The 10 Most Popular Posts in 2013 on the

Human Capital BlogPresented by the RWJF Human Capital Network

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Human Capital Blog is a forum for sharing the work and ideas of the portfolio’s leaders and

grantees, and for stimulating discussion about the challenges of building a diverse, well-trained health care workforce that meets

the nation’s current and emerging needs.

This presentation features the 10 most-read posts from 2013.

A Closer, More Dispassionate Look at Obesity

A Chief Nursing Officer Who Does Not Have a BSN-Only Hiring Policy in Place

“Of All the Forms of Inequality, Injustice in Health Care is the Most Shocking and Inhumane”

The Affordable Care Act and Physician Supply

Physician Turnover at Highest Rate Since 2005

Alcohol and Life Expectancy: Unraveling the Mystery of Why Nondrinkers Have Higher Risk of Premature Death

“It’s a Lil’ Colored Girl to See You”

Heroic Nurse—The Last Surviving ‘Angel of Bataan and Corregidor’—Passes Away

Tootsie’s Story: Medical Error Takes a Life (Part I and II)

The 10 Most-Read Blog Posts

A Closer, More Dispassionate Look at Obesity

RWJF Scholar in Health Policy Research alumnaAbigail Saguy, PhD, discusses how fatness went from being considered a fashion problem to a social problem, a medical problem, and finally the public health crisis we see it as today. She says social perceptions of weight have affected medical interpretations, and shares her concern that some efforts to promote healthy lifestyles will exacerbate weight-based discrimination.

A Chief Nursing Officer Who Does Not Have a BSN-Only Hiring Policy in Place

In a blog that is both personal and provocative, RWJF Executive Nurse Fellow alumnus Jerry Mansfield, PhD, RN, shares his journey to become a nurse, the setbacks he overcame, and how he has fulfilled his commitment to lifelong learning. He also addresses how he reconciled his support for the Institute of Medicine’s future of nursing education recommendations with the steps he had to take to meet demand for nurses at his institution.

“Of All the Forms of Inequality, Injustice in Health Care is the Most Shocking and Inhumane”

This Martin Luther King, Jr. Day blog, by RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars Nalo Hamilton, PhD, RN, WHNP/ANP-BC, and Cheryl Woods Giscombé, PhD, RN, PMHNP-BC, provides a close look at the staggering cost of ethnic health disparities to the nation—and a plea to end those disparities. The headline is a quote from Dr. King himself.

The Affordable Care Act and Physician Supply

This blog post reports on findings from a Congressional Research Service study that examined how the Affordable Care Act is likely to affect the nation’s supply of physicians, with a particular focus on its size, composition, and geographic distribution.

Physician Turnover at Highest Rate Since 2005

This post reports on results from the annual Physician Retention Survey, from the American Medical Group Association and

Cejka Search. It found health systems struggling to recruit and retain physicians, as the improving economy (a recovering

housing market and higher stock prices) led more physicians to consider retiring or switching jobs.

Alcohol and Life Expectancy: Unraveling the Mystery of Why Nondrinkers Have Higher Risk of Premature Death

For years, experts have reported that people who drink in moderation live longer than those who do not consume alcohol at all. Patrick M. Krueger, PhD, an alumnus of the RWJF Health & Society Scholars program, blogged about his study examining the reasons. One answer, Krueger found, is that nondrinkers include adults who quit drinking because they had problems with alcohol—and that group has a relatively high rate of premature death.

“It’s a Lil’ Colored Girl to See You”

This deeply personal post by RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar alumna Angela Amar, PhD, RN, FAAN, recounts an

experience that occurred when she was a young nurse, and a patient’s wife referred to her in that way. Amar, a professor, also notes that students sometimes comment that she is intelligent—a comment her majority faculty member colleagues tell her they do not hear. Amar’s blog is a salute to the benefits of diversity. She

concludes: “Diversity is not a one-way glass that only directs light in one direction. ... Diversity benefits us individually and

collectively and allows the light to shine everywhere.”

Heroic Nurse—The Last Surviving ‘Angel of Bataan and Corregidor’—Passes Away

This tribute to Mildred Dalton Manning, who passed away in March at age 98, touched a nerve with readers who made it the third most-read post on this Blog in 2013. A volunteer with the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, Dalton was part of the first unit of American women serving near the front lines of battle in the Philippines at the start of World War II. Despite being taken prisoner, Manning and her colleagues treated the wounded at a makeshift outdoor clinic in the jungles of Bataan, caring night and day for 6,000 patients as bombs fell all around them. To many, they came to symbolize the dedication, strength, and heroism of nurses.

Photo Credit: US Army Photo; Source: The Washington Post

Tootsie’s Story: Medical Error Takes a Life

In this two-part blog, RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar Jennifer Bellot, PhD, RN, MHSA, shares the circumstances that caused the death of her beloved grandmother, Tootsie. After a medication error severely overtaxed her heart, Tootsie lost her independence, her health, and ultimately her life. She suffered terribly during her last months as a result of what Bellot describes as a “textbook case of error, difficult transitions in care, unnecessary intervention, missed opportunities, and conflicting opinions and prognoses.” Part Two of the piece, in which Bellotconsiders how nurse-led care coordination might have helped Tootsie, was also among the ten most-read posts on the RWJF Human Capital Blog in 2013.