LPN/LVN-to-RN clinical career ladders

Despite their essential role, LVNs at Midland Health lacked a defined pathway for career advancement, creating risks for attrition and professional stagnation. To address this issue, I developed and implemented a structured LVN-specific career ladder designed to support professional growth, enhance job satisfaction, and facilitate progression toward RN licensure.

AI at the bedside

AI isn’t coming to nursing. It’s here, on our units, and part of how we monitor, assess, and care for patients. The early warning flag before a patient’s vitals visibly change? That’s AI. The medication alert at the dispensing cabinet? Also AI. The question isn’t, “Will nurses work alongside AI?” It’s, “Will they understand it well enough to use it wisely and safely?” This column aims to answer that question one topic at a time.

Understanding mixed episodes in bipolar I disorder

Bipolar I disorder (BD‑I) is a serious mental health condition marked by intense shifts in mood, energy, and activity levels. The condition affects an estimated 1% of adults in the United States and is clinically characterized by distinct mood episodes, with polarity tending to alternate over time between periods of mania or hypomania and depression. Manic or hypomanic symptoms can include elevated mood, increased energy, decreased need for sleep, and increased or faster speech. Depressive symptoms may include intense sadness, loss of interest in activities once enjoyed, feelings of guilt, fatigue, and suicidal ideation.

AI at the bedside

AI isn’t coming to nursing. It’s here, on our units, and part of how we monitor, assess, and care for patients. The early warning…

LPN/LVN-to-RN clinical career ladders

Despite their essential role, LVNs at Midland Health lacked a defined pathway for career advancement, creating risks for attrition and professional stagnation. To address…

The nurse’s role in ketamine infusion therapy

According to Qu and colleagues, depression, one of the most common mental health disorders and a leading cause of disability, affects more than 21 million U.S. adults and 280 million people worldwide. Up to 25% of all U.S. veterans suffer…

Alcohol use disorder in hospitalized patients

A team of nurses—including a bedside nurse, a director, and a doctorally prepared nurse—launched a retrospective chart review to inform practice and to better understand changes in alcohol use disorder (AUD) prevalence and screening accuracy before and after the pandemic.…

Mpox: Nurse-led public health response

The specialized skills of public health nurses—such as culturally sensitive interviewing, health education tailored to varying literacy levels, patient communication, resource navigation, and planning and implementation of public health interventions—aided in optimizing limited vaccine supplies and ensuring successful intradermal administration.…

Nurse handoff and cardiac care

Left heart catheterization with percutaneous coronary intervention is the treatment of choice for patients presenting with symptoms of acute coronary syndrome. Understanding the cardiac catheterization procedure and asking effective questions during handoff can help you more adequately determine the need…

Current Journal

Evolving nursing practice

FOUNDATION NEWS One year in: Advancing The Power of Nurses® through partnerships

Leading the next generation

A spark. A flame. A movement

AI at the bedside

AI isn’t coming to nursing. It’s here, on our units, and part of how we monitor, assess, and care for patients. The…

Boerhaave syndrome

James Thompson*, a 27-year-old man with no significant past medical history, received a diagnosis of viral gastroenteritis 2 days ago and has…

The nurse’s role in ketamine infusion therapy

According to Qu and colleagues, depression, one of the most common mental health disorders and a leading cause of disability, affects more…

Leading the next generation

As healthcare leadership evolves, particularly post-COVID, the nursing profession faces several challenges, including increased stress, burnout, and incidents of workplace bullying and…

Rapid Response

Boerhaave syndrome

James Thompson*, a 27-year-old man with no significant past medical history, received a diagnosis of viral gastroenteritis 2 days ago and has had persistent vomiting despite treatment with promethazine 25 mg oral tablets. He arrived at the ED with sudden…

A post-TAVR emergency

Mr. James tells Lizzy, the PACU nurse, that he doesn’t feel well and might pass out. Lizzy knows that conduction disturbances after TAVR can develop hours to days later and has been monitoring cardiac rhythm, HR, and BP. Lizzy notes…

Epiglottitis in adults

One week ago, a 46-year-old man developed a sore throat that’s progressively worsened despite supportive therapy, resulting in a visit to the ED. The…

Peritonsillar abscess

When William arrives in the ED, he tells Kara, a triage nurse, that he has right-sided throat pain with radiation to his right ear,…

