James E. Mattson

Which reminds me of an embarrassing experience I had many years ago, while in graduate school. I had developed a practice—long since abandoned—of stopping by a Winchell’s donut shop on my way to class. One morning, after making my purchase, I noticed a man, unkempt and perhaps under the influence of drugs, rummaging for castaway food in a trash bin. Offering him my breakfast, I intended to say, “Hope you enjoy it!” I was surprised, therefore, to hear the words, “Hope you appreciate it!” come out of my mouth. Out of the heart, the mouth speaketh? I was grateful he didn’t seem to notice.

Well, I really hope you do enjoy this content and, if you appreciate it and find it helpful, well, that’s OK, too!

Hospital of horrors
When I read a manuscript on missed nursing care that I received from Beatrice Kalisch, PhD, RN, FAAN, Titus Distinguished Professor and chair of Division III at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, I immediately thought of the 1986 movie “Little Shop of Horrors.” While traveling, Kalisch found herself in a U.S. hospital, alone and far from home, for seven horrific days and nights, and lived to tell about it. The only redeeming aspect of the whole experience was that it corroborated research she was doing on missed nursing care. Reader comments are already coming in. Writes one: “This has got to be one of the saddest stories of a modern hospital admission I’ve ever read! None of this should have happened to you. Possibly the only thing you did ‘wrong’ was not throwing a nutty early in your stay.” Read Part One and weep, but remember, there’s hope in Part Two.

Thanks, Erin!
Erin Ziel Pesut, daughter of Past President Daniel J. Pesut, recently served an editorial internship in the publications department at the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. A creative writing major at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina, Erin graduates in December. Although her time at headquarters went by quickly, I was impressed by the quantity and quality of her work. Two articles she wrote for Reflections on Nursing Leadership are now posted: “A range of voices: Advising future nurses” and “Lianne Jeffs: A Canadian rising star.” 

Disease management not the only way to manage disease
In early July, I interviewed Mary Norton, RN, EdD, for an article posted recently in RNL. Norton is chair of the 63rd Annual United Nations Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organization (DPI/NGO) Conference, which convenes in Melbourne, Australia, on 30 August. The theme of the three-day gathering is “Advance Global Health: Achieve the MDGs.” You’d think the way to advance global health would be to concentrate on the three Millennium Development Goals that relate directly to health: No. 4 (reduce child mortality), No. 5 (improve maternal health) and No. 6 (combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases). Norton sees it differently. She says, “We are going to focus on all the social determinants of health—not the management of disease—trying to educate people that everything we do has a health implication to it.” It’s a lesson Bill Gates has learned in his foundation’s fight against polio: Disease doesn’t go away until conditions that contribute to disease—impure water, for example—improve.

More to come on civility
Cynthia Clark recently concluded her five-part series on fostering civility. If you haven’t read all the articles in the series, the most recent ones are still available under Features, and the rest can be accessed by going to the Etceteras tab on the home page and clicking on Archives. Or, do a search on “Cynthia Clark.” Great content! You’ll be hearing more from Clark, by the way. She’ll soon be inaugurating a blog for RNL, titled “Musing of the great blue.” Watch for her blog to learn more.

A week after interviewing Mary Norton, I eavesdropped on a phone conversation between President Karen Morin, Cynthia Clark, Kathy Heinrich and Susan Luparell. In fact, I recorded it—with their permission, of course—and will soon post their discussion in Q&A format. In September, Clark, Heinrich and Luparell will be conducting an STTI-hosted webinar titled “Cultivating a Culture of Civility: Essential Strategies for Nurse Educators.”

235 and rising
New content is posted virtually every day in RNL. To make sure you get the latest information, consider joining 235 other members—up from 133 in March—who have signed up for RSS feed or e-mail notification. I’d like to see that number double—better yet, hit a thousand—by the end of the year. I hope you’re one of them.

If you aren’t currently registered with one of the many Web-based news readers, it’s simple. That’s what RSS means—Really Simple Syndication—and it’s really cheap, as in free!

Once you’ve registered with a reader service, you’re set to receive all kinds of information, but only what you ask for. If you’re a political junkie, news junkie, cooking junkie or whatever, this is the way to feed your habit. Just go to Stay Connected in the upper right-hand corner of the home page and click on “Subscribe to RNL in a reader.” You’ll be automatically directed to a page titled “Nursing Society RNL” and a list of readers. Pick one, register and you’re in.

If you prefer e-mail notification, click on the last part of that sentence—“via e-mail.” Provide your e-mail address and—voila!—you’re done. Either way—RSS feed or e-mail notification, both if you want—you’ll get RNL delivered to your virtual doorstep virtually every day. RNL