Family stories at the heart of nurse’s research

Kristin Stegenga, nurse researcher at Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Mo., received a fellowship last fall that she considers good fortune on more than one count.

A one-year research fellowship launched Stegenga into a multidisciplinary team to advance the quality of cancer treatment with children.

Nurses stick to resolutions

The new year offers a fresh start for area nurses who want to make changes in their lives.

Shawnee Mission Medical Center Emergency Department nurse Diane Amos, RN, said she wants to lose weight before her son’s wedding in June.

RN encourages nurses to reclaim their passions

Health care reform. Technology. An aging, increasingly sicker patient population. Working more with less. These are just a few of the challenges that nurses in the 21st century face. The risk of burnout is high. Nurses are working harder than ever before as the health care arena changes rapidly around us every day.

Every nurse has moments when he or she is certain, beyond a doubt, that going into nursing was the “right” choice. Those moments are like cool water from an oasis, rich in their ability to rejuvenate and refresh the spirit. They are the points of passion that, when put to the test with restrictive policies, stifling regulations, staffing shortages and budget cuts, will fade to nothing.

St. Mary's names CEO

Annette Small, RN, BSN, on Dec. 1 became the first nurse to serve as chief executive officer at St. Mary’s Medical Center.

Small joined the St. Mary’s team in Blue Springs in 2000. She worked in a variety of roles, including case management and performance improvement, administrative projects specialist, and director of clinical operations.

Nurse promotes healing through day spa

Vita Berg is in the business of making people feel better.

She’s been doing it for 25 years.

KU researches virtual goggles

Patients who undergo bone marrow biopsies likely wish they were on a far away island rather than in the procedure room during the biopsy.

Nurses at the University of Kansas Hospital’s bone marrow transplant unit aim to give patients the opportunity to feel like they are in an exotic, relaxing location through virtual goggles.