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As healthcare providers, we understand how essential connection and knowledge-sharing are for improving our workplaces and communities.That's why The Nursing Beat is working with Sermo — a dedicated platform designed exclusively for healthcare professionals—to give you the opportunity to connect with peers, engage in important medical discussions, and earn rewards.

Whether you're an APP, RN, or LPN, Sermo offers a supportive space to ask challenging questions about your work that may otherwise go unanswered.

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Today's Top Beats

📈 Life Expectancy Update

🏥 44%

👶 Unlikely NICU Colleagues

HANDOFF

APRNs May Soon Prescribe Meds in Oklahoma

A bill in Oklahoma that seeks to slightly expand nurses’ scope of practice is headed to the governor’s desk. Senate Bill 458 would allow nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse midwives to prescribe certain medications without physician supervision after 6,240 hours of supervised practice. Studies suggest nurses in similar roles across 32 states prescribe as safely as physicians and advocates highlight success in improving rural healthcare access in states like Arizona.

Acadia’s Questionable Practices Under Investigation

Acadia Healthcare, the largest U.S. methadone clinic operator, is accused of falsifying records, neglecting required counseling, and admitting ineligible patients to boost profits. Employees report inflated caseloads, inadequate staffing, and a focus on revenue over care. While Acadia denies wrongdoing, past settlements and ongoing investigations—including one about Acadia’s psychiatric hospitals holding patients against their will to maximize payments—highlight systemic issues in its operations, according to a New York Times investigation.

US Life Expectancy Projected to Rise While World Ranking Falls

From 2022 to 2050, the average American’s life expectancy is expected to increase modestly from 78.3 to 80.4 years, while the nation’s global life expectancy ranking will drop from 49th to 66th, respectively. Additionally, the US’s healthy life expectancy—how long a person is expected to live in good health—will drop from 80th to 108th. Researchers attribute the gains to declining mortality from heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes, but warn of worsening health outcomes from rising obesity, high blood sugar, and drug use disorders. 

TOGETHER WITH SERMO

Discover the Community Where You Earn for Your Insights

Nurses are at the heart of healthcare, shaping the way care is delivered and making a difference every day. Your unique insights matter, and Sermo provides opportunities for you to share them while earning extra income.

Participate in paid medical surveys tailored to your expertise, contribute to medical research, and help shape healthcare practices. For nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs), Sermo also offers a private online community to connect with peers, discuss clinical cases and ask the tough questions that only NPs and PAs can answer, and learn what others think about the latest healthcare trends.

By joining Sermo, nurses and healthcare professionals can make an impact, earn rewards, and be part of a community that values their contributions to the future of medicine.

Try out a $20 survey on “Professional Insights on Women’s Health” and join today.

TODAY'S TOP VITAL

44%

The percentage of US adults who rank the nation’s healthcare quality as “excellent” (11%) or “good” (33%)—a 24-year low. Click here to learn how this figure compares to previous years, how political stances affect healthcare views, and what people say are the nation’s most urgent healthcare problems.

PRN

MAP OF THE MODERN NURSE WITH DEBRIEFING THE FRONT LINES

Debriefing: A Standard of Nursing Practice

Trauma occurs when the nervous system experiences something that is too big, too fast, too soon, too hurtful, or too little for too long—all of which the collective nursing profession is feeling deeply. 

Enter Debriefing the Front Lines, an organization working to bring debriefing as a national resource and standard of nursing practice. 

As the scope of occupational trauma has changed, so should the way we approach post-traumatic response recovery. 

Through guided self-reflection, debriefing offers clarity surrounding traumatic incidents and assists in establishing a process for recovering a sense of safety in the aftermath of trauma. Undoubtedly, this has a downstream effect on quality of care, safety, and retention that contributes to the ability to provide dignified quality care to patients. 

The debriefing hour invites discovery and the time in between allows for reflection and practice. Experience the power of being heard. Explore debriefing here.

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BULLETIN BOARD

TODAY IN THE CHART

SUPPLY ROOM

You're a Stud

These cute medical-themed earrings would make a great gift for any healthcare professional! 

BREAK ROOM

From Patient to Colleague

This NICU nurse made the astonishing discovery that a previous patient of hers from over 30 years ago was now her coworker. You won’t believe how she found out!

DISCHARGE INSTRUCTIONS

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