Patient care and administrative activities of nurses in clinical/surgical units

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Marilia Moura Luvisotto

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To identify the administrative and nursing care activities most performed by nurses in clinical/surgical units and to determine which are most and least pleasant to them. Methods: A descriptive-exploratory field study, with a quantitative approach and with a sample made up of 40 nurses working in clinical/surgical units who answered a three-part questionnaire composed of identification data and characterization of the professional; a list of nursing and administrative activities for the nurse to grade according to the numbers: “0 = I do not perform it”, “1 = I perform it occasionally”, “2 = I perform it often”, “3 = I perform it daily”; two open-ended questions, in which the nurse listed the activities he/she enjoyed the most and the least. Results: The administrative activities most performed by the nurses were: changing work shifts, preparing employee daily task charts and managing tests; the most performed nursing care activities were related to the stages of the Nursing Care Systematization and the interaction with the multi-professional team; the most enjoyable activities were direct patient care, patient evaluation and implementation of the systematization; the least enjoyable activities were administrative and bureaucratic routines, justification of complaints/problem-solving and preparation of employee task charts. Conclusion: Compared to administrative activities, nursing activities were performed most during the daily routine of the nurse, and the most enjoyable activities were those related to patient care, according to the opinions of the professionals.

Surgical center: challenges and strategies for nurses in managerial activities.

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Martins, Fabiana Zerbieri; Dall'Agnoll, Clarice Maria

2017-02-23

Analyze the challenges and strategies of nurses performing managerial activities in a surgical center. Exploratory, descriptive study with a qualitative approach, involving six nurses by means of the Focus Group Technique, between April and August 2013. Data were submitted to thematic content analysis. The main challenges noted were deficiency of material resources, communication noise, adequacy of personnel downsizing, and relationships with the multidisciplinary team. Key strategies include construction of co-management spaces to promote integration among professionals, conflict resolution and exchange of knowledge. Managerial activities involve the promotion of dialogic moments to coordinate the different processes in the surgical center to provide inputs to expand safety and quality of services provided.

Standardising fast-track surgical nursing care in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjort Jakobsen, Dorthe; Rud, Kirsten; Kehlet, Henrik

2014-01-01

guidelines based on the principles of fast-track surgery-i.e. patient information, surgical stress reduction, effective analgesia, early mobilisation and rapid return to normal eating. Fast-track surgery was introduced systematically in Denmark by the establishment of the Unit of Perioperative Nursing (UPN...

Work-family conflict and neck and back pain in surgical nurses.

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Baur, Heiner; Grebner, Simone; Blasimann, Angela; Hirschmüller, Anja; Kubosch, Eva Johanna; Elfering, Achim

2018-03-01

Surgical nurses' work is physically and mentally demanding, possibly leading to work-family conflict (WFC). The current study tests WFC to be a risk factor for neck and lower back pain (LBP). Job influence and social support are tested as resources that could buffer the detrimental impact of WFC. Forty-eight surgical nurses from two university hospitals in Germany and Switzerland were recruited. WFC was assessed with the Work-Family Conflict Scale. Job influence and social support were assessed with the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, and back pain was assessed with the North American Spine Society Instrument. Multiple linear regression analyses confirmed WFC as a significant predictor of cervical pain (β = 0.45, p Work-life interventions may have the potential to reduce WFC in surgery nurses.

Introducing the nurse practitioner into the surgical ward: an ethnographic study of interprofessional teamwork practice.

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Kvarnström, Susanne; Jangland, Eva; Abrandt Dahlgren, Madeleine

2017-08-22

The first nurse practitioners in surgical care were introduced into Swedish surgical wards in 2014. Internationally, organisations that have adopted nurse practitioners into care teams are reported to have maintained or improved the quality of care. However, close qualitative descriptions of teamwork practice may add to existing knowledge of interprofessional collaboration when introducing nurse practitioners into new clinical areas. The aim was to report on an empirical study describing how interprofessional teamwork practice was enacted by nurse practitioners when introduced into surgical ward teams. The study had a qualitative, ethnographic research design, drawing on a sociomaterial conceptual framework. The study was based on 170 hours of ward-based participant observations of interprofessional teamwork practice that included nurse practitioners. Data were gathered from 2014 to 2015 across four surgical sites in Sweden, including 60 interprofessional rounds. The data were analysed with an iterative reflexive procedure involving inductive and theory-led approaches. The study was approved by a Swedish regional ethics committee (Ref. No.: 2014/229-31). The interprofessional teamwork practice enacted by the nurse practitioners that emerged from the analysis comprised a combination of the following characteristic role components: clinical leader, bridging team colleague and ever-present tutor. These role components were enacted at all the sites and were prominent during interprofessional teamwork practice. The participant nurse practitioners utilised the interprofessional teamwork practice arrangements to enact a role that may be described in terms of a quality guarantee, thereby contributing to the overall quality and care flow offered by the entire surgical ward team. © 2017 Nordic College of Caring Science.

The effectiveness of and satisfaction with high-fidelity simulation to teach cardiac surgical resuscitation skills to nurses.

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McRae, Marion E; Chan, Alice; Hulett, Renee; Lee, Ai Jin; Coleman, Bernice

2017-06-01

There are few reports of the effectiveness or satisfaction with simulation to learn cardiac surgical resuscitation skills. To test the effect of simulation on the self-confidence of nurses to perform cardiac surgical resuscitation simulation and nurses' satisfaction with the simulation experience. A convenience sample of sixty nurses rated their self-confidence to perform cardiac surgical resuscitation skills before and after two simulations. Simulation performance was assessed. Subjects completed the Satisfaction with Simulation Experience scale and demographics. Self-confidence scores to perform all cardiac surgical skills as measured by paired t-tests were significantly increased after the simulation (d=-0.50 to 1.78). Self-confidence and cardiac surgical work experience were not correlated with time to performance. Total satisfaction scores were high (mean 80.2, SD 1.06) indicating satisfaction with the simulation. There was no correlation of the satisfaction scores with cardiac surgical work experience (τ=-0.05, ns). Self-confidence scores to perform cardiac surgical resuscitation procedures were higher after the simulation. Nurses were highly satisfied with the simulation experience. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of rewards and demands in burnout among surgical nurses

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Beata A. Basińska

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Objective: Job rewards have both, an intrinsic and an extrinsic motivational potential, and lead to employees' development as well as help them to achieve work goals. Rewards can balance job demands and protect from burnout. Due to changes on the labour market, new studies are needed. The aim of our study was to examine the role of demands and individual rewards (and their absence in burnout among surgical nurses. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in 2009 and 2010 with 263 nurses who worked in surgical wards and clinics in hospitals in Southern Poland. The hypotheses were tested by the use of measures of demands and rewards (Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire by Siegrist and burnout syndrome (Maslach Burnout Inventory. A cross-sectional, correlational study design was applied. Results: Nurses experienced the largest deficiencies in salary and prestige. Exhaustion was explained by stronger demands and lack of respect (large effect. Depersonalization was explained by stronger demands, lack of respect and greater job security (medium effect. Reduced personal achievement was explained by more demands and greater job security (small effect. Conclusions: Excessive demands and lack of esteem are key reasons for burnout among surgical nurses. Job security can increase burnout when too many resources are invested and career opportunities do not appear. These results may help to improve human resource management in the healthcare sector.

The role of rewards and demands in burnout among surgical nurses.

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Basińska, Beata A; Wilczek-Rużyczka, Ewa

2013-08-01

Job rewards have both, an intrinsic and an extrinsic motivational potential, and lead to employees' development as well as help them to achieve work goals. Rewards can balance job demands and protect from burnout. Due to changes on the labour market, new studies are needed. The aim of our study was to examine the role of demands and individual rewards (and their absence) in burnout among surgical nurses. The study was conducted in 2009 and 2010 with 263 nurses who worked in surgical wards and clinics in hospitals in Southern Poland. The hypotheses were tested by the use of measures of demands and rewards (Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire by Siegrist) and burnout syndrome (Maslach Burnout Inventory). A cross-sectional, correlational study design was applied. Nurses experienced the largest deficiencies in salary and prestige. Exhaustion was explained by stronger demands and lack of respect (large effect). Depersonalization was explained by stronger demands, lack of respect and greater job security (medium effect). Reduced personal achievement was explained by more demands and greater job security (small effect). Excessive demands and lack of esteem are key reasons for burnout among surgical nurses. Job security can increase burnout when too many resources are invested and career opportunities do not appear. These results may help to improve human resource management in the healthcare sector.

Burnout syndrome in surgical oncology and general surgery nurses: a cross-sectional study.

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Książek, Ilona; Stefaniak, Tomasz J; Stadnyk, Magdalena; Książek, Janina

2011-09-01

The occurrence of burnout syndrome is strongly associated with and modulated by multiple personality and environmental factors. In Poland, nurses experience a discrepancy between the demands, expectations and social status of the position of their profession and low salaries. Such a situation provokes frustration and depression, and further leads to problems of adaptation including burnout syndrome. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of burnout syndrome among nurses working in general surgery and surgical oncology specialties. The study was designed as a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. It was undertaken in the largest Hospital in the Pomeranian region of Poland. The participants included 60 nurses working in two departments: General Surgery and Surgical Oncology. The study was based upon an anonymous self-test composed of a questionnaire and three psychological measures: Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Psychological Burden Scale and a self-constructed questionnaire on job satisfaction. Intensity of burnout syndrome was significantly higher among oncology nurses than among surgical ones. There was also a strong but not significant trend towards higher Psychological Burden Scale in the group of oncology nurses. The study revealed a high degree of emotional burden and burnout in nurses working in the study hospital suggesting that nurses are at great occupational risk. The findings of the study provide evidence of the potential need to restructure the system and suggest that nurses need more control of their work including a higher degree of involvement in clinical decision-making. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Empowering surgical nurses improves compliance rates for antibiotic prophylaxis after caesarean birth.

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Shimoni, Zvi; Kama, Naama; Mamet, Yaakov; Glick, Joseph; Dusseldorp, Natan; Froom, Paul

2009-11-01

Empowering surgical nurses improves compliance rates for antibiotic prophylaxis after caesarean birth. This paper is a report of a study of the effect of empowering surgical nurses to ensure that patients receive antibiotic prophylaxis after caesarean birth. Despite the consensus that single dose antibiotic prophylaxis is beneficial for women have either elective or non-elective caesarean delivery, hospitals need methods to increase compliance rates. In a study in Israel in 2007 surgical nurses were empowered to ensure that a single dose of cefazolin was given to the mother after cord clamping. A computerized system was used to identify women having caesarean births, cultures sent and culture results. Compliance was determined by chart review. Rates of compliance, suspected wound infections, and confirmed wound infections in 2007 were compared to rates in 2006 before the policy change. Relative risks were calculated dividing 2007 rates by those in 2006, and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using Taylor's series that does not assume a normal distribution. Statistical significance was assessed using the chi-square test. The compliance rate was increased from 25% in 2006 to 100% in 2007 (chi-square test, P rates decreased from 16.8% (186/1104) to 12.6% (137/1089) after the intervention (relative risk 0.75, 95% confidence interval, 0.61-0.92). Surgical nurses can ensure universal compliance for antibiotic prophylaxis in women after caesarean birth, leading to a reduction in wound infections.

Nurses experiences regarding staffing patterns in the surgical wards of a private hospital in Gauteng South Africa

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Moloko Malatji

2017-12-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe nurses' experiences regarding staffing patterns in the surgical wards of a private hospital in Gauteng in order to develop recommendations for staffing patterns in these wards. Methodology: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was used. Data was collected by means of in-depth semi structured individual interviews from a purposive sample of professional nurses working in the surgical wards of this hospital. Data was analysed using Tesch's method of qualitative thematic analysis. Principles of trustworthiness and ethical principles to ensure the protection of human rights were applied throughout the study. Results: The findings of the study revealed one central theme which reflected that participants experienced the staffing patterns of the surgical wards negatively. Two main themes emerged as, nurses had negative experiences in the surgical wards as well as negative emotional experiences related to the staffing patterns. Conclusion: It is evident from the findings of the study that nurses are experiencing staffing patterns negatively.

Reducing surgical nurses' aseptic practice-related stress.

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Aholaakko, Teija-Kaisa

2011-12-01

This paper aims to explore aseptic practice-related stress in surgery. The objectives are to define stress-related factors and the means to reduce the stress. Occupational stress is related to personal characteristics: job satisfaction and physiological and psychological well-being. The stress symptoms are often classified as part of a negative mood. Nurses have expressed stress when deadening their conscience to external demands with co-workers or internal working role-related demands. Surgery nurses expect fair division of work and compliance with rules. The hospital management, technology and the medical profession, instead of the needs of the patient, are recognised as a danger in the development of surgery nurses' role. A qualitative stimulated recall interview was performed in the surgery of the university hospital. Thirty-one operations were videotaped, and 31 nurses interviewed during videotape stimulation. The 1306 text pages were transcripted and analysed by a qualitative membership categorisation device analysis. The analysis revealed aseptic practice-related stress which constructed a sixteen level category. The membership categorisation identified connections between qualitatively attributed personnel and seven stress factors: working experience; time; equipment; person; patient; working morals and power. Final analysis revealed nurses reducing aseptic practice-related stress by safe, peaceful, competent and relative means. The aseptic practice-related stress varied from positive motivating feelings to exhaustion. The stress was experienced by medical and nursing co-workers and reduced by means which varied according to expertise and co-workers. This study showed needs for both the shared multiprofessional documentation of aseptic practice and better adherence to recommendations. Constructive means are useful when solving conflicts and replacing person-related aseptic practice with evidence-based. They may support nurses' professional growth, reduce

Effects of Flipped Learning Using Online Materials in a Surgical Nursing Practicum: A Pilot Stratified Group-Randomized Trial.

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Lee, Myung Kyung; Park, Bu Kyung

2018-01-01

This study examined the effect of flipped learning in comparison to traditional learning in a surgical nursing practicum. The subjects of this study were 102 nursing students in their third year of university who were scheduled to complete a clinical nursing practicum in an operating room or surgical unit. Participants were randomly assigned to either a flipped learning group (n = 51) or a traditional learning group (n = 51) for the 1-week, 45-hour clinical nursing practicum. The flipped-learning group completed independent e-learning lessons on surgical nursing and received a brief orientation prior to the commencement of the practicum, while the traditional-learning group received a face-to-face orientation and on-site instruction. After the completion of the practicum, both groups completed a case study and a conference. The student's self-efficacy, self-leadership, and problem-solving skills in clinical practice were measured both before and after the one-week surgical nursing practicum. Participants' independent goal setting and evaluation of beliefs and assumptions for the subscales of self-leadership and problem-solving skills were compared for the flipped learning group and the traditional learning group. The results showed greater improvement on these indicators for the flipped learning group in comparison to the traditional learning group. The flipped learning method might offer more effective e-learning opportunities in terms of self-leadership and problem-solving than the traditional learning method in surgical nursing practicums.

Healthcare information technology and medical-surgical nurses: the emergence of a new care partnership.

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Moore, An'Nita; Fisher, Kathleen

2012-03-01

Healthcare information technology in US hospitals and ambulatory care centers continues to expand, and nurses are expected to effectively and efficiently utilize this technology. Researchers suggest that clinical information systems have expanded the realm of nursing to integrate technology as an element as important in nursing practice as the patient or population being served. This study sought to explore how medical surgical nurses make use of healthcare information technology in their current clinical practice and to examine the influence of healthcare information technology on nurses' clinical decision making. A total of eight medical surgical nurses participated in the study, four novice and four experienced. A conventional content analysis was utilized that allowed for a thematic interpretation of participant data. Five themes emerged: (1) healthcare information technology as a care coordination partner, (2) healthcare information technology as a change agent in the care delivery environment, (3) healthcare information technology-unable to meet all the needs, of all the people, all the time, (4) curiosity about healthcare information technology-what other bells and whistles exist, and (5) Big Brother is watching. The results of this study indicate that a new care partnership has emerged as the provision of nursing care is no longer supplied by a single practitioner but rather by a paired team, consisting of nurses and technology, working collaboratively in an interdependent relationship to achieve established goals.

Relationship between job stress level and coping strategies used by Hong Kong nurses working in an acute surgical unit.

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Wang, Wenru; Kong, Amelia Wai Man; Chair, Sek Ying

2011-11-01

The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between job stress and coping strategies of Hong Kong nurses working in an acute surgical unit. This is a descriptive correlational study. Data were collected from 98 Hong Kong surgical nurses using the Nursing Stress Scale and the Jalowiec Coping Scale. Results showed that workload (M = 15.36), lack of support (M = 13.32), and inadequate preparation (M = 12.33) are the most common stressors for Hong Kong surgical nurses. The most frequent strategies used by nurses to cope with stress can be characterized as evasive (M = 19.23), confrontive (M = 17.46), and optimistic (M = 15.81), all of which are also rated as the most effective strategies in reducing stress levels. Only the confrontive, optimistic, supportant, and emotive coping strategies reveal significant correlations (p stress levels of nurses, whereas the evasive, fatalistic, palliative, and self-reliant strategies showed no significant correlation with stress levels (p > .05). Recognizing the impacts of job-related stress and making use of effective coping methods play a vital role in reducing nurse's stress. A change in leadership styles from the managerial level and reallocation of manpower may help reduce job stress. The use of confrontive and optimistic coping strategies in reducing job-related stress for surgical nurses should be advocated and promoted in their daily work. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nurses are everywhere: a practical perspective on the surgical team in managing postoperative ileus.

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Saufl, Nancy M; Strzyzewski, Nancy

2006-04-01

Because the availability of new, peripherally acting mu-opioid-receptor antagonists is expected soon, it is important for all members of the surgical team to familiarize themselves with new approaches and also re-evaluate older approaches to help improve patient outcomes. "Preop nurses" have numerous responsibilities, among which are mitigating some of the adverse outcomes of surgery such as postoperative ileus (POI), making these nursing personnel indispensable to the proper implementation of multimodal management protocols for POI. Establishing basic preoperative procedures is an important primary consideration. Preoperative evaluation of general health, medical history (including surgical history), and an assessment of gastrointestinal (GI) function and habits should all be part of careful up-front assessment for each patient, especially because POI and other GI adverse effects are so often encountered in the PACU. Hand-in-hand with how we as nurses interact with our surgical colleagues is patient education regarding hospitalization and postrecovery expectations. PACU nurses will be key players in maintaining proper implementation of multimodal regimens, essentially doing this in two "phases": Phase I interventions comprise the ongoing assessment and monitoring of patients, administering medications, and evaluating patient satisfaction and overall status; Phase II considerations encompass a further set of practice guidelines that center on optimizing discharge status, including pain management and education as well as other discharge needs. Where new agents may fit into multimodal regimens that optimally incorporate preoperative and postanesthesia protocols remains to be determined. What is clear is that as nurses and the entire surgical team strive to enhance patient satisfaction, nursing personnel must assume leadership roles in how new multimodal strategies are implemented and executed. Advanced clinical data for the new peripherally acting mu

Medical-surgical nurses' perceived self-confidence and leadership abilities as first responders in acute patient deterioration events.

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Hart, Patricia L; Spiva, LeeAnna; Baio, Pamela; Huff, Barbara; Whitfield, Denice; Law, Tammy; Wells, Tiffany; Mendoza, Inocenica G

2014-10-01

To explore and understand medical-surgical nurses' perceived self-confidence and leadership abilities as first responders in recognising and responding to clinical deterioration prior to the arrival of an emergency response team. Patients are admitted to hospitals with multiple, complex health issues who are more likely to experience clinical deterioration. The majority of clinical deterioration events occur on medical-surgical units, and medical-surgical nurses are frequently the first healthcare professionals to identify signs and symptoms of clinical deterioration and initiate life-saving interventions. A prospective, cross-sectional, descriptive quantitative design using a survey method was used. Nurses were recruited from an integrated healthcare system located in the south-east United States. Nurses completed a demographic, a self-confidence and a leadership ability questionnaire. One hundred and forty-eight nurses participated in the study. Nurses felt moderately self-confident in recognising, assessing and intervening during clinical deterioration events. In addition, nurses felt moderately comfortable performing leadership skills prior to the arrival of an emergency response team. A significant, positive relationship was found between perceived self-confidence and leadership abilities. Age and certification status were significant predictors of nurses' leadership ability. Although nurses felt moderately self-confident and comfortable with executing leadership abilities, improvement is needed to ensure nurses are competent in recognising patients' deterioration cues and making sound decisions in taking appropriate, timely actions to rescue patients. Further strategies need to be developed to increase nurses' self-confidence and execution of leadership abilities in handling deterioration events for positive patient outcomes. Educational provisions should focus on various clinical deterioration events to build nurses' self-confidence and leadership abilities

Advancing medical-surgical nursing practice: improving management of the changing patient condition.

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Monroe, Heidi; Plylar, Peggy; Krugman, Mary

2014-01-01

Higher patient acuities and more novice nurses on medical-surgical units have Educators focused on achieving positive outcomes with changes in patient condition. An educational program was developed to enhance nurses' knowledge, skill, and confidence in assessing hemodynamics, recognizing early signs of instability, and administering vasoactive medications. The program was successful with significant knowledge improvement as well as an increased use of the Medical Emergency Team while maintaining a low number of code calls.

The consequences of using advanced physical assessment skills in medical and surgical nursing: A hermeneutic pragmatic study.

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Zambas, Shelaine I; Smythe, Elizabeth A; Koziol-Mclain, Jane

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore the consequences of the nurse's use of advanced assessment skills on medical and surgical wards. Appropriate, accurate, and timely assessment by nurses is the cornerstone of maintaining patient safety in hospitals. The inclusion of "advanced" physical assessment skills such as auscultation, palpation, and percussion is thought to better prepare nurses for complex patient presentations within a wide range of clinical situations. This qualitative study used a hermeneutic pragmatic approach. Unstructured interviews were conducted with five experienced medical and surgical nurses to obtain 13 detailed narratives of assessment practice. Narratives were analyzed using Van Manen's six-step approach to identify the consequences of the nurse's use of advanced assessment skills. The consequences of using advanced assessment skills include looking for more, challenging interpretations, and perseverance. The use of advanced assessment skills directs what the nurse looks for, what she sees, interpretation of the findings, and her response. It is the interpretation of what is seen, heard, or felt within the full context of the patient situation, which is the advanced skill. Advanced assessment skill is the means to an accurate interpretation of the clinical situation and contributes to appropriate diagnosis and medical management in complex patient situations. The nurse's use of advanced assessment skills enables her to contribute to diagnostic reasoning within the acute medical and surgical setting.

[NIC as a tool for assessing competences of nursing students in clinical placement at surgical units].

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Celma Vicente, Matilde; Ajuria-Imaz, Eloisa; Lopez-Morales, Manuel; Fernandez-Marín, Pilar; Menor-Castro, Alicia; Cano-Caballero Galvez, Maria Dolores

2015-01-01

This paper shows the utility of a NIC standardized language to assess the extent of nursing student skills at Practicum in surgical units To identify the nursing interventions classification (NIC) that students can learn to perform in surgical units. To determine the level of difficulty in learning interventions, depending on which week of rotation in clinical placement the student is. Qualitative study using Delphi consensus technique, involving nurses with teaching experience who work in hospital surgical units, where students undertake the Practicum. The results were triangulated through a questionnaire to tutors about the degree of conformity. A consensus was reached about the interventions that students can achieve in surgical units and the frequency in which they can be performed. The level of difficulty of each intervention, and the amount of weeks of practice that students need to reach the expected level of competence was also determined. The results should enable us to design better rotations matched to student needs. Knowing the frequency of each intervention that is performed in each unit determines the chances of learning it, as well as the indicators for its assessment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Promoting Undergraduate Surgical Education: Current Evidence and Students' Views on ESMSC International Wet Lab Course.

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Sideris, Michail; Papalois, Apostolos; Theodoraki, Korina; Dimitropoulos, Ioannis; Johnson, Elizabeth O; Georgopoulou, Efstratia-Maria; Staikoglou, Nikolaos; Paparoidamis, Georgios; Pantelidis, Panteleimon; Tsagkaraki, Ismini; Karamaroudis, Stefanos; Potoupnis, Michael E; Tsiridis, Eleftherios; Dedeilias, Panagiotis; Papagrigoriadis, Savvas; Papalois, Vassilios; Zografos, Georgios; Triantafyllou, Aggeliki; Tsoulfas, Georgios

2017-04-01

Undergraduate Surgical Education is becoming an essential element in the training of the future generation of safe and efficient surgeons. Essential Skills in the Management of Surgical Cases (ESMSC), is an international, joint applied surgical science and simulation-based learning wet lab course. We performed a review of the existing literature on the topic of undergraduate surgical education. Following that, we analyzed the feedback questionnaire received 480 from 2 recent series of ESMSC courses (May 2015, n = 49 and November 2015, n = 40), in order to evaluate European Union students' (UK, Germany, Greece) views on the ESMSC course, as well as on the undergraduate surgical education. Results Using a 10 point graded scale, the overall ESMSC concept was positively evaluated, with a mean score of 9.41 ± 0.72 (range: 8-10) and 8.94 ± 1.1 (range: 7-10). The majority of delegates from both series [9.86 ± 0.43 (range: 8-10) and 9.58 ± 0.91 (range: 6-10), respectively] believed that ESMSC should be incorporated in the undergraduate surgical curriculum. Comparison of responses from the UK to the Greek Medical Student, as well as the findings from the third and fourth year versus the fifth and sixth year Medical Students, revealed no statistically significant differences pertaining to any of the questions (p > 0.05). Current evidence in the literature supports the enhancement of surgical education through the systematic use of various modalities that provide Simulation-Based Training (SBT) hands-on experience, starting from the early undergraduate level. The findings of the present study are in agreement with these previous reports.

