
5. Wojner AW. Outcomes Management:
Applications to Clinical Practice. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2001:91.
If you have a practice-related question,
call AACN's Practice Resource Network at (800) 394-5995, ext. 217, or e-mail
your
question to
practice@aacn.org.
Grants
2003-04 AACN Grants Support Clinical
Projects and Research
Clinical Inquiry Grant
This program provides awards of $500 each
to fund projects that directly benefit patients and families. Interdisciplinary
projects are of special interest. Grant applications, which are accepted twice a
year, must be received by either Jan. 15 or July 1.
End-of-Life Palliative Care Small
Projects Grant
This program provides $500 each for
projects that address a range of topics, including bereavement, communication,
caregiver needs, symptom management, advance directives and life-support
withdrawal. Grant applications, which are accepted twice a year, must be
received by either Jan. 15 or July 1.
To find out more about AACN's research
priorities and grant opportunities, visit the AACN Web site. The grants handbook
is also available from AACN Fax on Demand at (800) 222-6329. Request Document
#1013.
Public Policy Update
AACN Cosponsors Event Honoring Nurses of
9/11
More than 300 people attended a Sept. 9
Capitol Hill reception in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Americans for Nursing
Shortage Relief Alliance. AACN cosponsored the event with other ANSR Alliance
members, including the Emergency Nurses Association; the Association of Women's
Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses; American Organization of Nurse
Executives; and Johnson & Johnson.
CNN senior correspondent Judy Woodruff was
master of ceremonies for the event, which honored nurses serving in the Air
Force, Army, Navy and Public Health Service, as well as nurses employed by the
Department of Veterans Affairs and the American Red Cross, for their diligent
service in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Among the speakers were registered nurses
serving in the House of Representatives. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), Carolyn McCarthy
(D-N.Y.), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas); U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.); and
Surgeon General Richard Carmona, MD, and Deputy Surgeon of the Army Kenneth
Farmer, MD.
AACN was represented at the event by board
member Janie Heath, RN, ms, ccrn, acnp, anp, past board member Nancy Munro, RN,
MN, CCRN, ACNP, AACN members Linda Briggs, RN, BSN, Christine Keenan, RN, BS,
and Becky Fuzi, RN, MSN, CCRN, and AACN Public Policy Specialist Janice Weber,
RN, MSN.
Support Senate Funding Level for Nursing
Programs
The U.S. Senate has passed a FY04 Labor-HHS
appropriations bill that includes an amendment sponsored by Sens. Barbara
Mikulski (D-Md.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), to provide additional funding to
help ease the nursing shortage. The bill adds $50 million to FY04 funding for
the Nurse Reinvestment Act and other nursing workforce development programs,
bringing the total to almost $163 million, a 55% increase over FY 2003.
The bill now goes to a House-Senate
conference committee to reconcile it with the House appropriations bill, which
includes level funding of approximately $113 million for nursing programs in
FY04. Nursing must hold on to this increase during the conference committee
proceedings.
AACN is calling on our members to reach out
to your representatives and urge them to agree to the Senate appropriation for
Title VIII. Visit AACN's Legislative Action Center at:
http://capwiz.com/criticalcare/home/.
Senate Blocks New Overtime Rules
The administration's plan to change the
definition of who is eligible for overtime pay faced a serious challenge last
month when the Senate voted 54 to 45 in favor of an amendment (S. 1485, Overtime
Compensation Protection Act of 2003) that would block the overtime pay changes
to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Proponents of the amendment argue that the
change would deny an estimated 8 million workers, including many nurses, their
right to overtime pay.
AACN fully supported this amendment and
thanks members who responded to AACN's "Call to Action" to contact their
senators and urge them to support the amendment. The efforts were a key strategy
in getting this amendment passed.
Reader's Digest Highlights Nursing
Shortage
The nursing shortage has gained widespread
attention recently in the national press. The September issue of Reader's Digest
includes an article on the growing nursing shortage and its consequences.
