The AJN Podcast

Young adult burn survivors who were burned before they reached young adulthood face particular challenges in meeting their needs for socialization. AJN editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy speaks with author Marie S. Giordano about a qualitative study she conducted to explore young adult burn survivors’ use of social media as a way to find social support, express their identity while safeguarding their privacy, and further their healing.

The overall incidence of head and neck cancer has declined in the United States over the past 30 years due to reduction in tobacco use. Over that same period, however, the worldwide incidence of oropharyngeal cancer has escalated significantly—an epidemic rise that is largely attributed to certain genotypes of the human papillomavirus (HPV). AJN’s editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy speaks with lead author Janet McKiernan about her article, which provides an overview of head and neck cancer—its incidence, risk factors, treatment, and posttreatment sequelae—with a focus on HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer.

Editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy and Clinical Editor Betsy Todd present the highlights of the July issue of the American Journal of Nursing. On this month’s cover is Moonrise Over the Sandias (2015) by Charles Kaiman, a painter and a psychiatric nurse at the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Albuquerque. Our first CE, “Appropriate Use of Opioids in Managing Chronic Pain,” discusses current best practices for prescribing opioids for chronic pain, emphasizing patient assessment and essential patient teaching points regarding safe medication use, storage, and disposal. In our second CE, “Moral Distress: A Catalyst in Building Moral Resilience,” the authors outline the concept and prevalence of moral distress, describe its impact and precipitating factors, and discuss promising practices and interventions. Our next article, “Diabetes Under Control: Prediabetes: What Nurses Need to Know,” provides an overview of prediabetes criteria and reviews the evidence showing that interventions targeting modifiable risk factors—such as diet and physical activity level—can prevent or delay progression to type 2 diabetes. In “Teaching for Practice: Strategies for Successful Clinical Teaching,” the authors offer strategies for clinical teaching with an emphasis on the importance of creating a positive learning environment. In addition, there’s News, Reflections, Drug Watch, Art of Nursing, and more.

Moral distress is a pervasive problem in the nursing profession. An inability to act in alignment with one’s moral values is detrimental not only to the nurse’s well-being but also to patient care and clinical practice as a whole. AJN editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy speaks with Cynda Hylton Rushton, who wrote about the concept and prevalence of moral distress in nursing, and how it can lead to moral resilience.

Over the past two decades, the use of opioids to manage chronic pain has increased substantially. Within this same period, unintentional death related to prescription opioids has been identified as a public health crisis, owing in part to such factors as insufficient professional training and medication overprescription, misuse, and diversion. AJN’s editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy speaks with Risa Denenberg and Carol P. Curtiss about their article, which offers an overview of current best practices for prescribing opioids for chronic pain.

In the rural setting, women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) face unique challenges. AJN’s editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy with Karen Roush about a study she conducted to analyze the perceptions of rural health care providers regarding IPV prevalence, how comfortable they feel asking about emotional and physical abuse, and whether they feel able to help those women who disclose it.

AJN’s editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy speaks to author Amanda Anderson about the initial installment of her new column for recent graduates, “Transition to Practice,” in which she shares preparation tips for the first day on the job.

AJN’s editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy speaks to Marianne Matzo, author of “Perspectives on Palliative Nursing: Palliative Chemotherapy,” and Sally Welsh, CEO of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, about the use of chemotherapy in patients with end-stage cancer.

Editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy and Clinical Editor Betsy Todd present the highlights of the June issue of the American Journal of Nursing. This month’s cover photo evokes the isolation faced by victims of intimate partner violence. Our first CE, “Original Research: Intimate Partner Violence: The Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors of Rural Health Care Providers,” analyzes the perceptions of rural health care providers regarding intimate partner violence prevalence, how comfortable they feel asking about emotional and physical abuse, and whether they feel able to help those women who disclose it. In our second CE, “Late and Long-Term Sequelae of Breast Cancer Treatment,” the authors provide an overview of the potentially debilitating physical problems that many breast cancer survivors experience after treatment, and address assessment and management strategies. Our next article, “Perspectives on Palliative Nursing: Palliative Chemotherapy,” addresses the use of chemotherapy in patients with end-stage cancer, and explores the nurse’s role in discussing palliative options with patients. In “Transition to Practice: A New Nurse’s First Days at the Bedside,” the author shares preparation tips for new nurses the first day on the job. “Special Feature: Nurses in the Civil Rights Movement” highlights the experiences of five nurses and one nursing student who fought for racial equality in the 1960s. In addition, there’s News, Reflections, Drug Watch, Art of Nursing, and more.