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Have you signed up to receive Sharing Nursing’s Knowledge? The monthly Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) e-newsletter will keep you up to date on the work of RWJF’s nursing programs, and the latest news, research, and trends relating to academic progression, leadership, and other critically important nursing issues.  These are some of the stories in the April issue:

More Nurses Climbing Education Ladder
Over the last century, nursing education has shifted from hospital-based diploma programs to colleges and universities, which offer associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in research and practice. Today, enrollment in higher degree nursing programs is on the rise, according to a 2012 survey by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Read about RWJF scholars who are continuing their education, and what the Institute of Medicine says about a more highly educated nursing workforce.

In Indiana, Physicians and Nurses Work Together to Transform Nursing
In the Indiana Action Coalition, the partnership between physicians and nurses runs deep. “Nursing can’t change health care alone,” co-lead Kimberly Harper says, and many doctors, pharmacists, and other professionals she works with agree—and are championing the effort to advance nursing because they believe it will ultimately benefit patients. Improving interprofessional education and collaboration is a top priority for the group.

RWJF Scholar Pioneers Innovative Program to Help Low-Income Elderly Age at Home
Sarah Szanton, PhD, CRNP, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and an RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar, has developed a program that sends teams of nurses, occupational therapists, and “handymen” to the homes of low-income, frail elderly participants for 16 weeks. After an assessment of all functional areas, the participant decides on functional goals, such as taking a bath or walking to church, as opposed to medical ones, such as reducing blood sugar or blood pressure levels. The program is having extraordinary success, helping seniors age in place and saving taxpayers money.

See the entire April issue here. Sign up to receive Sharing Nursing’s Knowledge here.

Want to stay on top of the latest news from RWJF? Check out all the ways you can get the latest news delivered to you:

• Sign up for Content Alerts, newsletters, and funding alerts
• Follow us on Twitter
• Visit the Human Capital homepage to check out the latest stories and news
• Subscribe to the Human Capital RSS Feed
• Read the Sharing Nursing’s Knowledge e-newsletter
• Stay up to date on the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action
• Sign up to receive Charting Nursing’s Future policy briefs

It’s made of glass, and it glows and changes colors—but it’s not a crystal ball. It’s an “orb” and it’s poised to revolutionize the way providers assess and treat pain in premature infants.

Martin Schiavenato, PhD, RN, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Nurse Faculty Scholar, has invented a revolutionary tool to assess pain in premature infants and potentially protect them from its negative developmental effects.

The glass orb translates behavioral and physiological signs of pain in infants—such as body gestures and physiological signals like heart rate metrics—into a “real time” visual display of pain levels. It changes color depending on the subject’s pain levels, giving clinicians readouts on infant pain.

Learn more about how it works.

Have you signed up to receive Sharing Nursing’s Knowledge? The monthly Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) e-newsletter will keep you up to date on the work of RWJF’s nursing programs, and the latest news, research and trends relating to academic progression, leadership, and other critically important nursing issues.  These are some of the stories in the March issue:

RWJF Announces Initiative to Support State Efforts to Transform Health Care through Nursing
RWJF has announced a new $3 million initiative to help states prepare the nursing profession to address our nation’s most pressing health care challenges—access, quality, and cost. The Future of Nursing State Implementation Program will bolster efforts already underway in 50 states and the District of Columbia—the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action—to transform health care through nursing and meet the challenges stemming from an aging and more diverse population. The initiative is providing two-year grants of up to $150,000 to 20 state-based Action Coalitions.

Nation’s Nurse Leaders Convene in D.C.
Nurses and health leaders from across the country assembled in the nation’s capital in early March to advance a national campaign to transform the nursing profession in order to improve health and health care. Hundreds of participants from state Action Coalitions shared ideas and developed plans to move their collective agenda forward at the Campaign for Action National Summit. The summit was designed to help Action Coalition leaders and supporters identify their own priorities and understand those of other Action Coalitions, develop strategic plans to actualize those priorities, come up with new ways to increase their impact, and align state-level work with the national agenda.

