Health Journal of Nursing

The Impact Of Implementing A Patient-Centered Medical Home Model In The Primary Care Setting

The Impact Of Implementing A Patient-Centered Medical Home Model In The Primary Care Setting

Tags: care health patient Primary Care

Literature demonstrates a trend of shared decision-making models that are centered around the patient. By implementing the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model, patient encounters will encompass a patient-centered decision-making approach regardless of the reason for the visit. This model incorporates ongoing preventative screenings into routine visits to create a continuum of meeting wellness initiatives without relying on a routine wellness visit yearly. To implement this model, the clinician will thoroughly review the patient’s chart prior to the office visit. If any preventive screening is identified, then the primary care provider addresses the initiatives during the encounter. Post-implementation data showed a marked increase in ordered preventive screenings, wellness exams, and revenue to the clinic. There was also an increase in patient satisfaction perception among participating providers. The PCMH model allows the clinician avenues to address, create dialogue, and implement shared decision-making to incorporate preventative screenings and keep preventive care moving forward.

Read More →
Health and Wellbeing: A Student Nurse's Perspective

Health and Wellbeing: A Student Nurse's Perspective

Tags: assertiveness health mental health Nurse Education stress student nurse students undergraduate wellbeing

This essay discusses health and well-being as multifaceted concepts and explores how my health and wellbeing has been affected since becoming a student nurse. This essay also discusses the importance of maintaining good health and wellbeing in relation to self-care and patient care.

Read More →
Health and Law

Health and Law

Tags: Ambulance Case Study emergency department emergency room ER health law

This legal case study involves a young woman who presented ambulatory to the emergency room with a gunshot wound to the head.

Read More →
National Nursing Licensure

National Nursing Licensure

Tags: health nurse licensure nurse shortage nursing

National nursing licensure promotes more effective licensing than does state licensure by alleviating the ever-present nursing shortage and promoting mobility among the nursing workforce.

Read More →
Elective Induction of Labor and Early Term Delivery

Elective Induction of Labor and Early Term Delivery

Tags: costs elective induction health induction policy labor spontaneous labor

The rate of elective induction of labor without medical indication is on the rise. Elective inductions carry long-term consequences for the maternal and infant dyad. Maternal risk of induction includes hemorrhage, uterine dystocia, uterine rupture, and cesarean section related to failed induction of labor. Neonatal risks include respiratory distress, feeding difficulty, and long-term psychological and behavioral tendencies such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In reviewing a variety of studies, researchers have seen a decrease in morbidities and health care costs for both mother and infant when spontaneous labor occurs. However, the risks of liability and malpractice suits tempt physicians to schedule elective inductions. By creating and implementing policies on elective induction of labor, nurses have the ability to educate patients on the importance of letting labor occur naturally.

Read More →
Managing Type II Diabetes within the Hispanic Community

Managing Type II Diabetes within the Hispanic Community

Tags: culture diabetes disease health patient education

Diabetes is termed the life style disease for good reason. It is a progressive and chronic illness largely caused by obesity and lack of exercise. If left untreated or poorly controlled, this disease can lead to debilitating complications and premature death.

Read More →
Professional Nursing: Is A Doctorate Degree Necessary?

Professional Nursing: Is A Doctorate Degree Necessary?

Tags: degrees educational requirements ethics health nursing nursing education requirements

Obtaining a higher education has transitioned from being a privilege to a prerequisite for professional success. However, success is not always correlated with the level of education the individual possesses. This is especially true in the field of nursing.

Read More →
Do nurses really understand Advanced Health Care Directives?

Do nurses really understand Advanced Health Care Directives?

