Empowering Nurses: Creation of a Peer-Reviewed Journal as a Catalyst for Innovative Nursing Research and Enhancing Evidence-Based Nursing Practice.

An internal peer-reviewed journal was created to promote high-quality nursing practice, improve patient outcomes, and inspire nurses at an academic medical center. The goal of the journal was to increase nurses' utilization of evidence-based practice (EBP). The publication provides a platform that facilitates the dissemination of nursing research and supports the implementation of EBP across the organization.

Southern Hospitality: How We Changed the NPO Practice in the Emergency Department.

Problem: In the Vanderbilt Medical Center adult emergency department, the practice has been to keep patients on "nothing by mouth" (NPO) status throughout their assessment, diagnostic, and treatment phases. As a result, most patients have NPO status for a period of several hours to days. The consequences are patient discomfort, hunger, thirst, dehydration, interruptions in routine medication schedules, poor glucose control, and compromised acid/base balance.