Management role of surgical center nurses: perceptions by means of images

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Camila Dalcól

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to analyze the perceptions of surgical center nurses concerning their work environment and management role. Qualitative study conducted with 10 nurse supervisors in public and private hospitals, by means of individual projective interviews, from February to August 2013. The interviews were transcribed and submitted to content analysis. The results allowed analysis of the perceptions of nurses by means of images, such as: strategist, chameleon, conductor, flagship, owl head, and superhero. Regarding the environment, they described images associated with purposes and physical characteristics of the unit, highlighting it as the heart of the hospital. Regarding the management role, the images were associated with leadership, decision-making, adaptation, flexibility, teamwork and supervision. The results showed that nurses had a proactive but sometimes idealized view of their performance. It is of utmost importance that they reflect on their role and try to give their performance higher visibility.

Nursing assessment of continuous vital sign surveillance to improve patient safety on the medical/surgical unit.

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Watkins, Terri; Whisman, Lynn; Booker, Pamela

2016-01-01

Evaluate continuous vital sign surveillance as a tool to improve patient safety in the medical/surgical unit. Failure-to-rescue is an important measure of hospital quality. Patient deterioration is often preceded by changes in vital signs. However, continuous multi-parameter vital sign monitoring may decrease patient safety with an abundance of unnecessary alarms. Prospective observational study at two geographically disperse hospitals in a single hospital system. A multi-parameter vital sign monitoring system was installed in a medical/surgical unit in Utah and one in Alabama providing continuous display of SpO2, heart rate, blood pressure and respiration rate on a central station. Alarm thresholds and time to alert annunciations were set based on prior analysis of the distribution of each vital sign. At the end of 4 weeks, nurses completed a survey on their experience. An average alert per patient, per day was determined retrospectively from the saved vital signs data and knowledge of the alarm settings. Ninety-two per cent of the nurses agreed that the number of alarms and alerts were appropriate; 54% strongly agreed. On average, both units experienced 10·8 alarms per patient, per day. One hundred per cent agreed the monitor provided valuable patient data that increased patient safety; 79% strongly agreed. Continuous, multi-parameter patient monitoring could be performed on medical/surgical units with a small and appropriate level of alarms. Continuous vital sign assessment may have initiated nursing interventions that prevented failure-to-rescue events. Nurses surveyed unanimously agreed that continuous vital sign surveillance will help enhance patient safety. Nursing response to abnormal vital signs is one of the most important levers in patient safety, by providing timely recognition of early clinical deterioration. This occurs through diligent nursing surveillance, involving assessment, interpretation of data, recognition of a problem and meaningful

Surgical wound dehiscence in an Australian community nursing service: time and cost to healing.

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Sandy-Hodgetts, K; Leslie, G D; Lewin, G; Hendrie, D; Carville, K

2016-07-02

Surgical wound dehiscence (SWD) increases the length of hospital stay and impacts on patient wellbeing and health-care costs. Globally, the health-care costs associated with SWD are poorly reported and those reported are frequently associated with surgical site infection (SSI), rather than dehiscence of non-microbial cause. This retrospective study describes and reports on the costs and time to healing associated with a number of surgical patients who were referred to a community nursing service for treatment of an SWD following discharge from a metropolitan hospital, in Perth, Western Australia. Descriptive statistical analysis was carried out to describe the patient, wound and treatment characteristics. A costing analysis was conducted to investigate the cost of healing these wounds. Among the 70 patients referred with a SWD, 55% were treated for an infected wound dehiscence which was a significant factor (p=0.001). Overall, the cost of treating the 70 patients with a SWD in a community nursing service was in excess of $56,000 Australian dollars (AUD) (£28,705) and did not include organisational overheads or travel costs for nurse visits. The management of infection contributed to 67% of the overall cost. SWD remains an unquantified aspect of wound care from a prevalence and fiscal point of view. Further work needs to be done in the identification of SWD and which patients may be 'at risk'. The authors declare they have no competing interests.

Stress and coping among surgical unit nurses of a teaching hospital

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Laura de Azevedo Guido

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This study aimed at identifying the stressors, the level of stress and coping strategies used by nurses in a surgical clinic of a university hospital. It is a cross-sectional study whose population consisted of nine nurses. Data were collected, between May and June 2005, through the Survey Form for Daily Activities and Coping Strategies Inventory. It was verified that activities related to personnel management were valued as the most stressful. Indicating a nurse in a state of alert for high levels of stress was valued like three medium levels and five with low level of stress. It was observed that solving problems was the most commonly used factor to face stress. Knowledge of the stressors and the ways of coping with them can help assist in the development of possible solutions to minimize their effects and become the most productive and less stressful aspect of the daily life.

Compassion fatigue, moral distress, and work engagement in surgical intensive care unit trauma nurses: a pilot study.

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Mason, Virginia M; Leslie, Gail; Clark, Kathleen; Lyons, Pat; Walke, Erica; Butler, Christina; Griffin, Martha

2014-01-01

Preparation for replacing the large proportion of staff nurses reaching retirement age in the next few decades in the United States is essential to continue delivering high-quality nursing care and improving patient outcomes. Retaining experienced critical care nurses is imperative to successfully implementing the orientation of new inexperienced critical care nurses. It is important to understand factors that affect work engagement to develop strategies that enhance nurse retention and improve the quality of patient care. Nurses' experience of moral distress has been measured in medical intensive care units but not in surgical trauma care units, where nurses are exposed to patients and families faced with sudden life-threatening, life-changing patient consequences.This pilot study is a nonexperimental, descriptive, correlational design to examine the effect of compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, moral distress, and level of nursing education on critical care nurses' work engagement. This is a partial replication of Lawrence's dissertation. The study also asked nurses to describe sources of moral distress and self-care strategies for coping with stress. This was used to identify qualitative themes about the nurse experiences. Jean Watson's theory of human caring serves as a framework to bring meaning and focus to the nursing-patient caring relationship.A convenience sample of 26 of 34 eligible experienced surgical intensive care unit trauma nurses responded to this survey, indicating a 77% response rate. Twenty-seven percent of the nurses scored high, and 73% scored average on compassion satisfaction. On compassion fatigue, 58% scored average on burnout and 42% scored low. On the secondary traumatic stress subscale, 38% scored average, and 62% scored low. The mean moral distress situations subscale score was 3.4, which is elevated. The mean 9-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale total score, measuring work engagement, was 3.8, which is considered low

Virtual Reality Simulator Systems in Robotic Surgical Training.

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Mangano, Alberto; Gheza, Federico; Giulianotti, Pier Cristoforo

2018-06-01

The number of robotic surgical procedures has been increasing worldwide. It is important to maximize the cost-effectiveness of robotic surgical training and safely reduce the time needed for trainees to reach proficiency. The use of preliminary lab training in robotic skills is a good strategy for the rapid acquisition of further, standardized robotic skills. Such training can be done either by using a simulator or by exercises in a dry or wet lab. While the use of an actual robotic surgical system for training may be problematic (high cost, lack of availability), virtual reality (VR) simulators can overcome many of these obstacles. However, there is still a lack of standardization. Although VR training systems have improved, they cannot yet replace experience in a wet lab. In particular, simulated scenarios are not yet close enough to a real operative experience. Indeed, there is a difference between technical skills (i.e., mechanical ability to perform a simulated task) and surgical competence (i.e., ability to perform a real surgical operation). Thus, while a VR simulator can replace a dry lab, it cannot yet replace training in a wet lab or operative training in actual patients. However, in the near future, it is expected that VR surgical simulators will be able to provide total reality simulation and replace training in a wet lab. More research is needed to produce more wide-ranging, trans-specialty robotic curricula.

Fall prediction according to nurses' clinical judgment: differences between medical, surgical, and geriatric wards.

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Milisen, Koen; Coussement, Joke; Flamaing, Johan; Vlaeyen, Ellen; Schwendimann, René; Dejaeger, Eddy; Surmont, Kurt; Boonen, Steven

2012-06-01

To assess the value of nurses' clinical judgment (NCJ) in predicting hospital inpatient falls. Prospective multicenter study. Six Belgian hospitals. Two thousand four hundred seventy participants (mean age 67.6 ± 18.3; female, 55.7%) on four surgical (n = 812, 32.9%), eight geriatric (n = 666, 27.0%), and four general medical wards (n = 992, 40.1%) were included upon admission. All participants were hospitalized for at least 48 hours. Within 24 hours after admission, nurses gave their judgment on the question "Do you think your patient is at high risk for falling?" Nurses were not trained in assessing fall risk. Falls were documented on a standardized incident report form. During hospitalization, 143 (5.8%) participants experienced one or more falls, accounting for 202 falls and corresponding to an overall rate of 7.9 falls per 1,000 patient days. NCJ of participant's risk of falling had high sensitivity (78-92%) with high negative predictive value (94-100%) but low positive predictive value (4-17%). Although false-negative rates were low (8-22%) for all departments and age groups, false-positive rates were high (55-74%), except on surgical and general medical wards and in participants younger than 75. This analysis, based on multicenter data and a large sample size, suggests that NCJ can be recommended on surgical and general medical wards and in individuals younger than 75, but on geriatric wards and in participants aged 75 and older, NCJ overestimates risk of falling and is thus not recommended because expensive comprehensive fall-prevention measures would be implemented in a large number of individuals who do not need it. © 2012, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2012, The American Geriatrics Society.

Nurse Level of Education, Quality of Care and Patient Safety in the Medical and Surgical Wards in Malaysian Private Hospitals: A Cross-sectional Study.

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Abdul Rahman, Hamzah; Jarrar, Mu'taman; Don, Mohammad Sobri

2015-04-23

Nursing knowledge and skills are required to sustain quality of care and patient safety. The numbers of nurses with Bachelor degrees in Malaysia are very limited. This study aims to predict the impact of nurse level of education on quality of care and patient safety in the medical and surgical wards in Malaysian private hospitals. A cross-sectional survey by questionnaire was conducted. A total 652 nurses working in the medical and surgical wards in 12 private hospitals were participated in the study. Multistage stratified simple random sampling performed to invite nurses working in small size (less than 100 beds), medium size (100-199 beds) and large size (over than 200) hospitals to participate in the study. This allowed nurses from all shifts to participate in this study. Nurses with higher education were not significantly associated with both quality of care and patient safety. However, a total 355 (60.9%) of respondents participated in this study were working in teaching hospitals. Teaching hospitals offer training for all newly appointed staff. They also provide general orientation programs and training to outline the policies, procedures of the nurses' roles and responsibilities. This made the variances between the Bachelor and Diploma nurses not significantly associated with the outcomes of care. Nursing educational level was not associated with the outcomes of care in Malaysian private hospitals. However, training programs and the general nursing orientation programs for nurses in Malaysia can help to upgrade the Diploma-level nurses. Training programs can increase their self confidence, knowledge, critical thinking ability and improve their interpersonal skills. So, it can be concluded that better education and training for a medical and surgical wards' nurses is required for satisfying client expectations and sustaining the outcomes of patient care.

Nursing Practice Environment and Outcomes for Oncology Nursing

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Shang, Jingjing; Friese, Christopher R.; Wu, Evan; Aiken, Linda H.

2012-01-01

Background It is commonly assumed that oncology nurses experience high job-related burnout and high turnover because their work involves inherent stressors such as caring for patients with serious and often life-threatening illness. Objectives The objectives of this study were to examine the differences in outcomes such as job dissatisfaction and burnout between oncology nurses and medical-surgical nurses, and to identify factors that affect oncology nurse outcomes. Methods A secondary analysis of nurse survey data collected in 2006 including 4047 nurses from 282 hospitals in 3 states was performed; t test and χ2 test compared differences between oncology nurses and medical-surgical nurses in nurse outcomes and their assessments of nurse practice environment, as measured by the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index. Logistic regression models estimated the effect of nurse practice environment on 4 nurse-reported outcomes: burnout, job dissatisfaction, intention to leave the current position, and perceived quality of care. Results Oncology nurses reported favorable practice environments and better outcomes than did medical-surgical nurses. All 4 subscales of the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index studied were significantly associated with outcomes. Specifically, nurses who reported favorable nursing foundations for quality of care (eg, active in-service or preceptorship programs) were less likely to report burnout and leave their current position. Conclusions Better practice environments, including nurse foundations for quality care, can help to achieve optimal nurse outcomes. Implications for Practice Improving hospital practice environments holds significant potential to improve nurse well-being, retention, and quality of care. Specifically, hospitals should consider preceptor programs and continuing education and increase nurses’ participation in hospital decision making. PMID:22751101

Variation in cancer surgical outcomes associated with physician and nurse staffing: a retrospective observational study using the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination Database

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Yasunaga Hideo

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Little is known about the effects of professional staffing on cancer surgical outcomes. The present study aimed to investigate the association between cancer surgical outcomes and physician/nurse staffing in relation to hospital volume. Methods We analyzed 131,394 patients undergoing lung lobectomy, esophagectomy, gastrectomy, colorectal surgery, hepatectomy or pancreatectomy for cancer between July and December, 2007–2008, using the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database linked to the Survey of Medical Institutions data. Physician-to-bed ratio (PBR and nurse-to-bed ratio (NBR were determined for each hospital. Hospital volume was categorized into low, medium and high for each of six cancer surgeries. Failure to rescue (FTR was defined as a proportion of inhospital deaths among those with postoperative complications. Multi-level logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between physician/nurse staffing and FTR, adjusting for patient characteristics and hospital volume. Results Overall inhospital mortality was 1.8%, postoperative complication rate was 15.2%, and FTR rate was 11.9%. After adjustment for hospital volume, FTR rate in the group with high PBR (≥19.7 physicians per 100 beds and high NBR (≥77.0 nurses per 100 beds was significantly lower than that in the group with low PBR ( Conclusions Well-staffed hospitals confer a benefit for cancer surgical patients regarding reduced FTR, irrespective of hospital volume. These results suggest that consolidation of surgical centers linked with migration of medical professionals may improve the quality of cancer surgical management.

Attitudes of Registered and Licensed Practical Nurses About the Importance of Families in Surgical Hospital Units: Findings From the Landspitali University Hospital Family Nursing Implementation Project.

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Blöndal, Katrin; Zoëga, Sigridur; Hafsteinsdottir, Jorunn E; Olafsdottir, Olof Asdis; Thorvardardottir, Audur B; Hafsteinsdottir, Sigrun A; Sveinsdóttir, Herdis

2014-08-01

The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses about the importance of the family in surgical hospital units before (T1) and after (T2) implementation of a Family Systems Nursing educational intervention based on the Calgary Family Assessment and Intervention Models. This study was part of the Landspitali University Hospital Family Nursing Implementation Project and used a nonrandomized, quasi-experimental design with nonequivalent group before and after and without a control group. There were 181 participants at T1 and 130 at T2. No difference was found in nurses' attitudes as measured by the Families Importance in Nursing Care-Nurses' Attitudes (FINC-NA) questionnaire, before and after the educational intervention. Attitudes toward families were favorable at both times. Analysis of demographic variables showed that age, work experience, and workplace (inpatient vs. outpatient units) had an effect on the nurses' attitudes toward families. The influence of work experience on attitudes toward family care warrants further exploration. © The Author(s) 2014.

Surgical nurses' work-related stress when caring for severely ill and dying patients in cancer after participating in an educational intervention on existential issues.

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Udo, Camilla; Danielson, Ella; Henoch, Ingela; Melin-Johansson, Christina

2013-10-01

The aim of this study was to describe surgical nurses' perceived work-related stress in the care of severely ill and dying patients with cancer after participating in an educational intervention on existential issues. This article reports a mixed methods pilot study of an education programme consisting of lectures and supervised discussions conducted in 2009-2010 in three surgical wards in a county hospital in Sweden. The concurrent data collections consisted of repeated interviews with eleven nurses in an educational group, and questionnaires were distributed to 42 nurses on four occasions. Directly after the educational intervention, the nurses described working under high time pressure. They also described being hindered in caring because of discrepancies between their caring intentions and what was possible in the surgical care context. Six months later, the nurses described a change in decision making, and a shift in the caring to make it more in line with their own intentions and patients' needs rather than the organizational structure. They also reported decreased feelings of work-related stress, decreased stress associated with work-load and feeling less disappointed at work. Results indicate that it may be possible to influence nurses' work-related stress through an educational intervention. According to nurses' descriptions, reflecting on their ways of caring for severely ill and dying patients, many of whom had cancer, from an existential perspective, had contributed to enhanced independent decision making in caring. This in turn appears to have decreased their feelings of work-related stress and disappointment at work. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Peer-to-peer nursing rounds and hospital-acquired pressure ulcer prevalence in a surgical intensive care unit: a quality improvement project.

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Kelleher, Alyson Dare; Moorer, Amanda; Makic, MaryBeth Flynn

2012-01-01

We conducted a quality improvement project in order to evaluate the effect of nurse-to-nurse bedside "rounding" as a strategy to decrease hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (HAPU) in a surgical intensive care unit. We instituted weekly peer-to-peer bedside skin rounds in a 17-bed surgical intensive care unit. Two nurses were identified as skin champions and trained by the hospital's certified WOC nurse to conduct skin rounds. The skin champion nurses conducted weekly peer-to-peer rounds that included discussions about key elements of our patients' skin status including current Braden Scale for Pressure Sore Risk score, and implementation of specific interventions related to subscale risk assessment. If a pressure ulcer was present, the current action plan was reevaluated for effectiveness. Quarterly HAPU prevalence studies were conducted from January 2008 to December 2010. Nineteen patients experienced a HAPU: 17 were located on the coccyx and 2 on the heel. Ten ulcers were classified as stage II, 3 PU were stage IV, 5 were deemed unstageable, and 1 was classified as a deep tissue injury. The frequency of preventive interventions rose during our quality improvement project. Specifically, the use of prevention surfaces increased 92%, repositioning increased 30%, nutrition interventions increased 77%, and moisture management increased 100%. Prior to focused nursing rounds, the highest HAPU prevalence rate was 27%. After implementing focused nursing rounds, HAPU rates trended down and were 0% for 3 consecutive quarters.

Hemodynamic and oxygenation changes in surgical intensive care unit patients with fever and fever lowering nursing interventions.

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Çelik, Sevim; Yildirim, Ismail; Arslan, Ibrahim; Yildirim, Sinan; Erdal, Fatih; Yandi, Yunus Emre

2011-12-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of fever and nursing interventions to lower fever on hemodynamic values and oxygenation in febrile (temperature greater than 38.3°C) surgical intensive care unit patients. This retrospective study was conducted in 53 febrile patients out of 519 patients admitted to the surgical intensive care unit at a university hospital. Data were obtained from the medical records, laboratory files and nursing notes. Statistical analysis of the data was analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance and a paired sample t-test. The average hourly urine output (F = 5.46; P = 0.002) and systolic blood pressure (F = 2.87; P = 0.03) were significantly lower after fever onset. Heart rate, respiratory rate, positive end-expiratory pressure settings and FiO(2) settings were unchanged after the development of fever. Diastolic blood pressure and oxygen saturation had non-statistically significant decreases. Nursing interventions for febrile patients consisted of medication administration (69.8%), ice (62.3%) and sponging with tepid water (62.3%). The present results showed that fever was associated with an increase in heart rate, decreased systolic arterial pressure, mean arterial pressure, oxygen saturation and hourly urine output. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Anxiety in veterinary surgical students

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Langebæk, Rikke; Eika, Berit; Jensen, Asger Lundorff

2012-01-01

The surgical educational environment is potentially stressful and this can negatively affect students' learning. The aim of this study was to investigate whether veterinary students' level of anxiety is higher in a surgical course than in a non-surgical course and if pre-surgical training...... in a Surgical Skills Lab (SSL) has an anxiety reducing effect. Investigations were carried out as a comparative study and a parallel group study. Potential participants were fourth-year veterinary students who attended a surgical course (Basic Surgical Skills) and a non-surgical course (Clinical Examination...... and 28 students from 2010). Our results show that anxiety levels in veterinary students are significantly higher in a surgical course than in a non-surgical course (p...

Student preparation and the power of visual input in veterinary surgical education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langebæk, Rikke; Nielsen, Søren Saxmose; Koch, Bodil Cathrine

2016-01-01

In recent years, veterinary educational institutions have implemented alternative teaching methods, including video demonstrations of surgical procedures. However, the power of the dynamic visual input from videos in relation to recollection of a surgical procedure has never been evaluated. The aim...... a basic surgical skills course, 112 fourth-year veterinary students participated in the study by completing a questionnaire regarding method of recollection, influence of individual types of educational input, and homework preparation. Furthermore, we observed students performing an orchiectomy...... in a terminal pig lab. Preparation for the pig lab consisted of homework (textbook, online material, including videos), lecture, cadaver lab, and toy animal models in a skills lab. In the instructional video, a detail was used that was not described elsewhere. Results show that 60% of the students used a visual...

Overload Of Work Of The Nursing Professionals That Work In The Surgical Center And The Repercussions In The Quality Of Life

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Alany Bezerra da Rocha Alves

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The Surgical Center is a restricted environment of high complexity, where the professionals who work in it deal with exhausting activities, as well as complex and unexpected situations, which are potential physical and psychological stressors, and can interfere in the quality of life. This is an exploratory, descriptive, quantitative qualitative approach, with the objective of analyzing the workload of nursing professionals working at the Surgical Center and the repercussions on the quality of life, submitted and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Health Sciences Center of the Federal University of Paraíba (CCS/ UFPB, according to the protocol n° 0156/16, CAAE: 55298616.3.0000.5188. The sample consisted of 15 nurses of both sexes who work in a Philanthropic Hospital located in the municipality of João Pessoa / PB. A questionnaire was applied to characterize the participants' profile, an interview script with data related to work overload and WHOQOL-Bref. It was found that 80% of the participants were women, the average age was 37.8 years. In the sample, 60% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their quality of life, and 33% stated they were dissatisfied with their quality of health. It is concluded that the results obtained provided a more reflective analysis of the workload of nursing professionals working in the surgical center, besides analyzing the repercussions that affect the quality of life of these people, evaluating the association between the variables of the characterization Of the nursing professionals' profile with the domains measured by WOQOL Bref.

The effects of cooperative learning on students enrolled in a level 1 medical-surgical nursing course.

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Gumbs, J

2001-01-01

This study was undertaken to create an environment that the literature contends will be more conducive to learning and one that will build the necessary social skills impacting students' performance. These social skills are essential if a nurse is to be effective in her role as a competent provider of care as well as an effective member of the inter-disciplinary health care team. The concept of cooperative learning was applied to nursing theoretical content in an effort to (a) decrease attrition rates in a first level medical-surgical nursing course, (b) increase student's knowledge and (c) enhance student's patient-teaching skills. Increased knowledge was assessed by student's performance on teacher-made paper and pencil examinations. The Classroom Life Instrument questionnaire was used for feedback on the teaching strategy and the Griffin tool was the basis for the pre-test and post-test assessment and implementation of the patient teaching plan.

Back-to-basics with a surgical rotation programme.

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Hall, Catherine L

This article describes the development and implementation of a rotation programme for Band 5 nurses within the surgical directorate at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust. The article highlights the challenges raised for nurses with health service modernization and develops the rationale for the need for a different way of thinking. At Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, the authors evaluation has led to the development of the surgical rotation programme for Band 5 nurses. This rotation programme challenged basic clinical practice and traditional modes of staff placement. Indications, so far, are that quality of care for patients has improved and nurses satisfaction has increased as a result of the implementation of the Band 5 surgical rotation programme.

Portable Video Media Versus Standard Verbal Communication in Surgical Information Delivery to Nurses: A Prospective Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial.

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Kam, Jonathan; Ainsworth, Hannah; Handmer, Marcus; Louie-Johnsun, Mark; Winter, Matthew

2016-10-01

Continuing education of health professionals is important for delivery of quality health care. Surgical nurses are often required to understand surgical procedures. Nurses need to be aware of the expected outcomes and recognize potential complications of such procedures during their daily work. Traditional educational methods, such as conferences and tutorials or informal education at the bedside, have many drawbacks for delivery of this information in a universal, standardized, and timely manner. The rapid uptake of portable media devices makes portable video media (PVM) a potential alternative to current educational methods. To compare PVM to standard verbal communication (SVC) for surgical information delivery and educational training for nurses and evaluate its impact on knowledge acquisition and participant satisfaction. Prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled crossover trial. Two hospitals: Gosford District Hospital and Wyong Hospital. Seventy-two nursing staff (36 at each site). Information delivery via PVM--7-minute video compared to information delivered via SVC. Knowledge acquisition was measured by a 32-point questionnaire, and satisfaction with the method of education delivery was measured using the validated Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8). Knowledge acquisition was higher via PVM compared to SVC 25.9 (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.2-26.6) versus 24.3 (95% CI 23.5-25.1), p = .004. Participant satisfaction was higher with PVM 29.5 (95% CI 28.3-30.7) versus 26.5 (95% CI 25.1-27.9), p = .003. Following information delivery via SVC, participants had a 6% increase in knowledge scores, 24.3 (95% CI 23.5-25.1) versus 25.7 (95% CI 24.9-26.5) p = .001, and a 13% increase in satisfaction scores, 26.5 (95% CI 25.1-27.9) versus 29.9 (95% CI 28.8-31.0) p < .001, when they crossed-over to information delivery via PVM. PVM provides a novel method for providing education to nurses that improves knowledge retention and satisfaction with the

Patients' experiences and satisfaction about care provided by male nurses in medical surgical units in Islamabad, Pakistan: A pilot study.

