The New Mexico Nurse, the official publication of the NMNA
for the nursing community of New Mexico.
I never would have thought it would be like this. I cannot believe this. These were some of the thoughts that raced through my pounding head at one in the morning.
Signed into federal law in 1982, the genesis of National Nurses Day began here in New Mexico. Yes, that is right, it was NM nurses’ voices!
The shortage of healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, in New Mexico is a pressing issue that demands urgent attention. The scarcity has reached critical levels, as highlighted in the New Mexico Health Care Workforce Committee Report, 2023 which revealed shortages totaling 6,124 nurses, 1,796 emergency medical technicians, 526 physical therapists, and 482 pharmacists in the state in 2021.
In previous writings, it has been discussed how human influences are accelerating changes to our climate, causing it to break down (vs. “normal changes”), and has become one of the most pressing public health challenges of our time, and these impacts are only expected to worsen in the coming years.
NMNAINA’s Mission statement is to support, honor, respect, and preserve indigenous cultural beliefs and traditional practices in harmony with nature and the four directions. As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, we attain this through supporting professional nurses and student nurses through information, advocacy, mentorship, and education, as they care for indigenous people.
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 this hesitancy.
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.
