A Nurse Practitioner’s Guide to Airline Medicine

Several factors make commercial aircraft travel hazardous to passengers who may be sick or vulnerable to the strenuous environmental conditions of a modern jet airliner. These risk factors can expose a practitioner’s license if the practitioner volunteers to help a passenger who is having a medical emergency aboard an airliner. Understanding the history of medical emergencies during flight, the pathophysiology encountered by passengers, and, subsequently, the legal basis of medical emergencies aboard a commercial airline can be a very valuable process for any health care practitioner. A Good Samaritan law can be a useful piece of legislation for any practitioner.     

The Surge: COVID-19’s Impact on a New Radiology Nurse

This short communication show how the Covid- 19 pandemic affected the everyday life of a radiology nurse through the eyes of a new radiology nurse.     

Nurse’s perceptions of their group goal attainment capability and professional autonomy: a pilot study

Aim A pilot study to examine staff nurses’ perceptions of, and relationships between, group goal attainment capability and professional autonomy. Background A nursing group’s capability to employ appropriate nursing interventions leads to improvement in patient outcomes. Nurses’ goal attainment capability plays a role in achieving high-quality patient outcomes and may be related to professional autonomy. Method Staff nurses (N = 90) in one community hospital completed the Sieloff–King Assessment of Group Goal Attainment Capability within Organizations and the Nursing Activity Scale instrument. Results Staff nurses reported high goal attainment capability and high professional autonomy, and a positive significant but weak correlation (r = 0.24, P < 0.05) was found between nurses’ perceptions of group goal attainment capability and perceptions of professional autonomy. Three of the eight group goal attainment subscales were positively correlated with professional autonomy including: group leaders’ goal attainment capability competency, goals/outcomes competency and goal attainment capability perspective. Conclusion While three subscales of goal attainment capability were significant, the correlations were weak between professional autonomy and group leader’s goal attainment competency, goals/outcome competency and goal attainment perspective. Implications for Nursing Management Nurse managers can play a key role in nurses’ group goal attainment capability and perceived professional autonomy.     

Managing Myelodysplastic Syndrome and the Nurse Practitioner’s Role

Patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) require expert, consistent monitoring and management of their blood counts, disease status, and treatment regimens. Understanding how MDS presents and progresses as well as understanding treatment options and how to implement them on an individualized patient basis is essential for patients to receive optimal care. Nurse practitioners play a central role in the care of MDS patients. They have an opportunity to develop trusting relationships with their patients and are crucial parts of the health care team in helping to coordinate care, facilitate treatment, improve quality of life, and avoid life-threatening complications of the disease.     

Fertilization: a sperm’s journey to and interaction with the oocyte

Mammalian fertilization comprises sperm migration through the female reproductive tract, biochemical and morphological changes to sperm, and sperm-egg interaction in the oviduct. Recent gene knockout approaches in mice have revealed that many factors previously considered important for fertilization are largely dispensable, or if they are essential, they have an unexpected function. These results indicate that what has been observed in in vitro fertilization (IVF) differs significantly from what occurs during “physiological” fertilization. This Review focuses on the advantages of studying fertilization using gene-manipulated animals and highlights an emerging molecular mechanism of mammalian fertilization.     

Evaluation of a Mentor’s Training Program for Nurse Practitioners

Novice nurse practitioners continue to face challenges with transition into practice. Formal mentorship has been posed as a possible solution; however, literature suggests that mentors need adequate training to facilitate a meaningful experience. This project assessed the value and feasibility of a newly developed mentor’s training program. Six nurse practitioner evaluators were asked to review and evaluate the proposed training program before implementation. The evaluators found most of the program’s content and resources valuable, with only minor modifications suggested. Program components, curricula, findings, and recommendations for the future are discussed.     

Novice Nurse Practitioner Faculty and the Online Educator’s Role

Nursing programs continue to transition or establish online education programs in response to the need for nursing faculty to teach in postlicensure to higher educational degree programs. Recruitment efforts target experienced nurse practitioners (NPs) in clinical practice who may be considering an academic role. Before the acceptance of the novice NP faculty role, the components of the role, faculty development resources, extent of orientation, and role expectations must be discussed. Limited preparation to online education environments jeopardizes the recruitment and retention of qualified NP faculty. This article reviews strategies for successfully acclimating novice faculty to online teaching.