Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a concern for healthcare providers throughout the country, and for good reason. According to a 2010 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 1.7 million patients acquire infections while receiving health care. On average, 270 patients die each day as a result of this frequently preventable occurrence. How can nursing improve these figures?

Read more

A patient with breast cancer wrote an opinion piece for a Seattle newspaper a couple of years ago regarding unused cancer or cancer-related drugs (Sather, 2008). After nine years, she had collected more than a dozen cancer drugs she no longer needed and was unsure of how to dispose them. In addition, she felt guilty discarding expensive drugs when thousands of people in her state couldn’t afford to buy the medications they needed.

Read more

Not long ago, nurses would return from conferences with a plethora of free souvenirs: coffee mugs, water bottles, stuffed animals, and pens—enough items to fill a spare suitcase. However, those recently attending conferences may have noticed a dramatic change.

Read more