Tags: acute care Advanced Health Care Directives advocate AHCD AHCD education health nurse

As a Nursing Supervisor, I have witnessed many problems associated with patients Advanced Health Care Directives (AHCD). On many occasions, patients are asked about AHCD when their medical condition worsens, leaving education of AHCD lacking and often put to the family to make end-of-life decisions. Both nurses and patients have verbalized not understanding AHCD. At the local hospital not only have many nurses acknowledged not understanding their role and responsibility about AHCD, but they also do not really have a good understanding themselves of what AHCD are; therefore, they do not feel comfortable educating patients and families about this vital healthcare issue. Research shows that providing AHCD education is effective in changing not only the treatment preferences of patients, but their attitudes toward end-of-life health care (AHRQ, 2003). There was an eminent need to look into this problem at the local community hospital.

Read More →
Literature Review: Safe Nurse Staffing

Literature Review: Safe Nurse Staffing

Tags: Competent Care float nurse float pool Floating floating nurse health ICU medication errors nurse Nurse and Burnout nursing ethics patient outcomes performance retention Staffing Issues stress Stress among Nurses work environment

The purpose of this literature review is to exam nurse staffing and staffing related issue and its impact on the healthcare world. Safe nurse staffing poses substantial issues at the clinical level including its tremendous impact on patient mortality, patient satisfaction, increased incidence of medical errors, and nurse dissatisfaction and burnout.

Read More →
Doing More with Less: Are We Compromising Patient Care?

Doing More with Less: Are We Compromising Patient Care?

Tags: care health paitent

I came bustling into the Medical-Surgical unit at the hospital where I work as scheduled. It was the third 12-hour shift I was working, so I was really looking forward to getting the shift over with and enjoying the upcoming four days off. I was expecting to come onto the floor to find the usual nurses on the unit.

Read More →
Moral Distress in Nursing and Available Support Systems

Moral Distress in Nursing and Available Support Systems

Tags: ethics health moral disress nursing support systems

Moral distress is a key issue facing nursing today; it affects the way nurses care for their patients and the number of nurses who stay in the profession (Gutierrez, 2005; Hamric & Blackhall, 2007).

Read More →
“What is it with you?”

“What is it with you?”

Tags: health nurse

“I’ve got a fainter here!” I call over my sister’s head to the flight attendant. My sister is sitting in the aisle seat, I am in the middle, and my new patient is sitting by the window. He has just announced to me that he doesn’t feel well and thinks he may faint

Read More →
Basics on Inpatient Blood Sugar Control

Basics on Inpatient Blood Sugar Control

Tags: blood diabetes health

Controlling inpatient blood sugars is challenging and complex. Inpatient blood sugars can be affected by a multitude a variables. Some of the variables are nutritional intake, inflammation, stress and steroids. Research indicates more than 50% of Americans could have diabetes or pre-diabetes by the year 2020. Healthcare costs for this population both inpatient and outpatient is enormous and growing. Many of these patients will require hospitalization. Inpatient diabetes treatment can be complex but the outcome enhancement is great. Improving inpatient blood sugar control decreases both complications and mortality. Controlling the blood sugars of this growing patient population is well worth the investment of time and resources.

Read More →
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Tags: cessation disease eating habits health Health Promotion prevention promotion

The United States falls behind in healthy outcomes when compared to other countries.

Read More →
Managing Diabetic Patients on Dialysis: The Nurse and Practitioners Role in Multidisciplinary Team Essentials 

Managing Diabetic Patients on Dialysis: The Nurse and Practitioners Role in Multidisciplinary Team Essentials 

Tags: care diabetic patients dialysis health nurses role

The chronic state of diabetes mellitus (DM) mainly type II, is an increasingly common cause of end stage renal disease (ESRD) in all countries, accounting for 51% of dialysis patients in the U.S. and 39% in Europe. Patient survival is much worse than for non-diabetic patients, with a large proportion of patients dying within the first 3 months of dialysis (excluded from USRDS data). In North America, chronic diabetes (e.g., poorly controlled), has shown as a major cause of death associated with cardiovascular diseases. Usually the outcome is better for transplanted patients.

