June 2016

As nurses, we’re skilled at innovating. We have to be. The nature of our work means we often have to find new ways to help our patients. From new teach­ing methods to time-saving wound care tech­niques, every nurse has, at some point in his or her career, needed to think up something on the fly for the benefit of a patient.

The new generation of drugs that has emerged as part of antiemetic cocktails has demonstrated greater success in preventing and controlling chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), but the symptoms—particularly nausea—still present significant obstacles in anticancer therapy, and the ultimate goal of prevention in all patients has yet to be attained.

Although we as healthcare providers want to be cautious and not provide a sense of false hope, we can also acknowledge that for individuals who are deeply religious and spiritual, terminal illness that results in death may not be viewed as negative.

Healthcare practitioners know all too well how technology has transformed their workplace. These changes can be a bane or a blessing—sometimes both—as many nurses and other clinicians will attest.

Can I land my helicopter on top of the hospital? Can the doctor see my daughter before the clinic is open so she doesn’t miss too much work?

Patients who are anxious and fearful as they embark on a course of radiotherapy to treat their cancer may find relief from those symptoms through relaxation techniques.

My dad remembers the days when he saw his doctor’s face during a visit. Now, he says, he sees his doctor’s back as his doctor taps on the keyboard of his electronic health record (EHR).