Nursing Articles

Trying to reconcile unspeakable horrors – as a mother and as a nurse

Austin American-Statesman, May 18, 2010

As a mom and a 30-year neonatal nurse, I’m tough. Or so I thought. I can deal with kids getting infections and being born prematurely, and I can help immensely with all that. And I can deal with and help with setbacks and recurrences. I never thought I’d be confronted with the scenario of a parent I once knew being charged with injury to a child.

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The uninsured can’t afford delay

Austin American-Statesman, March 3, 2010

I refuse to nail the coffin shut on health care reform.

I chose neonatal intensive care as my professional home because it’s the perfect world. It’s a wonderful mix of high technology and caring, and every infant needing intensive care has access because the care is universally covered by private or public insurance. I could never work in an area that people couldn’t access because of lack of insurance.

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Nurses win but still bear burdens of trial (Part 3)

Austin American-Statesman, February 15, 2010

You and I are a little bit safer today because a West Texas jury acquitted a nurse of felony charges filed after she reported a doctor’s suspicious conduct to the state medical board. Had the jury in Andrews found Anne Mitchell guilty, the message for nurses and other health care professionals would have been: “Report a doctor and risk losing your job and going to jail.”

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Are West Texas nurses criminals or health advocates? (Part 2)

Austin American-Statesman, February 1, 2010

Remember the two West Texas nurses who were not only fired from their jobs but also indicted on third-degree felony charges for doing what they thought was right?

To me, there appears to be so much wrong here — arrogance, vindictiveness, downright good-ol’-boy idiocy — that it’s hard to know where to begin.

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Vaccines are real science for real health threats

Austin American-Statesman, January 19, 2010

Vaccines represent the greatest success story in public health — the triumph of human achievement over disease. But as the incidence of infectious diseases has […]

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Taking on doubt over vaccinations against disease

Austin American-Statesman, November 30, 2009

On a recent Saturday, Rondah Kentch and I cared for eight premature babies in our neonatal intensive care bay. All of them were adorable, nearing discharge and had blank immunization consents on the fronts of their charts, waiting for signature.

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Retaliation against West Texas nurses is unacceptable (Part 1)

Austin American-Statesman, August 3, 2009

In a stunning display of good ol’ boy idiocy and abuse of prosecutorial discretion, two West Texas nurses have been fired from their jobs and indicted with a third-degree felony carrying potential penalties of two-to-ten years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of $10,000.

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CMS Reimbursement Changes Shine the Light on Patient Safety and Nursing Care

Texas Nursing Voice [Vol. 2, No. 4, p. 5], December 1, 2008

The hammer comes down this month. Beginning in October (the start of the federal 2009 fiscal year), Medicare will no longer reimburse hospitals at the […]

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AJN 2004 Career Guide — Nursing the trends: Nurses have more employment options than ever

American Journal of Nursing [2004 Career Guide, pp. 25-32], January 1, 2004

This solicited piece is a broad, comprehensive overview of the state of the nursing profession in the United States.

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One Step Forward, One Step Back: Physician supervision requirements are troublesome for CRNAs.

American Journal of Nursing [Vol. 103, No. 1, pp. 91-4], January 1, 2003

“It’s a wash,” says Sally Bass Witkowski, CRNA, BSR, when asked about the recent flip-flop Medicare rulings on physician supervision of certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) […]

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