ASPMN 2019 Position Statement: Pain Assessment in the Patient Unable to Self-Report.

Managing pain in those vulnerable populations who are unable to self-report or communicate is challenging due to difficulty recognizing pain presence and severity. As no valid and reliable objective measure of pain exists, the ASPMN supports assessment practice recommendations that gather relevant information to infer presence of pain and evaluate response to intervention. Nurses and other healthcare professionals must be advocates for those who are unable to speak for themselves regarding their pain experience.

Pain Assessment in the Patient Unable to Self-Report: Clinical Practice Recommendations in Support of the ASPMN 2019 Position Statement.

Pain is a subjective experience, unfortunately, some patients cannot provide a self-report of pain verbally, in writing, or by other means. In patients who are unable to self-report pain, other strategies must be used to infer pain and evaluate interventions. In support of the ASPMN position statement "Pain Assessment in the Patient Unable to Self-Report", this paper provides clinical practice recommendations for five populations in which difficulty communicating pain often exists: neonates, toddlers and young children, persons with intellectual disabilities, critically ill/unconscious patients, older adults with advanced dementia, and patients at the end of life. Nurses are integral to ensuring assessment and treatment of these vulnerable populations.

From Brainstorming to Strategic Plan: The Framework for the Society for the Advancement of Disaster Nursing: A Work in Progress.

Professional health care societies play a critical role in promoting excellence in patient care, educating and certifying their members on evidence-based practices, and pursuing relevant research agendas to advance the science in the field. Disaster nursing is a subspecialty of professional nursing characterized by a unique knowledge base and set of skills and abilities not used in normal daily health care activities. A disaster or large-scale public health emergency creates a sudden, unanticipated surge of patients with health care needs that far exceeds the capacity of the health care system. This creates a significant burden and risk for the nurses participating in the response. Recognizing the critical need to define scope of practice and core standards for disaster nursing and to promote greater nursing leadership in disaster preparedness and response, a group of subject matter experts established a professional society to provide leadership and guidance. The strategic planning process as described by M. Kwestel et al was used as the overarching framework for describing the design, development, and implementation of the new society. Establishment of the Society for the Advancement of Disaster Nursing is a definitive step toward improving national nurse readiness in the United States.

American Society for Pain Management Nursing and Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association Position Statement: Pain Management at the End of Life.

Pain at the end of life continues to be of great concern as it may be unrecognized or untreated. Although nurses have an ethical obligation to reduce suffering, barriers remain regarding appropriate and adequate pain management at the end of life. This joint position statement from the American Society for Pain Management Nursing and Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association contains recommendations for nurses, prescribers, and institutions that would improve pain management for this vulnerable population.

WOCN Society Clinical Guideline: Management of the Adult Patient With a Fecal or Urinary Ostomy-An Executive Summary.

This article provides an executive summary of the recommendations from the Clinical Guideline: Management of the Adult Patient With a Fecal or Urinary Ostomy, published by the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN Society). It presents an overview of the process used to update and develop the guideline and lists specific recommendations from the guideline. We provide recommendations that include the following topics: stoma construction, preoperative education, stoma site marking, selection of an ostomy pouching system, postoperative education, postoperative management issues, follow-up care after discharge from the acute care setting, health-related quality of life, and stomal and peristomal complications. The intent of the guideline is to provide information that will assist healthcare providers to manage adult patients with ostomies, prevent or decrease complications, and improve patient outcomes. The full text of the published guideline, which includes available evidence supporting the recommendations and a complete reference list, is available in print and as a mobile application from the WOCN Society's online bookstore (http://www.wocn.org). Refer to Supplemental Digital Content 1 (available at: http://links.lww.com/JWOCN/A40) associated with this article for a complete reference list for the guideline.

Can the revised UK code direct practice?

