“Growing, evolving, and progressing are part of the natural order of things. In my almost 40 years as an RN, I have seen enormous evolution and elevation of nurses in the delivery of health care.”—AJN editor-in-chief Carl Kirton in this month’s editorial, “Evolution in a New Year”

The January issue of AJN is now live. Here’s what’s new. Some articles may be free only to subscribers.

The Year in Review: 2022

The top health care, clinical, and policy news stories of the year, plus stories to watch in 2023.

Original Research: Practice Variations in Documenting Neurologic Examinations in Non-Neuroscience ICUs

This study explored existing practices for documenting neurologic examinations by RNs and providers in medical, surgical, and cardiovascular ICUs, which don’t routinely admit patients with a primary neurologic injury.

CE: Evidence-Based Practice for Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Management

The authors discuss the evidence for the appropriate use of short PIVCs in hospitalized patients, assess the ongoing need for PIVCs, provide recommendations for alternative options, and argue for promptly removing a PIVC that is no longer in use.

Ethical Care for Patients with Self-Managed Abortion After Roe

A review of patient privacy as it relates to self-managed abortion, ethical reporting requirements for nurses, and best practices for treating complications of self-managed abortion using a harm reduction framework, with a focus on protecting patients’ rights.

Addressing CAUTIs with an External Female Catheter

After identifying catheter-associated urinary tract infections in bedbound female patients, a team of clinical nurse specialists initiated an intervention using external female catheters to achieve better outcomes, at a significantly lower cost.

Book of the Year Awards 2022

AJN selects the most valuable texts of the year.

There’s much more in our January issue, including:

Click here to browse the table of contents and explore the issue on our website.

A note on the cover.

On this month’s cover is Memento Mori, an embroidery by Colorado nurse and textile artist Paula Giovanini-Morris. The piece was inspired by her experiences working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three years into the pandemic, COVID-19 has claimed 1.1 million lives in the United States and 6.6 million globally. It has also dramatically affected the health care landscape, with nationwide nursing shortages driven by an exodus from acute care and a lack of nursing faculty and clinical sites to prepare the next generation. For more on the current state of nursing, see “Acute Care Workforce Under Stress,” the lead story in AJN’s annual “Year in Review.”