Many people wonder what does the future hold in store when they become a certified nurses aide. These people worry that there will be a shortage of CNA jobs in the future. The truth about it is that there is never been a better time to be a CNA than now. The job market is wide open and as a result there are some positions that are available to a person. One reason why there is an increased demand for nursing assistants is because the baby boomers are getting to an age that they are requiring health care around the clock. Add in the fact that many of the baby boomer nurses are beginning to retire and you have an influx of CNA jobs that are available.

According to a recent online survey by Jackson Healthcare, 89 percent of physicians agree that patients receiving negligent treatment deserve fair compensation. Negligence, they said, should be determined by a panel of experts from the appropriate medical specialty. This key finding - one of several from the comprehensive study by Jackson Healthcare on physicians’ practice of defensive or lawsuit-driven medicine - comes despite the fact that 92 percent of survey respondents, and 73 percent of respondents in a related Gallup Poll, report practicing defensive medicine.

Asserting that a major gap exists in the knowledge and experience nursing students receive for the care of older adults, the National League for Nursing asks, "How will nurse faculty substantively change pre-licensure nursing curricula to teach students to manage the complexity of care for older adults in emerging environments?"

A new Jackson Healthcare survey of hospital nurses found that nurses estimate spending one quarter of their twelve-hour shift on indirect patient care. Respondents cited regulatory requirements, redundant paperwork and logistical challenges as the primary contributors of time spent away from the patient’s bedside. The study, which targeted nurses, nursing managers and chief nursing officers (CNO) across the U.S., was conducted in partnership with StatCom and Travel Nurse Solutions. It was based upon an online survey of 2,439 nurses, and focuses on the 1,663 who work in hospital settings.

About one-third of physician leaders acknowledge that factors other than medical care represent a "major influence" in their decision-making regarding tests or procedures. In the HealthLeaders Media Industry Survey of physician leaders, 33% said fear of lawsuits was a "major influence" when ordering tests or procedures. Another 48% consider such defensive medicine concerns a "minor influence." Thirty percent say reimbursement and revenue considerations are a "major influence," with another 38% saying these fiscal considerations are a "minor influence." Pressure from patients themselves is considered a major influence by 28%, with 55% citing that as a minor influence.

ChangingHomeCare.com has launched a combined effort between homecare providers and homecare vendors to take a proactive approach to reshaping the national healthcare debate about the future role of homecare. ChangingHomeCare.com has announced the creation of a completely free exchange of best practices and thought-provoking ideas among homecare providers and patients, with the goal to make homecare a larger part of the national healthcare solution.

Notable Findings from NLN Survey of Schools of Nursing: Program Expansion Stalls; Insufficient Faculty Major Constraint to Expansion of Postlicensure Programs - The NLN's annual survey of all nursing programs in the United States gathers key statistics including admissions, enrollments, graduations, student demographics, and numbers of faculty. The 2009 annual survey was administered from May to September 2009 to obtain 2007-2008 data. Recent additions include unused educational capacity, constraints on expanding admissions, faculty vacancies and recruitment, and the impact of faculty shortages on educational capacity.

A unique procedure performed by Tom Stys, MD and Adam Stys, MD with Sanford Heart Hospital was recently selected as case of the week by Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT), the premier educational resource for the interventional cardiology and endovascular medicine community. Cases featured by TCT are innovative and complex, often describing, for the first time, an application or a technique. Cases featured weekly with TCT are used by physicians nationally and internationally as an educational resource on the latest procedures, techniques and methods in cardiology.

UCSF scientists have received a $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to embark on a major neuroimaging study of a degenerative brain disease that is at least as common as Alzheimer’s disease in people under age 60. The fatal disease, known as frontotemporal dementia, affects decision-making, behavior, emotion and language. It gradually destroys the ability to behave in a socially appropriate manner, to empathize with others, learn, reason, make judgments, communicate and carry out daily activities.

Planned Medicare Cuts Threaten U.S. Cancer Care Delivery System. Community oncologists nationwide, under the support and leadership of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), launched a national petition to urge President Obama and lawmakers to reverse drastic cuts in reimbursement for cancer care implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on January 1, 2010 and compounding through 2013.