December 2017 Highlights

This Month in AJN –  December 2017 monthly highlights

December 2017

Editor-in-Chief Shawn Kennedy and Clinical Editor Betsy Todd present the highlights of the December issue of AJN. Our first CE, “Original Research: Does Certification in Vascular Access Matter? An Analysis of the PICC1 Survey,” explores whether and how certified and noncertified PICC inserters differ regarding their practices and views about PICC use. Our second CE, “Pressure Injuries Caused by Medical Devices and Other Objects: A Clinical Update,” provides a review of the etiology, identification, and prevention of pressure injuries caused by medical and other devices, plus highlights from the current National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel clinical guidelines. The authors of our next article, “Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone: Teaching Family Caregivers to Assist Safely with Mobility,” provide information nurses can use to educate family caregivers on mobility issues, including a tear sheet of key points and links to instructional videos. “Cultivating Quality: A Nurse-Led Ultrasound-Enhanced Vascular Access Preservation Program” explores how one institution reduced its catheter failure rate and use of nonessential peripherally inserted central catheters by initiating a practice change involving an ultrasound-guided insertion technique. In addition, there’s News, Reflections, Drug Watch, Art of Nursing, and more.