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Younas, Ahtisham; Sundus, Amara

2018-01-01

Nursing is predominantly a female profession and caring has been considered an attribute of female nurses, which could imply a noncaring image of male nurses. To determine patients' experiences and satisfaction from care provided by male nurses in a private hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan. This cross-sectional study included a purposive sample of 50 patients admitted to medical surgical units for at least 2 days and who had at least three professional interactions with a male nurse. The Newcastle Satisfaction with Nursing Scale was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The total score for experience and satisfaction was 81 and 51, respectively. A statistically significant difference existed between experience and satisfaction scores of male and female participants, indicating that males were more pleased and satisfied with their experience of receiving care from male nurses compared to the female participants. The male nurses were concerned for their patients, they were knowledgeable about the patients' condition and care, and provided them with clear explanations of the medical and nursing procedures. However, they seem to lack interpersonal relationship with patients and did not take initiative in understanding their patients. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Translation, adaptation and psychometric validation of the Good Perioperative Nursing Care Scale (GPNCS) with surgical patients in perioperative care

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Hertel-Joergensen, Michala; Abrahamsen, Charlotte; Jensen, Carsten

2018-01-01

patients were screened for eligibility; 215 were included. The full-scale model fit estimates were moderate. Factor loadings typically ranged from 0.65 to 0.97, except for the questions concerning Technical Skills (0.38-0.63) and Nursing Process (0.28). The Cronbach's alpha value for the total scale score......AIM: To test the psychometric validity of the Good Perioperative Nursing Care Scale (GPNCS), a self-administered questionnaire, following translation and adaptation. INTRODUCTION: Patients' satisfaction with and experience of nursing care in orthopaedic or perioperative settings are currently...... was 0.92, with subfactors ranging from 0.72 to 0.87. CONCLUSION: Providing evidence for quality, or lack thereof, the Danish version of the GPNCS is a valid tool for measuring surgical patients' experiences with perioperative nursing care. The electronic version proved practical. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL...

Pain management: evaluating the effectiveness of an educational programme for surgical nursing staff.

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Lin, Pi-Chu; Chiang, Hsiao-Wen; Chiang, Ting-Ting; Chen, Chyang-Shiong

2008-08-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a pain management education programme in improving the nurses' knowledge about, attitude towards and application of relaxation therapy. Pain of surgical patients has long been an existing problem of health care. Nursing staff need to be educated continuously to develop the professional ability of pain management. A quasi-study design with pre- and posttest and post- and posttest was used. Subjects were chosen from a medical centre in Taipei by convenience sampling. The total sample size of 81 was segregated into a study group of 42 and control group of 39 participants. The study group attended a seven-session pain management programme totalling 15 hours. The control group received no pain management training. Scaled measurements were taken on pain management knowledge and attitude and relaxation therapy practice. (1) Scores for pain management knowledge differed significantly between the two groups (F = 40.636, p = 0.001). (2) Attitudes towards pain management differed between the two groups (F = 8.328, p = 0.005) and remained stable over time (F = 1.603, p = 0.205). (3) Relaxation therapy practice differed significantly between the two groups, with the study group better than the control group (F = 4.006, p = 0.049). (4) Relaxation therapy was applied to nearly all (97.5%) of the patients cared for by study group nurses. All of the instructed patients performed this technique one to three times per day postsurgery. Continuing education can improve nurses' knowledge about, attitude towards and behaviour of pain management. Results of this study could be used to guide the development and implementation of continuing education programmes for nursing staff to enhance patients' care knowledge and skills.

Meeting Report of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Surgical Research: Summary of Presentations, Labs, and Workshops, Focusing on Experimental Surgery, Las Vegas, NV, October 4-6, 2017.

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Graham, Melanie L; Ziegelhofer, Tracy; Ehrmann, Jon

2018-04-11

The 33rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Surgical Research was held from October 4 to 6, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The meeting welcomed >160 participants from 27 different states and five countries representing the organization's diverse membership of technicians, veterinarians, medical doctors, and biomedical researchers. The Academy's annual meeting is focused on promoting the advancement of professional and academic standards, education, and research related to the art and science of experimental surgery. Presentations included four invited keynote speakers and 30 selected lectures and posters. A primary strength of the meeting was that lectures were complimented with practical sessions that included four wet lab and two dry lab half-day courses. Likewise, participants were brought together in workshops emphasizing research workflow from starting experimental design to readying results for publication. In this report, we present the highlights from this meeting and some selected abstracts that illustrate the diverse scientific expertise of the Academy and progress in surgical research.

Implementing a pain management nursing protocol for orthopaedic surgical patients: Results from a PAIN OUT project.

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Cui, Cui; Wang, Ling-Xiao; Li, Qi; Zaslansky, Ruth; Li, Li

2018-04-01

To investigate the effect of introducing a standardised pain management nursing protocol in orthopaedic patients undergoing surgery. Postoperative pain is a common phenomenon but is still undertreated in hospitalised patients. Nurses' lack of sufficient knowledge and skills about pain management may be a contributing factor to poor outcomes. An interventional, separate sample pre- and post-test. A pain management nursing protocol was introduced and a handbook and training sessions regarding management of postsurgical pain were provided to the nurses on a Joint Orthopaedic ward at a university-affiliated general hospital in Guangzhou, China. Before and after the intervention, nurses' knowledge about pain management and attitudes were assessed, and perioperative management practices and pain-related patient-reported outcomes were evaluated. Sixteen and 15 registered nurses, and 77 and 71 patients participated in the study before and after the intervention, respectively. Nurses' scores related to knowledge and skills increased significantly after the protocol was introduced but were still insufficient with regard to pharmacological-related items. The proportion of patients receiving a combined opioid and nonopioid increased after the intervention. Clinically significant changes were observed in some patient-reported outcomes, such as worst pain since surgery, percentage of time experiencing severe pain, and pain interference with activities out of bed. There were significant changes in nonpharmacological methods administered by nurses to patients or used by patients to relieve pain. Implementation of a pain management nursing protocol combined with education in one surgical ward was associated with nurses' increased knowledge and attitudes regarding pain, a change in some management practices, and improvement in a number of pain-related patient-reported outcomes. It was feasible to develop and implement a standardised pain management nursing protocol and use it in the

Cleft Lip and Palate Repair Using a Surgical Microscope.

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Kato, Motoi; Watanabe, Azusa; Watanabe, Shoji; Utsunomiya, Hiroki; Yokoyama, Takayuki; Ogishima, Shinya

2017-11-01

Cleft lip and palate repair requires a deep and small surgical field and is usually performed by surgeons wearing surgical loupes. Surgeons with loupes can obtain a wider surgical view, although headlights are required for the deepest procedures. Surgical microscopes offer comfort and a clear and magnification-adjustable surgical site that can be shared with the whole team, including observers, and easily recorded to further the education of junior surgeons. Magnification adjustments are convenient for precise procedures such as muscle dissection of the soft palate. We performed a comparative investigation of 18 cleft operations that utilized either surgical loupes or microscopy. Paper-based questionnaires were completed by staff nurses to evaluate what went well and what could be improved in each procedure. The operating time, complication rate, and scores of the questionnaire responses were statistically analyzed. The operating time when microscopy was used was not significantly longer than when surgical loupes were utilized. The surgical field was clearly shared with surgical assistants, nurses, anesthesiologists, and students via microscope-linked monitors. Passing surgical equipment was easier when sharing the surgical view, and preoperative microscope preparation did not interfere with the duties of the staff nurses. Surgical microscopy was demonstrated to be useful during cleft operations.

The economic burden of nurse-sensitive adverse events in 22 medical-surgical units: retrospective and matching analysis.

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Tchouaket, Eric; Dubois, Carl-Ardy; D'Amour, Danielle

2017-07-01

The aim of this study was to assess the economic burden of nurse-sensitive adverse events in 22 acute-care units in Quebec by estimating excess hospital-related costs and calculating resulting additional hospital days. Recent changes in the worldwide economic and financial contexts have made the cost of patient safety a topical issue. Yet, our knowledge about the economic burden of safety of nursing care is quite limited in Canada in general and Quebec in particular. Retrospective analysis of charts of 2699 patients hospitalized between July 2008 - August 2009 for at least 2 days of 30-day periods in 22 medical-surgical units in 11 hospitals in Quebec. Data were collected from September 2009 to August 2010. Nurse-sensitive adverse events analysed were pressure ulcers, falls, medication administration errors, pneumonia and urinary tract infections. Descriptive statistics identified numbers of cases for each nurse-sensitive adverse event. A literature analysis was used to estimate excess median hospital-related costs of treatments with these nurse-sensitive adverse events. Costs were calculated in 2014 Canadian dollars. Additional hospital days were estimated by comparing lengths of stay of patients with nurse-sensitive adverse events with those of similar patients without nurse-sensitive adverse events. This study found that five adverse events considered nurse-sensitive caused nearly 1300 additional hospital days for 166 patients and generated more than Canadian dollars 600,000 in excess treatment costs. The results present the financial consequences of the nurse-sensitive adverse events. Government should invest in prevention and in improvements to care quality and patient safety. Managers need to strengthen safety processes in their facilities and nurses should take greater precautions. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Nurse-perceived barriers to effective communication regarding prognosis and optimal end-of-life care for surgical ICU patients: a qualitative exploration.

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Aslakson, Rebecca A; Wyskiel, Rhonda; Thornton, Imani; Copley, Christina; Shaffer, Dauryne; Zyra, Marylou; Nelson, Judith; Pronovost, Peter J

2012-08-01

Integration of palliative care for intensive care unit (ICU) patients is important but often challenging, especially in surgical ICUs (SICUs), in part because many surgeons equate palliative care with terminal care and failure of restorative care. SICU nurses, who are key front-line clinicians, can provide insights into barriers for delivery of optimal palliative care in their setting. We developed a focus group guide to identify barriers to two key components of palliative care-optimal communication regarding prognosis and optimal end-of-life care-and used the tool to conduct focus groups of nurses providing bedside care in three SICUs at a tertiary care, academic, inner city hospital. Using content analysis technique, responses were organized into thematic domains that were validated by independent observers and a subset of participating nurses. Four focus groups included a total of 32 SICU nurses. They identified 34 barriers to optimal communication regarding prognosis, which were summarized into four domains: logistics, clinician discomfort with discussing prognosis, inadequate skill and training, and fear of conflict. For optimal end-of-life care, the groups identified 24 barriers in four domains: logistics, inability to acknowledge an end-of-life situation, inadequate skill and training, and cultural differences relating to end-of-life care. Nurses providing bedside care in SICUs identify barriers in several domains that may impede optimal discussions of prognoses and end-of-life care for patients with surgical critical illness. Consideration of these perceived barriers and the underlying SICU culture is relevant for designing interventions to improve palliative care in this setting.

Advanced LabVIEW Labs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, Eric D.

1999-01-01

In the world of computer-based data acquisition and control, the graphical interface program LabVIEW from National Instruments is so ubiquitous that in many ways it has almost become the laboratory standard. To date, there have been approximately fifteen books concerning LabVIEW, but Professor Essick's treatise takes on a completely different tack than all of the previous discussions. In the more standard treatments of the ways and wherefores of LabVIEW such as LabVIEW Graphical Programming: Practical Applications in Instrumentation and Control by Gary W. Johnson (McGraw Hill, NY 1997), the emphasis has been instructing the reader how to program LabVIEW to create a Virtual Instrument (VI) on the computer for interfacing to a particular instruments. LabVIEW is written in ''G'' a graphical programming language developed by National Instruments. In the past the emphasis has been on training the experimenter to learn ''G''. Without going into details here, ''G'' incorporates the usual loops, arithmetic expressions, etc., found in many programming languages, but in an icon (graphical) environment. The net result being that LabVIEW contains all of the standard methods needed for interfacing to instruments, data acquisition, data analysis, graphics, and also methodology to incorporate programs written in other languages into LabVIEW. Historically, according to Professor Essick, he developed a series of experiments for an upper division laboratory course for computer-based instrumentation. His observation was that while many students had the necessary background in computer programming languages, there were students who had virtually no concept about writing a computer program let alone a computer- based interfacing program. Thus the beginnings of a concept for not only teaching computer- based instrumentation techniques, but aiso a method for the beginner to experience writing a com- puter program. Professor Essick saw LabVIEW as the ''perfect environment in which to

The first cut is the deepest: basic surgical training in ophthalmology.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, A; Boulton, M G; Watson, M P; Moseley, M J; Murray, P I; Fielder, A R

2005-12-01

To examine the basic surgical training received by Senior House Officers (SHOs) in ophthalmology and the influence on training of sociodemographic and organisational factors. Cross-sectional survey of SHOs in recognised UK surgical training posts asking about laboratory training and facilities, surgical experience, demographic details, with the opportunity to add comments. A total of 314/466 (67%) questionnaires were returned. In all, 67% had attended a basic surgical course, 40% had access to wet labs and 39% had spent time in a wet lab in the previous 6 months. The mean number of part phakoemulsification (phako) procedures performed per week was 0.79; the mean number of full phakos performed per week was 0.74. The number of part phakos performed was negatively correlated, and the number of full phakos completed was positively correlated, with length of time as an SHO. Respondents who had larger operating lists performed more full phakos per week (Pwomen were less likely to have access to a wet lab (P=0.013), had completed fewer full phakos per week (P=0.003), and were less likely to have completed 50 full phakos (P=0003). SHOs' comments revealed concerns about their limited 'hands on' experience. There are significant shortcomings in the basic surgical training SHOs receive, particularly in relation to wet lab experience and opportunities to perform full intraocular procedures. SHOs themselves perceive their training as inadequate. Women are disadvantaged in both laboratory and patient-based training, but minority ethnic groups and those who qualified overseas are not.

Improved nurse job satisfaction and job retention with the transition from a "mandatory consultation" model to a "semiclosed" surgical intensive care unit: a 1-year prospective evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Haut, Elliott R; Sicoutris, Corinna P; Meredith, Denise M; Sonnad, Seema S; Reilly, Patrick M; Schwab, C William; Hanson, C William; Gracias, Vicente H

2006-02-01

The change from a "mandatory consultation" to a "semiclosed" surgical intensive care unit (SICU) model will impact nurses considerably. We hypothesize that nurse job satisfaction, job turnover rates, and hospital costs for temporary agency nurses will improve and these improvements will be more dramatic in SICU sections with greater involvement of a dedicated surgical critical care service (SCCS). Prospective longitudinal survey. Tertiary-care university hospital. SICU staff nurses. Change from mandatory consultation to semiclosed SICU. We surveyed SICU nurses during the year-long transition to a semiclosed SICU service (five time points, 3-month intervals). The first four surveys included ten questions on nurse job satisfaction. The final survey included two additional questions. All questions were on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Nurse job turnover rates and money spent on agency nurses were compared over time; 503 of a possible 914 surveys were completed (55% overall return rate). Nurse job satisfaction scores significantly improved over time for all questions (p job turnover rate dropped from 25% to 16% (p = .15). The scores for both year-end statements ("I am more satisfied with my job now than 1 year ago" and "The SCCS management of all orders has improved my job satisfaction") were significantly higher in sections with greater SCCS involvement (p = .0070 and p job satisfaction improved significantly with the transition to a semiclosed SICU. This higher satisfaction was associated with a significant decrease in spending on temporary agency nurses and a trend toward increased staff nurse job retention. SICU sections with greater SCCS involvement had more dramatic improvements. This semiclosed SICU model may help retain SICU nurses in a competitive job market in which experienced nurses are in short supply.

Factors influencing incident reporting in surgical care.

Science.gov (United States)

Kreckler, S; Catchpole, K; McCulloch, P; Handa, A

2009-04-01

To evaluate the process of incident reporting in a surgical setting. In particular: the influence of event outcome on reporting behaviour; staff perception of surgical complications as reportable events. Anonymous web-based questionnaire survey. General Surgical Department in a UK teaching hospital. Of 203 eligible staff, 55 (76.4%) doctors and 82 (62.6%) nurses participated. Knowledge and use of local reporting system; propensity to report incidents which vary by outcome (harm, no harm, harm prevented); propensity to report surgical complications; practical and psychological barriers to reporting. Nurses were significantly more likely to know of the local reporting system and to have recently completed a report than doctors. The level of harm (F(1.8,246) = 254.2, pvs 53%, z = 4.633, psystems.

Nursing churn and turnover in Australian hospitals: nurses perceptions and suggestions for supportive strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, Angela J; Stasa, Helen; Roche, Michael A; Homer, Caroline S E; Duffield, Christine

2014-04-08

This study aimed to reveal nurses' experiences and perceptions of turnover in Australian hospitals and identify strategies to improve retention, performance and job satisfaction. Nursing turnover is a serious issue that can compromise patient safety, increase health care costs and impact on staff morale. A qualitative design was used to analyze responses from 362 nurses collected from a national survey of nurses from medical and surgical nursing units across 3 Australian States/Territories. A qualitative design was used to analyze responses from 362 nurses collected from a national survey of nurses from medical and surgical nursing units across 3 Australian States/Territories. Key factors affecting nursing turnover were limited career opportunities; poor support; a lack of recognition; and negative staff attitudes. The nursing working environment is characterised by inappropriate skill-mix and inadequate patient-staff ratios; a lack of overseas qualified nurses with appropriate skills; low involvement in decision-making processes; and increased patient demands. These issues impacted upon heavy workloads and stress levels with nurses feeling undervalued and disempowered. Nurses described supportive strategies: improving performance appraisals, responsive preceptorship and flexible employment options. Nursing turnover is influenced by the experiences of nurses. Positive steps can be made towards improving workplace conditions and ensuring nurse retention. Improving performance management and work design are strategies that nurse managers could harness to reduce turnover.

Using dummies for surgical skills training

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langebæk, Rikke

2011-01-01

Effective acquisition of a skill requires practise. Therefore it is of great importance to provide veterinary students with opportunities to practice their surgical skills before carrying out surgical procedures on live patients. Some veterinary schools let students perform entire surgical...... procedures on research animals, in order to learn the basic skills along the way. From an ethical point of view it is questionable however to use live research animals for the sole purpose of practising surgery, and also, research animals are very costly. It is therefore necessary to identify alternative...... teaching methods for veterinary surgical training. At the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, a number of low fidelity, stuffed toy animal dummies was developed for the Surgical Skills Lab in order to teach 4th year students the basic surgical skills. In the Surgical...

Iranian Nursing Student-patient Health Communication in Medical Surgical Wards.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdolrahimi, Mahbobeh; Ghiyasvandian, Shahrzad; Zakerimoghadam, Masoumeh; Ebadi, Abbas

2018-01-01

Health communication (HC) is considered an important task of nurses to provide high quality and holistic care as well as to improve patient health. The nursing student-patient HC is an abstract concept and needs to be clarified. Therefore, this study was conducted to increase the knowledge about nursing students' HC with patients by considering various participants' viewpoints. In this conventional qualitative content analysis, 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with six nursing students, six nursing instructors, and six patients in educational hospitals affiliated to the University of Medical Sciences. Credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability were established to validate the trustworthiness of the data. The process of data collection and analysis lasted 9 months. After data analysis, two categories were generated: (A) "junior nursing student-patient communication," with two subcategories of "performing social communication with patients" and "failure to build therapeutic relationships with patients," and (B) "senior nursing student-patient communication" with two subcategories of "establishing effective communication with patients" and "performing one-way communication with patients." More attention should be paid to improve HC through shifting towards student-centered approaches in nursing curriculum. Further, role model nurses and clinical educators should guide nursing students for institutionalizing HC in future nurses.

Factors related to teamwork performance and stress of operating room nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Sonoda, Yukio; Onozuka, Daisuke; Hagihara, Akihito

2018-01-01

To evaluate operating room nurses' perception of teamwork performance and their level of mental stress and to identify related factors. Little is known about the factors affecting teamwork and the mental stress of surgical nurses, although the performance of the surgical team is essential for patient safety. The questionnaire survey for operation room nurses consisted of simple questions about teamwork performance and mental stress. Multivariate analyses were used to identify factors causing a sense of teamwork performance or mental stress. A large number of surgical nurses had a sense of teamwork performance, but 30-40% of operation room nurses were mentally stressed during surgery. Neither the patient nor the operation factors were related to the sense of teamwork performance in both types of nurses. Among scrub nurses, endoscopic and abdominal surgery, body mass index, blood loss and the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status class were related to their mental stress. Conversely, circulating nurses were stressed about teamwork performance. The factors related to teamwork performance and mental stress during surgery differed between scrub and circulating nurses. Increased support for operation room nurses is necessary. The increased support leads to safer surgical procedures and better patient outcomes. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

42 CFR 482.51 - Condition of participation: Surgical services.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... of medicine or osteopathy. (2) Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and surgical technologists (operating... performing surgery in accordance with the competencies of each practitioner. The surgical service must...

Strategies for Improving Nursing Students' Mental Health Clinical Rotation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kroning, Maureen

2016-01-01

Mental illness is a huge problem many people face in the U.S. and around the world. The American Psychiatric Nurses Association indicates there is a shortage of nurses in every level and role in psychiatric-mental health nursing. Raising up a generation of nurses who want to work with the mentally ill is a challenge for nurse educators. The use of role playing and simulation in the learning lab prior to entering the clinical setting and reflective journaling in the clinical rotation can improve undergraduate nursing students' mental health clinical experience.

Iranian Nursing Student–patient Health Communication in Medical Surgical Wards

Science.gov (United States)

Abdolrahimi, Mahbobeh; Ghiyasvandian, Shahrzad; Zakerimoghadam, Masoumeh; Ebadi, Abbas

2018-01-01

Background: Health communication (HC) is considered an important task of nurses to provide high quality and holistic care as well as to improve patient health. The nursing student–patient HC is an abstract concept and needs to be clarified. Therefore, this study was conducted to increase the knowledge about nursing students' HC with patients by considering various participants' viewpoints. Materials and Methods: In this conventional qualitative content analysis, 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with six nursing students, six nursing instructors, and six patients in educational hospitals affiliated to the University of Medical Sciences. Credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability were established to validate the trustworthiness of the data. The process of data collection and analysis lasted 9 months. Results: After data analysis, two categories were generated: (A) “junior nursing student–patient communication,” with two subcategories of “performing social communication with patients” and “failure to build therapeutic relationships with patients,” and (B) “senior nursing student–patient communication” with two subcategories of “establishing effective communication with patients” and “performing one-way communication with patients.” Conclusions: More attention should be paid to improve HC through shifting towards student-centered approaches in nursing curriculum. Further, role model nurses and clinical educators should guide nursing students for institutionalizing HC in future nurses. PMID:29628962

Iranian nursing student–patient health communication in medical surgical wards

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahbobeh Abdolrahimi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Health communication (HC is considered an important task of nurses to provide high quality and holistic care as well as to improve patient health. The nursing student–patient HC is an abstract concept and needs to be clarified. Therefore, this study was conducted to increase the knowledge about nursing students' HC with patients by considering various participants' viewpoints. Materials and Methods: In this conventional qualitative content analysis, 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with six nursing students, six nursing instructors, and six patients in educational hospitals affiliated to the University of Medical Sciences. Credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability were established to validate the trustworthiness of the data. The process of data collection and analysis lasted 9 months. Results: After data analysis, two categories were generated: (A “junior nursing student–patient communication,” with two subcategories of “performing social communication with patients” and “failure to build therapeutic relationships with patients,” and (B “senior nursing student–patient communication” with two subcategories of “establishing effective communication with patients” and “performing one-way communication with patients.” Conclusions: More attention should be paid to improve HC through shifting towards student-centered approaches in nursing curriculum. Further, role model nurses and clinical educators should guide nursing students for institutionalizing HC in future nurses.

Is LabTutor a helpful component of the blended learning approach to biosciences?

Science.gov (United States)

Swift, Amelia; Efstathiou, Nikolaos; Lameu, Paula

2016-09-01

To evaluate the use of LabTutor (a physiological data capture and e-learning package) in bioscience education for student nurses. Knowledge of biosciences is important for nurses the world over, who have to monitor and assess their patient's clinical condition, and interpret that information to determine the most appropriate course of action. Nursing students have long been known to find acquiring useable bioscience knowledge challenging. Blended learning strategies are common in bioscience teaching to address the difficulties students have. Student nurses have a preference for hands-on learning, small group sessions and are helped by close juxtaposition of theory and practice. An evaluation of a new teaching method using in-classroom voluntary questionnaire. A structured survey instrument including statements and visual analogue response format and open questions was given to students who participated in Labtutor sessions. The students provided feedback in about the equipment, the learning and the session itself. First year (n = 93) and third year (n = 36) students completed the evaluation forms. The majority of students were confident about the equipment and using it to learn although a few felt anxious about computer-based learning. They all found the equipment helpful as part of their bioscience education and they all enjoyed the sessions. This equipment provides a helpful way to encourage guided independent learning through practice and discovery and because each session is case study based and the relationship of the data to the patient is made clear. Our students helped to evaluate our initial use of LabTutor and found the sessions enjoyable and helpful. LabTutor provides an effective learning tool as part of a blended learning strategy for biosciences teaching. Improving bioscience knowledge will lead to a greater understanding of pathophysiology, treatments and interventions and monitoring. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Application of precise training to surgical endoscopic nurses training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhao Feng

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Minimally invasive surgery is an inevitable trend of the development of surgery, the scope of endoscopy surgery application has been covering the whole departments of surgery, which also put forward higher requirements on the nursing coordination during surgery, training high-quality endoscopy nurses is a focus of the researchers. In the paper, the precise training mode was applied to the professional training process of endoscopy nurses, the systematic training of endoscopy nurse was conducted from the following three aspects, including the precision of teaching, the precision of operative cooperation, and the precision of assessment, which had gained good effects. The research indicated that the precise training mode can contribute to upgrading various capacities of endoscopy nurses in the operating room, and improving the teaching quality and effect of specialized training, suggesting a good application effect.

