Nursing News Flash

Americans are facing shortages of drugs critical for cancer treatment, respiratory conditions, and more – shortages that increased nearly 30 percent between 2021 and 2022, a new report shows. The report, commissioned by the U.S. Senate and discussed during a Senate committee hearing on March 22, revealed a record five-year high of 295 active drug shortages.

Nearly 96 percent of patients said they preferred to receive test results immediately through a patient portal, even if their health practitioner had not reviewed them yet, a recent study found. Overall, this finding persisted for patients who did not receive normal test results, according to researchers. However, these patients were more likely to experience increased worry than those who received a normal result.

Although rates of colorectal cancer are on the decline, the incidence among younger people continues to rise. Data show that the incidence of early-onset CRC, diagnosed in people younger than 50, has increased globally by as much as two to four percent a year since the 1990s, with even steeper increases among those younger than 30. But gaining a more granular understanding of why this shift is occurring remains a challenge.

A new study from researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, has shed new light on the best strategies hospitals can use for medication reconciliation, the critical and difficult task of updating and verifying a patient’s medication lists and orders, regardless of where they are in the healthcare system. The study, published in BMJ Quality and Safety, is a new analysis of data from the second Multi-center Medication Reconciliation Quality Improvement Study.

A drug-resistant bacteria linked to recalled eye drops has now killed three people. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported March 21 that infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa had led to two additional deaths. In all, 68 people have become infected in 16 states. Eight of the patients have lost their vision. Four people have had to have their eyeballs removed.

Cases of tuberculosis increased in the U.S. in 2022 but did not return to pre-pandemic levels, according to data published in a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report ahead of World TB Day. “During the early COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. incidence of reported TB substantially declined. Incidence partially rebounded in 2021 but remained lower than incidence during pre-pandemic years,” Kimberly R. Schildknecht, SnD, BSN, MPH, Epidemic Intelligence Service officer, and colleagues wrote.

Potentially deadly fungal infections with Candida auris are spreading rapidly in U.S. healthcare facilities, with cases nearly doubling between 2020 and 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The number of cases rose by 44 percent to 476 in 2019, up from 330 in 2018, and subsequently 59 percent to 756 in 2020 and by an additional 95 percent to 1,471 in 2021, the agency's researchers reported in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Being vaccinated against COVID halves people’s risk of developing long COVID, according to new research from the University of East Anglia. Long COVID still affects some two million people in the UK, and the new research reveals the risk factors associated with developing the condition.

Although nurses make up a significant proportion of the healthcare workforce, they are rarely represented on hospital boards. Now, some providers are pushing for more nurses to be included in boardrooms, arguing that they provide a crucial perspective on care quality and patient experience, Alex Kacik writes for Modern Healthcare.

April 27-28, 2023 | Holiday Inn Executive Center, Columbia, MO Register now for the 2023 Coming Together in Advanced Practice Conference scheduled for April 27-28 at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia, Missouri. MONA's annual Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Conference is designed for those advanced practice registered nurses who are recognized as nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists. The conference will help APRNs: Develop clinical skills and knowledge applicable to advanced practice nursing. Describe current and future trends impacting advanced practice nursing. Network with nurses in various specialties of advanced practice nursing. Network with a number of health care service representatives to learn the latest state of the art technologies and pharmaceuticals. For full details, an agenda and to register online, please click here. Early-bird registration closes on April 1, 2023, at 12:00 pm CST. Individuals are allowed to register after April 1st, but registration fees increase by $50.00. No registrations accepted after April 17, 2023. Accreditation Participants can receive a maximum of 14.75 contact hours for participating in this activity (7.25 on Thursday, 7.5 on Friday). Questions? Please contact Sara Fry at (573) 636-4623 x102 or with any questions.

The dust is settling on the national nursing degree scheme, but many questions still linger, with the most pressing being: Who are these nurses, and where are they practicing? As investigations continue and disciplinary actions are taken, another intriguing question has emerged: How were so many nurses able to pass the National Council Licensure Examination?