School nurses are among the casualties of tough fiscal times

In a pair of stories, NPR reports on how tight budgets are playing out with staff reductions for full-time school nurses and how hospitals and medical schools are marketing themselves.   

NPR: No, The School Nurse Is Not In
More than half of American public schools don't have a full-time nurse, and the situation is getting worse as school systems further cut budgets. This year, 51 were laid off in Philadelphia's public schools, 20 in a Houston suburb, 15 in San Diego and dozens more in other school systems nationwide. Other schools have reduced their school nurse staffing (Tomsic, 1/3). 

NPR: In Tight Times, Medical Schools Market Themselves
Hospitals stepped up their advertising in 2011, and some newcomers to the national marketing game are academic medical centers. While the coast-to-coast commercials help attract faculty and students, they're also aimed at getting more paying patients to travel for treatment. The biggest spenders on advertising are, not surprisingly, the household names in medical care. Mayo Clinic, Mount Sinai and New York Presbyterian led the way for the first half of 2011 (Farmer, 1/4). 

Meanwhile, in other news, the American College of Physicians issues a new ethics manual.

Medscape: American College of Physicians Issues New Ethics Manual
The sixth edition of the American College of Physicians' (ACP's) Ethics Manual addresses ethical decisions in clinical practice, teaching, and medical research, as well as the underlying principles and the physician's role in society and with colleagues. ... Similar to previous editions, the current update of the ACP's manual covers surrogate decision-making and end-of-life care, use of complementary and alternative medicine, physician-assisted suicide, relationship between physicians and industry, genetic testing, and research ethics (Barclay, 1/3).