Inpatient stroke

Nurses can use the BEFAST mnemonic (Balance—trouble walking, Eyes—trouble seeing, Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, Time to call 911), developed by Intermountain Healthcare,…

Spinal cord compression and cauda equina syndrome

Teaching patients about CES and SCC red flag symptoms (respiratory distress, loss of sensation, severe pain, sexual dysfunction, loss of bowel or bladder control)…

Boerhaave syndrome

James Thompson*, a 27-year-old man with no significant past medical history, received a diagnosis of viral gastroenteritis 2 days ago and has…

A post-TAVR emergency

Mr. James tells Lizzy, the PACU nurse, that he doesn’t feel well and might pass out. Lizzy knows that conduction disturbances after…

Epiglottitis in adults

One week ago, a 46-year-old man developed a sore throat that’s progressively worsened despite supportive therapy, resulting in a visit to the…

Peritonsillar abscess

When William arrives in the ED, he tells Kara, a triage nurse, that he has right-sided throat pain with radiation to his…

Webinars

View our complete library
Or check out our latest:

Workplace Violence: From Risk to Response

From Shortages to Solutions: Supporting Nurses and Strengthening Teams

Who handles the handling?

Gastrointestinal Whole-Patient Care

Collaboration in Patient-Centered Care Planning: Navigating Oncology

Education and Career Guide

Education can be the key to professional success. Whether you’re a new or experienced nurse, returning to school to get your BSN or another advanced degree can make the difference between thriving and stagnating in your career. Tap into the articles presented in this year’s education guide for tips and thoughtful advice on nursing education. The American Nurse Education and Career Guide, provides you with facts, figures, other nurses’ experiences, and tons of other resources to help you in your journey.

View Now

Continuing Education

Understanding and preventing diabetic foot complications

In patients with Type 1 diabetes, glycemic control can nearly halt the progression of neuropathy; however, in those with Type 2 diabetes, glycemic control can limit but doesn’t halt its progression. Feldman and colleagues highlight the importance of addressing the…

Nurse educator burnout

Burnout, a condition discussed frequently in relation to clinical beside nurses, also impacts nursing faculty. As defined by the American Nurses Association, burnout results from unmanaged, chronic workplace stress. In a survey of 3,556 nursing faculty by Zangaro, approximately 85%…

Ultrasound guidance and PIV insertion

Nurses frequently encounter challenges with peripheral I.V. (PIV) insertion, especially among adult patients with difficult I.V. access (DIVA), resulting in multiple unsuccessful skin punctures.…

Microbiome and depression

Patient education serves as an opportunity for nurses to share information about nutritional interventions that support a diverse gut microbiome aimed at improving overall…

NSAIDs: The difference between COX-1 and COX-2

Hessami and colleagues predicted an escalation in individuals using NSAIDs in 2025 due to the increase in an older population at risk for multiple…

Elevating the transition-to-practice experience

This new enterprise’s nurse residency program standardization efforts focused on creating an optimal transition-to-practice experience. The restructuring reflects the new system’s nursing vision and…

Understanding and preventing diabetic foot complications

In patients with Type 1 diabetes, glycemic control can nearly halt the progression of neuropathy; however, in those with Type 2 diabetes,…

Nurse educator burnout

Burnout, a condition discussed frequently in relation to clinical beside nurses, also impacts nursing faculty. As defined by the American Nurses Association,…

Ultrasound guidance and PIV insertion

Nurses frequently encounter challenges with peripheral I.V. (PIV) insertion, especially among adult patients with difficult I.V. access (DIVA), resulting in multiple unsuccessful…

Microbiome and depression

Patient education serves as an opportunity for nurses to share information about nutritional interventions that support a diverse gut microbiome aimed at…

Practice Matters

Evolving nursing practice

The American Nurse's Association (ANA) Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice has long served as one of the profession’s foundational documents defining the “what, why, how, who, where, and when” of nursing practice. The 5th edition reflects a deliberate and evidence-informed effort to ensure this document remains relevant, accessible, and actionable in current practice. Released in August 2026, it integrates both the evolution of healthcare and the collective voice of nurses across the country.

This article is available to American Nurses Association members and ANJ subscribers only.

