Lori Key, RN, a nurse at Livonia, Mich.-based St. Mary Mercy Hospital will sing during a national memorial service Jan. 19 in Washington, D.C., honoring those who have died from COVID-19 ahead of the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration, local ABC affiliate WXYZ reports. 

Elizabeth, N.J.-based Trinitas School of Nursing has mandated all students receive a COVID-19 vaccine by Jan. 22 or they must withdraw from the program, reports WLNY-TV.

A quarterly report from the Cook County inspector general's office found an emergency room nurse at Chicago-based Stroger Hospital treated patients while under the influence of marijuana and took IV solution from the hospital, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Jan. 15. 

A Kentucky nurse who worked at Evansville, Ind.-based Ascension St. Vincent hospital said she was fired after attending the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Nashville FOX affiliate WZTV reported Jan. 13. 

Loretta Ford, CRNP, PhD, a 100-year-old nurse who helped establish the nurse practitioner profession, received the Surgeon General's Medallion — the highest honor civilians can recieve for public health service, local ABC affiliate Denver7 News reported Jan. 11. 

Wasau, Wis.-based Aspirus health system is funding an accelerated certified nursing assistant training program in partnership with local Northcentral Technical College. 

The Emergency Nurses Association selected Ron Kraus, MSN, RN, as the association's 50th president Jan. 1. 

James Mikolajczak-LaRosa, DNP, RN, died Jan. 1 after being diagnosed with COVID-19 two months ago, reports WISN-TV.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed legislation that allows nurse practitioners to practice independently Jan. 1, making it the 23rd state to adopt full practice authority. 

Amid a nationwide nursing shortage exacerbated by the pandemic, Columbus, Miss.-based Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle is now offering a $5,000 signing bonus during the hiring process, local CBS affiliate WCBI reported Dec. 30. 

A nurse in Augusta, Ga., applied to renew her nursing license in October and is still waiting for the Secretary of State's office to process it, local NBC affiliate WRDW reported Dec. 29. 

Gayana Chuklansev, RN, an intensive care unit nurse in Los Angeles, issued an emotional plea in a TikTok last week about the conditions at her hospital and urged people to stay home, NBC News reports. As of Dec. 29, the video had more than 1.3 million views.

Below are eight hospitals and health systems that recently posted job listings seeking chief nursing officers. 

A story about nursing earning the top spot as the most trusted profession in the U.S. was Becker's most-read nursing story this year.

Maryland health systems are again tapping nursing students to help out on the COVID-19 frontlines amid a surge in hospitalizations, reports The Washington Post. 

California is currently the only state with a nurse-to-patient ratio law, but a spike in COVID-19 patients led Gov. Gavin Newsom to relax the law earlier this month. Now, nurses are scrambling to care for more patients, reports NPR. 

This year has put nursing leaders to the test as they have worked to set up makeshift COVID-19 units, secure personal protective equipment for their teams and provide emotional support during some of the hardest moments of many nurses' careers.

Americans rated nurses as the most honest and ethical professionals for the 19th consecutive year, according to an annual Gallup poll. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating a national nurse shortage, with many universities struggling to keep up with the growing demand for nurses, reports NPR and The Hechinger Report. 

Many nurses are expressing concern about conditions in New York hospitals amid a major surge in COVID-19 patients, reports The New York Times.