Care practices of older people with dementia in the surgical ward: A questionnaire survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nina Hynninen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe the care practices of nursing staff caring older people with dementia in a surgical ward. Methods: The data were collected from nursing staff (n = 191 working in surgical wards in one district area in Finland during October to November 2015. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed statistically. The instrument consists of a total number of 141 items and four dimensions. The dimensions were as follows: background information (12 of items, specific characteristics of older people with dementia in a surgical ward (24 of items, specific characteristics of their care in a surgical ward (66 of items and use of physical restraints and alternative models for use of restraints for people with dementia (39 of items. Results: The questions which measure the nursing staff’s own assessment of care practices when caring for people with dementia in surgical wards were selected: counseling people with dementia, reaction when a surgical patient with dementia displays challenging behavior and use of alternative approach instead of physical restraints. Most commonly the nursing staff pay attention to patient’s state of alertness before counseling older people with dementia. Instead of using restraints, nursing staff gave painkillers for the patient and tried to draw patients’ attention elsewhere. The nursing staff with longer work experience estimate that they can handle the patients’ challenging behavior. They react by doing nothing more often than others. They pretend not to hear, see or notice anything. Conclusion: The findings of this study can be applied in nursing practice and in future studies focusing on the care practices among older people with dementia in acute care environment. The results can be used while developing patient treatments process in surgical ward to meet future needs.

Standard-based comprehensive detection of adverse drug reaction signals from nursing statements and laboratory results in electronic health records.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Suehyun; Choi, Jiyeob; Kim, Hun-Sung; Kim, Grace Juyun; Lee, Kye Hwa; Park, Chan Hee; Han, Jongsoo; Yoon, Dukyong; Park, Man Young; Park, Rae Woong; Kang, Hye-Ryun; Kim, Ju Han

2017-07-01

We propose 2 Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities-enabled pharmacovigilance algorithms, MetaLAB and MetaNurse, powered by a per-year meta-analysis technique and improved subject sampling strategy. This study developed 2 novel algorithms, MetaLAB for laboratory abnormalities and MetaNurse for standard nursing statements, as significantly improved versions of our previous electronic health record (EHR)-based pharmacovigilance method, called CLEAR. Adverse drug reaction (ADR) signals from 117 laboratory abnormalities and 1357 standard nursing statements for all precautionary drugs ( n   = 101) were comprehensively detected and validated against SIDER (Side Effect Resource) by MetaLAB and MetaNurse against 11 817 and 76 457 drug-ADR pairs, respectively. We demonstrate that MetaLAB (area under the curve, AUC = 0.61 ± 0.18) outperformed CLEAR (AUC = 0.55 ± 0.06) when we applied the same 470 drug-event pairs as the gold standard, as in our previous research. Receiver operating characteristic curves for 101 precautionary terms in the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities Preferred Terms were obtained for MetaLAB and MetaNurse (0.69 ± 0.11; 0.62 ± 0.07), which complemented each other in terms of ADR signal coverage. Novel ADR signals discovered by MetaLAB and MetaNurse were successfully validated against spontaneous reports in the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System database. The present study demonstrates the symbiosis of laboratory test results and nursing statements for ADR signal detection in terms of their system organ class coverage and performance profiles. Systematic discovery and evaluation of the wide spectrum of ADR signals using standard-based observational electronic health record data across many institutions will affect drug development and use, as well as postmarketing surveillance and regulation. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American

A dedicated lab for interventional cardiology and hybrid surgery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berger, F. [KinderSpital Zurich (Switzerland). Department of Congenital Heart Disease/Pediatric Cardiology

2004-07-01

Pediatric interventionalists and surgeons treating congenital heart defects at the KinderSpital children's hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, use a ''hybrid'' approach to minimize the incidence and extent of open-heart surgery. The hybrid approach combines catheterization and surgical techniques in a single procedure, performed in the same lab. The combined cardiac cath lab/surgery suite is equipped with a Philips Integris Allura BH5000 9''/9'' biplane system, designed to meet all the requirements for pediatric applications, including the need to keep the quantity of contrast agent and the radiation dose to the minimum. Wherever possible, diagnostic X-ray examinations are supplemented by MR and Ultrasound. (orig.)

Factors contributing to nursing task incompletion as perceived by nurses working in Kuwait general hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Kandari, Fatimah; Thomas, Deepa

2009-12-01

Unfinished care has a strong relationship with quality of nursing care. Most issues related to tasks incompletion arise from staffing and workload. This study was conducted to assess the workload of nurses, the nursing activities (tasks) nurses commonly performed on medical and surgical wards, elements of nursing care activities left incomplete by nurses during a shift, factors contributing to task incompletion and the relationship between staffing, demographic variables and task incompletion. Exploratory survey using a self-administered questionnaire developed from IHOC survey, USA. All full time registered nurses working on the general medical and surgical wards of five government general hospitals in Kuwait. Research assistants distributed and collected back the questionnaires. Four working days were given to participants to complete and return the questionnaires. A total of 820 questionnaires were distributed and 95% were returned. Descriptive and inferential analysis using SPSS-11. The five most frequently performed nursing activities were: administration of medications, assessing patient condition, preparing/updating nursing care plans, close patient monitoring and client health teaching. The most common nursing activities nurses were unable to complete were: comfort talk with patient and family, adequate documentation of nursing care, oral hygiene, routine catheter care and starting or changing IV fluid on time. Tasks were more complete when the nurse-patient load was less than 5. Nurses' age and educational background influenced task completion while nurses' gender had no influence on it. Increased patient loads, resulting in increased frequency of nursing tasks and non-nursing tasks, were positively correlated to incompletion of nursing activities during the shift. Emphasis should be given to maintaining the optimum nurse-patient load and decreasing the non-nursing workload of nurses to enhance the quality of nursing care.

Surgical team turnover and operative time: An evaluation of operating room efficiency during pulmonary resection.

Science.gov (United States)

Azzi, Alain Joe; Shah, Karan; Seely, Andrew; Villeneuve, James Patrick; Sundaresan, Sudhir R; Shamji, Farid M; Maziak, Donna E; Gilbert, Sebastien

2016-05-01

Health care resources are costly and should be used judiciously and efficiently. Predicting the duration of surgical procedures is key to optimizing operating room resources. Our objective was to identify factors influencing operative time, particularly surgical team turnover. We performed a single-institution, retrospective review of lobectomy operations. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the impact of different factors on surgical time (skin-to-skin) and total procedure time. Staff turnover within the nursing component of the surgical team was defined as the number of instances any nurse had to leave the operating room over the total number of nurses involved in the operation. A total of 235 lobectomies were performed by 5 surgeons, most commonly for lung cancer (95%). On multivariate analysis, percent forced expiratory volume in 1 second, surgical approach, and lesion size had a significant effect on surgical time. Nursing turnover was associated with a significant increase in surgical time (53.7 minutes; 95% confidence interval, 6.4-101; P = .026) and total procedure time (83.2 minutes; 95% confidence interval, 30.1-136.2; P = .002). Active management of surgical team turnover may be an opportunity to improve operating room efficiency when the surgical team is engaged in a major pulmonary resection. Copyright © 2016 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Patient Aggression and the Wellbeing of Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study in Psychiatric and Non-Psychiatric Settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Pekurinen, Virve; Willman, Laura; Virtanen, Marianna; Kivimäki, Mika; Vahtera, Jussi; Välimäki, Maritta

2017-10-18

Wellbeing of nurses is associated with patient aggression. Little is known about the differences in these associations between nurses working in different specialties. We aimed to estimate and compare the prevalence of patient aggression and the associations between patient aggression and the wellbeing of nurses in psychiatric and non-psychiatric specialties (medical and surgical, and emergency medicine). A sample of 5288 nurses (923 psychiatric nurses, 4070 medical and surgical nurses, 295 emergency nurses) participated in the study. Subjective measures were used to assess both the occurrence of patient aggression and the wellbeing of nurses (self-rated health, sleep disturbances, psychological distress and perceived work ability). Binary logistic regression with interaction terms was used to compare the associations between patient aggression and the wellbeing of nurses. Psychiatric nurses reported all types of patient aggression more frequently than medical and surgical nurses, whereas nurses working in emergency settings reported physical violence and verbal aggression more frequently than psychiatric nurses. Psychiatric nurses reported poor self-rated health and reduced work ability more frequently than both of the non-psychiatric nursing groups, whereas medical and surgical nurses reported psychological distress and sleep disturbances more often. Psychiatric nurses who had experienced at least one type of patient aggression or mental abuse in the previous year, were less likely to suffer from psychological distress and sleep disturbances compared to medical and surgical nurses. Psychiatric nurses who had experienced physical assaults and armed threats were less likely to suffer from sleep disturbances compared to nurses working in emergency settings. Compared to medical and surgical nurses, psychiatric nurses face patient aggression more often, but certain types of aggression are more common in emergency settings. Psychiatric nurses have worse subjective

The role of wet lab in thoracic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Bedetti, Benedetta; Schnorr, Philipp; Schmidt, Joachim; Scarci, Marco

2017-01-01

During the last three decades, minimally invasive surgery has become common practice in all kinds of surgical disciplines and, in Thoracic Surgery, the minimally invasive approach is recommended as the treatment of choice for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. Nevertheless, all over the world a large number of lobectomies is still performed by conventional open thoracotomy and not as video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), which shows the need of a proper training for this technique. Development and improvement of surgical skills are not only challenging and time-consuming components of the training curriculum for resident or fellow surgeons, but also for more experienced consultants learning new techniques. The rapid evolution of medical technologies like VATS or robotic surgery requires an evolution of the existing educational models to improve cognitive and procedural skills before reaching the operating room in order to increase patient safety. Nowadays, in the Thoracic Surgery field, there is a wide range of simulation-based training methods for surgeons starting or wanting to improve their learning curve in VATS. Aim is to overcome the learning curve required to successfully master this new technique in a brief time. In general, the basic difference between the various learning techniques is the distinction between "dry" and "wet" lab modules, which mainly reflects the use of synthetic or animal-model-based materials. Wet lab trainings can be further sub-divided into in vivo modules, where living anaesthetized animals are used, and ex vivo modules, where only animal tissues serve as basis of the simulation-based training method. In the literature, the role of wet lab in Thoracic Surgery is still debated.

Education of student nurses - A systematic literature review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeppesen, Kathrine Håland; Christiansen, Sytter; Frederiksen, Kirsten

2017-01-01

Objective The aim of this review was to explore the literature on the connection between teaching strategies and nursing students' learning to clarify which teaching strategies provide optimal learning experiences and outcomes. Data sources Sources dating from January 2000 to November 2016 were....... Conclusion Teaching in skills lab and simulation laboratories provides a positive learning environment and motivates student nurses to learn. It develops critical thinking and the student nurses' ability to take part in what Benner refers to as problem-based nursing. However, there is a need to transform...... teaching strategies so that student nurses do not experience classroom and clinical practice teaching as separate parts during their education....

Possibilities of creating meaningful encounters in anesthesia nursing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aagaard, Karin

Anesthesia nursing is performed in a highly technological environment with restricted time for interaction with patients. Patients are in a vulnerable position, which can be characterized by anxiety regarding the anesthetic and surgical procedure. The bedrock of effective nursing care is to facil......Anesthesia nursing is performed in a highly technological environment with restricted time for interaction with patients. Patients are in a vulnerable position, which can be characterized by anxiety regarding the anesthetic and surgical procedure. The bedrock of effective nursing care...... of nursing. In this dissertation, focused ethnography is used to explore the interactions between patients and nurse anesthetists before general anesthesia. Moreover, it will explore the professional identity of nurse anesthetists, in relation to the situation of preparing patients for general anesthesia....... A micro-substantive theory is developed regarding the opportunities for creating meaningful encounters between patients and nurse anesthetists. The theory is based on three dominant motivations for interaction in anesthesia nursing. The context of care is not committed and responsive to the core elements...

Robotic nurse duties in the urology operative room: 11 years of experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Abdel Raheem

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The robotic nurse plays an essential role in a successful robotic surgery. As part of the robotic surgical team, the robotic nurse must demonstrate a high level of professional knowledge, and be an expert in robotic technology and dealing with robotic malfunctions. Each one of the robotic nursing team “nurse coordinator, scrub-nurse and circulating-nurse” has a certain job description to ensure maximum patient's safety and robotic surgical efficiency. Well-structured training programs should be offered to the robotic nurse to be well prepared, feel confident, and maintain high-quality of care.

Distribution of isodose curves in urological surgical procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lanfredi, M.P.; Dias, J.H.; Ravazio, R.C.; Anés, M.; Bacelar, A.; Lykawka, R.

2017-01-01

During urological surgical procedures with fluoroscopy, the doses of the care team may be significant. However, the knowledge of the occupational exposure of these professionals is still very incipient in the national surgical centers. The objective of the study is to determine the isodose curves of the urological surgical procedures, in order to estimate the exposure of the personnel involved. The equipment used was a Arco-C BV Philips Bracelet. Patients with thicknesses of 20 and 28 cm were simulated using acrylic plates. The dose rates were measured with RaySafe i2 Unfors dosimeters positioned in a 50 x 50 cm mesh at three different heights of the floor: 95, 125 and 165 centimeters respectively corresponding to the gonadal, thoracic and crystalline regions of a typical adult . The isodose curves applied to the distribution of the surgical team suggest that the exposures are in the following descending order of intensity: primary physician, auxiliary physician, scrub nurse, anesthetist and nurse

Multimodal strategies to improve surgical outcome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kehlet, Henrik; Wilmore, Douglas W

2002-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of modifying perioperative care in noncardiac surgical patients on morbidity, mortality, and other outcome measures. BACKGROUND: New approaches in pain control, introduction of techniques that reduce the perioperative stress response, and the more frequent use...... anesthesia in elective operations, and pilot studies of fast track surgical procedures using the multimodality approach. RESULTS: The introduction of newer approaches to perioperative care has reduced both morbidity and mortality in surgical patients. In the future, most elective operations will become day...... surgical procedures or require only 1 to 2 days of postoperative hospitalization. Reorganization of the perioperative team (anesthesiologists, surgeons, nurses, and physical therapists) will be essential to achieve successful fast track surgical programs. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding perioperative...

Experiences of reduced work hours for nurses and assistant nurses at a surgical department: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gyllensten, Kristina; Andersson, Gunnar; Muller, Helena

2017-01-01

There is a shortage of registered nurses in the European Union (EU), and job dissatisfaction and perceived high work-family conflict have been identified as causes of nursing staff turnover. Reducing work hours is an organisational intervention that could have a positive effect on nurses' and assistant nurses' job satisfaction, work-life balance, and willingness to stay in the job. An orthopaedic surgery department at a large hospital in Sweden introduced reduced work hours for nurses and assistant nurses in order to improve the working situation. The aim of the study was to investigate the experiences of reduced work hours and no lunch breaks among nurses and assistant nurses at an orthopaedic surgery department at a hospital in Sweden, with a particular focus on recovery and psychosocial working environment. A qualitative design was used in the study. Eleven nurses and assistant nurses working at the particular orthopaedic department took part in the study, and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The interviews were analysed by interpretative phenomenological analysis. Four main themes were developed in the analysis of the data: A more sustainable working situation, Improved work-life balance, Consequences of being part of a project, and Improved quality of care. Each theme consisted of subthemes. Overall, reduced work hours appeared to have many, mainly positive, effects for the participants in both work and home life.

The impact of postgraduate education on registered nurses working in acute care.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnhill, Dianne; McKillop, Ann; Aspinall, Cathleen

2012-07-01

Since 2007, Health Workforce New Zealand has provided District Health Boards (DHBs) with funding to support nurses undertaking postgraduate education. As a result, a significant number of nurses, many working in general medical and surgical wards, have now completed a postgraduate qualification. Anecdotal evidence for one DHB indicated that there were mixed views with respect to how the increase in the number of nurses with postgraduate education had impacted on patient outcomes. Following a review of relevant literature the researchers aimed to ascertain from registered nurses working in acute medical and surgical wards their perception of the impact that further study had on their practice. A quantitative descriptive study was undertaken to answer the question of what impact postgraduate study had on the practice of those nurses working in medical and surgical wards of a District Health Board hospital? An anonymous postal survey was sent to registered nurses (N = 57), and senior nurses (N=25) working in acute medical and surgical areas of practice. The latter group consisted of 16 nurse managers and 9 nurse educators. The results showed that registered nurses, nurse managers and nurse educators all perceived the clinical practice of registered nurses as having improved in some degree as a consequence of postgraduate education. There is also a need for further research to be undertaken in other District Health Boards, especially in non-hospital based areas such as primary health care; and also to investigate ways of linking post graduate education with career pathways, as well as identifying and minimising potential barriers likely to prevent application of post graduate learning in the workplace.

Surgical checklists: the human factor.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

O Connor, Paul

2013-05-14

BACKGROUND: Surgical checklists has been shown to improve patient safety and teamwork in the operating theatre. However, despite the known benefits of the use of checklists in surgery, in some cases the practical implementation has been found to be less than universal. A questionnaire methodology was used to quantitatively evaluate the attitudes of theatre staff towards a modified version of the World Health Organisation (WHO) surgical checklist with relation to: beliefs about levels of compliance and support, impact on patient safety and teamwork, and barriers to the use of the checklist. METHODS: Using the theory of planned behaviour as a framework, 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted with theatre personnel regarding their attitudes towards, and levels of compliance with, a checklist. Based upon the interviews, a 27-item questionnaire was developed and distribute to all theatre personnel in an Irish hospital. RESULTS: Responses were obtained from 107 theatre staff (42.6% response rate). Particularly for nurses, the overall attitudes towards the effect of the checklist on safety and teamworking were positive. However, there was a lack of rigour with which the checklist was being applied. Nurses were significantly more sensitive to the barriers to the use of the checklist than anaesthetists or surgeons. Moreover, anaesthetists were not as positively disposed to the surgical checklist as surgeons and nurse. This finding was attributed to the tendency for the checklist to be completed during a period of high workload for the anaesthetists, resulting in a lack of engagement with the process. CONCLUSION: In order to improve the rigour with which the surgical checklist is applied, there is a need for: the involvement of all members of the theatre team in the checklist process, demonstrated support for the checklist from senior personnel, on-going education and training, and barriers to the implementation of the checklist to be addressed.

Impact of regular nursing rounds on patient satisfaction with nursing care.

Science.gov (United States)

Negarandeh, Reza; Hooshmand Bahabadi, Abbas; Aliheydari Mamaghani, Jafar

2014-12-01

The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of regular nursing rounds on patient satisfaction with nursing care. This was a controlled clinical trial in which 100 hospitalized patients in a medical surgical ward were allocated to control and experimental groups through convenience sampling. The experimental group received regular nursing rounds every 1-2 hours. Routine care was performed for the control group. Patient satisfaction with the quality of nursing care was assessed on the second and fifth days of hospitalization in both groups using Patient Satisfaction with Nursing Care Quality Questionnaire. On the second day, patient satisfaction scores of the two groups had no significant difference (p = .499). However, the intervention was associated with statistically significant increased patient satisfaction in the experimental group compared to the control group (p patient satisfaction. This method may hence improve patient-nurse interactions and promote the quality of nursing care and patient satisfaction. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Experiences of reduced work hours for nurses and assistant nurses at a surgical department: a qualitative study

OpenAIRE

Gyllensten, Kristina; Andersson, Gunnar; Muller, Helena

2017-01-01

Background There is a shortage of registered nurses in the European Union (EU), and job dissatisfaction and perceived high work?family conflict have been identified as causes of nursing staff turnover. Reducing work hours is an organisational intervention that could have a positive effect on nurses? and assistant nurses? job satisfaction, work?life balance, and willingness to stay in the job. An orthopaedic surgery department at a large hospital in Sweden introduced reduced work hours for nur...

Interactive Videoconference Supported Teaching in Undergraduate Nursing: A Case Study for ECG

Science.gov (United States)

Celikkan, Ufuk; Senuzun, Fisun; Sari, Dilek; Sahin, Yasar Guneri

2013-01-01

This paper describes how interactive videoconference can benefit the Electrocardiography (ECG) skills of undergraduate nursing students. We have implemented a learning system that interactively transfers the visual and practical aspects of ECG from a nursing skills lab into a classroom where the theoretical part of the course is taught. The…

Integrating the Fundamentals of Care framework in baccalaureate nursing education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Voldbjerg, Siri; Laugesen, Britt; Bahnsen, Iben Bøgh

2018-01-01

AIM AND OBJECTIVES: To describe and discuss the process of integrating the Fundamentals of Care framework in a baccalaureate nursing education at a School of Nursing in Denmark. BACKGROUND: Nursing education plays an essential role in educating nurses to work within health care systems in which...... Fundamentals of Care framework has been integrated in nursing education at a School of Nursing in Denmark. DESIGN AND METHODS: Discursive paper using an adjusted descriptive case study design for describing and discussing the process of integrating the conceptual Fundamentals of Care Framework in nursing...... education. RESULTS: The process of integrating the Fundamentals of Care framework is illuminated through a description of the context, in which the process occurs including the faculty members, lectures, case-based work and simulation lab in nursing education. Based on this description, opportunities...

Foucault could have been an operating room nurse.

Science.gov (United States)

Riley, Robin; Manias, Elizabeth

2002-08-01

Operating room nursing is an under-researched area of nursing practice. The stereotypical image of operating room nursing is one of task- and technically-orientated aspects of practice, where nurses work in a medical model and are dominated by constraints from outside their sphere of influence. This paper explores the possibility of understanding operating room nursing in a different way. Using the work of Michel Foucault to analyse the work of operating room nursing, this paper argues the relevance of the framework for a more in-depth analysis of this specialty area of practice. The concepts of power, discipline and subjectivity are used to demonstrate how operating room nursing is constructed as a discipline and how operating room nurses act to govern and construct the specialty. Exemplars are drawn from extensive professional experience, from guidelines of professional operating room nursing associations, as well as published texts. The focus is predominantly on the regulation of space and time to maintain the integrity of the sterile surgical field and issues of management, as well as the use of the ethical concept of the 'surgical conscience'. This form of analysis provides a level and depth of inquiry that has rarely been undertaken in operating room nursing. As such, it has the potential to provide a much needed, different view of operation room nursing that can only help to strengthen its professional foundations and development.

Evaluation of two surveillance methods for surgical site infection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Haji Abdolbaghi

2006-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Surgical wound infection surveillance is an important facet of hospital infection control processes. There are several surveillance methods for surgical site infections. The objective of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of two different surgical site infection surveillance methods. Methods: In this prospective cross sectional study 3020 undergoing surgey in general surgical wards of Imam Khomeini hospital were included. Surveillance methods consisted of review of medical records for postoperative fever and review of nursing daily note for prescription of antibiotics postoperatively and during patient’s discharge. Review of patient’s history and daily records and interview with patient’s surgeon and the head-nurse of the ward considered as a gold standard for surveillance. Results: The postoperative antibiotic consumption especially when considering its duration is a proper method for surgical wound infection surveillance. Accomplishments of a prospective study with postdischarge follow up until 30 days after surgery is recommended. Conclusion: The result of this study showed that postoperative antibiotic surveillance method specially with consideration of the antibiotic usage duration is a proper method for surgical site infection surveillance in general surgery wards. Accomplishments of a prospective study with post discharge follow up until 30 days after surgery is recommended.

Clinical relevance and effect of surgical wound classification in appendicitis: Retrospective evaluation of wound classification discrepancies between surgeons, Swissnoso-trained infection control nurse, and histology as well as surgical site infection rates by wound class.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang-Chan, Anastasija; Gingert, Christian; Angst, Eliane; Hetzer, Franc Heinrich

2017-07-01

Surgical wound classification (SWC) is used for risk stratification of surgical site infection (SSI) and serves as the basis for measuring quality of care. The objective was to examine the accuracy and reliability of SWC. This study was purposed to evaluate the discrepancies in SWC as assessed by three groups: surgeons, an infection control nurse, and histopathologic evaluation. The secondary aim was to compare the risk-stratified SSI rates using the different SWC methods for 30 d postoperatively. An analysis was performed of the appendectomies from January 2013 to June 2014 in the Cantonal Hospital of Schaffhausen. SWC was assigned by the operating surgeon at the end of the procedure and retrospectively reviewed by a Swissnoso-trained infection control nurse after reading the operative and pathology report. The level of agreement among the three different SWC assessment groups was determined using kappa statistic. SSI rates were analyzed using a chi-square test. In 246 evaluated cases, the kappa scores for interrater reliability among the SWC assessments across the three groups ranged from 0.05 to 0.2 signifying slight agreement between the groups. SSIs were more frequently associated with trained infection control nurse-assigned SWC than with surgeons based SWC. Our study demonstrated a considerable discordance in the SWC assessments performed by the three groups. Unfortunately, the currently practiced SWC system suffers from ambiguity in definition and/or implementation of these definitions is not clearly stated. This lack of reliability is problematic and may lead to inappropriate comparisons within and between hospitals and surgeons. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reflections on 50 Years of Neuroscience Nursing: The Growth of Stroke Nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Nancy; Haxton, Elaine; Morrison, Kathy; Markey, Erin; Andreoli, Linda J; Maloney, Theresa; Omelchenko, Nataliya; Aroose, Amanda; Stevens, Lynn B

2018-05-10

Over the past 50 years, the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing (JNN) has grown from a neurosurgical focus to the broader neuroscience focus alongside the professional nursing organization that it supports. Stroke care in JNN focused on the surgical treatment and nursing care for cranial treatment of conditions such as cerebral aneurysm, carotid disease, arteriovenous malformation, and artery bypass procedures. As medical science has grown and new medications and treatment modalities have been successfully trialed, JNN has brought to its readership this information about recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, endovascular trials, and new assessment tools such as the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale. JNN is on the forefront of publishing nursing research in the areas of stroke caregiver needs and community education for rapid treatment of stroke and stroke risk reduction. The journal has been timely and informative in keeping neuroscience nurses on the forefront of the changing world of stroke nursing.

