'Once we hired the new grad after completing the program, the staff members were all impressed with 'their' accomplishment—that they were able to train a new grad to be so successful in the outpatient setting,' says Sharol Kidd, BSN, MBA-HL, RN, advanced practice registered nurse, DEU and residency program coordinator at SCCA.

If you're concerned about the loss of nursing's 'brain trust' as baby boomer RNs retire, then you'll want to read this week's feature story. When leaders at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance recognized that retirements of expert nurses could become an issue, they took a proactive approach to developing the next generation of RNs to fill their shoes. Learn more about their professional development program and their nurse residents' impressive retention rates.

Also, in this issue:

How to improve care for vision-impaired patients
Vegetables as medicine
A high-tech approach to forecasting the flu

Stop a Nursing Shortage Before It Starts

Recognizing experienced nurse retirements were inevitable, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance took a proactive approach to building specialty skills and knowledge among new graduates.

Urinary Catheter Not Needed for Joint Replacement Surgeries

A retroactive study found no differences in urinary complications between patients who used a Foley catheter and patients who did not.

Focus on 3 Areas When Caring for Vision-Impaired Hospital Patients

Measures designed for vision-impaired patients include focusing on discharge and medication management, patient safety, and special accommodations.

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Wake Up to the Facts About Nurse Fatigue - eBook

Find out how the Kronos solutions can help manage nurse fatigue, improving employee morale and retention and patient care.

Loyola Medicine's VeggieRX Gives Low-Income Patients Free Vegetables

The program hopes to address the widespread problem of food insecurity and 'food deserts' in some urban areas.

Machine Learning, Wearable Devices Give Shot in the Arm to Flu Forecasting

HHS grants a research award to California-based company to develop and test a new model that could contribute to more rapid and accurate flu surveillance.

Must Reads

High turnover, understaffing, low pay: nurses fight to unionize

The Guardian

DEA investigating UT Southwestern Medical Center after nurses' overdose deaths

The Dallas Morning News

Study: Nurses are at higher risk of suicide than most people

KPBS

Student care imperiled by budget cuts, nurses say. 'Somebody's going to get really hurt.'

KIRO

I hope you found this issue to be interesting and informative. I'm always open to hearing your thoughts, comments, and feedback. You can send them my way at jthew@healthleadersmedia.com or Tweet @jen_Nurse Editor.

Jennifer Thew, RN
Senior Editor, Nursing