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UNISON, the UK’s largest public sector union, today (2 March) welcomed the focus on high quality, compassionate nursing contained in the Prime Minister’s Commission report.* The report puts nurses and midwives at the heart of the NHS, sweeping away old fashioned ideas and replacing them with the reality of the highly professional nurses and midwives of today…

Various personalities are weighing in on health legislation. CNBC interviewed billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who “called the nation’s health care spending ‘untenable,’ comparing ‘out of control’ costs to a ‘tapeworm eating at our economic body…

The Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) has welcomed the recommendations of the Prime Minister’s independent Commission on the Future of Nursing and Midwifery in England published today…

Ged Kearney, Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation said that the reforms to heath care announced by the Prime Minister are the most significant to the health system since the introduction of Medicare. “These reforms fundamentally alter how we fund and deliver health care in Australia making it more transparent and accountable…

Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN), a global leader in 802.11n wireless LANs and secure mobility solutions, announced that the University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust (UHSM) in the United Kingdom is using Aruba’s Virtual Branch Networking (VBN) solution to increase the quality of antenatal services delivered to the local community…

When the anesthesia care provider yells the code “Malignant Hyperthermia!” during a routine surgery there are approximately 15 minutes to save this patient’s life, you are excited but not panicking— why? The Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States (MHAUS) introduces a new MH Mock Drill Training Kit for Operating Room Staff to better prepare for MH emergencies…

The National Association For Continence (NAFC) has released a new consumer educational resource, focusing on catheterization procedures and care in the United States…

U.S. Ambassador To U.N. In Geneva Assumes Position, Ending 13 Month Vacancy Betty King reported to her new position as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. “Washington’s Geneva mission had been without an ambassador since Warren W. Tichenor left his post on Jan…

Members of the American Nurses Association (ANA), the largest nursing organization in the US, joined President Obama today at the White House to demonstrate their strong support for the President and his goal of achieving meaningful health reform now…

Propofol is safe for advanced endoscopic procedures with a low rate of sedation-related adverse events when administered by a trained professional, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute…

Prime Minister’s Commission on the Future of Nursing and Midwifery in England sets out the way forward for the future of the professions. Nurses and midwives must renew their pledge to society to deliver high quality, compassionate care – and must be better supported to do so by their employers, according to a new report on the future of nursing and midwifery in England published today…

Soon after The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its proposed rules for “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHRs) on December 30, 2009, Siemens asked two prominent chief nursing officers (CNO) how the new guidelines support nurses’ commitment to quality patient care delivery, enhance their care documentation capabilities, and can spur further health…

According to new survey data released by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), enrollment in doctoral nursing programs increased by more than 20% this year, signaling strong interest among students in careers as nursing scientists, faculty, primary care providers, and specialists…

The San Francisco Chronicle: “A federal appeals court barred California on Wednesday from lowering Medi-Cal payments to doctors and hospitals by 5 percent and from cutting in-home care workers’ wages by nearly 20 percent, saying the state’s budget crisis doesn’t justify violating federal laws that protect the poor and disabled. In four rulings, the Ninth U.S…

Registered nurses at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka have achieved a tentative settlement with hospital officials on a new collective bargaining agreement that nurses say bring significant improvements in patient care protections and economic gains for the RNs. Some 375 St. Joseph Eureka RNs are represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC)…

MPs from all the main political parties have rallied behind the RCN’s General Election call to back specialist nursing. Almost sixty MPs have signed a cross party Early Day Motion calling for specialist nursing provision to be available to all patients with long term conditions – one of the six health priorities for the next government, according to the RCN…

The NMC has revealed significant improvements to the length of time it takes to process fitness to practise cases, meaning better protection for the public…

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The frustration of finding out what hospitals and doctors charge for common services — from routine office visits to diagnostic tests and surgical procedures — could soon get a lot easier in Wisconsin…

Reversing a 15-year trend, the percentage of infants born at home rose slightly in 2005 and remained stable in 2006, according to a report published Wednesday in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics Reports, USA Today reports. Marian MacDorman, a demographer at CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, said it is not clear what caused the slight increase…

The federal agency that oversees labor law has ordered St. Johns Health Center, located in Santa Monica and a part of the Catholic chain, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, to stand trial on charges that it violated the rights of its registered nurses…

Members of the American Nurses Association (ANA), the largest nursing organization in the US, joined President Obama today in Glendale, PA to demonstrate their strong support for the President and his goal of achieving meaningful health reform now…

What This Wednesday, Registered Nurses and advocates for fair elections will deliver a case of “Prop. 15 disinfectant cleanser” to a group sworn to defeating the campaign-finance initiative…

The massive $300 wages gap between aged care and public hospital nurses is set to become an election year issue with the launch of a national advertising campaign by the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) and the NSW Nurses’ Association (NSWNA)…

The Minister for Older People, Aine Brady, T.D, has urged nursing home residents and their families, to inform themselves about nursing home services and supports, particularly the new Nursing Homes Support Scheme. “The year 2009 was a time of fundamental change in the nursing home sector…

Women comprise more than half the population of the nation’s cities, are three times as likely as their male counterparts to live alone after the age of 65, and are primary caregivers for their families at all ages and stages of life…

The issue of whether pregnant women whose fetuses are in a breech position should attempt to deliver vaginally is receiving fresh attention after a June 2009 decision by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada to adopt guidelines approving of the method in certain cases, the Washington Post reports…

Almost everyone in the UK will receive healthcare at some point. For many this can be a daunting experience. If you want to have confidence that the nurses and midwives who provide frontline care are able to speak out about any issues that may compromise your care, then now is your chance to contribute to an important piece of work…

