The Kids Into Health Careers (KIHC) initiative: innovative approaches to help solve the nursing shortage.

In 2001, the Northern Illinois University School of Nursing was awarded a grant from the Division of Nursing of the Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to enhance the School's advanced practice nursing program.

More than a title.

In an American Board of Nursing Specialties survey, nurse managers share their perceptions of the value of specialty nursing certification.

Criminal background checks: necessary admission criteria?

The issues that nursing school admissions staff may face in evaluating potential students' criminal backgrounds are discussed. There has been a trend to require criminal background checks for health care professionals throughout the United States related to taking the NCLEX-RN and securing employment in health care agencies. The majority of state boards of nursing are now requiring criminal background checks on potential licensees.

Southeast Asian refugee children: self-esteem as a predictor of depression and scholastic achievement in the U.S.

The eruption of conflicts and war in this century has led to new masses of refugees and displaced persons. Globally, host countries will continue to confront issues of how to ensure the successful adaptation of refugees who typically are women and children. The United States received three major waves of Southeast Asian (SEA) refugees during the past twenty-five years.

They're real and they're here: the new federally regulated privacy rules under HIPAA.

The purpose of the HIPAA Privacy Rules was to create national standards to protect the privacy of personal health information. As of April 14, 2003, all covered health care entities must comply with the newly implemented national standards. The importance of staying updated with the law, while particularly important for the patient's privacy, is just as important for the nurse to avoid civil punitive damages and possible criminal charges.

Relationship of perception of radon as a health risk and willingness to engage in radon testing and mitigation.

Purpose/objectives: To gather data on radon levels and determine correlations among subjects' characteristics, willingness to test for radon, and perceptions of radon as a health risk.

Design: Descriptive correlational.

Setting: Rural DeKalb County in northern Illinois.

Legal issues in the early detection and monitoring of cancer.

Objectives: To identify the legal and ethical issues involved in the detection/monitoring of cancer.

Data Sources: Westlaw, Lexis, Medline, and legal and nursing literature.

Conclusions: The introduction of genetic predisposition to cancer has increased the legal and ethical issues associated with the detection of cancer.

Does certification status of oncology nurses make a difference in patient outcomes?

Purpose/objectives: To test hypotheses that patients cared for by Oncology Certified Nurses (OCNs(r)) have superior outcomes compared to those cared for by noncertified nurses.

Design: Descriptive ex post facto.

Setting: A homecare agency in the midwestern United States.