Using algorithmic practice maps to teach emergency preparedness skills to nurses.

In 2004, The George Washington University received funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop a web-based emergency preparedness course for nurses.

Performance-based payment incentives increase burden and blame for hospital nurses.

We interviewed hospital leaders and unit nurses in twenty-five hospitals between June and October 2008 to explore the effect of performance-based incentives. Interviewees expressed favorable impressions of the impact that incentive policies have on quality and safety. However, they raised concerns about the policies' effects on the nurse workforce.

The current state of nursing performance measurement, public reporting, and value-based purchasing.

Over the last decade, there has been a substantial investment in holding health care providers accountable for the quality of care provided in hospitals and other settings of care. This investment has been realized through the proliferation of national policies that address performance measurement, public reporting, and value-based purchasing. Although nurses represent the largest segment of the health care workforce and despite their acknowledged role in patient safety and health care outcomes, they have been largely absent from policy setting in these areas.

Smoking among female college students: a time for change.

The transition from high school to college begins a time of personal growth accompanied by normal developmental stressors. Some young women use smoking as a coping mechanism. The immediate danger for these students is nicotine dependence, with subsequent maternal and child morbidities.