Surgical Treatment of Chronic Retrocalcaneal Bursitis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wiegerinck, Johannes I.; Kok, Aimee C.; van Dijk, C. Niek

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to analyze the results of surgical treatments for chronic retrocalcaneal bursitis (RB). Methods: Medline, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), Embase, and the Cochrane Library (1945 to December 2010) were systematically

Changes in Patient and Nurse Outcomes Associated with Magnet Hospital Recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Kutney-Lee, Ann; Stimpfel, Amy Witkoski; Sloane, Douglas M.; Cimiotti, Jeannie P.; Quinn, Lisa W.; Aiken, Linda H.

2015-01-01

Background Research has documented an association between Magnet hospitals and better outcomes for nurses and patients. However, little longitudinal evidence exists to support a causal link between Magnet recognition and outcomes. Objective To compare changes over time in surgical patient outcomes, nurse-reported quality, and nurse outcomes in a sample of hospitals that attained Magnet recognition between 1999 and 2007 with hospitals that remained non-Magnet. Research Design Retrospective, two-stage panel design using four secondary data sources. Subjects 136 Pennsylvania hospitals (11 “emerging” Magnets and 125 non-Magnets) Measures American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet recognition; risk-adjusted rates of surgical 30-day mortality and failure-to-rescue, nurse-reported quality measures, and nurse outcomes; the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index Methods Fixed effects difference models were used to compare changes in outcomes between emerging Magnet hospitals and hospitals that remained non-Magnet. Results Emerging Magnet hospitals demonstrated markedly greater improvements in their work environments than other hospitals. On average, the changes in 30-day surgical mortality and failure-to-rescue rates over the study period were more pronounced in emerging Magnet hospitals than in non-Magnet hospitals, by 2.4 fewer deaths per 1000 patients (pMagnet hospitals and non-Magnet hospitals were observed in nurse-reported quality of care and nurse outcomes. Conclusions In general, Magnet recognition is associated with significant improvements over time in the quality of the work environment, and in patient and nurse outcomes that exceed those of non-Magnet hospitals. PMID:25906016

The cost of nurse-sensitive adverse events.

Science.gov (United States)

Pappas, Sharon Holcombe

2008-05-01

The aim of this study was to describe the methodology for nursing leaders to determine the cost of adverse events and effective levels of nurse staffing. The growing transparency of quality and cost outcomes motivates healthcare leaders to optimize the effectiveness of nurse staffing. Most hospitals have robust cost accounting systems that provide actual patient-level direct costs. These systems allow an analysis of the cost consumed by patients during a hospital stay. By knowing the cost of complications, leaders have the ability to justify the cost of improved staffing when quality evidence shows that higher nurse staffing improves quality. An analysis was performed on financial and clinical data from hospital databases of 3,200 inpatients. The purpose was to establish a methodology to determine actual cost per case. Three diagnosis-related groups were the focus of the analysis. Five adverse events were analyzed along with the costs. A regression analysis reported that the actual direct cost of an adverse event was dollars 1,029 per case in the congestive heart failure cases and dollars 903 in the surgical cases. There was a significant increase in the cost per case in medical patients with urinary tract infection and pressure ulcers and in surgical patients with urinary tract infection and pneumonia. The odds of pneumonia occurring in surgical patients decreased with additional registered nurse hours per patient day. Hospital cost accounting systems are useful in determining the cost of adverse events and can aid in decision making about nurse staffing. Adverse events add costs to patient care and should be measured at the unit level to adjust staffing to reduce adverse events and avoid costs.

Advanced HVAC modeling with FemLab/Simulink/MatLab

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schijndel, van A.W.M.

2003-01-01

The combined MatLab toolboxes FemLab and Simulink are evaluated as solvers for HVAC problems based on partial differential equations (PDEs). The FemLab software is designed to simulate systems of coupled PDEs, 1-D, 2-D or 3-D, nonlinear and time dependent. In order to show how the program works, a

A Cross-sectional Study on Evidence-Based Nursing Practice in the Contemporary Hospital Setting: Implications for Nurses in Professional Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Rose Bovino, Leonie; Aquila, Anne M; Bartos, Susan; McCurry, Tina; Cunningham, C Elizabeth; Lane, Todd; Rogucki, Nicole; DosSantos, Jamie; Moody, Danielle; Mealia-Ospina, Karen; Pust-Marcone, Jancee; Quiles, Jonathan

Evidence indicates that nurses inconsistently engage in evidence-based practice (EBP). This cross-sectional study of 402 nurses at a medical-surgical hospital identifies strategies for augmenting EBP. Nurses' EBP beliefs scores were higher than their EBP implementation scores. Those with baccalaureate/postgraduate degrees had higher EBP beliefs and implementation scores than those with associate degrees or diplomas. Bedside or direct care nurses were less likely to have baccalaureate/higher degrees and had lower EBP beliefs and implementation scores than did those nurses not serving in direct care roles.

Evaluation of adherence to measures for the prevention of surgical site infections by the surgical team

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana Cristina de Oliveira

2015-10-01

Full Text Available AbstractOBJECTIVEEvaluate pre- and intraoperative practices adopted by medical and nursing teams for the prevention of surgical infections.METHODA prospective study carried out in the period of April to May 2013, in a surgical center of a university hospital in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais.RESULTS18 surgeries were followed and 214 surgical gloves were analyzed, of which 23 (10.7% had postoperative glove perforation detected, with 52.2% being perceived by users. Hair removal was performed on 27.7% of patients in the operating room, with the use of blades in 80% of the cases. Antibiotic prophylaxis was administered to 81.8% of patients up to 60 minutes prior to surgical incision. An average of nine professionals were present during surgery and the surgery room door remained open in 94.4% of the procedures.CONCLUSIONPartial adhesion to the recommended measures was identified, reaffirming a need for greater attention to these critical steps/actions in order to prevent surgical site infection.

THE INFLUENCE OF STRESS CONNECTED WITH PROFESSIONAL WORK ON THE OCCURRENCE OF BURNOUT SYNDROME IN NURSES WORKING IN SURGICAL AND MEDICAL TREATMENT WARDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grażyna Nowak-Starz

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Nursing is one of the professions where chronic stress is an inseparable characteristic and stems from the very nature of the profession itself. The job of a nurse involves particular mental burdens. The source of these is another person, one who has most often found themselves in an extreme situation. A nurse carries out her/his duties in a state of strong and long-lasting emotional strain. Inappropriate coping with stress and a lack of support from others in difficult situations leads to the development of burnout syndrome. This syndrome not only lowers, to a great extent, the quality of performed work but also prevents nurses from further professional development. Aims : The aim of the following paper is to evaluate the influence of stress connected with the professional work of a nurse on the occurrence of burnout syndrome. Material and methodology : Research was conducted on a group of 103 nurses working at eight hospital wards (surgical and medical treatment at the District Hospital in Lipsko. The research tool was a questionnaire of the author’s own devise, which contained 34 questions. Results : Among the examined nurses, 90% concluded that their professional work has a negative impact on their family life and they pointed to their own occupational burnout. Nurses who carried negative emotions over from work to their homes significantly more often showed a lack of satisfaction from their job and signs of occupational burnout. A substantial percentage of the participants considered shift-work and the professional position held to be a detrimental factor in the process of occupational burnout. Conclusion : The nurses were to a large extent exposed to mental burdens having a negative impact on their work. The vast majority of the respondents felt satisfaction from their job but a significant percentage of the respondents admitted to suffering from symptoms of chronic stress and exhaustion, which may indicate a lack of any support from co

Comprehensive evaluation of occupational radiation exposure to intraoperative and perioperative personnel from 18F-FDG radioguided surgical procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Povoski, Stephen P.; Martin, Edward W.; Sarikaya, Ismet; Hall, Nathan C.; Knopp, Michael V.; White, William C.; Marsh, Steven G.; Hinkle, George H.

2008-01-01

The purpose of the current study was to comprehensively evaluate occupational radiation exposure to all intraoperative and perioperative personnel involved in radioguided surgical procedures utilizing 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18 F-FDG). Radiation exposure to surgeon, anesthetist, scrub technologist, circulating nurse, preoperative nurse, and postoperative nurse, using aluminum oxide dosimeters read by optically stimulated luminescence technology, was evaluated during ten actual radioguided surgical procedures involving administration of 18 F-FDG. Mean patient dosage of 18 F-FDG was 699 ± 181 MBq (range 451-984). Mean time from 18 F-FDG injection to initial exposure of personnel to the patient was shortest for the preoperative nurse (75 ± 63 min, range 0-182) followed by the circulating nurse, anesthetist, scrub technologist, surgeon, and postoperative nurse. Mean total time of exposure of the personnel to the patient was longest for the anesthetist (250 ± 128 min, range 69-492) followed by the circulating nurse, scrub technologist, surgeon, postoperative nurse, and preoperative nurse. Largest deep dose equivalent per case was received by the surgeon (164 ± 135 μSv, range 10-580) followed by the anesthetist, scrub technologist, postoperative nurse, circulating nurse, and preoperative nurse. Largest deep dose equivalent per hour of exposure was received by the preoperative nurse (83 ± 134 μSv/h, range 0-400) followed by the surgeon, anesthetist, postoperative nurse, scrub technologist, and circulating nurse. On a per case basis, occupational radiation exposure to intraoperative and perioperative personnel involved in 18 F-FDG radioguided surgical procedures is relatively small. Development of guidelines for monitoring occupational radiation exposure in 18 F-FDG cases will provide reassurance and afford a safe work environment for such personnel. (orig.)

Vision Lab

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Vision Lab personnel perform research, development, testing and evaluation of eye protection and vision performance. The lab maintains and continues to develop...

Designing inquiry learning spaces for online labs in the Go-Lab platform

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Jong, Ton; Gillet, Dennis; Sotiriou, Sofoklis; Agogi, Ellinogermaniki; Zacharia, Zacharias

2015-01-01

The Go-Lab project (http://www.go-lab-project.eu/) aims to enable the integration of online labs through inquiry-based learning approaches into science classrooms. Through the use of an advanced plug and play technological solution the Go-Lab project opens up remote science laboratories, data

Australian perioperative nurses' experiences of assisting in multi-organ procurement surgery: a grounded theory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Zaneta; Leslie, Gavin; Wynaden, Dianne

2015-03-01

Multi-organ procurement surgical procedures through the generosity of deceased organ donors, have made an enormous impact on extending the lives of recipients. There is a dearth of in-depth knowledge relating to the experiences of perioperative nurses working closely with organ donors undergoing multi-organ procurement surgical procedures. The aim of this study was to address this gap by describing the perioperative nurses experiences of participating in multi-organ procurement surgical procedures and interpreting these findings as a substantive theory. This qualitative study used grounded theory methodology to generate a substantive theory of the experiences of perioperative nurses participating in multi-organ procurement surgery. Recruitment of participants took place after the study was advertised via a professional newsletter and journal. The study was conducted with participants from metropolitan, rural and regional areas of two Australian states; New South Wales and Western Australia. Thirty five perioperative nurse participants with three to 39 years of professional nursing experience informed the study. Semi structured in-depth interviews were undertaken from July 2009 to April 2010 with a mean interview time of 60 min. Interview data was transcribed verbatim and analysed using the constant comparative method. The study results draw attention to the complexities that exist for perioperative nurses when participating in multi-organ procurement surgical procedures reporting a basic social psychological problem articulated as hiding behind a mask and how they resolved this problem by the basic social psychological process of finding meaning. This study provides a greater understanding of how these surgical procedures impact on perioperative nurses by providing a substantive theory of this experience. The findings have the potential to guide further research into this challenging area of nursing practice with implications for clinical initiatives, management

Identification of cognitive and non-cognitive predictive variables related to attrition in baccalaureate nursing education programs in Mississippi

Science.gov (United States)

Hayes, Catherine

2005-07-01

This study sought to identify a variable or variables predictive of attrition among baccalaureate nursing students. The study was quantitative in design and multivariate correlational statistics and discriminant statistical analysis were used to identify a model for prediction of attrition. The analysis then weighted variables according to their predictive value to determine the most parsimonious model with the greatest predictive value. Three public university nursing education programs in Mississippi offering a Bachelors Degree in Nursing were selected for the study. The population consisted of students accepted and enrolled in these three programs for the years 2001 and 2002 and graduating in the years 2003 and 2004 (N = 195). The categorical dependent variable was attrition (includes academic failure or withdrawal) from the program of nursing education. The ten independent variables selected for the study and considered to have possible predictive value were: Grade Point Average for Pre-requisite Course Work; ACT Composite Score, ACT Reading Subscore, and ACT Mathematics Subscore; Letter Grades in the Courses: Anatomy & Physiology and Lab I, Algebra I, English I (101), Chemistry & Lab I, and Microbiology & Lab I; and Number of Institutions Attended (Universities, Colleges, Junior Colleges or Community Colleges). Descriptive analysis was performed and the means of each of the ten independent variables was compared for students who attrited and those who were retained in the population. The discriminant statistical analysis performed created a matrix using the ten variable model that was able to correctly predicted attrition in the study's population in 77.6% of the cases. Variables were then combined and recombined to produce the most efficient and parsimonious model for prediction. A six variable model resulted which weighted each variable according to predictive value: GPA for Prerequisite Coursework, ACT Composite, English I, Chemistry & Lab I, Microbiology

Improving Surveillance and Prevention of Surgical Site Infection in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Cannon, Melissa; Hersey, Diane; Harrison, Sheilah; Joy, Brian; Naguib, Aymen; Galantowicz, Mark; Simsic, Janet

2016-03-01

Postoperative cardiovascular surgical site infections are preventable events that may lead to increased morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. To improve surgical wound surveillance and reduce the incidence of surgical site infections. An institutional review of surgical site infections led to implementation of 8 surveillance and process measures: appropriate preparation the night before surgery and the day of surgery, use of appropriate preparation solution in the operating room, appropriate timing of preoperative antibiotic administration, placement of a photograph of the surgical site in the patient's chart at discharge, sending a photograph of the surgical site to the patient's primary care physician, 30-day follow-up of the surgical site by an advanced nurse practitioner, and placing a photograph of the surgical site obtained on postoperative day 30 in the patient's chart. Mean overall compliance with the 8 measures from March 2013 through February 2014 was 88%. Infections occurred in 10 of 417 total operative cases (2%) in 2012, in 8 of 437 total operative cases (2%) in 2013, and in 7 of 452 total operative cases (1.5%) in 2014. Institution of the surveillance process has resulted in improved identification of suspected surgical site infections via direct rather than indirect measures, accurate identification of all surgical site infections based on definitions of the National Healthcare Safety Network, collaboration with all persons involved, and enhanced communication with patients' family members and referring physicians. ©2016 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

[Work setting, satisfaction and burnout of the nurses in critical care units and hospitalization units. RN4CAST-Spain project].

Science.gov (United States)

Fuentelsaz-Gallego, C; Moreno-Casbas, T; Gómez-García, T; González-María, E

2013-01-01

To know if there are differences between the critical care units and the medical-surgical care units regarding the perception of the nurses working in National Health System hospitals about their work environment, burnout level and job satisfaction. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 6,417 nurses from the medical-surgical care units and with 1,122 nurses from critical care units of 59 Spanish hospitals with more than 150 beds. Socio-demographic, job satisfaction, perception of work environment (Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index [PES-NWI questionnaire]) and burnout measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) data were collected. The PES-NWI showed differences in 4 out of its 5 factors. It showed better values in medical-surgical units in all the factors, except for Staffing and resource adequacy (P<.001), where critical care units showed a mean level of agreement of 2.41 versus 2.19 for the medical-surgical units. Regarding burnout, this was higher in the medical-surgical care units (P=.039) where 23% (952) of the nurses had high levels. Job satisfaction was lower in the critical care units (P=.044) with 70% (578) of nurses being very or strongly satisfied. The opinion of the nurses, working in critical care units about their hospital is unfavorable. They showed lower levels of burnout than those working in medical-surgical units. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. y SEEIUC. All rights reserved.

Performance evaluation of nursing students following competency-based education.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Jun-Yu; Wang, Yu Hsin; Chao, Li Fen; Jane, Sui-Whi; Hsu, Li-Ling

2015-01-01

Competency-based education is known to improve the match between educational performance and employment opportunities. This study examined the effects of competency-based education on the learning outcomes of undergraduate nursing students. The study used a quasi-experimental design. A convenience sample of 312 second-year undergraduate nursing students from northern and southern Taiwan participated in the study. The experimental group (n=163) received competency-based education and the control group received traditional instruction (n=149) in a medical-surgical nursing course. Outcome measures included students' scores on the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, Self-Evaluated Core Competencies Scale, Metacognitive Inventory for Nursing Students questionnaire, and academic performance. Students who received competency-based education had significantly higher academic performance in the medical-surgical nursing course and practicum than did the control group. Required core competencies and metacognitive abilities improved significantly in the competency-based education group as compared to the control group after adjusting for covariates. Competency-based education is worth implementing and may close the gap between education and the ever-changing work environment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Operating room nurses' positioning of anesthetized surgical patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Erik Elgaard; Kusk, Kathrine Hoffmann; Grønkjaer, Mette

2016-01-01

cross-sectional study. METHOD: An electronic questionnaire was sent to 833 OR nurses employed at four public university hospitals. With 481 responses, a response rate of 57·7% was achieved. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed using the spss software package (version 19.00). RESULTS...

Innovations in STEM education: the Go-Lab federation of online labs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Jong, Anthonius J.M.; Sotiriou, Sofoklis; Gillet, Dennis

2014-01-01

The Go-Lab federation of online labs opens up virtual laboratories (simulation), remote laboratories (real equipment accessible at distance) and data sets from physical laboratory experiments (together called “online labs”) for large-scale use in education. In this way, Go-Lab enables inquiry-based

Enhancing Interoperability Among Enlisted Medical Personnel. A Case Study of Military Surgical Technologists

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

SUBSTANCE ABUSE TERRORISM AND HOMELAND SECURITY TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE AND WORKPLACE The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research...of allied health careers such as radiography , clinical lab technician, surgical technolo- gist, pharmacy technician, and dental hygienist. These

An integrated educational model for continuing nurse education.

Science.gov (United States)

Duff, Beverley; Gardner, Glenn; Osborne, Sonya

2014-01-01

This paper reports on the development and evaluation of an integrated clinical learning model to inform ongoing education for surgical nurses. The research aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing a Respiratory Skills Update (ReSKU) education program, in the context of organisational utility, on improving surgical nurses' practice in the area of respiratory assessment. Continuous development and integration of technological innovations and research in the healthcare environment mandate the need for continuing education for nurses. Despite an increased worldwide emphasis on this, there is scant empirical evidence of program effectiveness. A quasi experimental pre test, post test non-equivalent control group design evaluated the impact of the ReSKU program on surgical nurses' clinical practice. The 2008 study was conducted in a 400 bed regional referral public hospital and was consistent with contemporary educational approaches using multi-modal, interactive teaching strategies. The study demonstrated statistically significant differences between groups regarding reported use of respiratory skills, three months after ReSKU program attendance. Between group data analysis indicated that the intervention group's reported beliefs and attitudes pertaining to subscale descriptors showed statistically significant differences in three of the six subscales. The construct of critical thinking in the clinical context, combined with clinical reasoning and purposeful reflection, was a powerful educational strategy to enhance competency and capability in clinicians. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intraoperative monitoring technician: a new member of the surgical team.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Molly S; Brown, Debra S

2011-02-01

As surgery needs have increased, the traditional surgical team has expanded to include personnel from radiology and perfusion services. A new surgical team member, the intraoperative monitoring technician, is needed to perform intraoperative monitoring during procedures that carry a higher risk of central and peripheral nerve injury. Including the intraoperative monitoring technician on the surgical team can create challenges, including surgical delays and anesthesia care considerations. When the surgical team members, including the surgeon, anesthesia care provider, and circulating nurse, understand and facilitate this new staff member's responsibilities, the technician is able to perform monitoring functions that promote the smooth flow of the surgical procedure and positive patient outcomes. Copyright © 2011 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessment of nurses' work climate at Alexandria Main University Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Emam, Sanaa Abdel-aziz; Nabawy, Zeinab Mohamed; Mohamed, Azzaa Hassan; Sbeira, Walaa Hashem

2005-01-01

Work climate is indicative of how well the organization is realizing its full potential. An accurate assessment of work climate can identify the unnecessary obstacles to nurses interfering with their best performance. The present study aims to assess nurses' work climate at Alexandria Main University Hospital. The study sample included all nurses (N=400) who were working in inpatient medical and surgical units at the Alexandria Main University Hospital who were available at the time of data collection. A structured questionnaire was developed to assess nurses' perceptions regarding the dimensions of work climate. Data was collected by individual interview using the structured questionnaire. Results indicated that the highest percentages of nurses in medical and surgical units perceived that their work climate is characterized by good way of performance management, feeling of responsibility, warmth and supportive relationships, quality of communication, morale, organizational clarity and feeling of identity and belongness to the hospital. Nurses perceived that they are lacking work climate conducive to conflict resolution, participation in decision making, opportunity for training and development, fair rewards and recognition, calculated risks, sufficient resources, effective leadership and teamwork. There were no significant difference between nurses perceptions in medical and surgical units regarding all dimensions of work climate. The highest percentage of nurses in all units were satisfied only with the feeling of responsibility, way of performance management, and quality of communication. Conflict and identity were perceived as the most important areas that need improvement in the hospital. Based on the results recommendations were given to enhance work climate through designing compensation and recognition systems, and negotiate their requirements and accomplishment based on established standards and outcomes measures. Also, encouragement of and planning for

Inadequate environment, resources and values lead to missed nursing care: A focused ethnographic study on the surgical ward using the Fundamentals of Care framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Jangland, Eva; Teodorsson, Therese; Molander, Karin; Muntlin Athlin, Åsa

2018-06-01

To explore the delivery of care from the perspective of patients with acute abdominal pain focusing on the contextual factors at system level using the Fundamentals of Care framework. The Fundamentals of Care framework describes several contextual and systemic factors that can impact the delivery of care. To deliver high-quality, person-centred care, it is important to understand how these factors affect patients' experiences and care needs. A focused ethnographic approach. A total of 20 observations were performed on two surgical wards at a Swedish university hospital. Data were collected using participant observation and informal interviews and analysed using deductive content analysis. The findings, presented in four categories, reflect the value patients place on the caring relationship and a friendly atmosphere on the ward. Patients had concerns about the environment, particularly the high-tempo culture on the ward and its impact on their integrity, rest and sleep, access to information and planning, and need for support in addressing their existential thoughts. The observers also noted that missed nursing care had serious consequences for patient safety. Patients with acute abdominal pain were cared for in the high-tempo culture of a surgical ward with limited resources, unclear leadership and challenges to patients' safety. The findings highlight the crucial importance of prioritising and valuing the patients' fundamental care needs for recovery. Nursing leaders and nurses need to take the lead to reconceptualise the value of fundamental care in the acute care setting. To improve clinical practice, the value of fundamentals of care must be addressed regardless of patient's clinical condition. Providing a caring relationship is paramount to ensure a positive impact on patient's well-being and recovery. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Conflict in the intensive care unit: Nursing advocacy and surgical agency.

Science.gov (United States)

Pecanac, Kristen E; Schwarze, Margaret L

2018-02-01

Nurses and surgeons may experience intra-team conflict during decision making about the use of postoperative life-sustaining treatment in the intensive care unit due to their perceptions of professional roles and responsibilities. Nurses have a sense of advocacy-a responsibility to support the patient's best interest; surgeons have a sense of agency-a responsibility to keep the patient alive. The objectives were to (1) describe the discourse surrounding the responsibilities of nurses and surgeons, as "advocates" and "agents," and (2) apply these findings to determine how differences in role responsibilities could foster conflict during decision making about postoperative life-sustaining treatment in the intensive care unit. Articles, books, and professional documents were explored to obtain descriptions of nurses' and surgeons' responsibilities to their patients. Using discourse analysis, responsibilities were grouped into themes and then compared for potential for conflict. Ethical considerations: No data were collected from human participants and ethical review was not required. The texts were analyzed by a surgeon and a nurse to minimize profession-centric biases. Four themes in nursing discourse were identified: responsibility to support patient autonomy regarding treatment decisions, responsibility to protect the patient from the physician, responsibility to act as an intermediary between the physician and the patient, and the responsibility to support the well-being of the patient. Three themes in surgery discourse were identified personal responsibility for the patient's outcome, commitment to patient survival, and the responsibility to prevent harm to the patient from surgery. These responsibilities may contribute to conflict because each profession is working toward different goals and each believes they know what is best for the patient. It is not clear from the existing literature that either profession understands each other's responsibilities

Attitudes to teamwork and safety among Italian surgeons and operating room nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Prati, Gabriele; Pietrantoni, Luca

2014-01-01

Previous studies have shown that surgical team members' attitudes about safety and teamwork in the operating theatre may play a role in patient safety. The aim of this study was to assess attitudes about teamwork and safety among Italian surgeons and operating room nurses. Fifty-five surgeons and 48 operating room nurses working in operating theatres at one hospital in Italy completed the Operating Room Management Attitudes Questionnaire (ORMAQ). Results showed several discrepancies in attitudes about teamwork and safety between surgeons and operating room nurses. Surgeons had more positive views on the quality of surgical leadership, communication, teamwork, and organizational climate in the theatre than operating room nurses. Operating room nurses reported that safety rules and procedures were more frequently disregarded than the surgeons. The results are only partially aligned with previous ORMAQ surveys of surgical teams in other countries. The differences emphasize the influence of national culture, as well as the particular healthcare system. This study shows discrepancies on many aspects in attitudes to teamwork and safety between surgeons and operating room nurses. The findings support implementation and use of team interventions and human factor training. Finally, attitude surveys provide a method for assessing safety culture in surgery, for evaluating the effectiveness of training initiatives, and for collecting data for a hospital's quality assurance programme.

