Industry Trends
AANN Announces New MS Guideline
The clinical practice guideline Nursing Management of the Patient with Multiple Sclerosis is a collaborative effort between AANN, the Association of Rehabilitation Nursing (ARN), and the International Organization of Multiple Sclerosis Nurses (IOMSN), which reflects the combined effort of experts in the field of nursing care for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The contributors to this effort included nurses with many years of clinical expertise 
and experience in direct and focused care of patients with MS from comprehensive MS centers across the country, nurses who care for patients with MS participating in clinical trials of new medications and other treatments, and those who care for patients in rehabilitation settings. These contributors include advanced practice nurses, nurse researchers, nurse educators, and nurses who care for patients at the bedside. The guidelines bring together the best thinking and experience of these nurses to ensure high-quality, evidence-based practice and nursing care for people with disabilities regardless of their setting. The guidelines have been developed for nurses who do not care for a large number of patients with MS on a daily basis but still need the latest information about problems encountered by such patients regardless of setting.
As chairs of this effort, our goal was to provide cutting-edge information about the epidemiology of MS, the underlying pathology and genetics of MS, the diagnostic process that patients undergo, the classifications of MS, medical management and symptom management that are so critical to the well-being and quality of life of patients with MS, the impact of MS on patients and their family, and the critical teaching and education that are essential for patients and their families to be full partners in the management of MS. Figures and tables are included to complement the text and to foster understanding about MS among the readers.
The guideline was developed for use by nurses across the spectrum of MS care. It is our hope and our expectation that readers will find the guideline information useful in providing quality care to patients and families affected by MS.
Amy Perrin Ross, MSN APN MSCN CNRN Suzanne C. Smeltzer, EdD RN MSCN FAAN
Call for Consistent Level of Care on Weekends
In a June 28 article for Kaiser Health News, President of Health Quality Advisors LLC Michael L. Millenson describes the pursuit of two men who are advocating for what Millenson calls "The Most Commonsensical and Hopeless Health Reform Idea Ever." Michael Long and Sandeep Green Vaswami, both affiliated with the Institute for Healthcare Optimization, argue that the same level of professional staffing and patient care should be found in hospitals on weekends just as on any day of the work week. Long and Vaswami vocalize their concerns on their Health Affairs blog, including overwhelming admissions midweek and increased risk "because critical diagnostic or therapeutic modalities are not available." The arguments against the current peak-and-valley scheduling method "compromises hospitals make to keep medical staff happy" bring into light who hospitals truly serve.
Surgery Cancellation Rates Reduce with Nurse Calls
According to a recent study, calls from nurses to patients 3 days prior to a scheduled surgery decreased the daily cancellation rate by 53% at a North Carolina ambulatory surgery center, and increased patient satisfaction scores and operating room use. Using a script, nurses addressed the three main reasons behind cancellations: no-shows, consumption of solid food within 8 hours prior to surgery, and lack of accompaniment by a responsible adult who could receive discharge instructions and provide transportation. Data were collected over a 2-year period, and the findings were published in the July issue of the AORN Journal and covered in HealthDay News.
Brain Attack Coalition Releases Updated Stroke Center Recommendations
On August 25, the Brain Attack Coalition (BAC)—a group representing medical, scientific, nonprofit, and government leaders in the field of stroke—released updates to its recommendations from 2000 for Primary Stroke Centers, which include revised recommendations regarding imaging modalities. The recommendations, published in the September issue of Stroke, include the option of using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain in lieu of computer tomography (CT) if it can be performed within 25 minutes of being ordered, the current time standard for CT. The BAC also recommends heart imaging, because strokes are often caused by blood clots from the heart and two new techniques for imaging the blood vessels in and around the brain that may cause a stroke.
Hospital Staff Encourage Hand Washing in Music Video
Workers at the Paradise Valley Hospital in National City, CA, appeared in a music video to remind doctors and nurses to wash their hands. "Being clean is fabulous" according to one line in the unique version of the Black Eyed Peas song "Pump It." The video was created for the infection prevention film festival at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology 2011 meeting. To view the video, visit the article on UPI.com.