9/28/01
ANA First Vice President Patricia Underwood, PhD, RN, joined Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson today as he announced a series of grants and contracts totaling more than $27.4 million to go toward nursing education.

HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration will award 94 grants totaling more than $20.1 million to 82 colleges, universities and other organizations to increase the number of nurses with bachelor and advanced degrees, help diversify the nurse workforce and prepare more nurses to serve in public health leadership roles. Another $7.3 million will go to repay educational loans of clinical care nurses who agree to work for two years in designated public or nonprofit health facilities facing a critical shortage of nurses. More information on the repayment program is available at: http://www.bphc.hrsa.gov/programs/NELRProgramInfo.HTM.

9/26/01
The newly released National Coalition for Adult Immunization's Resource Guide for Adult and Adolescent Immunization, is a non-exhaustive catalog of materials that address the broad issues of adult and adolescent immunization with emphasis on the ten major vaccine-preventable diseases of adults and adolescents: diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, influenza, measles, mumps, pneumococcal disease, rubella, tetanus and varicella.

Among the hundreds of resources listed are slides, videotapes and print materials such as brochures and pamphlets, newsletters, posters, reports, teaching materials and other promotional tools.

9/24/01
The nurses in New York City and the state continue to be so appreciative of the RN volunteers helping in the burn units, homeless shelters, and relief centers. They also appreciate the food that has been delivered to the emergency rooms as gifts of appreciation.

9/20/01
International nursing experts and government healthcare planners will join forces to tackle the global nursing workforce crisis at the International Sustainable Nursing Workforce, October 18-19, 2001 at the Carter Presidential Center, Atlanta, GA. Key participants include the World Health Organization; International Council of Nurses; the Lillian Carter Center for Nursing & Midwifery, government chief nursing officers, nursing leaders and healthcare planners from more than 50 nations. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Archbishop Desmund Tutu will take part in the program.

09/20/01
Regardless of the Certification exam you select... Announcing the new Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Review and Resource Manual & Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Review and Resource Manual. These review and resource manuals summarize essential clinical content required for entry into practice as a new pediatric or geriatric nurse practitioner. The manuals are designed primarily for students and more experienced NPs preparing to take the national certification examinations, but will also be valuable as a quick reference text throughout the first years of practice. The chapters use a standardized format and are organized by body systems to provide a comprehensive overview of clinical content. Each chapter ends with brief case studies and a series of test questions that the reader may use to evaluate knowledge and test taking ability. Many of the questions were originally part of the exam question pool that have been released for this use. The text is especially designed by clinical faculty and master teachers and includes the in-depth knowledge required for specialty practice as a PNP or GNP. The content is based upon a task analysis of what PNPs and GNPs actually are required to know and do. Contains both content and test questions all in one resource! 40 hours of continuing education available!

9/19/01
The American Cancer Society is pleased to invite applications for the following grants to support training, research, and career development in area of interest to nurses: Master's Degree Scholarships in Cancer Nursing, Doctoral Degree Scholarships in Cancer Nursing, Research Scholar Grants in Psychosocial and Behavioral Research for Beginning and Senior Investigators, Clinical Research Training Grants for Junior Faculty, and Postdoctoral Fellowships.

9/18/01

From New York Times by The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- Nurse Donna Pritchard, knowing seconds save lives, stepped on the gas pedal when the first World Trade Center tower tumbled and shook the road beneath her car.

Fighting tears, Pritchard rushed from the borough of Brooklyn toward her job as the head of the surgery team of nurses at a Manhattan hospital. More than 300 patients would pass through NYU Downtown Hospital that Tuesday, aided by people working a job that has lost its glamour with the young, creating a shortage of nurses nationwide.

The Brooklyn Bridge already closed, Pritchard raced to the nearby Manhattan Bridge, listening to the early radio reports and watching the other tower burn. Streams of paper and dust from the collapse of the first tower fell across her car. She maneuvered downtown past limping survivors in the streets, some helped along by others.

As she rounded City Hall Park, the second tower crumbled. A mushroom cloud of gray debris chased her the last few hundred feet to the hospital. "I couldn't see. I was covered in soot," she said. "My eyes were burning. As soon as I came in, they handed me water and a mask."

Her first patient was a man with a broken shoulder and cuts. The second was a woman struck by the landing gear of one of the planes that hit the towers. After multiple surgeries, the woman lived. "When you see the patients, their wounds, you feel so much compassion for the people," said Pritchard, who has worked at the hospital for 20 years.

One man, Pritchard said, made it alive through a complex surgery only to die later. There was no time for grief. "We did our best," she said. Another patient needed a pacemaker. With no telephones working to order the device, she ran onto the street and borrowed a cell phone from a passer-by. She got the pacemaker in time.

9/17/01
The Third OMNI Credentialing Conference - The Future of Credentialing - scheduled for September 22-24, 2001 has been cancelled. Due to the Nation's tragedy in New York and Washington, many of you have indicated that travel at this time will be difficult to assure to the National capitol region.

9/17/01
Speaking on behalf of nurses and the nursing profession worldwide, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has categorically condemned the horrific terrorist attacks inflicted on the United States this week.

"Nothing is gained by such shameful acts of violence. The consequences are only injury, death and destruction", stated ICN President Christine Hancock. "Nurses around the world share the grief of a nation and send expressions of support to the surviving victims and deepest sympathy to the families who have lost their loved ones, including those from countries other than the United States."

9/14/01
Thousands of Americans are responding to the September 11 terrorist attacks by donating blood. Lines stretched around Red Cross Square-hundreds of individuals waiting their turn in one of the 21 donor stations set up in the E Street Ballroom and the Board of Governors Hall. Keeping pace with the expanded blood-collection demands presents a challenge. More...

9/13/01
ANA appreciates the many messages of support and solidarity from nurses around the world. This is a very sad time in the United States. However, U.S. nurses are rallying in support of disaster relief efforts in New York and Washington, D.C. Across the U.S., individual and community efforts abound to assist families affected by these tragedies. People are lining up to donate blood and to provide grief support and donations. At the same time, we also struggle with how to deal with our anger and fear that such acts of terror invoke and an incredible sense of loss. As with many countries around the globe that are challenged by horrific events, the spirit of freedom, respect for humanity and a strong belief in democracy will carry us through.

Mary Foley, MS, RN
President
American Nurses Association

9/06/01
Two articles recently published in Consumer Reports and FDA Consumer Magazine offer an insightful look in the topic of vaccine safety.

The Consumer Reports article, "Vaccines: An Issue of Trust," presents a balanced perspective on the vaccine safety debate. The FDA Consumer Magazine article, "Understanding Vaccine Safety: Immunization Remains Our Best Defense Against Deadly Disease," gives an excellent summary of the federal government's efforts to ensure the safety of vaccines.

9/04/01
The ANA Congress on Nursing Practice & Economics (CNPE) is an organized, deliberative body which focuses on establishing nursing's approach to emerging trends within the socioeconomic, political and practice spheres of the health care industry by identifying issues and recommending policy alternatives to further the purposes of ANA. The Congress met Thursday, August 23, 2001 through Saturday, August 25, 2001 at ANA Headquarters in Washington, DC.