The Nursing and Midwifery Council, the United Kingdom regulator of nursing and midwifery has recently revised its professional code of practice. This article begins by arguing that a professional code must be capable of sustaining close reading and of action guidance. Using four exemplar clauses, it is argued that the new revised code does not meet this purpose. First, I show that in setting out requirements for consent and documentation, the meaning of the relevant clause has changed significantly during the editing process so that a literal reading of the final document bears little relation to established professional practice. Second, I argue that the clause concerning the nature of professional relationships has also been altered during the editing process so that it is inconsistent with other professional groups and established accounts of the professional nurse-patient relationship. Third, I argue that the clause concerning disclosure of confidential information, which survived revision and editing with its meaning intact, is nevertheless factually incorrect and inconsistent with UK law and authoritative guidance. Finally, fourth, I argue that use of the word 'inappropriate' is inappropriate as it amounts to meaningless circularity, discussed in relation to a clause on expressing personal beliefs. Taken together, these examples demonstrate that the Code is seriously flawed and does not fulfil its purpose. One way that simple prescriptive clauses in the Code can be usefully understood is through the provision of detailed guidance. I argue that the Nursing and Midwifery Council has changed its position on its view of the value of guidance and has significantly reduced the amount of written guidance and advice it provides. The article concludes by arguing that in order to meet its action directing function, further clarifying revision and the provision of detailed guidance is required.

The Future of Neonatal Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Practice: White Paper.

In recent years, the National Association of Neonatal Nurses and the National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners have been monitoring aspects of neonatal advanced practice nursing and providing leadership and advocacy to address concerns related to workforce, education, competency, fatigue, safety, and scope of practice. This white paper discusses current barriers within neonatal advanced practice registered nurse practice as well as strategies to promote the longevity of the neonatal advanced practice registered nurse roles.

Development and Validation of the Role Profile of the Nurse Continence Specialist: A Project of the International Continence Society.

Although nurses have specialized in the management of incontinence, bladder, bowel, and pelvic floor dysfunction for more than 30 years, there is a lack of awareness and underutilization of their role. This article describes a 6-year project to define, characterize, and validate a role profile of the Nurse Continence Specialist. Data collection used a 2-phase, mixed-methods design. Phase 1 of the project resulted in a draft Nurse Continence Specialist role profile and Phase 2 led to validation of the draft profile. The result was a broad consensus about what constitutes the specific skill set for Nurse Continence Specialist specialization within nursing.

Envisioning the future in symptom science.

Symptom assessment and management continues to be a priority issue for nursing science and practice. However, as the complexity of symptom etiology and expression becomes clear, new approaches and technologies are needed to better address biology and context, common data sources need to be built and shared, and addressing the impact of empirical findings on health policy becomes essential. In this article, we provide a forum to reflect on the future direction of symptom science, with the goal of stimulating further dialogue and improving outcomes for patients and families around the world and for years to come.

Virtual day of the midwife: a global 'pyjama party'.

The Virtual International Day of the Midwife (VIDM) (www.vidm.org) is an annual online conference designed to break down traditional barriers to continuing professional development (CPD); provide online opportunities for international midwifery networking; and model open access communication and collaboration practices. Whilst the VIDM is designed to reach midwives all around the world, issues of access to the Internet, language and cultural differences prevent some midwives from attending, especially those who live in resource-poor countries. Nevertheless, the VIDM has successfully demonstrated how CPD can be delivered to midwives in a flexible and cost-effective way, as well as bring them together in a truly global open and collaborative environment.

American Association of Nurse Practitioners Research Agenda, 2023-2028.

ABSTRACT: This report highlights the 2023-2028 American Association of Nurse Practitioners Research Agenda (AANP-RA), which focuses on the research goals of AANP as an organization and is based on its mission and strategic plan. The purpose of the AANP Research Agenda is to outline research priorities that advance the AANP Strategic Plan and concurrently address gaps in nursing science. American Association of Nurse Practitioners supports research studies that are rigorously designed and conducted using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches, as well as implementation science with the potential to positively impact both NP practice and patient health outcomes. The AANP-RA strategy is guided by the PEARL acronym: examining NP Practice, Education, policy Advocacy, Research, and Leadership. A discussion of each area is presented along with suggested topics.

Legacy and Evolution: Future Directions for the Canadian Nurses Association.

Established in 1908, the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) has evolved through and survived many times of triumph and tumult over the decades (CNA 2024a). But few times have found CNA in a tougher position than it is in today as we juggle the need to provide strong and effective advocacy, stewardship of the profession, a wide range of member services and a constant effort to attract voluntary members. Sustaining CNA as the national and global voice of professional nursing in Canada needs decisive support from the nurses of Canada. In this commentary, the current and past chief executive officers reflect on CNA's legacy of success and call on nurse leaders to rally support for an exciting and effective national professional association.