Nursing Reference Center Mobile App.'s

Convenient mobile application versions for EBSCO's Nursing Reference Center (NRC) are now available via the iTunes App.'s Store.

Challenging Times for the UK Nursing Labour Force

The Royal College of Nursing in the United Kingdom has published a preliminary report outlining eight 'what if' scenarios and projecting their possible impact on the nursing labour force in the UK over the next decade.

"This [report] looks at the challenges facing nursing and the nursing workforce across the UK in 2011 which we believe are the greatest for a generation....this report highlights what the truly shocking scale of losses could be in the near future – in the worst case – a 28 per cent reduction in the nursing workforce [100,000 positions]. This would undoubtedly be hugely damaging to the quality of patient care....As an immediate first step, we [RCN] advocate that the supply of registered nurses should be stabilised and the decision to cut nursing student places by 10 per cent for 2010/11 to 2011/12 reversed."

This interim report is taken from the forthcoming Royal College of Nursing Labour Market Review (LMR) 2011.

Global Nursing in Action: An Inspiring Alumni Story

Alex, your story really highlights the opportunities that are out there for those who are moved to answer the call to be a nurse. Here at IUON on St. Kitts we enjoyed having you in our student body! Now your story will serve to inspire many others to pursue their dream and perserver with their goals, to serve the global community as dedicated nurses. Way to go Alex! Here is an excerpt from Alex's story posted on IUON's offical website:

"During times of emergency Alex grew to appreciate how valuable someone with health care knowledge is because people depend on you, '…not just for patching up their wounds, but to be there for re-assurance during crisis. Just letting them know that someone is there…and that someone wants to help. It’s a complicated task because it’s possibly the worst day they’ve ever experienced and you’re the one that’s there to work together to make them as well as they can be again. I felt a great pride in this and I felt the calling.' ”

Alex Champagne is an International University of Nursing (IUON) student who is completing his senior year at one of IUON’s partner schools in Kentucky, Morehead State University (MSU).
As a trained nurse the world is truely your oyster!

UPDATE: Read more about Alex's story in the Huron Daily Tribune, July 14, 2011.

NLN 2010 Statistics on Nursing Education

The National League for Nursing has released their latest research statistics on the state of nursing education in the United States.

"New findings gleaned from the National League for Nursing's annual survey, administered from October to December 2010, paint a complex picture of nursing education in the United States."

"NLN Annual Survey of Schools of Nursing 2009-2010" includes findings such as: an increase in student diversity, acceptance to programs remains very competitive, continued lack of clinical placements available, and continued shortage of faculty.

Visit NLN DataView™ for a comprehensive set of tables and figures, or read the NLN Annual Survey Executive Summary.

The Communication Solution for the Nursing Industry

The Nurses Lounge is an online profesional network for nurses which provides a secure place to connect with colleagues, network on a professional level, and stay on top of relevant news, events and other information.
Nursing Schools can benfit by setting up their own "Lounge" which provides them a professional platform to easily distribute news and information, build and manage an alumni organization, as well as network among their students, faculty and alumni. There is no cost to a nurse, nursing school or nursing related association to use or set up an interactive Nurses Lounge.
Click to learn more about the Nurses Lounge.

Health Literacy Online CME Course

Health Literacy, You talk to your patients, but do they understand? The importance of Health Literacy to your Practice.

This new Health Literacy CME course on the MDcme.ca website is open access thanks to grants from various Canadian organizations. The online course geared to physicians and other healthcare professions, will

"introduce you to the concept of health literacy. It will give an overview of current knowledge about the links between literacy and health outcomes. The goal is to help you understand how health literacy affects your own practice or work setting. It will introduce some practical tools and strategies to identify and address the health literacy needs of your patients/clients, and the barriers that you may inadvertently create to patient/client understanding."

Registration is required.

Evidence-Based Practice Step by Step

The American Journal of Nursing has been publishing this series of articles on evidence-based practice periodically for over a year now. To date there are a total of 8 articles in this collection from the Arizona State University College of Nursing and Health Innovation's Center for the Advancement of Evidence-Based Practice.

"Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a problem-solving approach to the delivery of health care that integrates the best evidence from studies and patient care data with clinician expertise and patient preferences and values. When delivered in a context of caring and in a supportive organizational culture, the highest quality of care and best patient outcomes can be achieved."

This series is designed and presented with the intent of developing the knowledge and skills needed for nurses to implement EBP consistently, one step at a time. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has a stated goal that by 2020, 90% of all health care decisions in the United States will be evidence-based. In order to accomplish this goal, nurses will need to continually improve and consistently apply their skills in this area.

Impact of the Nurse Practitioner

Every year The Pearson Report by Linda J. Pearson

"enables Nurse Practitioners (NPs), policymakers and other health care professionals to understand and appreciate the major impact that NPs have had on health care in the United States, as well as a to compare and contrast NP practice realities in all 50 states and DC."

To access the 2010 state-by-state national overview of nurse practitioner legislation and healthcare issues click on the post title, to take you to the website for the American Journal for Nurse Practitioners[$].

Job Growth Plan for South African Nurses

And now for something completely different ~ or not!
An interesting opinion article on the state of nursing in South Africa comes to us from Otto Wypkema , CEO of the National Hospital Network NHN (a group of 93 independently-owned, private hospitals) in Southern Africa. Click title for article on MoneyWeb.

TB Online Learning Resources

The International Council of Nurses has gathered a few good links to online learning resources for the care, prevention and management of Tuberculosis. Besides their own interactive e-course, they have included links to the Training Manual from the International Hospital Federation IHF, as well as for the World Medical Association's TB and MDR-TB online courses.

ANA Gauges the Popularity of Advanced Degrees in Nursing

Some interesting results came out of the American Nurses Association's recent poll entitled "Have your Say" [Oct 2010].

Read more about the poll results from the ANA's Nursing World website [click on post title]. For more poll results click here.

Nursing Education in Second Life

Take a second look at what the world of nursing education is virtually coming to!

Nurses, how well are you Communicating with your Patients?

According to a recent exploratory study, there is much room for improvement in the education of patients regarding their health care, with much of the onus falling on nurses. So this begs the question, how well are our nursing students being educated to deliver patient education? In fact, are our nursing students being taught the critical issues surrounding health literacy? The study, published in the ANA's Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, urges:

"...health literacy is a topic that should be threaded throughout the entire nursing curriculum and stressed in each clinical rotation.
New nursing graduates need to be able to:
(a) identify patients at risk for not being able to understand and act on health information,
(b) communicate health information and instructions in a way that promotes patient understanding,
(c) check for patient understanding."

Citation: Sand-Jecklin, K., Murray, B., Summers, B., Watson, J., ( July, 23, 2010) "Educating Nursing Students about Health Literacy: From the Classroom to the Patient Bedside " OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 15 No. 3.
DOI: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol15No03PPT02

The Demand for Nurses and Nursing Education Remains Strong

Highlights from a recent NurseZone News Report:

The Current State of Nursing Education Capacity and Demand
by Debra Wood RN

“Workforce analysts all agree that the current easing of the nurse vacancy rate is only temporary.”

Courtney H. Lyder, ND, GNP, FAAN, dean of the University of California, Los Angles (UCLA) School of Nursing, said, “In the next three to five years, demand for nursing is going to continue, especially because of health care reform. Nurse practitioners are stepping into the role left behind by the decrease in primary care physicians. I think you will also see more nurses in alternate settings independent of hospitals.”

“Over the next few years, we expect nursing workforce acute shortage patterns to reappear again, revealing the underlying nursing production shortage related to the aging workforce and increasing demand for health care services. Given the health care reform law, population demographics, and growing demand for care, AACN projects that interest in nursing careers will remain strong as opportunities for practice expand.”

Click on the title to read the full article.

Interprofessional Cooperation & Respect Crucial to Patient Safety

The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority recently released data which shows that disruptive behaviors among healthcare clinicians is negatively affecting patient care.

"What causes these situations? According to the PPSA, many of these episodes arise because of conflicts between doctors and nurses, and a medical culture that holds doctors' opinions and the wishes of high-ranking staff members in greater regard than those of others."

All you novice nurses take note, successful team building requires your contribution to an atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation! Patient safety is at stake.