Women and War

Most of today's 1.7 million women veterans obtain all or most of their medical care outside the VA health care system, where their veteran status is rarely recognized or acknowledged. Several aspects of women's military service have been associated with adverse psychologic and physical outcomes, and failure to assess women's veteran status, their deployment status, and military trauma history could delay identifying or treating such conditions. Yet few clinicians know of women's military history—or of military service's impact on women's subsequent health and well being. Because an individual's military service may be best understood within the historical context in which it occurred, we provide a focused historical overview of women's military contributions and their steady integration into the Armed Forces since the War for Independence. We then describe some of the medical and psychiatric conditions associated with military service.     

Supporting nurse managers in creating a culture of retention

Dire predictions for the future continue to dominate discussion of workforce issues in today's hospitals. Even organizations not currently dealing with shortages of key personnel will be met with the challenge of maintaining a vibrant workforce in the face of impending baby-boomer retirees. Although nurse managers are considered the chief retention officers for their departments and increasingly are being held tightly accountable for results that demonstrate retention, their capacity for taking on this responsibility must be evaluated.This study investigated what nurse managers actually do that creates a positive work environment in their departments. Based on these findings, recommendations for supporting first-line nurse leaders are offered.     

2004 AONE award winner profiles

Editor's note: Nurse Leader is pleased to bring you a closer look at the 2004 winners of the American Organization of Nurse Executives' annual awards. All winners have been asked to describe their work in their own words. The third installment of this special section features Maria R. Shirey, winner of the Organizational Innovation Nurse Director Award.     

Creative Grandparenting Bonding the Generations

Grandparents are a vital link for young families. The support grandparents can provide to the new family is now more important than ever. A creative grandparenting program can increase the likelihood that grandparent support is effective and welcomed. This article includes a discussion of such a program, suggested content areas to include, and the development of appropriate teaching strategies.     

Process and outcome measures using nursing sensitive indicators

Measuring the impact of high quality nursing care has become an imperative driven by several issues during the past several years. Current challenges surrounding the nursing shortage and the decreasing nursing workforce projected for the next decade alone have raised serious questions about the effect fewer registered nurses (RNs) will have on the quality of health care. In addition, heightened public attention to patient safety and adverse outcomes has prompted national organizations, such as the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and the National Quality Forum, to consider and implement recommendations for establishing and monitoring nursing quality indicators that focus on nursing-sensitive patient outcomes. These issues, now more than ever, have provided us with a burning platform to examine exactly what nurses do and their impact on patient health outcomes.