This “Perspective” article explains that the shortages that were projected have not materialize; rather, there appears to be a surge.  Contributing factors include a combination of growing interest in nursing careers and the dynamic response of the educational sector has improved long-term workforce projections.  If demand for nurses continues to expand at historical rates through 20300, entry into nursing must continue to grow over the next 2 decades at a rate of 20% per decade in order to meet that demand.  A second uncertainty involves the uneven distribution of the workforce.    The per capita RN supply in the Western and Northeast regions of the US has fallen behind that in the rest of the country because these regions are home to a greater number of older RNs who are retiring..  A third undertainty is the lingering effect of the recession.  A final uncertainty concerns the demand for RNS.    The ACA (Affordable Care Act) may stimulate additional demand for RNs, with its increase in  nurse managed health centers and reform of the care delivery system.  Click here to read full article.

This is a new device used right here at AAMC…  This article, appearing in this week’s (April 25th) issue of the NEJM, states, “Patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease who have a partial response to proton-pump inhibitors often seek alternative therapy.  We evaluated the safety and effectiveness of a new magnetic device to augment the lower esophageal sphincter.”  The article concludes “In this single-group evaluation of 100 patients before and after sphincter augmentation with a magnetic device, exposure to esophageal acid decreased, reflux symptoms improved, and use of proton-pump inhibitors decreased.”  Click here to read full-text.

Dr. Eddie McDevitt and Joyce Miller, Medical Librarian, are going to team up once again to offer a Category 1 CME class on PubMed searching and tie it in with our own electronic databases.   Mark your calendars for Wed., August 28th at 6:00 pm. for a planned dinner meeting to hone your skills and to learn our new databases and what they have to offer.  In order to plan for the room, we need a very general headcount..so if you are interested, could you please send either a reply (below) or an email to :  jmiller@aahs.org    Thank you!

From the April 13th issue of Modern Healthcare,   “For nearly four decades, Maryland’s “all payer” system has set hospital prices for the state’s 53 hospitals.  The state regulates prices for every insurer, incuding Medicaid, Medicare and patients who pay their own bills.  The new proposal underscores a shift toward more aggressive attempts to curb the rise in healthcare costs ahead of an expansion of health insurance coverage next year under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  If approved by federal officials, Maryland would join Massachusetts as a state that seeks to tie health spending to growth in the state economy.”  Click here to read full-text.

“The guidelines are intended to provide practitioners with a standardized approach to the rational, safe, and efective use of antimicrobial agents for the prevention of surgical-site infections (SSIs) based on currently available clinical evidence and emerging issues.  (Surg Infections, Feb) Click here to read full-text.

“Low-dose CT screening has been associated with a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality in a large randomized controlled trial of a high-risk population.  Published guidelines for screening indicate a concensus that screening may be indicated for individuals who meet entry criteria for the National Lung Screening Trial, but some guidelines expand their recommendations for screening beyond these criteria.”  Click here to read full-text.