Elmhurst Memorial Hospital

The incidences of inducible clindamycin resistance at two hospitals (an inner-city hospital and a suburban community hospital) were 7 and 12% for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, 20 and 19% for methicillin-susceptible S. aureus, and 14 and 35% for coagulase-negative staphylococci, respectively. Given the variability of inducible resistance to clindamycin found in our two hospitals, we conclude that susceptibility testing of staphylococci should include the disk diffusion induction test (D-test).

The authors compare the results of a May 2002 ethics issues survey of staff nurses who are members of the American Nurses Association (ANA) with those of a February 2000 survey of American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) nurse leaders. The findings reveal a common set of key ethical issues that result from the ineffective management of the conflict between clinical ethics and organizational ethics. Implications for healthcare professionals and the organizations that employ them are discussed.

Opportunities to expand the professional nursing role and present at conferences have increased. The purpose of this article is to share suggestions for developing and presenting papers. Essential ideas on who will present and how to write an abstract, deal with rejection or success, develop an outline, construct a lecture, select audiovisual materials, and use public speaking skills are described. The publishing and copyright processes are also discussed. Using these practical strategies will enable individuals to develop and/or enhance presentations.