Nursing

A UNIT AT A TEXAS cancer center recently undertook a designated daily hour of silence, at the direction of a nurse leader on the unit. Yvette Ong, RN, MS, BSN, OCN, associate director of nursing on the 32-bed inpatient unit for melanoma and sarcoma patients at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, presented the results of her "Quiet Time" project in May at the Oncology Nursing Society Congress in San Antonio, according to a news release from the hospital. In researching the project, Ong found that noise on an inpatient floor causes patients to lose sleep; causes anxiety, stress, and cardiovascular stimulation; reduces pain tolerance; and delays wound healing. Between noon and 1 PM every day on Ong's unit, levels of noise, light, and activity are kept to a bare minimum. Patients' doors are closed, lights are dimmed, overhead paging is reduced, telephone ringer volumes are lowered, employees speak in hushed tones, and all prolonged conversations are held elsewhere. "The nursing staff on the unit takes Quiet Time seriously," Ong said.

THE NEW SHOWTIME TV SERIES "Nurse Jackie" is not being received warmly by some nursing organizations. The American Nurses Association (ANA) and the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) are among those protesting the portrayal of nursing on the show. The ANA has posted on its Web site an appeal for members to write to Showtime to protest the show, and the NYSNA has asked that the network put a disclaimer at the end of the show to the effect that the title character is an aberration. Jackie, played by Edie Falco, is addicted to painkillers and frequently plays fast and loose with the rules. "I almost fell out of my chair when I saw 'Nurse Jackie,'" Barbara Crane, RN, president of the National Federation of Nurses, told the New York Daily News. "I found those things that she did—forging a donor card, stealing money, throwing people's body parts away—extremely insulting. It makes me really sad. That's not who I am. That's not what I do." Showtime officials have declined to run a disclaimer, defending the series as fiction that is not meant to be representative of the nursing profession.

THE MARCH OF DIMES recently awarded scholarships to four RNs for graduate studies in maternal-child nursing. Each recipient will receive $5,000 to continue her studies, according to a news release from the March of Dimes. The recipients are MaryJane Lewitt, RN, CNM, MN, of Atlanta, GA, who is pursuing a doctorate in nursing at Emory University; Priscilla M. Nodine, CNM, MS, of Lakewood, CO, seeking a doctorate at the University of Colorado-Denver; Ping Jin Porter, RN, BSN, SNM, of Albuquerque, NM, who is working toward a master's degree at the University of New Mexico; and Lauren Thorngate, RN, PhD(c), CCRN, of Seattle, WA, a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington. "Choosing the recipients was especially challenging because the pool of applicants becomes stronger every year," said March of Dimes President Jennifer L. Howse, PhD. "Once again, we are proud to support these four nurse scholars as they continue their tireless work toward improving maternal and infant health."