Praise matters: the influence of nurse unit managers' praise on nurses' practice, work environment and job satisfaction: a questionnaire study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sveinsdóttir, Herdís; Ragnarsdóttir, Erla Dögg; Blöndal, Katrín

2016-03-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between praise from nurse unit managers and job satisfaction, professional practice, workload, work climate and organizational commitment of nurses caring for surgical patients. Praise influences experiences of employees. Web-based, cross-sectional explorative survey design. A structured questionnaire was used to measure praise given by nurse unit managers as perceived by nurses (n = 383; 49% response rate) working with surgical patients. Data were collected between December 2009-January 2010. Several variables assessed the major concepts under study. Binary logistic regression analysis was employed to compare nurses who receive praise very rarely/rarely as compared with very often/rather often. Praise was received often/very often by 31·6% of participants. Compared with nurses receiving praise rarely/very rarely those who received it often/rather showed more job satisfaction, stated they had more opportunities to practice professionally, described a more positive work climate and were more committed to the organization such as being proud to work at and willing to make effort for the unit and hospital. There was no difference between the groups regarding workload. Main findings of the regression analysis were that nurses display their organizational commitment by not thinking about leaving the current workplace and those who value professional recognition are likelier to receive praise than their counterparts. Nurse unit managers should praise their staff in a realistic fashion. Such praise is cost-effective, takes short time, produces positive influences on members of their staff and may improve patient safety. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Better Nurse Autonomy Decreases the Odds of 30-Day Mortality and Failure to Rescue

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Aditi D.; Kumar, Aparna; McHugh, Matthew

2017-01-01

Research Purpose Autonomy is essential to professional nursing practice and is a core component of good nurse work environments. The primary objective of this study was to examine the relationship between nurse autonomy and 30-day mortality and failure to rescue (FTR) in a hospitalized surgical population. Study Design This study was a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data. It included data from three sources: patient discharge data from state administrative databases, a survey of nurses from four states, and the American Hospital Association annual survey from 2006–2007. Methods Survey responses from 20,684 staff nurses across 570 hospitals were aggregated to the hospital level to assess autonomy measured by a standardized scale. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the relationship between nurse autonomy and 30-day mortality and FTR. Patient comorbidities, surgery type, and other hospital characteristics were included as controls. Findings Greater nurse autonomy at the hospital level was significantly associated with lower odds of 30-day mortality and FTR for surgical patients even after accounting for patient risk and structural hospital characteristics. Each additional point on the nurse autonomy scale was associated with approximately 19% lower odds of 30-day mortality (p autonomy place their surgical patients at an increased risk for mortality and FTR. Clinical Relevance Patients receiving care within institutions that promote high levels of nurse autonomy have a lower risk for death within 30 days and complications leading to death within 30 days. Hospitals can actively take steps to encourage nurse autonomy to positively influence patient outcomes. PMID:28094907

An untapped resource in the nursing workforce: Licensed practical nurses who transition to become registered nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Cheryl B; Toles, Mark; Knafl, George J; Beeber, Anna S

A more diverse registered nurse (RN) workforce is needed to provide health care in North Carolina (NC) and nationally. Studies describing licensed practical nurse (LPN) career transitions to RNs are lacking. To characterize the occurrence of LPN-to-RN professional transitions; compare key characteristics of LPNs who do and do not make such a transition; and compare key characteristics of LPNs who do transition in the years prior to and following their transition. A retrospective design was conducted using licensure data on LPNs from 2001 to 2013. Cohorts were constructed based on year of graduation. Of 39,398 LPNs in NC between 2001 and 2013, there were 3,161 LPNs (8.0%) who had a LPN-to-RN career transition between 2001 and 2013. LPNs were more likely to transition to RN if they were male; from Asian, American Indian, or other racial groups; held an associate or baccalaureate degree in their last year as an LPN (or their last year in the study if they did not transition); worked in a hospital inpatient setting; worked in the medical-surgical nursing specialty; and were from a rural area. Our findings indicate that the odds of an LPN-to-RN transition were greater if LPNs were: male; from all other racial groups except white; of a younger age at their first LPN licensure; working in a hospital setting; working in the specialty of medical-surgical nursing; employed part-time; or working in a rural setting during the last year as an LPN. This study fills an important gap in our knowledge of LPN-to-RN transitions. Policy efforts are needed to incentivize: LPNs to make a LPN-to-RN transition; educational entities to create and communicate curricular pathways; and employers to support LPNs in making the transition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

THE REAL NEED OF NURSES BASED ON WORKLOAD INDICATOR STAFF NEED (WISN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ni Luh Ade Kusuma Ernawati

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Nurses are health workers in hospitals that provide nursing care to patients for 24 hours. Workload of nurses was high due to insufficient numbers of nurses. It will have an impact on the decrease in work productivity that may affect nurses care for patients. To get the human resources necessary to suit the needs of nursing manpower planning to increase the competitiveness of hospitals in the era of globalization. The research objective was to analyze the real needs of nurses on staff workload indicators need (WISN. Method: The study design was observational analytic. Analysis of workload using the method of approach to time and motion study. Sample were 24 nurses who met the inclusion criteria. Analysis of the needs of staff nurses using the workload indicators need (WISN. Result: The results obtained based on the calculation of nurses with WISN method needs of nurses in the medical-surgical nurses as many as 54 people. Objective workload of nurses in the room medical surgery general state hospital of Bali is the average 82.61%, including height. The total time required to complete the productive activities of more than 80%. Discussion: Conclusion of this study show the number of nurses in the medical-surgical general hospital bali is still lacking as many as 30 people. It is suggest to the hospital management to increase gradually the number of nurses in the medical room.

What do surgical oncology staff nurses know about colorectal cancer ostomy care?

Science.gov (United States)

Gemmill, Robin; Kravits, Kathy; Ortiz, Mildred; Anderson, Casandra; Lai, Lily; Grant, Marcia

2011-02-01

For most patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer, dealing with the adjustment and rehabilitation after treatment can be overwhelming. There is a significant need for expert educational and counseling support, especially for the patient with a new ostomy. This pilot study describes acute care oncology staff nurses' knowledge about and attitudes toward providing direct ostomy care support and education. This study is part of a larger project assessing gaps in education and services in support of patients with colorectal cancer. The Survey on Ostomy Care questionnaire designed to assess nurses' knowledge about and attitudes toward ostomy care was administered to oncology staff nurses at a comprehensive cancer center. Only 30% of staff nurses surveyed strongly agreed or agreed with the statement, "I care for ostomy patients often enough to keep up my skills in ostomy care." Maintaining staff nurses' ability to teach and demonstrate to patients complex care such as ostomy care depends on the ability to practice both education and hands-on skills. Staff nurses identify that lack of opportunity to care for the new ostomy patient influences their ability to maintain skill expertise. The results show the need to explore the provision of ongoing staff education for low-volume patient populations using creative teaching strategies, such as clinical simulation and short videos. Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.

Differences in nursing practice environment among US acute care unit types: a descriptive study.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, JiSun; Boyle, Diane K

2014-11-01

The hospital nursing practice environment has been found to be crucial for better nurse and patient outcomes. Yet little is known about the professional nursing practice environment at the unit level where nurses provide 24-hour bedside care to patients. To examine differences in nursing practice environments among 11 unit types (critical care, step-down, medical, surgical, combined medical-surgical, obstetric, neonatal, pediatric, psychiatric, perioperative, and emergency) and by Magnet status overall, as well as four specific aspects of the practice environment. Cross-sectional study. 5322 nursing units in 519 US acute care hospitals. The nursing practice environment was measured by the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index. The Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index mean composite and four subscale scores were computed at the unit level. Two statistical approaches (one-way analysis of covariance and multivariate analysis of covariance analysis) were employed with a Tukey-Kramer post hoc test. In general, the nursing practice environment was favorable in all unit types. There were significant differences in the nursing practice environment among the 11 unit types and by Magnet status. Pediatric units had the most favorable practice environment and medical-surgical units had the least favorable. A consistent finding across all unit types except neonatal units was that the staffing and resource adequacy subscale scored the lowest compared with all other Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index subscales (nursing foundations for quality of care, nurse manager ability, leadership, and support, and nurse-physician relations). Unit nursing practice environments were more favorable in Magnet than non-Magnet hospitals. Findings indicate that there are significant variations in unit nursing practice environments among 11 unit types and by hospital Magnet status. Both hospital-level and unit-specific strategies should be considered

Nursing Staff Perceptions of Fall Risk: The Emergence of Learned Helplessness as a Theme.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, Terri Lea; Lloyd, Susan L

2018-01-01

Nurses and unlicensed assistive personnel on 2 medical-surgical units were asked about their perceptions regarding patient falls. Their responses reflect learned helplessness and a lack of nurse empowerment that are relevant findings as nurse executives work to decrease patient falls.

PD Lab

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bilow, Marcel; Entrop, Alexis Gerardus; Lichtenberg, Jos; Stoutjesdijk, Pieter

2015-01-01

PD Lab explores the applications of building sector related product development. PD lab investigates and tests digital production technologies like CNC milled wood connections. It will also act as a platform in its wider meaning to investigate the effects and influences of file to factory

Tracing detached and attached care practices in nursing education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Soffer, Ann Katrine B.

2014-01-01

The implementation of skills labs in Danish nursing education can, in itself, be viewed as a complexity. The students are expected to eventually carry out their work in a situated hospital practice, but they learn their professional skills in a different space altogether, detached and removed from...... of care are not explicated in the curriculum or textbooks; however, they surfaced once this crooked approach to studying care in a simulated practice was applied. The article starts from the assertion that detached engagements are not recognized within the field of nursing education as an equal component...... analytical approach to care work, as involving both attached and detached engagement within Danish nursing education, is advocated....

Effects of a pain program on nurses' pharmacological pain management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Francke, AL; Dingemans, WA; Borg, PAJ; Luiken, JB; Grypdonck, M; Abu-Saad, HH

1999-01-01

Surgical nurses from five Dutch general hospitals participated in a continuing education program on pain assessment and management. Effects of the program were measured in a pretest-post-test control group design, in which nursing wards were randomly allocated to the experimental condition (program)

Decision-making in nursing practice: An integrative literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Nibbelink, Christine W; Brewer, Barbara B

2018-03-01

To identify and summarise factors and processes related to registered nurses' patient care decision-making in medical-surgical environments. A secondary goal of this literature review was to determine whether medical-surgical decision-making literature included factors that appeared to be similar to concepts and factors in naturalistic decision making (NDM). Decision-making in acute care nursing requires an evaluation of many complex factors. While decision-making research in acute care nursing is prevalent, errors in decision-making continue to lead to poor patient outcomes. Naturalistic decision making may provide a framework for further exploring decision-making in acute care nursing practice. A better understanding of the literature is needed to guide future research to more effectively support acute care nurse decision-making. PubMed and CINAHL databases were searched, and research meeting criteria was included. Data were identified from all included articles, and themes were developed based on these data. Key findings in this review include nursing experience and associated factors; organisation and unit culture influences on decision-making; education; understanding patient status; situation awareness; and autonomy. Acute care nurses employ a variety of decision-making factors and processes and informally identify experienced nurses to be important resources for decision-making. Incorporation of evidence into acute care nursing practice continues to be a struggle for acute care nurses. This review indicates that naturalistic decision making may be applicable to decision-making nursing research. Experienced nurses bring a broad range of previous patient encounters to their practice influencing their intuitive, unconscious processes which facilitates decision-making. Using naturalistic decision making as a conceptual framework to guide research may help with understanding how to better support less experienced nurses' decision-making for enhanced patient

The perfectly motivated nurse and the others: workplace and personal characteristics impact preference of nursing tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Sven H; Proynova, Rumyana; Paech, Barbara; Wetter, Thomas

2014-11-01

To identify whether motivation of nurses coincides with personal values, workplace or personal characteristics. Shortage of nursing workforce compromises patient care. Motivation and job satisfaction are factors considered to make nurses quit. Little is known about measurement and variation of nurses' motivation. Funding for human resource programmes is limited - effective programmes could focus on nurses in need of motivational support. Exploratory study with nurses using questionnaires in an academic hospital in Germany. Work motivation was approximated through preference of nursing tasks. Questionnaires measured personal values, preference of generic nursing tasks, and workplace and personal characteristics. A total of 212 questionnaires were usable. Higher motivation was found in groups of nurses with the dominant personal value 'Benevolence', with high self-rated expertise, in the middle of their career or working in surgical or general wards. Motivation was low in nurses with the dominant value 'Hedonism', or nurses in internal medicine or with low to medium self-rated expertise or who used computers infrequently. Motivation coincided with dominant personal values, workplace and personal characteristics. The results should be validated in other settings. Human resource programmes could focus on nurses whose motivation is at risk. Prospectively highly motivated individuals should be hired with priority. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Nurse managers' perceptions and experiences regarding staff nurse empowerment: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Bogaert, Peter; Peremans, Lieve; de Wit, Marlinde; Van Heusden, Danny; Franck, Erik; Timmermans, Olaf; Havens, Donna S

2015-01-01

To study nurse managers' perceptions and experiences of staff nurse structural empowerment and its impact on the nurse manager leadership role and style. Nurse managers' leadership roles may be viewed as challenging given the complex needs of patients and staff nurses' involvement in both clinical and organizational decision-making processes in interdisciplinary care settings. Qualitative phenomenological study. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 medical or surgical nurse managers in a 600-bed Belgian university hospital between December 2013 and June 2014. This hospital was undergoing conversion from a classical hierarchical, departmental structure to a flat, interdisciplinary model. Nurse managers were found to be familiar with the structural empowerment of clinical nurses in the hospital and to hold positive attitudes toward it. They confirmed the positive impact of empowerment on their staff nurses, as evidenced by increased responsibility, autonomy, critical reflection and enhanced communication skills that in turn improved the quality and safety of patient care. Structural empowerment was being supported by several change initiatives at both the unit and hospital levels. Nurse managers' experiences with these initiatives were mixed, however, because of the changing demands with regard to their manager role and leadership style. In addition, pressure was being experienced by both staff nurses and nurse managers as a result of direct patient care priorities, tightly scheduled projects and miscommunication. Nurse managers reported that structural empowerment was having a favorable impact on staff nurses' professional attitudes and the safety and quality of care in their units. However, they also reported that the empowerment process had led to changes in the managers' roles as well as daily practice dilemmas related to the leadership styles needed. Clear organizational goals and dedicated support for both clinical nurses and nursing unit

Kinematic Labs with Mobile Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Kinser, Jason M.

2015-07-01

This book provides 13 labs spanning the common topics in the first semester of university-level physics. Each lab is designed to use only the student's smartphone, laptop and items easily found in big-box stores or a hobby shop. Each lab contains theory, set-up instructions and basic analysis techniques. All of these labs can be performed outside of the traditional university lab setting and initial costs averaging less than 8 per student, per lab.

Coping and caring: support resources integral to perioperative nurses during the process of organ procurement surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Zaneta; Leslie, Gavin; Wynaden, Dianne

2017-11-01

To discuss and explore the levels of support provided to perioperative nurses when participating in multi-organ procurement surgery and the impact to their overall well-being. Assisting within multi-organ procurement surgical procedures has been recognised to impact on the well-being of perioperative nurses leaving little opportunity for them to recover from their participation or to seek available support resources. To date, this area has remained largely unexplored with limited evidence of how nurses manage and cope with these procedures, in addition to the support received in the workplace. A qualitative grounded theory method. The study was informed by perioperative nurses (n = 35) who had previous participatory experience in these surgical procedures from two Australian states. Theoretical sampling directed the collection of data via semistructured in-depth interviews. Data were analysed using the constant comparative method. Three components of levels of support were identified from the data: lacking support within the operating room organisation; surgical team support and access to external professional support. These findings offer new insights into how nurses manage and cope with their participation in organ procurement surgical procedures and what types of support resources can be seen as barriers or enablers to their overall experiences. The need for timely and adequate support is vital to their overall well-being and future participation in organ procurement surgery. These findings have the potential to guide further research with implications for clinical initiatives and practices, looking at new ways of supporting perioperative nurses within the clinical environment both locally and internationally. Healthcare organisations need to acknowledge the emotional, psychosocial and psychological health and well-being of nurses impacted by these surgical procedures and provide appropriate and timely clinical support within the work environment. © 2016

[Nursing care mapping for patients at risk of falls in the Nursing Interventions Classification].

Science.gov (United States)

Luzia, Melissa de Freitas; Almeida, Miriam de Abreu; Lucena, Amália de Fátima

2014-08-01

Identifying the prescribed nursing care for hospitalized patients at risk of falls and comparing them with the interventions of the Nursing Interventions Classifications (NIC). A cross-sectional study carried out in a university hospital in southern Brazil. It was a retrospective data collection in the nursing records system. The sample consisted of 174 adult patients admitted to medical and surgical units with the Nursing Diagnosis of Risk for falls. The prescribed care were compared with the NIC interventions by the cross-mapping method. The most prevalent care were the following: keeping the bed rails, guiding patients/family regarding the risks and prevention of falls, keeping the bell within reach of patients, and maintaining patients' belongings nearby, mapped in the interventions Environmental Management: safety and Fall Prevention. The treatment prescribed in clinical practice was corroborated by the NIC reference.

Teachers' Perspectives on Online Virtual Labs vs. Hands-On Labs in High School Science

Science.gov (United States)

Bohr, Teresa M.

This study of online science teachers' opinions addressed the use of virtual labs in online courses. A growing number of schools use virtual labs that must meet mandated laboratory standards to ensure they provide learning experiences comparable to hands-on labs, which are an integral part of science curricula. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine teachers' perceptions of the quality and effectiveness of high school virtual labs. The theoretical foundation was constructivism, as labs provide student-centered activities for problem solving, inquiry, and exploration of phenomena. The research questions focused on experienced teachers' perceptions of the quality of virtual vs. hands-on labs. Data were collected through survey questions derived from the lab objectives of The Next Generation Science Standards . Eighteen teachers rated the degree of importance of each objective and also rated how they felt virtual labs met these objectives; these ratings were reported using descriptive statistics. Responses to open-ended questions were few and served to illustrate the numerical results. Many teachers stated that virtual labs are valuable supplements but could not completely replace hands-on experiences. Studies on the quality and effectiveness of high school virtual labs are limited despite widespread use. Comprehensive studies will ensure that online students have equal access to quality labs. School districts need to define lab requirements, and colleges need to specify the lab experience they require. This study has potential to inspire positive social change by assisting science educators, including those in the local school district, in evaluating and selecting courseware designed to promote higher order thinking skills, real-world problem solving, and development of strong inquiry skills, thereby improving science instruction for all high school students.

The Role of Crowdsourcing in Assessing Surgical Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Andrew J

2016-08-01

Assessing surgical skill is critical in improving patient care while reducing medical errors, length of stay, and readmission rates. Crowdsourcing provides 1 potential method for accurately assessing this; only recently has crowdsourcing been studied as a valid way to provide feedback to surgeons. The results of such studies are explored. A systematic literature search was performed on PubMed to identify studies that have attempted to validate crowdsourcing as a method for assessing surgical skill. Through a combination of abstract screening and full-length review, 9 studies that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed. Crowdsourcing has been validated as an important way to provide feedback for surgical skill. It has been demonstrated to be effective in both dry-lab and live surgery, for a variety of tasks and methods. However, more studies must be performed to ensure that crowdsourcing can provide quality feedback in a wider variety of scenarios.

Organizational effects on patient satisfaction in hospital medical-surgical units.

Science.gov (United States)

Bacon, Cynthia Thornton; Mark, Barbara

2009-05-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between hospital context, nursing unit structure, and patient characteristics and patients' satisfaction with nursing care in hospitals. Although patient satisfaction has been widely researched, our understanding of the relationship between hospital context and nursing unit structure and their impact on patient satisfaction is limited. The data source for this study was the Outcomes Research in Nursing Administration Project, a multisite organizational study conducted to investigate relationships among nurse staffing, organizational context and structure, and patient outcomes. The sample for this study was 2,720 patients and 3,718 RNs in 286 medical-surgical units in 146 hospitals. Greater availability of nursing unit support services and higher levels of work engagement were associated with higher levels of patient satisfaction. Older age, better health status, and better symptom management were also associated with higher levels of patient satisfaction. Organizational factors in hospitals and nursing units, particularly support services on the nursing unit and mechanisms that foster nurses' work engagement and effective symptom management, are important influences on patient satisfaction.

Nurses' burnout and unmet nursing care needs of patients' relatives in a Turkish State Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Tekindal, Benian; Tekindal, Mustafa Agah; Pinar, Gul; Ozturk, Filiz; Alan, Sumeyra

2012-02-01

One of the biggest problems of work life today is burnout. With burnout, satisfaction of clients and service givers reduces. In this study, burnout levels of nurses working in the internal, surgical and intensive care units of a university hospital and the unmet needs of the patients' relatives related to nursing care were investigated. In the study, 225 nurses and 222 relatives of patients constituted the sample group of this study. Three separate forms were used in the study, namely, Nurse and Patient Relative Identification Form, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Nursing Services Satisfaction Inventory. In the study, burnout levels of the nurses were found to be high. Conditions like younger ages, scarcity of experience in the profession, lower levels of education, having chosen the profession and the unit they work in not willingly and working in environments like intensive care increase the burnout and as a result, expectations of the relatives of patients from nursing care are not fully met. Some suggestions have been made to make some regulations to prevent the burnout of nurses and to increase the satisfaction of relatives. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Capacity Development in an Undergraduate Nursing Program in Vietnam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunjoo Kang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Nurses are an essential human resource to ensure a healthy population and support the socio-economic development. However, little research has focused on the capacity development of nurses.Objective: The performance of a capacity development project for an undergraduate nursing program in Vietnam was reviewed to share lessons.Design: A descriptive case report.Setting: A baccalaureate nursing program in Vietnam from June 2014 to June 2016.Methods: A case report was analyzed in terms of the project's process, and the outcomes of 2 years' activities were evaluated.Results: Practice-based curriculum redesign and two basic nursing subjects were developed after five rounds of curriculum workshops. To improve application efficiency, two nursing experts were dispatched to provide instructions regarding the application of the new subjects. Three candidates were invited to complete their master's and doctoral studies in Korea. An advanced nursing education environment was supported with simulation labs equipped within a ubiquitous network. The result of experts' evaluation was excellent by every criterion of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development—Development Assistance Committee.Conclusions: The capacity development of a nursing program was possible through ownership, accountability, and results-based management. Gradual improvement in nursing academic and clinical capacity building based on research evidence can empower partner countries' nursing leadership. Introduction.

OpenLabNotes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

List, Markus; Franz, Michael; Tan, Qihua

2015-01-01

be advantageous if an ELN was Integrated with a laboratory information management system to allow for a comprehensive documentation of experimental work including the location of samples that were used in a particular experiment. Here, we present OpenLabNotes, which adds state-of-the-art ELN capabilities to Open......LabFramework, a powerful and flexible laboratory information management system. In contrast to comparable solutions, it allows to protect the intellectual property of its users by offering data protection with digital signatures. OpenLabNotes effectively Closes the gap between research documentation and sample management......, thus making Open-Lab Framework more attractive for laboratories that seek to increase productivity through electronic data management....

Compassion Fatigue in Pediatric Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Jill; Polivka, Barbara; Smoot, Elizabeth Ann; Owens, Heather

2015-01-01

Compassion fatigue in nursing has been shown to impact the quality of patient care and employee satisfaction and engagement. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence and severity of compassion fatigue among pediatric nurses and variations in prevalence based on respondent demographics using a cross-sectional survey design. Nurses under 40 years of age, with 6-10 years of experience and/or working in a medical-surgical unit had significantly lower compassion satisfaction and higher levels of burnout. Secondary traumatic stress from caring for children with severe illness or injury or end of life was a key contributor to compassion fatigue. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multidisciplinary crisis simulations: the way forward for training surgical teams.

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Undre, Shabnam; Koutantji, Maria; Sevdalis, Nick; Gautama, Sanjay; Selvapatt, Nowlan; Williams, Samantha; Sains, Parvinderpal; McCulloch, Peter; Darzi, Ara; Vincent, Charles

2007-09-01

High-reliability organizations have stressed the importance of non-technical skills for safety and of regularly providing such training to their teams. Recently safety skills training has been applied in the practice of medicine. In this study, we developed and piloted a module using multidisciplinary crisis scenarios in a simulated operating theatre to train entire surgical teams. Twenty teams participated (n = 80); each consisted of a trainee surgeon, anesthetist, operating department practitioner (ODP), and scrub nurse. Crisis scenarios such as difficult intubation, hemorrhage, or cardiac arrest were simulated. Technical and non-technical skills (leadership, communication, team skills, decision making, and vigilance), were assessed by clinical experts and by two psychologists using relevant technical and human factors rating scales. Participants received technical and non-technical feedback, and the whole team received feedback on teamwork. Trainees assessed the training favorably. For technical skills there were no differences between surgical trainees' assessment scores and the assessment scores of the trainers. However, nurses overrated their technical skill. Regarding non-technical skills, leadership and decision making were scored lower than the other three non-technical skills (communication, team skills, and vigilance). Surgeons scored lower than nurses on communication and teamwork skills. Surgeons and anesthetists scored lower than nurses on leadership. Multidisciplinary simulation-based team training is feasible and well received by surgical teams. Non-technical skills can be assessed alongside technical skills, and differences in performance indicate where there is a need for further training. Future work should focus on developing team performance measures for training and on the development and evaluation of systematic training for technical and non-technical skills to enhance team performance and safety in surgery.

Surgical simulators in cataract surgery training.

