Web Exclusive: H1N1 Flu Scare Provides Practice for Pandemic Operations

For many healthcare workers who rose to the call of the recent H1N1 flu outbreak, the early, frightening weeks of encountering a new and potentially deadly virus proved an opportunity to test emergency plans that had been set up in the years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and other disasters. Read more »

Hospitals Better Ready for Disasters

U.S. hospitals are better prepared for disasters and public health emergencies than they were in 2001, according to a new study by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Center for Biosecurity. The biggest gains have been made in hospitals’ ability to accommodate patients during disasters, train staff for disasters, and perform in actual disasters. Read more »

Older Adults Shown to Underreport Stroke History

The responses of older adults who are asked whether they had a stroke frequently do not agree with diagnoses obtained by magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, according to research by Columbia University Medical Center, New York, to be published in the July issue of Archives of Neurology. “Stroke is associated with motor impairment but can also be accompanied by impairments in memory, sensation, and speech or language, diminishing the ability of an individual to accurately report a history of stroke,” the study concluded. Read more »

Nurses Struggle with Ethical Dilemmas

A surgical liaison nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital recently found herself caught between doing what was best for her patient and his family and the rigid rules of the operating room suite. She followed the hospital’s rules, but then, together with the patient’s family, helped turn the old policy around by explaining why the rule needed to change. Read more »

Comparative Effectiveness Research To Inform More Healthcare Choices

Comparative effectiveness research is a term few nurses are probably familiar with or care to know better. But despite the awkward-sounding name, it’s something that nurses, physicians and patients will be hearing more about as President Barack Obama’s administration moves ahead with healthcare reform. Read more »