Thank you for visiting! Below are recent articles from Kansas Nurse, the official members-only publication of the KSNA.
To learn more about KSNA visit www.ksnurses.com.
Historically, vaccination rates among college students, specifically for human papillomavirus and seasonal influenza, have run low. The same trend has occurred with COVID-19 vaccination. To address this issue, a team of nurses at a large public research university undertook a project to better understand vaccine hesitancy among college students and help nurses and providers tackle it.
A 19-year-old college student arrives at the campus student health clinic after feeling faint while out for his routine run. He tells the health clinic RN that during the run he had difficulty breathing and felt dizzy. The student tells the RN that over the previous 2 weeks he’s experienced increasing fatigue, persistent headaches, mild shortness of breath on exertion, occasional palpitations, and joint pain. He also reports that 6 weeks earlier, when camping in a heavily wooded area, he received a tick bite.
The growth of human trafficking increases the odds that you’ll encounter a patient who’s a victim. We can’t afford to miss any opportunity to provide aid to this vulnerable population. The average life span of a victim of trafficking is only 5 to 7 years. According to the U.S. Department of State, victims of trafficking frequently suffer serious physical abuse and neglect, experience drug overdoses, die by suicide, or are murdered. Your rapid assessment of the situation and immediate interventions can save a life.
Research shows that 7,000 to 9,000 people die annually in the United States secondary to a medication error at a cost of over $40 billion a year. Improving healthcare outcomes requires mitigation of medication error risk. Learn how a pediatric health system addressed this need for mitigation by successfully implementing the Institute for Safe Medication Practices recommendation for a five-character override when removing medication from an automated dispensing cabinet.