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Sikder, Shameema; Tuwairqi, Khaled; Al-Kahtani, Eman; Myers, William G; Banerjee, Pat

2014-02-01

Virtual simulators have been widely implemented in medical and surgical training, including ophthalmology. The increasing number of published articles in this field mandates a review of the available results to assess current technology and explore future opportunities. A PubMed search was conducted and a total of 10 articles were reviewed. Virtual simulators have shown construct validity in many modules, successfully differentiating user experience levels during simulated phacoemulsification surgery. Simulators have also shown improvements in wet-lab performance. The implementation of simulators in the residency training has been associated with a decrease in cataract surgery complication rates. Virtual reality simulators are an effective tool in measuring performance and differentiating trainee skill level. Additionally, they may be useful in improving surgical skill and patient outcomes in cataract surgery. Future opportunities rely on taking advantage of technical improvements in simulators for education and research.

Identifying paediatric nursing-sensitive outcomes in linked administrative health data

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Wilson Sally

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is increasing interest in the contribution of the quality of nursing care to patient outcomes. Due to different casemix and risk profiles, algorithms for administrative health data that identify nursing-sensitive outcomes in adult hospitalised patients may not be applicable to paediatric patients. The study purpose was to test adult algorithms in a paediatric hospital population and make amendments to increase the accuracy of identification of hospital acquired events. The study also aimed to determine whether the use of linked hospital records improved the likelihood of correctly identifying patient outcomes as nursing sensitive rather than being related to their pre-morbid conditions. Methods Using algorithms developed by Needleman et al. (2001, proportions and rates of records that identified nursing-sensitive outcomes for pressure ulcers, pneumonia and surgical wound infections were determined from administrative hospitalisation data for all paediatric patients discharged from a tertiary paediatric hospital in Western Australia between July 1999 and June 2009. The effects of changes to inclusion and exclusion criteria for each algorithm on the calculated proportion or rate in the paediatric population were explored. Linked records were used to identify comorbid conditions that increased nursing-sensitive outcome risk. Rates were calculated using algorithms revised for paediatric patients. Results Linked records of 129,719 hospital separations for 79,016 children were analysed. Identification of comorbid conditions was enhanced through access to prior and/or subsequent hospitalisation records (43% of children with pressure ulcers had a form of paralysis recorded only on a previous admission. Readmissions with a surgical wound infection were identified for 103 (4.8/1,000 surgical separations using linked data. After amendment of each algorithm for paediatric patients, rates of pressure ulcers and pneumonia reduced by

Identifying paediatric nursing-sensitive outcomes in linked administrative health data.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Sally; Bremner, Alexandra P; Hauck, Yvonne; Finn, Judith

2012-07-20

There is increasing interest in the contribution of the quality of nursing care to patient outcomes. Due to different casemix and risk profiles, algorithms for administrative health data that identify nursing-sensitive outcomes in adult hospitalised patients may not be applicable to paediatric patients. The study purpose was to test adult algorithms in a paediatric hospital population and make amendments to increase the accuracy of identification of hospital acquired events. The study also aimed to determine whether the use of linked hospital records improved the likelihood of correctly identifying patient outcomes as nursing sensitive rather than being related to their pre-morbid conditions. Using algorithms developed by Needleman et al. (2001), proportions and rates of records that identified nursing-sensitive outcomes for pressure ulcers, pneumonia and surgical wound infections were determined from administrative hospitalisation data for all paediatric patients discharged from a tertiary paediatric hospital in Western Australia between July 1999 and June 2009. The effects of changes to inclusion and exclusion criteria for each algorithm on the calculated proportion or rate in the paediatric population were explored. Linked records were used to identify comorbid conditions that increased nursing-sensitive outcome risk. Rates were calculated using algorithms revised for paediatric patients. Linked records of 129,719 hospital separations for 79,016 children were analysed. Identification of comorbid conditions was enhanced through access to prior and/or subsequent hospitalisation records (43% of children with pressure ulcers had a form of paralysis recorded only on a previous admission). Readmissions with a surgical wound infection were identified for 103 (4.8/1,000) surgical separations using linked data. After amendment of each algorithm for paediatric patients, rates of pressure ulcers and pneumonia reduced by 53% and 15% (from 1.3 to 0.6 and from 9.1 to 7.7 per

A comparative study on real lab and simulation lab in communication engineering from students' perspectives

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Balakrishnan, B.; Woods, P. C.

2013-05-01

Over the years, rapid development in computer technology has engendered simulation-based laboratory (lab) in addition to the traditional hands-on (physical) lab. Many higher education institutions adopt simulation lab, replacing some existing physical lab experiments. The creation of new systems for conducting engineering lab activities has raised concerns among educators on the merits and shortcomings of both physical and simulation labs; at the same time, many arguments have been raised on the differences of both labs. Investigating the effectiveness of both labs is complicated, as there are multiple factors that should be considered. In view of this challenge, a study on students' perspectives on their experience related to key aspects on engineering laboratory exercise was conducted. In this study, the Visual Auditory Read and Kinetic model was utilised to measure the students' cognitive styles. The investigation was done through a survey among participants from Multimedia University, Malaysia. The findings revealed that there are significant differences for most of the aspects in physical and simulation labs.

Nurse Managers’ Perceptions and Experiences Regarding Staff Nurse Empowerment: A Qualitative Study

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Peter eVan Bogaert

2015-10-01

Full Text Available AimTo study nurse managers’ perceptions and experiences with staff nurse structural empowerment and the impact on the nurse manager leadership role and style.BackgroundNurse managers’ leadership roles may be viewed as challenging given the complex needs of patients in the context of staff nurses’ involvement in clinical as well organizational decision-making processes, in interdisciplinary care settings.DesignQualitative phenomenological study MethodsIndividual semi-structured interviews of 8 medical or surgical nurse managers were conducted in a 600-bed Belgian university hospital between December 2013 and June 2014. This organization was undergoing a transformational process to convert from a classic hierarchical and departmental structure to one that was flat and interdisciplinary.ResultsNurse managers were familiar with and held positive attitudes about nurse structural empowerment in the hospital. They conveyed the positive impact of empowerment on their staff nurses that in turn improved the quality of care and patient safety. Structural empowerment was supported by several change initiatives at the unit and hospital levels and nurse managers’ experiences with these initiatives was reported as mixed because of the changing demands on their manager role and leadership style. In addition, pressure was experienced both by staff nurses and nurse managers through direct patient care priorities, tightly scheduled projects and miscommunication.ConclusionNurse managers reported a favourable impact of structural empowerment on staff nurses’ professional attitudes and the safety and quality of care on their units. However, they also reported that the empowerment process, created changing demands in the manager role as well as daily practice dilemmas with regard to needed leadership styles. Clear organisational goals and dedicated support for nurses as well as nursing unit managers will be imperative to sustain an empowered practice

Virtual Reality Lab Assistant

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Saha, Hrishikesh; Palmer, Timothy A.

1996-01-01

Virtual Reality Lab Assistant (VRLA) demonstration model is aligned for engineering and material science experiments to be performed by undergraduate and graduate students in the course as a pre-lab simulation experience. This will help students to get a preview of how to use the lab equipment and run experiments without using the lab hardware/software equipment. The quality of the time available for laboratory experiments can be significantly improved through the use of virtual reality technology.

Prison nursing and its training

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M. Sánchez-Roig

Full Text Available The main task of nurses is to take care of sick and healthy people and evaluate changes in their health conditions. The goal is to take the appropriate measures to help their recovery or guarantee a dignified death, and if possible, help them regain autonomy and independence. Nursing is present in different areas: primary health, mental health, accident and emergencies, intensive and coronary care, surgical care, paediatrics, geriatrics, public health, occupational health, teaching, etc. In our case, prison nursing, one of the least known branches of the profession, we wanted to investigate more deeply the work of nurses in prisons, which aspect of health care they are responsible for and to what type of population they are geared towards, as well as the necessary training to be able to work in such a particular environment. To conclude, we have seen that university degrees in general nursing do not include knowledge in this area, and that authors from different countries support the specialization of prison nursing and the need for nurses to be trained according to the health conditions of inmates and the characteristics of prisons.

Prison nursing and its training.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Roig, M; Coll-Cámara, A

2016-12-01

The main task of nurses is to take care of sick and healthy people and evaluate changes in their health conditions. The goal is to take the appropriate measures to help their recovery or guarantee a dignified death, and if possible, help them regain autonomy and independence. Nursing is present in different areas: primary health, mental health, accident and emergencies, intensive and coronary care, surgical care, paediatrics, geriatrics, public health, occupational health, teaching, etc. In our case, prison nursing, one of the least known branches of the profession, we wanted to investigate more deeply the work of nurses in prisons, which aspect of health care they are responsible for and to what type of population they are geared towards, as well as the necessary training to be able to work in such a particular environment. To conclude, we have seen that university degrees in general nursing do not include knowledge in this area, and that authors from different countries support the specialization of prison nursing and the need for nurses to be trained according to the health conditions of inmates and the characteristics of prisons.

Animal ethics and welfare education in wet-lab training can foster residents' ethical values toward life.

Science.gov (United States)

Iki, Yuko; Ito, Takuya; Kudo, Katsuyoshi; Noda, Masafumi; Kanehira, Masahiko; Sueta, Teruko; Miyoshi, Ichiro; Kagaya, Yutaka; Okada, Yoshinori; Unno, Michiaki

2017-10-30

Live animals are used in surgical skills training in wet lab, which has undeniable effectiveness for the development of future surgeons. However, where such training is provided, animal welfare is a major consideration. Increasingly, institutions that offer wet-lab training are incorporating animal ethics and welfare-related content into their training courses, but the effectiveness of such animal ethics education has yet to be evaluated quantitatively. We investigated whether the animal ethics content of a training course affected trainees by measuring increase in ethical awareness using visual analog scale questionnaires before and after training. Our results demonstrated a significant and positive increase in awareness of animal ethics (significance level of 5%; 0.0380≤P≤0.0016).

The effect of nurse manager turnover on patient fall and pressure ulcer rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Warshawsky, Nora; Rayens, Mary Kay; Stefaniak, Karen; Rahman, Rana

2013-07-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of nurse manager turnover on the occurrence of adverse events. Nurse managers create professional nurse practice environments to support the provision of quality patient outcomes. Inconsistent findings were reported in the literature testing the relationship between nurse managers and patient outcomes. All prior studies assumed stable nursing management. A longitudinal quasi-experimental study of 23 nursing units in two hospitals was used to determine whether unit characteristics, including nurse manager turnover, have an effect on patient falls or pressure ulcers. Statistical analyses included repeated measures and hierarchical modelling. Patients in medical/surgical units experienced more falls than in intensive care units (F1,11 = 15.9, P = 0.002). Patients in units with a nurse manager turnover [odds ratio: 3.16; 95% confidence interval: 1.49-6.70] and intensive care units (odds ratio: 2.70; 95% confidence interval: 1.33-5.49) were more likely to develop pressure ulcers. Nurse manager turnover and intensive care unit status were associated with more pressure ulcers. Medical/surgical unit status was associated with more falls. The study was limited by a small sample size. Nurse manager turnover may negatively impact patient outcomes. Stable nursing management, strategic interim management and long-term succession planning may reduce adverse patient events. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparison of Nurses in Two Different Cultures: Who Experiences More Burnout.

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Karaman Özlü, Zeynep; Çay Yayla, Ayşegül; Gümüş, Kenan; Khaghanyrad, Elisha

2017-06-01

Although burnout occurs in almost all occupational groups, it is mostly observed in professions requiring face-to-face relationships with people, especially among health care workers who deal constantly with problems and expectations of people. The objective of this study was to determine the burnout levels of nurses working in surgical clinics in two countries. This descriptive study was conducted between June and September 2013. The study's population consisted of 179 nurses working in the surgical clinics of Ataturk University Research Hospital and Iran Urmiyili Shahidmotahari University Hospital. A questionnaire involving descriptive characteristics of nurses and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to collect the data. Nurses working in Turkey had higher mean scores of "emotional exhaustion" and "depersonalization," and a higher mean composite score. Nurses working in Iran had higher mean scores of the subscale "personal accomplishment." Although there was a statistically significant difference between both countries in terms of emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment (P  .05). Nurses working in Turkey experienced more emotional exhaustion and less personal accomplishment compared with nurses working in Iran. In line with this result, improvements in their work environment and conditions are recommended to provide organizational support by fostering job satisfaction, preventing exhaustion by arranging shifts based on workload, and offering psychological counseling services to employees. Copyright © 2016 American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Unit type differences in RN workgroup job satisfaction.

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Boyle, Diane K; Miller, Peggy A; Gajewski, Byron J; Hart, Sara E; Dunton, Nancy

2006-10-01

Using cross-sectional data from the 2004 National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) RN Satisfaction Survey, differences in RN workgroup job satisfaction were examined among 10 unit types--medical-surgical, step-down, critical care, pediatric, maternal-newborn, psychiatric, emergency department, rehabilitation, surgical services, and outpatient clinics and labs. The national sample included RN workgroups in 2,900 patient care units (55,516 RNs; 206 hospitals in 44 states). Workgroup satisfaction across all unit types was moderate. RN workgroups in pediatric units were the most satisfied, whereas those in surgical services and emergency department unit types were least satisfied. A consistent finding across all unit types was high satisfaction with the specific domains of nurse-to-nurse interaction, professional status, and professional development versus much lower satisfaction with task, decision making, and pay. Findings can be used to inform and develop investigations that examine specific aspects of the work environment for RN workgroups in various unit types.

Competence in providing mental health care: a grounded theory analysis of nurses' experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharrock, Julie; Happell, Brenda

In view of the evidence that general nurses have difficulty in caring for patients experiencing mental health problems, the aim of this study was to explore and describe the subjective experience of nurses in providing care for this client group. A grounded theory approach was used. The data were collected via semi-structured individual interviews and analysed using the constant comparative method. The study was conducted with nurses from general health care settings that provide medical and surgical care and treatment. Four nurses who were completing their second year post graduation participated in the study. The experiences of providing care for people experiencing a mental illness as described by participants. The findings indicated the nurses were striving for competence in the provision of mental health care. They acknowledged the mental health needs of patients and their right to quality care. This study supports the notion that general nurses lack confidence when caring for patients with mental health problems in medical and surgical settings. It also highlights a discrepancy between the holistic framework encouraged at undergraduate level and what is experienced in practice.

Surgical correction of the snout suffocation syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Keipper, V L; Chikes, P G

1990-04-01

Two nursing home patients with difficulty breathing because of occlusion of the mouth and nares by an involuntary snout reflex-like mannerism have previously been described. In both cases advanced dementia, edentia, and a downward-angled nasal base were present. Life-threatening hypoxia occurred intermittently in one case, and after becoming severe, was corrected by the surgical procedure described.

LabVIEW 8 student edition

CERN Document Server

Bishop, Robert H

2007-01-01

For courses in Measurement and Instrumentation, Electrical Engineering lab, and Physics and Chemistry lab. This revised printing has been updated to include new LabVIEW 8.2 Student Edition. National Instruments' LabVIEW is the defacto industry standard for test, measurement, and automation software solutions. With the Student Edition of LabVIEW, students can design graphical programming solutions to their classroom problems and laboratory experiments with software that delivers the graphical programming capabilites of the LabVIEW professional version. . The Student Edition is also compatible with all National Instruments data acquisition and instrument control hardware. Note: The LabVIEW Student Edition is available to students, faculty, and staff for personal educational use only. It is not intended for research, institutional, or commercial use. For more information about these licensing options, please visit the National Instruments website at (http:www.ni.com/academic/)

Factors influencing registered nurses perception of their overall job satisfaction: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Atefi, N; Abdullah, K L; Wong, L P; Mazlom, R

2014-09-01

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore factors related to critical care and medical-surgical nurses' job satisfaction as well as dissatisfaction in Iran. Job satisfaction is an important factor in healthcare settings. Strong empirical evidence supports a causal relationship between job satisfaction, patient safety and quality of care. A convenient sample of 85 nurses from surgical, medical and critical care wards of a large hospital was recruited. Ten focus group discussions using a semi-structured interview guide were conducted. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a thematic approach. The study identified three main themes that influenced nurses' job satisfaction and dissatisfaction: (1) spiritual feeling, (2) work environment factors, and (3) motivation. Helping and involvement in patient care contributed to the spiritual feeling reported to influence nurses' job satisfaction. For work environment factors, team cohesion, benefit and rewards, working conditions, lack of medical resources, unclear nurses' responsibilities, patient and doctor perceptions, poor leadership skills and discrimination at work played an important role in nurses' job dissatisfaction. For motivation factors, task requirement, professional development and lack of clinical autonomy contributed to nurses' job satisfaction. Nurse managers should ensure a flexible practice environment with adequate staffing and resources with opportunities for nurses to participate in hospital's policies and governance. Policy makers should consider nurses' professional development needs, and implement initiatives to improve nurses' rewards and other benefits as they influence job satisfaction. © 2014 International Council of Nurses.

Clinical accompaniment: the critical care nursing students’ experiences in a private hospital

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N. Tsele

2000-09-01

Full Text Available The quality of clinical accompaniment of the student enrolled for the post-basic diploma in Medical and Surgical Nursing Science: Critical Care Nursing (General is an important dimension of the educational/learning programme. The clinical accompanist/mentor is responsible for ensuring the student’s compliance with the clinical outcomes of the programme in accordance with the requirements laid down by the Nursing Education Institution and the South African Nursing Council. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of the students enrolled for a post-basic diploma in Medical and Surgical Nursing Science: Critical Care Nursing (General, in relation to the clinical accompaniment in a private hospital in Gauteng. An exploratory, descriptive and phenomenological research design was utilised and individual interviews were conducted with the ten students in the research hospital. A content analysis was conducted and the results revealed both positive and negative experiences by the students in the internal and external worlds. The recommendations include the formulation of standards for clinical accompaniment of students. the evaluation of the quality of clinical accompaniment of students and empowerment of the organisation, clinical accompanists/mentors and clinicians.

Effective and efficient learning in the operating theater with intraoperative video-enhanced surgical procedure training

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Det, M.J.; Meijerink, W.J.; Hoff, C.; Middel, B.; Pierie, J.P.

INtraoperative Video Enhanced Surgical procedure Training (INVEST) is a new training method designed to improve the transition from basic skills training in a skills lab to procedural training in the operating theater. Traditionally, the master-apprentice model (MAM) is used for procedural training

Survey compare team based learning and lecture teaching method, on learning-teaching process nursing student\\'s, in Surgical and Internal Diseases course

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AA Vaezi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The effect of teaching methods on learning process of students will help teachers to improve the quality of teaching by selecting an appropriate method. This study aimed to compare the team- based learning and lecture teaching method on learning-teaching process of nursing students in surgical and internal diseases courses. Method: This quasi-experimental study was carried on the nursing students in the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Yazd and Meybod cities. Studied sample was all of the students in the sixth term in the Faculty of Nursing in Yazd (48 persons and the Faculty of Nursing in Meybod (28 persons. The rate of students' learning through lecture was measured using MCQ tests and teaching based on team-based learning (TBL method was run using MCQ tests (IRAT, GRAT, Appeals and Task group. Therefore, in order to examine the students' satisfaction about the TBL method, a 5-point Likert scale (translated questionnaire (1=completely disagree, 2= disagree, 3=not effective, 4=agree, and 5=completely agree consisted of 22 items was utilized. The reliability and validity of this translated questionnaire was measured. The collected data were analyzed through SPSS 17.0 using descriptive and analytical statistic. Result: The results showed that the mean scores in team-based learning were meaningful in individual assessment (17±84 and assessment group (17.2±1.17. The mean of overall scores in TBL method (17.84±0.98% was higher compared with the lecture teaching method (16±2.31. Most of the students believed that TBL method has improved their interpersonal and group interaction skills (100%. Among them, 97.7% of students mentioned that this method (TBL helped them to understand the course content better. The lowest levels of the satisfaction have related to the continuous learning during lifelong (51.2%. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that the TBL method led to improving the communication skills, understanding

Lab at Home: Hardware Kits for a Digital Design Lab

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, J. P.; Haim, F.

2009-01-01

An innovative laboratory methodology for an introductory digital design course is presented. Instead of having traditional lab experiences, where students have to come to school classrooms, a "lab at home" concept is proposed. Students perform real experiments in their own homes, using hardware kits specially developed for this purpose. They…

Factors influencing agency nursing and moonlighting among nurses in South Africa

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Laetitia C. Rispel

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Background: In South Africa, nurses are the largest category of the health care providers. Their optimal performance is critical for the successful implementation of impending health sector reforms. Objective: This paper examines the occurrence of agency nursing, moonlighting, and overtime among nurses in South Africa, and the factors influencing moonlighting. Design: This cross-sectional survey was a one-stage cluster random sample of 80 hospitals in four South African provinces, selected with stratification from the public and private health sectors. On the survey day, all nurses working in critical care, theatre, emergency, maternity, and general medical and surgical wards completed a self-administered questionnaire after giving informed consent. In addition to demographic information, the questionnaire elicited information on the frequency of agency nursing, moonlighting, and overtime, and the nurses’ reasons for doing moonlighting. Survey data were weighted and analysed using STATA version 12. Results: The majority of survey participants (n=3,784 were South African (98.0%, female (92.7%, and employed in government (52.8%. Their mean age was 41.5 years (SD 10.4. The occurrence of moonlighting among nurses in the 12 months preceding the survey was 28.0% [95% CI: 24.2–32.1], the frequency of agency nursing was 37.8% [95% CI: 32.4–43.6], while 56.0% of nurses did overtime [95% CI: 51.4–60.4]. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, predictors of moonlighting were province, sector of primary employment, unit of work, category of nurse, and having children. The odds of moonlighting was 1.51 [95% CI: 1.03–2.21] times higher for private sector nurses than for public nurses, while the odds ratio for auxiliary nurses was 0.61 [95% CI: 0.47–0.79] compared to professional nurses. The odds of moonlighting was 1.49 [95% CI: 1.18–1.89] for nurses with children, compared to those without. Conclusions: Agency nursing, moonlighting, and

Labs not in a lab: A case study of instructor and student perceptions of an online biology lab class

Science.gov (United States)

Doiron, Jessica Boyce

Distance learning is not a new phenomenon but with the advancement in technology, the different ways of delivering an education have increased. Today, many universities and colleges offer their students the option of taking courses online instead of sitting in a classroom on campus. In general students like online classes because they allow for flexibility, the comfort of sitting at home, and the potential to save money. Even though there are advantages to taking online classes, many students and instructors still debate the effectiveness and quality of education in a distant learning environment. Many universities and colleges are receiving pressure from students to offer more and more classes online. Research argues for both the advantages and disadvantages of online classes and stresses the importance of colleges and universities weighing both sides before deciding to adopt an online class. Certain classes may not be suitable for online instruction and not all instructors are suitable to teach online classes. The literature also reveals that there is a need for more research on online biology lab classes. With the lack of information on online biology labs needed by science educators who face the increasing demand for online biology labs, this case study hopes to provide insight into the use of online biology lab classes and the how students and an instructor at a community college in Virginia perceive their online biology lab experience as well as the effectiveness of the online labs.

[Intestinal stomas--indications, stoma types, surgical technique].

Science.gov (United States)

Renzulli, P; Candinas, D

2007-09-01

The formation of an intestinal stoma is one of the most frequent operations in visceral surgery. Despite new operative techniques and a more restrictive use of the stoma, the stoma formation remains an often necessary surgical procedure, which results to a dramatic change in the patients' life. The stoma formation and its later closure are associated with a high morbidity. Many complications, such as stoma necrosis, stoma retraction or stoma prolapse, are related to surgical mistakes made during stoma formation. These complications are therefore largely avoidable. The stoma formation needs careful planning together with a professional stoma nursing team. Moreover, it is mandatory that the stoma formation is made with great care and that it meticulously follows the well established surgical principles. A perfectly placed, technically correctly fashioned and easy to care for stoma is essential for a good patients'quality of life.

Assessment of surgical and obstetrical care at 10 district hospitals in Ghana using on-site interviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdullah, Fizan; Choo, Shelly; Hesse, Afua A J; Abantanga, Francis; Sory, Elias; Osen, Hayley; Ng, Julie; McCord, Colin W; Cherian, Meena; Fleischer-Djoleto, Charles; Perry, Henry

2011-12-01

For most of the population in Africa, district hospitals represent the first level of access for emergency and essential surgical services. The present study documents the number and availability of surgical and obstetrical care providers as well as the types of surgical and obstetrical procedures being performed at 10 first-referral district hospitals in Ghana. After institutional review board and governmental approval, a study team composed of Ghanaian and American surgeons performed on-site surveys at 10 district hospitals in 10 different regions of Ghana in August 2009. Face-to-face interviews were conducted documenting the numbers and availability of surgical and obstetrical personnel as well as gathering data relating to the number and types of procedures being performed at the facilities. A total of 68 surgical and obstetrical providers were interviewed. Surgical and obstetrical care providers consisted of Medical Officers (8.5%), nurse anesthetists (6%), theatre nurses (33%), midwives (50.7%), and others (4.5%). Major surgical cases represented 37% of overall case volumes with cesarean section as the most common type of major surgical procedure performed. The most common minor surgical procedures performed were suturing of lacerations or episiotomies. The present study demonstrates that there is a substantial shortage of adequately trained surgeons who can perform surgical and obstetrical procedures at first-referral facilities. Addressing human resource needs and further defining practice constraints at the district hospital level are important facets of future planning and policy implementation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Personalized nursing care in hospital and its effects on the patient-nurse trust relationship].

