Exploring Innovations and Latest Advancements in Nursing & Health Care

Chip Device Heals Injuries In Seconds

Picture this – you suffer a car accident and your leg is broken. Within moments a small chip-like silicone device is placed on the broken leg – it reprograms the skin cells beneath and treats the injury – in a matter of seconds.

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Sounds like the stuff of science fiction, right? Nope. This is real-life, folks!

A new non-invasive technology – Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT) – has been developed by researchers at Ohio State University to reprogram and grow skin cells directly on the body. The device delivers genes to skin cells by passing a strong electrical current through the chip and transforming the cells.

In lab studies on mice, the tiny device has successfully reprogrammed and grown cells – healing injured parts of the body – from broken bones to brain damage.

This is the first time cells have been reprogrammed on a live body.

The torn arteries in a mouse’s broken leg were healed after touching TNT – it turned the skin cells into vascular cells – healing the leg completely within 3 weeks.

According to Chandan Sen, Director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine and Cell-Based Therapies, its ability to heal goes beyond skin injuries – when tested on a mouse suffering from brain damage due to stroke – the device successfully treated the brain cells.

Sen states, “we are proposing the use of skin as an agricultural land where you can essentially grow any cell of interest.” He has spent the past four years working on the technology and is in talks with Walter Reed National Medical Center to start testing on humans within the next year.

The tiny device is easy to use and weighs less than 100 grams. “This technology does not require a laboratory or hospital and can actually be executed in the field,” Sen said. While current cell therapies are high risk and use stem cells or viruses to change the function of cells- TNT has no known side effects and is much more efficient.

Currently, TNT can only be used on the skin – researchers continue to refine the device to heal other parts of the body.

The technology is pending FDA approval.

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Exclusive: Nurse line managers ‘lack time to support staff’

Most nurse line managers are struggling to find the time to provide meaningful support and advice to staff and are under increasing pressure as they try to juggle conflicting demands of their role, a survey by Nursing Times has revealed.

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NHS learning disability nursing workforce hits record low

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The number of learning disability nurses in the NHS has hit a record low, plummeting by more than 40% in less than a decade, new figures reveal.

The latest statistics show 3,192 learning disability nurses were working in hospital and community health services in England in June – the lowest since the NHS Digital records began in September 2009 when 5,553 were employed.

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Over the same period, there was a 23% drop in school nurses and 12% fall in mental health nurses. The number of health visitors in the NHS has fallen to 7,910 – the lowest since October 2012.

The data shows the midwife workforce has fallen steadily since November 2017, with 21,517 employed in June 2018. However, this represents a 13% rise since September 2009.

Bob Gates, a professor of learning disabilities in London, said he had warned the government of a learning disability #nursing crisis several years ago but “nothing constructive” was done to address it.

Professor Gates said: “The whole thing is being badly managed in my view and with a palpable lack of leadership, vision or direction.

He added: “It is a sad reflection on the NHS that they are not able to provide the senior leadership necessary to resolve this situation, and also a poor reflection of the value placed on one of the most marginalized groups in our society – especially when we know so much about the health inequity and inequality experienced in this population.”

There is a belief among some critics that the government’s removal of bursaries for nursing students has hit the fields mental health and learning disability the hardest.

In August, the Royal College of Nursing warned that the learning disability nurse crisis risked a return to the Victorian era, with more patients being sent away from their loved ones to institutions for care.

Reacting to the drop in mental health nurses, Sean Duggan, chief executive of the Mental Health Network, part of the NHS Confederation, said: “Better mental health care can only be delivered with the right number of staff with the right skills.

“We need to enable mental health providers to attract and retain the right colleagues to help put the nation’s mental health on the right track for the long haul.”

Mr Duggan called for greater utilisation of people with lived experience of mental health problems, digital tools and the voluntary and charitable sectors.

He said psychology graduates should also be “welcomed into our ranks with suitable roles identified”.

Fiona Smith, professional lead for children and young people’s nursing at the RCN, said the decline in school nurses was “leaving children without the care they need”, and called for greater investment in the profession.

She added: “Children’s health services are the front line defence against childhood obesity and poor child mental health.

“School #nurses provide vital support to young people and intervene before problems escalate,” she said. “But nurses report they are understaffed, unable to take breaks and feel the care they give is compromised.

“As public health funding continues to dwindle, the government risks turning back the clock on children’s health – it must provide school nurses with the investment they need,” said Ms Smith.

Cheryll Adams, executive director of the Institute of Health Visiting, said the organisation had warned about the decline in health visitors for two years.

She added: “The effects on a generation of children’s health and wellbeing will sadly be profound. It will get much worse without prompt action by the government, as health visitors are now frightened by the inevitable safety issues that have arisen and are choosing to leave their posts rather than become ill.”

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Empathy empowers nurses to care for patients, each other

Nurses experience a wide range of emotions when caring for patients.

One of the most important tools needed to manage those emotions is empathy, according to Kati Kleber, BSN, RN, CCRN, an accomplished #nurse, author, speaker and podcaster.

In the one-hour continuing education webinar, “Empathy 101 for Nurses: How to Care for Yourself While Emotionally Supporting Others,” Kleber explains the difference between empathy and sympathy, along with the power of having compassion for patients. The course is among our most popular learning activities with healthcare professionals.

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Kleber, who has worked as a neuro ICU and critical care nurse, shares her personal successes and failures with discovering empathy. She also shares important research on the topic.

In this Q&A, she explains how empathy and developing self-compassion have impacted her career.

Q: Is it easy for healthcare providers to confuse empathy and sympathy?

