Editor's Note New survey data indicate most nurses have experienced workplace violence within the past year, and the problem appears to be getting worse. Conducted by National Nurses United (NNU), the nation’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses, the nationwide survey gathered data from nearly 1,000 nurses working…

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Editor's Note Benefits to mood and sleep should be considered in preoperative consultations with patients with primary hyperparathyroidism, according to a study published February 12 in the journal Surgery. The researchers’ recommendation reportedly departs from the latest recommendations published according to the primary hyperparathyroidism surgical consensus, which exclude these neuropsychological…

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Editor's Note Palomar Health, a hospital system in Escondido, California, reports improvement in nurse retention after instituting $100,000 sign-on bonuses for new nurses and $100,000 retention bonuses to current staff paid over a three-year period.  Becker’s Hospital Review reported the news on January 17. The $100,000 bonuses were instituted in March…

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Editor's Note Nearly 100 house and senate staff attended a January 30 briefing on the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act, a bill under congressional consideration that aims to protect healthcare workers from assault or intimidation while on the job. In addition to criminalizing these acts, the bill…

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Editor's Note: Healthcare institutions urgently need intervention strategies to reduce disruptive behavior toward perioperative nurses, according to a report published in the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing on January 9. The recommendation follows a cross-sectional survey designed to “investigate the prevalence, characteristics, causes, consequences, and predictors of and responses to disruptive…

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Editor's Note:  Lack of quality vacation time explains part of the reason why so many physicians are experiencing burnout, according to a study published January 12 in Jama Network Open. Specifically, the study found that 7 out of 10 participating US physicians did at least some work on a typical…

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Editor's Note:  Initial testing of an AI-driven documentation tool showed great promise in reducing administrative burdens on primary care clinicians at Atrium Health, according to a January 9 report in Chief Healthcare Executive. The health system is reportedly the first to widely test the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) Copilot, which records…

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Editor's Note Healthcare systems are increasingly leveraging peer support programs to help reduce staff burnout and combat problems of loneliness and isolation. Examples cited in a January 4 report from Becker’s Hospital Review include: NYC Health + Hospitals has assigned each unit a “well-being buddy”–a volunteer who checks in on…

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Editor's Note Eight chronic conditions—arthritis, depression, diabetes, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and chronic kidney disease (CKD)—continue to expand nationwide along with premature deaths from drugs, firearms, and more, according America’s Health Rankings 2023 Annual Report. Presented by the United Health Foundation in partnership with…

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Editor’s Note Lending greater weight to patient opinions could help clinicians diagnose certain conditions, according to a study published in Rheumatology on December 18.  The study focused specifically on neuropsychiatric lupus, an autoimmune disease that is difficult to diagnose and includes symptoms such as headache, fatigue, and hallucinations that can…

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