By Cynthia Plonien, DNP, RN, CENP
Recently, I observed a pinning ceremony for RN to BSN graduates. It was an emotional event attended by graduates, families, and friends. The pride, the love, and the support from those significant to the new RN was not only seen, but also could be felt, as graduates were pinned with a badge of nursing by husbands, mothers, fathers, and children. The ceremony concluded with a reading of the Florence Nightingale Pledge. As the pledge was read, I could not help but think that it represented the professional practice of nursing, as well as the needs of humanity.

By Cynthia Plonien, DNP, RN, CENP
The threat of cyber-attack is a nightmare for nursing leaders in healthcare organizations. The danger surrounds us and the consequences are known, but eliminating the risk seems elusive and out of our control. Cyber-security tops stories "in the news."

December 17, 2015
Dear Action Coalition members and Campaign friends,

Thank you to those of you who spent several days last week to travel to Washington, D.C., to attend the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action Summit 2015. It was an invigorating meeting at which we began discussing the Institute of Medicine’s updated recommendations to accelerate progress, and infusing the Campaign with a vision by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to align our work with more stakeholders to help build a Culture of Health.

Jennifer Thew, RN, HealthLeaders Media
Making a personal connection with a patient doesn't take much time, technology, or investment, but it can pay off big when it comes to improving patient outcomes and satisfaction.

Jennifer Thew, RN, HealthLeaders Media
Vanderbilt's executive CNO describes how the medical center made patient-centered care an integral part of its organization's culture rather than just a buzzword.

Mary Rechtoris, Becker’s ASC Review
Behind every successful healthcare facility is a dedicated nursing leader who works directly with providers and patients alike to ensure the patient receives quality care. The top ASCs seek nurse leaders with various characteristics to meet the growing demands of their patient population.

Jennifer Thew, RN, HealthLeaders Media
After a change project centered on an electronic plan of care fell flat, Albany Medical Center's clinical informatics specialist took nurse end-users' feedback seriously and embarked on a mission to improve their perception of the plan of care.

Janice Petrella Lynch, MSN, RN, Nurse.com
The Institute of Medicine recently released a report on the progress achieved to date on the recommendations set forth by the IOM’s 2010 report The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. The Campaign for Action, a nursing initiative developed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and AARP, has worked with nurses nationwide since 2010 to advance the IOM recommendations.

Kelly Gooch, Becker’s Hospital Review
Jacob Kupietzky serves as president of HCT Executive Interim Management and Consulting, a national firm that provides tools, consulting services and interim leadership to hospitals and health systems.

Ilene MacDonald, FierceHealthcare
Once again the public rank nurses as the most ethical profession. For the past 14 years, consumers who participated in the annual Gallup poll voted nurses as the most honest of all professions in America.

Julie Bird, FierceHealthcare
Bedless hospitals. Mega hospital and insurer mergers. A growing consumer appetite for virtual health interactions.

Denise Grady, The New York Times
A new version of a screening test for ovarian cancer may reduce deaths from the disease, but it needs more study to determine whether the benefits hold up, researchers reported on Thursday.

Alexandra Wilson Pecci, HealthLeaders Media
A real-life look at the CDC's core elements of antimicrobial stewardship in practice at two leading institutions.

Tamara Rosin, Becker’s Hospital Review
Although the majority of patients, physicians and administrators do not think the U.S. healthcare system is on the right track, there is growing optimism about the future of healthcare among certain subgroups, such as younger physicians and administrators, according to a report from Booz Allen Hamilton and Ipsos Public Affairs.

February 4–5, 2016, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas
Join us in Dallas in February for the 2016’s not-to-miss event. The 2016 annual conference theme is: Preparing for 2020 and Beyond—The Evolving Role of Nurse Leaders.

March 30–April 2, Forth Worth, Texas
Thousands of nurse leaders will gather at AONE 2016 Inspiring Leaders March 30–April 2 at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

Jenny Deam, Chron
By the end of last week, more than 474,000 Texans had enrolled in a health plan through the Affordable Care Act's federal exchange, already topping the number enrolled last year by the Dec. 15 deadline for first-of-the-year coverage, according to statistics released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Leslie Small, Fierce Health Payer
In addition to expanding insurance coverage for millions of Americans, the Affordable Care Act also improved care affordability and access--though large gaps persist, particularly for low-income adults, a new study found.

John Grochowski, Nurse.com
With Texas Health Harris Hospital Fort Worth doing pioneering work in hip fractures and osteoporosis, Kindra McWilliam-Ross, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, Yvonne Allen, BSN, MS, RN, and Gina Alexander, BSN, RN, ONC, knew the work should be shared with fellow nurses.

Erin Marshall, Becker’s Hospital Review
In December 2014, Dallas-based University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center opened its William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital.

Julie Bird, FierceHealthcare
The Hospital at Home concept, in which patients who would be admitted from the emergency department are instead visited by doctors, nurses and therapists at their home, is less expensive than traditional inpatient treatment and achieves better outcomes.

Jim Landers, The Dallas Morning News
On a November afternoon six years ago, an extraordinary meeting took place at the Greater Dallas Chamber’s downtown offices. Health insurers, hospital executives, doctors and employers met to talk about how North Texas healthcare was a "burning platform."