Want to stay on top of the latest news from RWJF? Check out all the ways you can get the latest news delivered to you:

• Sign up for Content Alerts, newsletters, and funding alerts
• Follow us on Twitter
• Visit the Human Capital homepage to check out the latest stories and news
• Subscribe to the Human Capital RSS Feed
• Read the Sharing Nursing’s Knowledge e-newsletter
• Stay up to date on the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action
• Sign up to receive Charting Nursing’s Future policy briefs

Have you signed up to receive Sharing Nursing’s Knowledge? The monthly Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) e-newsletter will keep you up to date on the work of RWJF’s nursing programs, and the latest news, research and trends relating to academic progression, leadership, and other critically important nursing issues.  These are some of the stories in the February issue:

RWJF Scholars Work to Strengthen Rural Nursing
Remote communities like Crawford, Colo. and Chokio, Minn. now have improved access to local health care, thanks to programs that are offering distance education and other innovative ways to educate nurses. Suzan Ulrich, DrPH, CNM, FACNM, associate dean of midwifery and women’s health at Frontier Nursing University and an RWJF Executive Nurse Fellow, is just one of the RWJF scholars working to increase access to high quality nursing care in underserved and hard-to-reach rural areas. Several Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future programs—from Alaska to Wyoming to North Carolina—also are focused on improving care in rural communities.

RWJF Nurse Scientist Discovers New Health Benefits of Tai Chi
During her 15 years studying and practicing nursing in Hong Kong, Ruth E. Taylor-Piliae, PhD, RN, FAHA, learned firsthand about the health benefits of Tai Chi, a Chinese martial art involving slow physical movements, extended concentration, and relaxed breathing. A cardiovascular nurse scientist and RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar, Taylor-Piliae was well aware of the health benefits of Tai Chi and wondered if the practice carried similar benefits for stroke survivors, a population she studies in her research. She conducted a study on the effects of Tai Chi in adult stroke survivors, often prone to losing their balance, and found that the practice may reduce falls.

Want to stay on top of the latest news from RWJF? Check out all the ways you can get the latest news delivered to you:

• Sign up for Content Alerts, newsletters, and funding alerts
• Follow us on Twitter
• Visit the Human Capital homepage to check out the latest stories and news
• Subscribe to the Human Capital RSS Feed
• Read the Sharing Nursing’s Knowledge e-newsletter
• Stay up to date on the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action
• Sign up to receive Charting Nursing’s Future policy briefs

For more than four decades, the grantmaking of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has advanced the nursing profession, supporting nurses in their efforts to improve care and strengthening nurses’ role in shaping the future of the nation’s health care system. The latest issue of Charting Nursing’s Future, RWJF’s periodic series of issue briefs, tracks the Foundation’s growing commitment to nursing.

The brief examines RWJF’s impact in five distinct areas:

• Expanding roles for nurses;
• Building educational capacity;
• Demonstrating nurses' contributions to quality and safety;
• Creating leaders for the 21st century; and
• Bridging gaps in research and data.

Among the two dozen past and present programs highlighted in the brief:

• Expanding roles. In the mid-1970s, RWJF played a critical role in the emergence and acceptance of nurse practitioners (NPs), supporting demonstration projects in rural areas of California, Alabama, Tennessee and New England. Subsequently, RWJF’s Nurse Faculty Fellowship Program helped create an intellectual home for primary care nursing, leading to the creation of master’s degree NP programs across the nation.

Have you signed up to receive Sharing Nursing’s Knowledge? The monthly Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) e-newsletter will keep you up to date on the work of RWJF’s nursing programs, and the latest news, research and trends relating to academic progression, leadership and other critically important nursing issues.  These are some of the stories in the January issue:

Mentoring: A Boon to Nurses, the Nursing Profession, and Patients, Too
The 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on the future of nursing found that mentoring is a good way to strengthen the nursing workforce and, in turn, improve the quality of care and patient outcomes. Mentoring helps nurses develop into the kind of leaders who can play a larger part in the development, design and delivery of health care. They also help with practical advice; see how mentors helped one struggling young nurse meet the challenges of balancing work and family.

RWJF Scholar Triumphs Over Chronic Pain and Brings Lessons to the Nursing Profession
After living with chronic––but preventable––pain for nearly a decade, RWJF New Careers in Nursing (NCIN) scholar John Pederzolli, RN, BS, finally found relief. Pederzolli’s struggle inspired him to become a nurse, which he was able to do because he received a New Careers in Nursing scholarship. Now a newly minted nurse in Ohio, Pederzolli says one good thing came out of his experience: an appreciation for listening—a skill that has already come in handy in his new career.