Health care jobs, especially in nursing, dominate the country’s employment future in the next decade. NPR reports that “[m]ore than 3 million jobs in the health care industry will be created this decade, ranging from highly paid neurosurgeons to home health aids making barely above minimum wage. And more nursing jobs will be created in the next decade than in any other single profession…

The Australian Nursing Federation is deeply disappointed at a decision by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to reject a two-year delay to the award modernization process for NSW and Queensland nurses. ANF Acting Federal Secretary Lee Thomas said this unfortunate result would slash up to $300 a week from nurse wages and could result in many leaving the sector…

Following publication of the report Oral feeding difficulties and dilemmas: A guide to practical care, particularly towards the end of life, NMC Chief Executive and Registrar, Professor Dickon Weir-Hughes said: “Ensuring a person’s nutritional needs are met is fundamental to their care. Nurses play a key role in assessing a person’s individual needs…

As frontline health care professionals, registered nurses have a duty to communicate and interact effectively with the rich diversity of all the patients and families they serve. To that end, the American Nurses Association (ANA) is pleased to announce a grant from Pfizer Inc., to launch the ANA Cultural Competency Program…

For the eighth consecutive year, nurses have been voted the most trusted profession in America according to Gallup’s annual survey of professions for their honesty and ethical standards. Eighty-three percent of Americans believe nurses’ honesty and ethical standards are either “high” or “very high…

Ten Years Later: Look To Nurses As Champions of Patient Safety Kaiser Health News If we are to move forward, we must do a better job of providing policymakers, health care leaders and the public with the evidence showing the link between nursing care and patient safety…

Responding to the publication of NHS 2010-2015: From Good to Great, Janet Davies, Executive Director of Nursing at the Royal College of Nursing, said: “There is much to welcome in today’s announcement on the future plans for the NHS. In today’s tough economic climate, it is absolutely right that we target resources at the frontline…

Three of Australia’s peak medical groups called on the Senate Community Affairs Committee that is inquiring into the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 and two related Bills to support the Government’s amendments to the Bill…

The Australian Nursing Federation’s submission to the Health Legislation Amendment Bill rejects outright any requirement which forces nurse practitioners and midwives to seek doctor approval for patient care they are capable of doing autonomously. ANF Federal Secretary Ged Kearney said it was time doctors stopped trying to have it both ways…

The Australian Nursing Federation is deeply disappointed that nurses who are working in unsafe hospitals and environments may have to wait up to three months before employers are forced to act on their concerns. The ANF recently highlighted the rising trend of nurses coming under physical attack from drug and alcohol affected patients…

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced that it would continue providing accreditation for nurses offering Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC). The announcement follows an internal review which focused on finding a sustainable solution to providing LARC accreditation. LARC covers nurses fitting intrauterine techniques (IUTs) and subdermal contraceptive implants (SDIs)…

The latest issue of Johns Hopkins Nursing the magazine named the best nursing print media of 2009 by Sigma Theta Tau international honor society for nurses takes a look at how nursing education has changed over the years and how generational differences are driving those changes…

Most nurses that work in a children’s critical care unit feel prepared and trained to help parents during the final moments of their child’s life and the difficult hours that follow. The biggest challenges in helping families cope play out earlier than that tragic moment, concludes a new study by Brigham Young University professor Renea Beckstrand and graduate student Nicole Rawle…

A new study reports a surge in drug-resistant strains of a dangerous type of bacteria in US hospitals: Acinetobacter strikes patients in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and others and often causes severe pneumonias or bloodstream infection, some of which are now resistant to imipenem, an antibiotic that is reserved for last-line treatment…

Baby boomers could lead to a nursing shortage while felons receive care in Chicago nursing homes. CNNMoney reports: “Baby boomers are getting older and will require more care than ever, taxing an already strained nursing system. America has had a nursing shortage for years, said Peter Buerhaus, workforce analyst at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tenn…

The American Nurses Association (ANA), the largest multi-purpose nursing organization in the country, applauds Senate lawmakers for passing H.R. 3590, “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”. This landmark legislation was approved by a vote of 60-39…

The American Nurses Association (ANA), the largest multi-purpose nursing organization in the country, applauds Senate lawmakers for passing H.R. 3590, “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” This landmark legislation was approved by a vote of 60-39…

Australian Nursing Federation Acting Federal Secretary Lee Thomas said the opposition leader’s proposed funding, which would be done through local hospital boards, was a backwards step in health reform. These policies do not work in practice and they will not deliver for current or future health care needs, she said…

The RCN responded to reports that the NHS is increasing its spending on agency staff. Dr Peter Carter, RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, said: “Agency workers provide a valuable service and these figures should be viewed with caution as the agency receives a substantial part of the ’salary’…

Responding to Chapter One of the Conservative Party’s draft manifesto ‘Our reform plan for the NHS’, launched yesterday (4 January), Dr Peter Carter, RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, said: “The most important thing for any incoming government is to maintain investment in clinical staff and their training…

The Australian Nursing Federation is calling on the Government to act quickly on vital health reforms and illness prevention initiatives in 2010…

The new year promises new health care industry jobs around the country, but in some places, such as Indiana, a shortage of nursing instructors could lead to fewer trained nurses to fill those jobs…

The nation’s largest union and professional organization of registered nurses called on House members to hold the line in opposing a tax on workers’ healthcare benefits, and called for other changes in the final healthcare legislation to expand affordability and crack down on insurance industry abuses…