Already a member? Log in here

Nurses shaping policy

In practice, nurses may encounter visitation rules that are unclear, inconsistently applied, or influenced by individual interpretation. This causes patients and families to receive…

Nurses leading AI

ANA-convened Think Tank defines a forward path. NO LONGER a future concept in healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI) actively shapes nursing practice today. Recognizing both…

Men’s health equity

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, male nurses comprise only about 13% of the nursing workforce, yet their presence creates meaningful…

Innovation accelerators

What would our global healthcare ecosystem look like if all nurses had access to innovation education, a collaborative innovation network, and mentors skilled in…

Youth vaping detection in primary care

The risks associated with smoking electronic cigarettes (vaping), particularly for adolescents, make it a critical issue for primary healthcare providers. Marketing portrays…

From pain to hope: Nursing care and sickle cell disease

Evelyn and colleagues studied nurses’ knowledge of pain mechanisms in sickle cell disease using an online e-learning module that covered pathophysiology and…

Oxytocin and well-being

Nursing is fundamentally relational. Beyond technical skills, nurses provide presence, touch, and emotional containment elements increasingly recognized as biologically powerful. A growing…

From the Ethics Inbox

Truth telling and patients with dementia

Is it ethical to “go along” with a patient who has dementia to prevent agitation? This article is available to American Nurses Association members and ANJ subscribers only. Already a member? Log in here

Behind the curtain

I occupy a leadership role that places me at the decision-making table for complex, often politically sensitive discussions. In this position, I’m exposed to perspectives and deliberative processes that can be uncomfortable, at times, revealing “how the sausage is made.”…

Social media influencers

How does the Code of Ethics for Nurses (Code) guide nursing professionals who want to post on social media about their experiences? This article…

Navigating digital privacy after death

A patient died unexpectedly. As I was gathering his belongings as part of post-mortem care, the family asked me to unlock his phone using…

Responding to refusals of basic care

I’m not sure how to respond when my patients decline basic tasks such as hygiene or dressing changes. I’m uncomfortable proceeding with this level…

Respectful care for gender-diverse patients

During a change-of-shift handoff, I informed the oncoming nurse that a transgender patient uses she/her pronouns. The nurse responded, “I don’t subscribe to this…

Truth telling and patients with dementia

Is it ethical to “go along” with a patient who has dementia to prevent agitation? This article is available to American Nurses…

Behind the curtain

I occupy a leadership role that places me at the decision-making table for complex, often politically sensitive discussions. In this position, I’m…

Social media influencers

How does the Code of Ethics for Nurses (Code) guide nursing professionals who want to post on social media about their experiences?…

Navigating digital privacy after death

A patient died unexpectedly. As I was gathering his belongings as part of post-mortem care, the family asked me to unlock his…

Perspectives

Occupational stress and traumatic exposures in nursing: Impacts and intervention

Health inequities need to GO: Increasing diversity in nursing

Parenting stress, work-family conflict, and sustainability in nursing

The language we weren’t taught

Occupational stress and traumatic exposures in nursing: Impacts and intervention

Nurses face significant stress throughout a standard work shift, much of it normalized as inherent to the nursing field and clinical practice.…

Health inequities need to GO: Increasing diversity in nursing

According to Cary and colleagues, the majority population will become a minority, with the minority increasing from 37% to 57% by 2060.…

Parenting stress, work-family conflict, and sustainability in nursing

Parenting can be stressful. For nurses, that stress may be overwhelming. Across the United States and the world, parents are reporting high…

The language we weren’t taught

The growing need for financial literacy in nursing to connect the bedside to the boardroom One of the most important leadership lessons…

Community

Video abstracts: A powerful dissemination tool

Transitions as literary signposts: Powerful guides for the reader’s journey

Classifying AI use in writing for publication

As with nearly all fields, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in writing is controversial and evolving. Part of the challenge is…

Strengthen health systems worldwide: Invest in nursing professional development

Healthcare workers are the bedrock of an effective healthcare system and nurses comprise nearly 60% of the global healthcare workforce. Despite this…

News

Nurse-led effort reduced unplanned extubations

Ebola Is Still Killing in Central Africa. These Groups Are Working To Save Lives

Nursing implications for new bladder cancer therapies

As noted by Lopez-Beltran and colleagues, bladder cancer management has undergone substantial transformation over the past decade, driven by advances in molecular…

Cyclosporiasis sickens some people worse – why your diarrhea could be more explosive than others

As you may have seen in news headlines or social media memes, there’s explosive diarrhea going around. Understanding how the immune system…

My Nurse Influencer

Sitting down with Rebecca M. Patton, DNP, RN, CNOR, FAAN

“What worries me is that I perceive that some people feel disconnected from professional associations. But what gives me hope is when I see younger and newer nurses engage with these associations and never walk away. I’m seeing more diverse…

AI is creating new value in healthcare. Nursing should help govern it.