Read More →
Maximizing Pain Relief in Pediatric Patients 

Maximizing Pain Relief in Pediatric Patients 

Tags: care child children health pain relief patients pediatric pediatric patients

Pain management is a complex issue that has become increasingly significant in the nursing profession; so much so that the assessment of pain has become known as the fifth vital sign. This issue becomes even more crucial when attempting to manage pain in pediatric patients.

Read More →
Missionary to Haiti 

Missionary to Haiti 

Tags: care haiti health missionary

On January 28th I started out on the treck to head to Haiti. Living in Honduras I found myself traveling through Miami, to get to Chicago, to head out to Haiti. But, as there were few choices of air transportation to Haiti, we took whatever we could get. Upon arrival into Haiti, the first thing that hit me was the sea of humanity. This little town held 4 million people. Keeping things in perspective, I am living in a country of 7 million people – so over half of the population of Honduras resides in the city of Port-au-Prince. We drove to our camp site, Quisqueya Christian School (QCS). We immediately found a “spot” on the grass, set up our tents, and got to the business of preparing ourselves for the tasks ahead of us.

Read More →
My Father the Medicine Man 

My Father the Medicine Man 

Tags: eastern medicine family health western medicine

My father continues to avoid western medicine as much as he can and there is no convincing him any different. I only hope that the next key given to me will open a door where Eastern and Western medicine will compliment each other. Health care would have the best of both worlds if this would happen.

Read More →
Mythology 

Mythology 

Tags: health mythology nursing nursing students rn student

Article pertaining to mythology as related to nursing and the RN student.

Read More →
Nurse, please pray with me. 

Nurse, please pray with me. 

Tags: care comfort health nurse prayer

Prayer may benefit both the nurse and the patient; both may find comfort in prayer. Prayer may also help patients and their families adjust emotionally to their illness or life events and support the patients’ spiritual health.

Read More →
Pathogen Transmission from Blood Pressure Cuffs 

Pathogen Transmission from Blood Pressure Cuffs 

Tags: blood pressure cuffs health nurse pathogen

Decades of research has been conducted regarding the transmission of pathogens in hospitals from patient to patient, patient to staff, and staff into the community.

Read More →
Pharmaceutical Counseling 

Pharmaceutical Counseling 

Tags: counseling health medication medication errors nurse pharmaceutical

1.5 million Americans are sickened, injured or killed by medication errors each year; seniors most at risk due to the polypharmacy risk factor. Adding pharmaceutical counseling to patients on four or more medications decreases the risk of medication errors

Read More →
Pressure Ulcers Management 

Pressure Ulcers Management 

Tags: complication health management nurse nursing assistant nurtrition pressure ulcer risk factors skin wound care

Pressure ulcers are a major complication associated with the loss of mobility, activity, increased moisture, poor nutrition, friction, shear, and altered sensory perception. They are caused by unrelieved compression of the blood vessels and tissues resulting in the lymphatic system not filtering waste products.

Read More →
Preventing Falls in the Elderly Long Term Care Facilities

Preventing Falls in the Elderly Long Term Care Facilities

Tags: elderly elderly care fall prevention falls health nurse risk risk factors

The elderly long-term care population is at increase risk for falls and fall related injuries. The implementation of a fall prevention program is important for ensuring resident safety. Systematically assessing residents’ risk for falls and implementing appropriate fall prevention interventions can reduce the number of falls in the elderly long-term care residents.

Read More →
Providing Appropriate Nursing Care for the Developmentally Disabled Child 

Providing Appropriate Nursing Care for the Developmentally Disabled Child 

Tags: autism care child children disabled health nursing

Developmental disabilities are birth defects related to a problem with how body parts and/or body systems work. These defects may affect multiple body parts and/or systems. There are four types of disability discussed in this article including nervous system disability, sensory-related disability, metabolic disorders and degenerative disorders.

