For nurses specializing in end-of-life care, empathy and education is critical to helping patients and their families. An article on NurseZone by Debra Wood, RN, outlines how nurses can help families navigate some new hospice trends and improvements. While death might be routine for healthcare workers, Wood writes that the process is often new for […]
As you monster mash your way through the evening, please enjoy a spooky and safe Halloween!
Amidst competitors such as Google’s Chrome OS, Apple’s iOS, Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7, and various flavors of Linux, Mozilla is diving into the mobile OS market with its Boot to Gecko or “B2G” operating system. Designed for quick booting, ease of taking your settings with you across devices, and optimized for web browsing, mobile operating […]
Improvements in healthcare technology are often met with high praise, but a recent presentation by Marge Funk, RN and nursing researcher at Yale-New Haven Hospital suggests that nurses maintain their caution—and common sense—when adopting new techniques and technologies. When approaching technology, Funk advocates four guidelines to follow. Use technology appropriately. Just because a new technology […]
Paul Venezia, writing in Network World, details some of the decision making issues, human factors, and potential outcomes of a corporate switch from an Exchange-based solution to Google’s cloud-based system. Financially, the process was a success; however, it was not an easy transfer due to Google’s lack of support and need for an in-depth understanding of […]
Nurses will be critical to meeting the increased healthcare demands that insurance reforms bring in the coming years, writes Deloras Jones, RN, in a recent article. While California has seen increases in nurse school enrollment and increased its nursing workforce, the state is still “ranked 47th in the nation for RNs per capita.” Increased insurance […]
In light of a recent multitude of security failures, service provider security is a hot topic. While many companies purport to have excellent security features, many of these features are hidden behind “opt-in” dialogues and fees. HTTPS encryption is an oft-used method of protecting network data, but many websites do not encrypt data. Encryption is […]
“‘What are we seeing today, and what can we do to make it better?’” These are the key questions that Joy Jacobson suggests that nurses ask themselves every day in an effort enact positive changes at their facilities. In her article for the American Journal of Nursing, Jacobson reviews examples of how nurses can be […]
A recent survey at ASQ of 475 healthcare professionals revealed the greatest burden is to be felt by Primary Care Physicians and Nurses, when staffing shortages worsen in 2014 as the healthcare reform law kicks in and more baby-boomers become Medicare-aged. Healthcare IT systems (especially Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) were viewed as key to prevent […]
In an earlier blog post, we addressed compassion fatigue, and now we’re back with more suggestions for preventing and alleviating this common problem. Compassion fatigue is “a combination of physical, emotional, and spiritual depletion” that can strike nurses and other caregivers. While compassion fatigue absolutely impacts nurses on a personal level, it also has an […]