"Condition Critical" includes firsthand accounts from nurses and examples of
patient outcomes affected by inadequate nurse staffing. The article also
highlights related research studies and details some of the barriers to
successful recruitment and retention of nurses. A follow-up story titled "One
Day in Critical Care: A Nurse's Story" is scheduled to appear in the October
issue.
HRSA Announces FY04 Grant Opportunities
The Health Resources and Services
Administration recently announced its grant offerings for FY04. The information,
published in the Federal Register, also includes program eligibility and
application information for an estimated $15.46 million in educational loan
repayment for nurses and $6 million in scholarships for nursing students who
agree to work in a healthcare facility designated with a critical shortage of
nurses.
In addition, the grants include $11.4
million for nursing schools and academic health centers to increase nursing
education opportunities for underrepresented minorities, $4.8 million for
entities providing advanced education nursing traineeships and $3.06 million for
projects to strengthen nurse education, practice and retention and to address
the nursing shortage.
Secretary Thompson Names New NACNEP
Members
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson recently
appointed six new members to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education
and Practice, the body that makes policy recommendations to the secretary and
Congress on nurse workforce, education and practice improvement issues.
Appointed for three-year terms were Eve
Maria Hall, Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, Milwaukee, Wis.; Janice Ray
Ingle, RN, DSN, Southern Union State Community College, Opelika, Ala.; Bettye
Davis Lewis, RN, EdD, Diversified Health Care, Houston, Texas; Roxanne
Struthers, RN, MS, PhD, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis;
Elizabeth Maly Tyree, RN, BSN, MPH, College of Nursing, North Dakota University,
Grand Forks; and Eugenia Postoak Underwood, nursing student, East Central
University, Ada, Okla.
In addition to advising the secretary and
Congress, the advisory committee may make specific recommendations on HRSA's
nursing programs. For more information, contact HRSA's Division of Nursing at
.
Mass Casualty Nursing Competencies
Published
To help nurse educators include mass
casualty information in their curriculum, the International Nursing Coalition
for Mass Casualty Education has published "Educational Competencies for
Registered Nurses Responding to Mass Casualty Incidents." Coalition, of which
AACN is a member, was founded in 2001 at Vanderbilt University School of
Nursing, to ensure that a competent nurse workforce would be prepared to respond
to mass casualty incidents. The competencies identified in the document are
intended to apply to all professional nurse roles and practice settings.
ANA Launches Ergonomics Campaign
The American Nurses Association recently
launched its "Handle With Care" ergonomics campaign. The campaign seeks to mount
a professionwide effort to prevent back and other musculoskeletal injuries
through greater education and training, and increased use of assistive equipment
and patient-handling devices. The campaign also seeks to reshape nursing
education and federal and state ergonomics policy by highlighting the ways
technology-oriented safe-patient handling benefits patients and the nursing
workforce.
As part of the launch, ANA will be
distributing "Handle With Care" campaign kits. Nurses who have experienced a
back, neck or musculoskeletal injury and who are willing to serve as
spokespersons are asked to contact Cindy Price at
cprice@ana.org
or Carol Cooke at ccooke@ana.org.
Public Policy Snapshot
7 RNs Among �Most Powerful' in
Healthcare
Seven nurses made the second annual list of
the "100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare," published by Modern Healthcare
magazine. They are:
� Barbara Blakeney, president, American
Nurses Association
� Mary Foley, past president, ANA
� Polly Bednash, executive director,
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
� Linda Stierle, CEO, ANA
� Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director,
California Nurses Association
� Cheryl Johnson, president, United
American Nurses
� Pamela Thompson, CEO, American
Organization of Nurse Executives
� Kathleen Ann Long, president, American
Association of Colleges of Nursing.
AACN Online Quick Poll
What is your unit policy for minimum
frequency of vital signs?
Every 1 hour 48%
Every 2 hours 36%
Every 4 hours 12%
No Policy 5%
Number of Responses: 1,174
This poll is a voluntary survey for our
users and is not scientifically projectable to any other population. AACN
presents these surveys to give our users an opportunity to share their practice
and opinions on particular topics. Participate by visiting the AACN Web site.
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