The debate over billing codes for artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled clinical services has exposed a longstanding problem in healthcare payment: Nursing creates substantial clinical and economic value, but much of that value remains difficult to see in the way healthcare is…

The pillars for successful nurse-led innovation

Nurses have a unique set of strengths when it comes to innovation and spinning our ventures — but they also have a unique set of barriers.…

The fingerprints we leave behind

Nursing students often are taught about SDOH through lectures, readings, and case studies. While these approaches are important, they can only approximate the lived…

How nursing data powers AI in healthcare

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more integrated into healthcare, much of the conversation focuses on the technology itself. But behind every AI tool is…

Presence, prescience, and the power of nursing

Lately, nursing has had to defend its rightful status as a profession while simultaneously responding to the social upheavals reshaping healthcare and our collective…

Sitting down with Rebecca M. Patton, DNP, RN, CNOR, FAAN

“What worries me is that I perceive that some people feel disconnected from professional associations. But what gives me hope is when…

AI is creating new value in healthcare. Nursing should help govern it.

The debate over billing codes for artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled clinical services has exposed a longstanding problem in healthcare payment: Nursing creates substantial…

The pillars for successful nurse-led innovation

Nurses have a unique set of strengths when it comes to innovation and spinning our ventures — but they also have a unique set…

The fingerprints we leave behind

Nursing students often are taught about SDOH through lectures, readings, and case studies. While these approaches are important, they can only approximate…

Mental Health

Silence and Solace

“We think she’s gone,” he said. It was 6:20 p.m. I was walking down the hall on the med-surg unit, and turned…

Choosing the right conversation

It’s 7:10 A.M. Maggie, the night-shift charge nurse, is waiting to give report to Julie, the charge nurse on the next shift.…

Critical Care

Get Savvy to syncope

Syncope is a common occurrence and is commonly benign. But sometimes a swoon signals a serious underlying condition. Learn what causes syncope…

Anxiety attack or myocardial infarction?

The patient thinks she knows what’s causing her chest pain. Her nurse knows she must rule out myocardial infarction.

Pediatrics

A guide for adhesive removal: Principles, practice, and products

All nurses have struggled with removing pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs)—medical tape, plastic bandages, wound dressings—from fragile skin, next to healing wounds, or…

Take Note – April 2007

A monthly round-up of clinical, practice, and career news, updates, and alerts.

Cardiology

Teaching patients to tame their hypertension

This review of the six classes of antihypertensives tells you what you need to know and what you need to teach patients.

Children of obese mothers are at greater risk for early cardiovascular death

Children of obese and overweight women have a higher risk of early cardiovascular death as adults, according to a study in BMJ.…

American Nurse TV

May 2026 American Nurse Journal VOL. 21 NO. 5 preview

April 2026 American Nurse Journal VOL. 21 NO. 4 preview

March 2026 American Nurse Journal VOL. 21 NO. 3 preview

February 2026 American Nurse Journal VOL. 21 NO. 2 preview

January 2026 American Nurse Journal VOL. 21 NO. 1 preview

December 2025 American Nurse Journal VOL. 20 NO. 12 preview

November 2025 American Nurse Journal VOL. 20 NO. 11 preview

October 2025 American Nurse Journal VOL. 20 NO. 10 preview

September 2025 American Nurse Journal VOL. 20 NO. 9 preview

August 2025 American Nurse Journal VOL. 20 NO. 8 preview

June 2025 American Nurse Journal VOL. 20 NO. 6 preview

May 2025 American Nurse Journal VOL. 20 NO. 5 preview

HealthCom Media, the publishers of American Nurse Journal, the American Nurses Association and Al Roker Productions collaborated to bring a few shining examples of the exemplary work being done by nurses in today’s very challenging healthcare environment to the American public.

Watch Now

Webinars

About

Contact

Podcasts