14 Best Blogs of 2018

It’s hard to believe the diversity—and convergence—of heart, skill, and lived experience inside each member of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing community.

In the editor’s choice of the top 14 blogs of 2018, writers open up about the inner forces that stir them to do the work of nursing in Baltimore, in South Sudan, in the Philippines… and the experiences that push them to challenge care for the better.

Numbers of Men in Nursing are Rising in China
By: Quanlei Li, PhD Candidate
#14
As of 2017, the proportion of male nurses in China doubled to 2% of overall 3.5 million nurses. Male nurses in China are rising.

Nars Jenna: First Day
By: Jenna Oien, MSN
#13
Today I toured the hospital in Manila, Philippines where I will be working for the next nine weeks and it was a humbling experience.

Not so sweet spot
By: Anam Khan and Indrani Kashyap
#12
The test to check pregnant women for high blood sugar is the easy part. In Hoshangabad, India, the trickier task is convincing mothers-in-law of mothers-to-be that the time-consuming test is worth everyone’s while.

What Nurses Need to Know: Hypertension Guideline
By: Steve St. Angelo
#11
Tick, tick, tick. Cheryl Dennison Himmelfarb, PhD, RN, ANP, FAAN, professor and associate dean of research, was counting the seconds until a fresh, more proactive Hypertension Guideline was to be published.

Rising Hopkins Nurses Are Shaping the Next Generation of HIV/AIDS Research
By: Sydnee Logan, MA
#10
HIV/AIDS is an international epidemic, and the needs of people who are affected are as diverse as the places they live.

Believe Me When I Say That I’m In Pain
By: Helena Addison, MSN Candidate
#9
One of the first things nurses learn about pain is that “pain is whatever the person experiencing it says it is.” Yet when patients with sickle cell disease visit the ER in severe pain, nurses often meet them with disbelief.

We travel together. Viajamos juntos.
By: Melissa Hladek, PhD, CRNP, FNP-BC
#8
Working with an immigrant population, the provider-patient relationship becomes more than a set of evidence-based guidelines, more than a transaction, it becomes a mutually beneficial journey.

A Breakthrough in Care for Women Affected by Female Genital Cutting
By: Mara Evans, CNM, DNP Candidate
#7
FGC has no health benefits; it is a cultural practice of gender-based violence that involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia.

Henrietta Lacks: Rendering the Invisible, Visible
By: Kamila Alexander, PhD, MPH, RN
#6
The relative invisibility of Henrietta Lacks’ life before Rebecca Skloot’s 2009 book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, should be a lesson for all of us.

Almost a DNP with Two Kids Under 3
By: Sydnee Logan, MA
#5
It was challenging enough to start the DNP Executive Track with a 2-year-old—while also working as a family nurse practitioner and teaching in a nurse practitioner program—but then she found out she was pregnant!

Taking PRIDE in Our Communities
By: Athena Ford, PhD Candidate
#4
I made it to where I am today because of my community and my siblings, but it was a long and difficult road.

Wells We Did Not Dig, Fires We Did Not Build
By: Sarah Szanton, PhD, ANP, FAAN
#3
Dr. Sarah Szanton’s acceptance speech as she was ‘installed’ as the inaugural endowed Chair for Health Equity and Social Justice.

The Threeness: A Black, Gay Man in America
By: Derek Dangerfield, PhD
#2
When I visit the doctor’s office, it’s hard to decide if I should be “Derek” the patient seeking health care services or “Dr. Dangerfield,” the sexual health scholar. I try to be the “regular patient,” but it’s incredibly uncomfortable.

We Need to Protect Black Moms
By: Helena Addison, MSN Candidate
#1
On my first day I witnessed abusive, disrespectful and unfortunately not uncommon behavior by an OB/GYN. I had just seen how racism could contribute to poor health outcomes, and as a Black woman it was frightening.