RaDonda Vaught, former RN at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide on March 25, 2022, after a medical error turned fatal for her patient.  The case has gripped the healthcare community and has many gravely concerned about the long-lasting impacts.  There are many things that could be discussed about the […]

Last week, we debuted the brand new, UAMS Nursing Excellence model at the Inpatient and Ambulatory Nursing QUEST councils and I am happy to share it this week with nursing at large.  As UAMS nurses, it is our greatest desire to embody excellence in the care of our patients, in the advancement of our profession, […]

On February 1, UAMS submitted an application to the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for Magnet Designation.  This was a momentous occasion, with the Chief Nursing Officer, Trenda Ray, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Steppe Mette, and Chancellor, Dr. Cam Patterson in attendance.  While this is not the first Magnet application UAMS has […]

In the very first article I wrote for Nursing Excellence, I described excellence not as a state, but a never-ending pursuit; a result of maximizing performance to reach or exceed goals.

Nurses graduate from educational programs with nursing degrees.  They also register with state boards to receive a license to practice nursing in their state.  The scope of a nursing license is decided by the state’s nurse practice act.  But the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) defines the professional practice model as the driving force of […]

There may not have been any other time in history that healthcare needed self-care so much.  Many of you have spent the last 19 months sacrificing in ways that others do not understand and you may be feeling empty and discouraged.  At the same time, your email boxes are likely filling up with recommended ways […]

The Arkansas Center for Nursing recently released the winners of the prestigious award, ’40 Nurse Leaders Under 40’.  This award recognizes young nurse leaders who create an environment of trust, compassion, and mutual respect and motivate staff with a shared vision to achieve better outcomes for patients and nurses.  Congratulations to all 23 UAMS nurses […]

In 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM, now National Academy of Medicine) published a key report, The Future of Nursing:  Leading Change, Advancing Health, in which they called on the profession of nursing to advance our education and expand our professional practice in order for the “health system [to] reap the full benefit of nurses’ […]

Nursing is a profession which is driven to positively affect the outcomes of patients and the healthcare industry through quality improvement, evidence-based practice, research, and innovation.  Our profession is guided by standards of practice and a code of ethics rooted in the principles of compassion, collaboration, and critical thinking.  As with other professions, nurses have […]

Research is the mechanism by which best treatments, care protocols, and medicines are determined to yield improved clinical outcomes; evidence-based practice (EBP) is the mechanism by which these proven treatments are brought to patients everywhere.  Use of EBP in nursing care has been shown to lead to better patient outcomes and higher nursing job satisfaction.  […]