A: It is, especially in the moment, but I don’t think most do this intentionally. Our typical reaction is to keep some emotional distance because it takes time and investment to truly step into empathy with someone. In a practical sense, we may be very rushed and need to get to the next patient. We simply don’t have the time to go there, so it’s easier to default to feeling bad for someone rather than with them.

In an emotional sense, providing authentic empathy is very taxing, especially with the frequency and intensity our roles require. I found myself in many instances in which I couldn’t take that step to empathy because it would be too emotional for me. I still had to have my mind on very technical nursing tasks requiring my utmost focus.

Q: What makes empathy so powerful?

A: It’s powerful because it builds connection. People feel heard, supported, cared for and validated when someone is taking the time to truly walk through the steps of empathy with them.

Rarely, if ever, will the perfect words fix the painful situation in which our patients find themselves. We can’t take away the emotional pain with the perfect words, and to think that something we’d say will fix it is … well, unrealistic.

Rather than focus on fixing or making patients and their loved ones feel better, shifting that focus to just feeling with them can be significantly more meaningful.

This includes stopping to take in their unique perspective of the situation, genuinely suspending judgment, attempting to understand another’s feelings and then communicating that understanding. Our patients and their loved ones truly feel cared for when we stop trying to say the perfect thing and embrace simply being there and ensuring people feel heard, understood and validated.

Nurses are there for some of the most challenging days in an individual’s life, and we have a unique ability to provide this powerful support frequently. The caveat is that while it can be rewarding to be able to provide this authentic support to others, it can be difficult to continue to do so without taking specific, intentional steps to care for our own emotional well-being.

Q: Is compassion the same as empathy?

A: No, it is not. I like to explain the major difference like this: sympathy is feeling bad for someone, empathy is feel bad with someone, and compassion is the next step of feeling with someone by taking part in alleviating their suffering.

Only when we’ve been authentically empathetic do we know what compassionate act will best serve the individual. So while empathy can be provided while compassion is being practiced, they are not one in the same.

Q: What resources would you recommend to #nurses who want to understand empathy?

A: One of my favorite resources for empathy is Dr. Brene Brown. She has published quite a bit of research and authored many books on the subject. She is able to combine the science of the research with the art of caring, which is something nurses can relate to and appreciate.

Q: What is self-compassion, and why is it important for #nurses to practice it?

A: Self-compassion differs greatly from being compassionate for others. It is much more than being kind to ourselves, which is the assumption many make. It essentially consists of three elements:

Being kind to ourselves rather than being overly judgmental.

Recognizing that our challenges/experiences make us part of common humanity rather than isolate us from one another.

Approaching negative emotions in a mindful and balanced way rather than over-identifying with them.

Dr. Kristin Neff, along with others, has published extensive research on the impact on self-compassion, and there is quite a bit of research substantiating its positive effects on nurses in particular.

Nurses who practice authentic empathy are at much higher risk for burnout and compassion fatigue, which is not a surprise. However, #nurses who practice self-compassion are much less likely to burn out and suffer from compassion fatigue.

It’s a very interesting concept and shown to be somewhat of a protective measure for those of us whose every day at work entails experiencing the trauma of others.

To learn more about empathy in nursing, please visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/divya-baskaran-256337173/

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                                Study shows reduced opioid prescriptions after surgery  


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Reducing the number of leftover pain relievers from post-surgical prescriptions could help in the fight against opioid addiction and trafficking.

A new study details how surgeons at the University of Michigan discovered a “spillover” effect after the development of prescribing recommendations based on published medical evidence for gall bladder removal. As a result, the surgeons began prescribing about 10,000 fewer pills for major operations, according to the study published in an article in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

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Overprescribed opioids is a common occurrence after #surgery, resulting in leftover pills that could fall into the wrong hands, according to researchers. The study looked at reviews of 1,158 patient charts — 558 of which shows operations that occurred before the opioid recommendations were in effect, with 600 surgeries taking place more than 10 months after the new guidelines.

Researchers found that for sleeve #gastrectomy, the most extensive procedure, the average prescription post-surgery was 89 pills before the recommendations and 58 afterward. The number of pills prescribed for hernia repair went from 37 pills to 21 — a 43% reduction and 35 pills to 17 after an appendectomy — about a 50% reduction, according to the study.

Thyroidectomy/parathyroidectomy post-surgery prescriptions went from 16 pills to eight.

“We changed how many  opioids we dispense or prescribe to patients after laparoscopic cholecystectomy, which is performed for gall bladder removal,” said lead study author Michael Englesbe, MD, FACS, a transplant surgeon in the department of surgery at University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor. “As an unintended spillover consequence, the change had a significant impact on how we prescribe for other procedures.”

These particular surgeries were chosen because they are not traditionally performed to treat pain and patients are expected to recover relatively quickly, Englesbe said. They also are straightforward, elective procedures commonly done across the U.S., he said.

Seniors support opioid prescription limits.

A recent  AARP and University of Michigan survey found a majority of older adults support limits on opioid prescriptions. Three in four seniors support limits on the total number of days and pills that can be prescribed, according to the poll. Fewer than half of seniors support guidelines requiring the return of unused #medications.

“The fact that so many older adults report having leftover opioid pills is a big problem, given the risk of abuse and addiction with these medications,” Alison Bryant, senior vice president of research at AARP, said in a July 30 article on the AARP website. “Having unused opioids in the house, often stored in unlocked medicine cabinets, is a big risk to other family members, as well. These findings highlight the importance of improving older adults’ awareness and access to services that will help them safely dispose of unused opioid medications.”

Following the original recommendations for prescribing opioids post-gall bladder removal, the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative and Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network developed recommendations for 17 other procedures, including three types of hysterectomy, breast biopsy and mastectomy. View the full list of recommendations please visit https://nursingcongress.nursingconference.com/.