Magnet Hospital Study Says So Much

A recent study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing shows a dramatically lower mortality rate and better patient outcomes at Magnet hospitals. The authors concluded that these results are largely due to "measured nursing characteristics". It's yet another feather in nurses' (non-existent) caps.

Book Review: "The Comfort Garden: Tales From the Trauma Unit"

Once in a while, a book comes along that makes one look long and hard at one's own relationship with work, the role of the caregiver, and the ways in which caring for others can take a toll on one's own personal and professional life. Laurie Barkin's "The Comfort Garden: Tales From the Trauma Unit" is a heartbreaking, inspiring and deeply thoughtful book that has done just that for me--and so much more.

Nurses Know the Score

Recently, a study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (and recently published in the journal Research in Nursing and Health) demonstrates very clearly that nurses are excellent judges of the quality of care delivered in the facilities where they are employed. In fact, the study concludes that nurses' honesty and keen perception of what actually goes on in their workplaces could (and perhaps should, I would add) be a source of useful information regarding patient outcomes, quality of care, and other important factors.