Read More →
Relationships among the Elderly: The Effects on One’s Health and Psychosocial Well Being

Relationships among the Elderly: The Effects on One’s Health and Psychosocial Well Being

Tags: aging dating elderly health nurse psychosocial relationships

Advances in medicine are allowing many adults to live longer lives than previous generations. In fact, the elderly population is becoming one of the largest growing sectors of the present population. Recently, researchers have begun studying what factors contribute to successful aging. These studies are showing that the impact of family and social relationships plays an important part in one’s health and psychosocial well being. People can get lonely, so dating for seniors could be a great boost for their psychological well being.

Read More →
Russian Nurses after the Crimean War

Russian Nurses after the Crimean War

Tags: crimean war health history of nursing nurses russian

As it is well known, the Crimean War (1854-1856) marked the turning point in the history of nursing. The outstandingly self-sacrificing work of Florence Nightingale and 38 British nurses, who worked day and night in Turkish hospitals, providing help and necessary care to the sick and wounded soldiers, was highly praised and acknowledged in Britain. Their hard labor and efficient management in improving sanitary conditions in the army hospitals brought about a new approach to women’s participation in hospital care.

Read More →
Sisters of Mercy in Prisons 

Sisters of Mercy in Prisons 

Tags: health history of nursing prison sisters of mercy

Evolution of prisons in European countries has mainly been highlighted by the specialists on law and social studies, while participation of nurses in developing the up-to-date system of treating people sentenced by the societies to spend a part of their lives in jails still remains in a shadow. This survey is an attempt to take a brief glimpse of the contribution of sisters of mercy, members of the first European communes of nurses, to creating adequate conditions for prisoners and changing public's attitude towards rehabilitation of criminals and their possible return to normal life in the society.

Read More →
Smoking Cessation Education in the Elderly 

Smoking Cessation Education in the Elderly 

Tags: cessation elderly health Health Promotion nurse quitting

The role of the professional nurse as direct care provider and educator is pivitol in providing clients with the information and support necessary to facilitate smoking cessation and improve client health outcomes.

Read More →
The Importance of Communication and Education toward Patient Literacy: The Relationship of Functional Health and Patient’s Knowledge of Their Chronic Disease and Metabolic Disorder

The Importance of Communication and Education toward Patient Literacy: The Relationship of Functional Health and Patient’s Knowledge of Their Chronic Disease and Metabolic Disorder

Tags: aging assessment skills clear with simplified language communication communicator diabetes direct involvement disease educator efficiency of care health health literacy knowledge patient patient education

The aging populations in the U.S. with ‘Essential’ Hypertension are showing inadequate health literacy, plus its impact on patients with idiopathic chronic diseases such as type II, adult onset Diabetes Mellitus are makeable. To identify among patients with hypertension and/or with diabetes the relationship between their functional health literacy levels, and the role of the registered nurse as communicator and educator.

Read More →
Can I Depend On You? 

Can I Depend On You? 

Tags: care health nursing students

An LPN Instructor at East Central Technical College in Douglas, Georgia requires an experience for her nursing students.

Read More →
End-Of-Life-Care: Are Nurses Educationally Prepared? 

End-Of-Life-Care: Are Nurses Educationally Prepared? 

Tags: care comfort death end of life end-of-life care health medical technology nurse physical health spiritual-psychosocial health

End Of Life Care study in the RN Journal. Are nurses prepared to offer quality end-of-life care to patients and families?

Read More →
Nursing Students Readying to Save Lives 

Nursing Students Readying to Save Lives 

Tags: active learning care health myocardial infarction nursing patient outcomes simulation students teaching

Recognizing the findings in a patient with an impending myocardial infarction (MI) and intervening appropriately is essential for healthcare providers in improving patient outcomes.

Read More →
Get Published for Free
RN's, Nursing Students, Educators & Health Care Professionals: Submit your article, story, or research paper to be considered for publishing. Over 40,000 readers per month. It's free and always has been since we started in 2001.