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As state legislatures continue to slash budgets for mental health services at the same time that the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression continues to take a toll on the population, emergency departments (EDs) across the U.S. are confronting a drastic increase in psychiatric emergencies. Already overburdened with uninsured patients whose deteriorating conditions force them to seek medical care, EDs are being inundated with mentally ill patients who have nowhere else to turn.

From time to time, the U. S. healthcare industry has experienced drug shortages. But the past 20 years have seen a steady increase in the frequency, scope, and impact of these shortages. In recent years, drug shortages have reached critical levels, putting patients at risk and strapping healthcare providers.

When it comes to the longstanding nursing shortage in the United States, researchers have good news and bad news. The good news is that the nursing shortage is over, with the economic forces of the recession mainly accounting for this positive trend. The bad news is that this trend is temporary.

Law enforcement officials aren’t the only ones working to break the cycle of violence on city streets. Healthcare professionals in emergency departments, who are there at the critical moment after a victim is injured, are uniquely positioned to make a difference, too. That’s the underlying principle behind hospital-based violence intervention programs designed to break the cycle of violence.

Improving community health services depends to a large extent on the knowledge and skills of the health care workers in those communities. In the United States, Europe, and other industrialized nations, the latest medical information is readily available. But nurses working in remote regions of developing countries often have little or no access to basic, up-to-date medical information and training. Elsevier Science has teamed up with the International Council of Nurses to help.

The American Academy of Nursing, an independent affiliate of the American Nursing Association, has selected Susan Sportsman and Michelle Troseth of Elsevier to join the ranks of the distinguished American Academy of Nursing 2012 Class of Fellows. Elsevier is the leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services.

The occupational risks resulting from needlestick blood exposures from intravenous (IV) catheter devices have been well documented for more than a decade. However, other blood exposure risks related to peripheral IV catheters have flown largely under the radar—until now.

Today’s nurse educator has transitioned from dealing with patients to dealing with students and patients. While the ultimate goal, helping patients is the same, the environment and manner in which these nurses do it is very different. In the current quarterly publication, Reflections on Nurse Leadership, Tom Reller, Vice President and Head of Global Corporate Relations at Elsevier, discusses teaming up with Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) to pay it forward for the future of nursing and health care.

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced the launch of its second annual Mosby’s Nursing Suite “Superheroes of Nursing” contest, aimed at recognizing the work and dedication of individual nursing professionals. The contest officially opened for 2012 applicants during Nurses Week (May 6-12), and calls for applicants who fit into four categories – The Validators, The Achievers, The Educators, and The Protectors, to battle the villainous Obstructo.