Science.gov (United States)

García-Juárez, María del Rosario; López-Alonso, Sergio R; Moreno-Verdugo, Ana; Guerra-González, Sara; Fernández-Corchero, Juana; Márquez-Borrego, M José; Orozco-Cózar, M José; Ramos-Bosquet, Gádor

2013-01-01

To determine the level of implementation of an inpatient personalized nursing care model in four hospitals of the Andalusian Health Service, and to determine if there is an association between this model and the perception of trust in the nurse by the patient. An observational cross-sectional study included the patients discharged during a period of 12 months from hospital wards that used the Inpatient Personalized Nursing Care Model of the Andalusian Health Service (based on Primary Nursing Model). The level of implemention was evaluated using the Nursing Care Personalized Index (IPC), made by «patient report» methodology, and the nurse-patient trust relationship was evaluated at the same time as the IPC. Statistical analysis included descriptive data analysis, Chi-squared test, and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression, with and without stratifying by hospitals wards. A total of 817 patient were included. The implementation of the inpatient personalized nursing care model varied between 61 and 79%. The IPC values showed a strong association with the nurse-patient trust relationship, and that for each point increase in the IPC score, the probability of a nurse-patient trust relationship increased between 50 and 130% (0.120.58). The implementation of a personalized nursing care model in the wards studied was higher in the surgicals wards and at regular level in medical wards. Furthermore, the influence of the inpatient personalized nursing care model on the nurse-patient trust relationship has been demonstrated using the IPC model. This trust is the main component for the establishment of a therapeutic relationship. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Impact of an electronic health record operating room management system in ophthalmology on documentation time, surgical volume, and staffing.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, David S; Read-Brown, Sarah; Tu, Daniel C; Lambert, William E; Choi, Dongseok; Almario, Bella M; Yackel, Thomas R; Brown, Anna S; Chiang, Michael F

2014-05-01

Although electronic health record (EHR) systems have potential benefits, such as improved safety and quality of care, most ophthalmology practices in the United States have not adopted these systems. Concerns persist regarding potential negative impacts on clinical workflow. In particular, the impact of EHR operating room (OR) management systems on clinical efficiency in the ophthalmic surgery setting is unknown. To determine the impact of an EHR OR management system on intraoperative nursing documentation time, surgical volume, and staffing requirements. For documentation time and circulating nurses per procedure, a prospective cohort design was used between January 10, 2012, and January 10, 2013. For surgical volume and overall staffing requirements, a case series design was used between January 29, 2011, and January 28, 2013. This study involved ophthalmic OR nurses (n = 13) and surgeons (n = 25) at an academic medical center. Electronic health record OR management system implementation. (1) Documentation time (percentage of operating time documenting [POTD], absolute documentation time in minutes), (2) surgical volume (procedures/time), and (3) staffing requirements (full-time equivalents, circulating nurses/procedure). Outcomes were measured during a baseline period when paper documentation was used and during the early (first 3 months) and late (4-12 months) periods after EHR implementation. There was a worsening in total POTD in the early EHR period (83%) vs paper baseline (41%) (P system implementation was associated with worsening of intraoperative nursing documentation time especially in shorter procedures. However, it is possible to implement an EHR OR management system without serious negative impacts on surgical volume and staffing requirements.

PD Lab

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcel Bilow

2015-08-01

Full Text Available PD Lab explores the applications of building sector related product development.  PD lab investigates and tests digital production technologies like CNC milled wood connections. It will also act as a platform in its wider meaning to investigate the effects and influences of file to factory production, to explore the potential in the field of sustainability, material use, logistics and the interaction of stakeholders within the chain of the building process.

MatLab Script and Functional Programming

Science.gov (United States)

Shaykhian, Gholam Ali

2007-01-01

MatLab Script and Functional Programming: MatLab is one of the most widely used very high level programming languages for scientific and engineering computations. It is very user-friendly and needs practically no formal programming knowledge. Presented here are MatLab programming aspects and not just the MatLab commands for scientists and engineers who do not have formal programming training and also have no significant time to spare for learning programming to solve their real world problems. Specifically provided are programs for visualization. The MatLab seminar covers the functional and script programming aspect of MatLab language. Specific expectations are: a) Recognize MatLab commands, script and function. b) Create, and run a MatLab function. c) Read, recognize, and describe MatLab syntax. d) Recognize decisions, loops and matrix operators. e) Evaluate scope among multiple files, and multiple functions within a file. f) Declare, define and use scalar variables, vectors and matrices.

Nursing Music Protocol and Postoperative Pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Poulsen, Michael J; Coto, Jeffrey

2018-04-01

Pain has always been a major concern for patients and nurses during the postoperative period. Therapies, medicines, and protocols have been developed to improve pain and anxiety but have undesirable risks to the patient. Complementary and alternative medicine therapies have been studied but have not been applied as regular protocols in the hospital setting. Music is one type of complementary and alternative medicine therapy that has been reported to have favorable results on reducing postoperative pain, anxiety, and opioid usage. However, music lacks a protocol that nurses can implement during the perioperative process. This paper is an in-depth literature review assessing a best practice recommendation and protocol that establishes a consensus in the use of music therapy. The results suggest that music therapy may consist of calming, soft tones of 60-80 beats per minute for at least 15-30 minutes at least twice daily during the pre- and postoperative periods. It is suggested that music only be used in conjunction with standards of care and not as the primary intervention of pain or anxiety. This evidence suggests that proper use of music therapy can significantly reduce surgical pain. Implementing these protocols and allowing the freedom of nursing staff to use them may lead to greater reductions in surgical pain and anxiety and a reduction in opioid use. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The relationship between hospital work environment and nurse outcomes in Guangdong, China: a nurse questionnaire survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ke; You, Li-Ming; Chen, Shao-Xian; Hao, Yuan-Tao; Zhu, Xiao-Wen; Zhang, Li-Feng; Aiken, Linda H

2012-05-01

This study examines the relationship between hospital work environments and job satisfaction, job-related burnout and intention to leave among nurses in Guangdong province, China. The nursing shortage is an urgent global problem and also of concern in China. Studies in Western countries have shown that better work environments are associated with higher nurse satisfaction and lower burnout, thereby improving retention and lowering turnover rates. However, there is little research on the relationship between nurse work environments and nurse outcomes in China. This is a cross-sectional study. Survey data were collected from 1104 bedside nurses in 89 medical, surgical and intensive care units in 21 hospitals across the Guangdong province in China. Stratified convenience sampling was used to select hospitals, and systematic sampling was used to select units. All staff nurses working on participating units were surveyed. The China Hospital Nurse Survey, including the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index and Maslach Burnout Inventory, was employed to collect data from nurses. Statistical significance level was set at 0·05. Thirty-seven per cent of the nurses experienced high burnout, and 54% were dissatisfied with their jobs. Improving nurses' work environments from poor to better was associated with a 50% decrease in job dissatisfaction and a 33% decrease in job-related burnout among nurses. Burnout and job dissatisfaction are high among hospital nurses in Guangdong province, China. Better work environments for nurses were associated with decreased job dissatisfaction and job-related burnout, which may successfully address the nursing shortage in China. The findings of this study indicate that improving work environments is essential to deal with the nursing shortage; the findings provide motivation for nurse managers and policy makers to improve work environments of hospital nurses in China. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Exploring linear algebra labs and projects with Mathematica

CERN Document Server

Arangala, Crista

2014-01-01

Matrix Operations Lab 0: An Introduction to Mathematica Lab 1: Matrix Basics and Operations Lab 2: A Matrix Representation of Linear Systems Lab 3: Powers, Inverses, and Special Matrices Lab 4: Graph Theory and Adjacency Matrices Lab 5: Permutations and Determinants Lab 6: 4 x 4 Determinants and Beyond Project Set 1 Invertibility Lab 7: Singular or Nonsingular? Why Singularity Matters Lab 8: Mod It Out, Matrices with Entries in ZpLab 9: It's a Complex World Lab 10: Declaring Independence: Is It Linear? Project Set 2 Vector Spaces Lab 11: Vector Spaces and SubspacesLab 12: Basing It All on Just a Few Vectors Lab 13: Linear Transformations Lab 14: Eigenvalues and Eigenspaces Lab 15: Markov Chains, An Application of Eigenvalues Project Set 3 Orthogonality Lab 16: Inner Product Spaces Lab 17: The Geometry of Vector and Inner Product SpacesLab 18: Orthogonal Matrices, QR Decomposition, and Least Squares Regression Lab 19: Symmetric Matrices and Quadratic Forms Project Set 4 Matrix Decomposition with Applications L...

'It depends': medical residents' perspectives on working with nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinberg, Dana B; Miner, Dianne Cooney; Rivlin, Leetal

2009-07-01

Using the theory of relational coordination, which holds that in high-pressure settings such as hospitals, high-quality communication and strong relationships are necessary for coordinated action, we sought to determine the quality of the nurse-physician relationship by examining the communication and interaction between nurses and residents from the residents' perspective. A sample of 20 medical and surgical residents, selected by a snowball sampling technique, were interviewed about the quality of their communication and relationships with nurses in the workplace. Residents' responses were influenced by their perceptions of nurses' cooperativeness and competence, and their impressions of nurses' professional preparation and demeanor varied widely. Although 19 of 20 residents reported instances of poor communication or problematic relationships with nurses, most believed that this posed no significant threat to patient care because the nurses' role, as they saw it, was one of simply following orders. Given the strong doubts some residents expressed about nurses' cooperativeness and competence, the nursing profession should consider strengthening nursing education and clearly delineating nurses' roles and competencies.

Nursing dependency, diagnosis-related groups, and length of hospital stay

OpenAIRE

Halloran, Edward J.; Kiley, Marylou

1987-01-01

Most efforts to modify the diagnosis-related group (DRG) case classification system focus on variables related to medical management. In this study, we investigated the separate but related natures of medicine and nursing by examining 1,288 adult medical and surgical patients in an urban teaching hospital. The complexity of medical treatment was measured by use of the DRG relative cost weight. The nursing indicator was derived from a set of nursing diagnoses. We found that the DRG cost weight...

Habits in perioperative nursing culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindwall, Lillemor; von Post, Iréne

2008-09-01

This study focuses on investigating habits in perioperative nursing culture, which are often simply accepted and not normally considered or discussed. A hermeneutical approach was chosen as the means of understanding perioperative nurses' experiences of and reflections on operating theatre culture. Focus group discussions were used to collect data, which was analysed using hermeneutical text analysis. The results revealed three main categories of habits present in perioperative nursing culture: habits that promote ethical values (by temporary friendship with patients, showing respect for each other, and spending time on reflection on ethics and caring); habits that hinder progress (by seeing the patient as a surgical case, not acknowledging colleagues, and not talking about ethics); and habits that set the cultural tone (the hidden power structure and achieving more in less time).

Nurses to Their Nurse Leaders: We Need Your Help After a Failure to Rescue Patient Death.

Science.gov (United States)

Bacon, Cynthia Thornton

The purpose of this study was to describe nurses' needs and how they are being met and not met after caring for surgical patients who died after a failure to rescue (FTR). A qualitative, phenomenologic approach was used for the interview and analysis framework. Methods to ensure rigor and trustworthiness were incorporated into the design. The investigator conducted semistructured 1:1 interviews with 14 nurses. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi's methods. Four themes were identified: (1) coping mechanisms are important; (2) immediate peer and supervisor feedback and support are needed for successful coping; (3) subsequent supervisor support is crucial to moving on; and (4) nurses desire both immediate support and subsequent follow-up from their nurse leaders after every FTR death. Nurses' needs after experiencing an FTR patient death across multiple practice areas and specialties were remarkably similar and clearly identified and articulated. Coping mechanisms vary and are not uniformly effective across different groups. Although most nurses in this study received support from their peers after the FTR event, many nurses did not receive the feedback and support that they needed from their nurse leaders. Immediate nurse leader support and follow-up debriefings should be mandatory after patient FTR deaths. Developing an understanding of nurses' needs after experiencing an FTR event can assist nurse leaders to better support nurses who experience FTR deaths. Insight into the environment surrounding FTR deaths also provides a foundation for future research aimed at improving patient safety and quality through an improved working environment for nurses.

Improving the Quality of Lab Reports by Using Them as Lab Instructions

Science.gov (United States)

Haagen-Schuetzenhoefer, Claudia

2012-10-01

Lab exercises are quite popular in teaching science. Teachers have numerous goals in mind when teaching science laboratories. Nevertheless, empirical research draws a heterogeneous picture of the benefits of lab work. Research has shown that it does not necessarily contribute to the enhancement of practical abilities or content knowledge. Lab activities are frequently based on recipe-like, step-by-step instructions ("cookbook style"), which do not motivate students to engage cognitively. Consequently, students put the emphasis on "task completion" or "manipulating equipment."2

STOPDVTs: Development and testing of a clinical assessment tool to guide nursing assessment of postoperative patients for Deep Vein Thrombosis.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Brien, Alanna; Redley, Bernice; Wood, Beverley; Botti, Mari; Hutchinson, Anastasia F

2018-03-01

To develop and test a clinical tool to guide nurses' assessment of postoperative patients for Deep Vein Thrombosis. Preventing venous thromboembolism in hospitalised patients is an international patient safety priority. Despite high-level evidence for optimal venous thromboembolism prophylaxis, implementation is inconsistent and the incidence of Deep Vein Thrombosis remains high. A two-stage sequential multi-method design was used. In stage 1, the STOPDVTs tool was developed using a review of the literature and focus groups with local clinical experts. Stage 2 involved pilot testing the tool with 38 surgical nurses who conducted repeated assessments on a prospective sample of 50 postoperative orthopaedic patients. Stage 1: The focus group members who were members of the nursing leadership team agreed on eight local and systemic signs and symptoms that should be included in a nursing patient assessment tool for early Deep Vein Thrombosis. Local symptoms were pain in the limbs, calf swelling and tightness, changes in the affected limb's skin temperature. Systemic signs included in the tool were as follows: increased shortness of breath, increased respiratory and heart rates, and decreased oxygen saturation. Stage 2: The STOPDVTs tool had acceptable face and content validity, the agreement between the expert nurse and surgical nurses on assessments of individual signs and symptoms varied between 44%-94%. Surgical nurses were less likely than the expert nurse to identify signs indicative of Deep Vein Thrombosis. Despite finding the STOPDVTs clinical assessment tool was a useful guide for nursing assessment, surgical nurses often underestimated the potential importance of clinical signs. The findings reveal a gap in nursing knowledge and skill in assessing for Deep Vein Thrombosis in postoperative orthopaedic patients. This study identified a possible risk to patient safety related to under-recognition of the signs and symptoms of possible Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in

Exploring performance obstacles of intensive care nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurses, Ayse P; Carayon, Pascale

2009-05-01

High nursing workload, poor patient safety, and poor nursing quality of working life (QWL) are major issues in intensive care units (ICUs). Characteristics of the ICU and performance obstacles may contribute to these issues. The goal of this study was to comprehensively identify the performance obstacles perceived by ICU nurses. We used a qualitative research design and conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 ICU nurses of a medical-surgical ICU. Based on this qualitative study and a previously reported quantitative study, we identified seven main types of performance obstacles experienced by ICU nurses. Obstacles related to the physical environment (e.g., noise, amount of space), family relations (e.g., distractions caused by family, lack of time to spend with family), and equipment (e.g., unavailability, misplacement) were the most frequently experienced performance obstacles. The qualitative interview data provided rich information regarding the factors contributing to the performance obstacles. Overall, ICU nurses experience a variety of performance obstacles in their work on a daily basis. Future research is needed to understand the impact of performance obstacles on nursing workload, nursing QWL, and quality and safety of care.

42 CFR 485.639 - Condition of participation: Surgical services.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Nursing about issues related to access to and the quality of anesthesia services in the State and has... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Surgical services. 485.639 Section 485.639 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND...

42 CFR 416.42 - Condition for coverage-Surgical services.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... of Medicine and Nursing about issues related to access to and the quality of anesthesia services in... 42 Public Health 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition for coverage-Surgical services. 416.42 Section 416.42 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN...

Reforming Cookbook Labs

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Erin

2005-01-01

Deconstructing cookbook labs to require the students to be more thoughtful could break down perceived teacher barriers to inquiry learning. Simple steps that remove or disrupt the direct transfer of step-by-step procedures in cookbook labs make students think more critically about their process. Through trials in the author's middle school…

The Portuguese Contribution for lab2go - pt.lab2go

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Teresa Restivo

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Online experimentation provides innovative and valuable tools for use in academy, in high schools, in industry and in medical areas. It has also become a precious tool for educational and training purposes in any of those areas. Looking at online experimentation as a pure distance learning tool it represents a very efficient way of sharing hands-on capabilities, for example with developing countries. In Portugal a new consortium of online experimentation was created for fostering the national potential, using the Portuguese version of lab2go web platform, pt.lab2go. The authors pretend to demonstrate some of capabilities of the consortium in sharing online labs.

The use of a game-based learning platform to engage nursing students: A descriptive, qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallegos, Cara; Tesar, Abigail J; Connor, Kelley; Martz, Kim

2017-11-01

Baccalaureate nursing programs require students to complete a research course, and faculty find it challenging to engage students. Educational gaming has recently gained attention as a technique to motivate students and enhance learning. The purpose of this pilot study was to describe undergraduate nursing students' reflections of their experiences with 3D Gamelab © , a game-based learning platform. A descriptive qualitative research design was used to elicit students' reflections of their experiences. Educational content such as handouts, videos, activities, and recommended resources for a required junior level nursing research course was organized into quests for use in 3D GameLab © . At the end of the semester, students were invited to give their feedback through a survey with open-ended questions. Thematic analysis resulted in the following components of the game-based learning experience: navigation, motivation, gaming concept, knowledge, technology, and target population. Although the overall response to 3D GameLab © in this course was negative, game-based learning does have the potential to engage students and enhance learning. To better understand how educational gaming could be used in nursing, further research should be conducted to determine the most motivating elements and the types of course content best delivered in this manner. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

LabVIEW Support at CERN

CERN Multimedia

HR Department

2010-01-01

Since the beginning of 2009, due to the CERN restructuring, LabVIEW support moved from the IT to the EN department, joining the Industrial Controls and Electronics Group (ICE). LabVIEW support has been merged with the Measurement, Test and Analysis (MTA) section which, using LabVIEW, has developed most of the measurement systems to qualify the LHC magnets and components over the past 10 years. The post mortem analysis for the LHC hardware commissioning has also been fully implemented using LabVIEW, customised into a framework, called RADE, for CERN needs. The MTA section has started with a proactive approach sharing its tools and experience with the CERN LabVIEW community. Its framework (RADE) for CERN integrated application development has been made available to the users. Courses on RADE have been integrated into the standard National Instruments training program at CERN. RADE and LabVIEW support were merged together in 2010 on a single email address:labview.support@cern.ch For more information please...

Size effect of added LaB6 particles on optical properties of LaB6/Polymer composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Yifei; Zhang Lin; Hu Lijie; Wang Wei; Min Guanghui

2011-01-01

Modified LaB 6 particles with sizes ranging from 50 nm to 400 nm were added into polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) matrix in order to investigate the effect of added LaB 6 particles on optical properties of LaB 6 /PMMA composites. Method of in-situ polymerization was applied to prepare PMMA from raw material—methyl methacrylate (MMA), a process during which LaB 6 particles were dispersed in MMA. Ultraviolet–visible–near infrared (UV–vis–NIR) absorption spectrum was used to study optical properties of the as-prepared materials. The difference in particle size could apparently affect the composites' absorption of visible light around wavelength of 600 nm. Added LaB 6 particles with size of about 70 nm resulted in the best optical properties among these groups of composites. - Graphical abstract: 70 nm LaB 6 particles resulted in the best performance on absorption of VIS and NIR, which could not be apparently achieved by LaB 6 particles beyond nano-scale. Highlights: ► LaB 6 /PMMA composites were prepared using the method of in-situ polymerization. ► LaB 6 particles added in MMA prolonged the time needed for its pre-polymerization. ► Nanosized LaB 6 particles could obviously absorb much NIR but little VIS.

Impact of peer teaching on nursing students: perceptions of learning environment, self-efficacy, and knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Brannagan, Kim B; Dellinger, Amy; Thomas, Jan; Mitchell, Denise; Lewis-Trabeaux, Shirleen; Dupre, Susan

2013-11-01

Peer teaching has been shown to enhance student learning and levels of self efficacy. The purpose of the current study was to examine the impact of peer-teaching learning experiences on nursing students in roles of tutee and tutor in a clinical lab environment. This study was conducted over a three-semester period at a South Central University that provides baccalaureate nursing education. Over three semesters, 179 first year nursing students and 51 third year nursing students participated in the study. This mixed methods study, through concurrent use of a quantitative intervention design and qualitative survey data, examined differences during three semesters in perceptions of a clinical lab experience, self-efficacy beliefs, and clinical knowledge for two groups: those who received peer teaching-learning in addition to faculty instruction (intervention group) and those who received faculty instruction only (control group). Additionally, peer teachers' perceptions of the peer teaching learning experience were examined. Results indicated positive response from the peer tutors with no statistically significant differences for knowledge acquisition and self-efficacy beliefs between the tutee intervention and control groups. In contrast to previous research, students receiving peer tutoring in conjunction with faculty instruction were statistically more anxious about performing lab skills with their peer tutor than with their instructors. Additionally, some students found instructors' feedback moderately more helpful than their peers and increased gains in knowledge and responsibility for preparation and practice with instructors than with peer tutors. The findings in this study differ from previous research in that the use of peer tutors did not decrease anxiety in first year students, and no differences were found between the intervention and control groups related to self efficacy or cognitive improvement. These findings may indicate the need to better prepare peer

Job evaluation for clinical nursing jobs by implementing the NHS JE system.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahya, Emin; Oral, Nurten

2007-10-01

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate locally all the clinical nursing jobs implementing the NHS JE system in four hospitals. The NHS JE was developed by the Department of Health in the UK in 2003-2004. A job analysis questionnaire was designed to gather current job descriptions. It was distributed to each of 158 clinical nurses and supervisor nurses in 31 variety clinics at four hospitals in one city. The questionnaires were analysed to evaluate locally all the identified 94 nursing jobs. Fourteen of 19 nursing jobs in the medical and surgical clinics can be matched to the nurse national job in the NHS JE system. The results indicated that two new nursing jobs titled nurse B and nurse advanced B should be added to the list of national nursing jobs in the NHS JE system.

Factors that influence the non-technical skills performance of scrub nurses: a prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Evelyn; Massey, Debbie; Gillespie, Brigid M

2015-12-01

To identify and describe the factors that impact on the performance of scrub nurses' non-technical skills performance during the intra-operative phase of surgery. Non-technical skills have been identified as important precursors to errors in the operating room. However, few studies have investigated factors influencing non-technical skills of scrub nurses. Prospective observational study. Structured observations were performed on a sample of 182 surgical procedures across eight specialities by two trained observers from August 2012-April 2013 at two hospital sites. Participants were purposively selected scrub nurses. Bivariate correlations and a multiple linear regression model were used to identify associations among length of surgery, patients' acuity using the American Society of Anesthesiologists classification system, team familiarity, number of occasions scout nurses leave the operating room, change of scout nurse and the outcome, the non-technical skills performance of scrub nurses. Patient acuity and team familiarity were the strongest predictors of scrub nurses' non-technical skills performance at hospital site A. There were no correlations between the predictors and the performance of scrub nurses at hospital site B. A dedicated surgical team and patient acuity potentially influence the performance of scrub nurses' non-technical skills. Familiarity with team members foster advanced planning, thus minimizing distractions and interruptions that impact on scrub nurses' performance. Development of interventions aimed at improving non-technical skills has the potential to make a substantial difference and enhance patient care. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Using simulation technology to identify gaps between education and practice among new graduate nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Everett-Thomas, Ruth; Valdes, Beatriz; Valdes, Guillermo R; Shekhter, Ilya; Fitzpatrick, Maureen; Rosen, Lisa F; Arheart, Kristopher L; Birnbach, David J

2015-01-01

Applied knowledge was observed among nurse groups from a medical-surgical residency program to measure clinical performance during simulation training. Twenty groups of new graduate nurses were observed during five simulated clinical scenarios, and their performances were scored on a 24-item checklist. Nurse groups showed significant improvement (p new graduate nurses, and standardized training during the residency program may help instructors recognize specific factors to address during the transition from education to practice. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

Clinical Decision Making of Nurses Working in Hospital Settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ida Torunn Bjørk

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This study analyzed nurses' perceptions of clinical decision making (CDM in their clinical practice and compared differences in decision making related to nurse demographic and contextual variables. A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 2095 nurses in four hospitals in Norway. A 24-item Nursing Decision Making Instrument based on cognitive continuum theory was used to explore how nurses perceived their CDM when meeting an elective patient for the first time. Data were analyzed with descriptive frequencies, t-tests, Chi-Square test, and linear regression. Nurses' decision making was categorized into analytic-systematic, intuitive-interpretive, and quasi-rational models of CDM. Most nurses reported the use of quasi-rational models during CDM thereby supporting the tenet that cognition most often includes properties of both analysis and intuition. Increased use of intuitive-interpretive models of CDM was associated with years in present job, further education, male gender, higher age, and working in predominantly surgical units.

Bridge to shared governance: developing leadership of frontline nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Dearmon, Valorie A; Riley, Bettina H; Mestas, Lisa G; Buckner, Ellen B

2015-01-01

Transforming health care systems to improve quality is the responsibility of nurse executives and frontline nurses alike, yet frontline nurses are often ill-prepared to share leadership and accountability needed for transformation. The aim of this qualitative study was to describe the process used to build leadership capacity of frontline nurses engaged in resolving operational failures interrupting nursing care. The leadership development process served to bridge staff transition to shared governance. This institutional review board-approved qualitative research was designed to identify the effects of mentoring by the chief nursing officer and faculty partners on leadership development of frontline nurses working to find solutions to operational failures. Twelve nurses from 4 medical surgical units participated in a Frontline Innovations' nurse-led interdisciplinary group, which met over 18 months. Transcriptions of audiotaped meetings were analyzed for emerging process and outcome themes. The transcripts revealed a robust leadership development journey of frontline nurses engaged in process improvement. Themes that emerged from the mentoring process included engagement, collaboration, empowerment, confidence, and lifelong learning. The mentoring process provided frontline nurses the leadership foundation necessary to initiate shared governance.

Nursing of patients with hyperthyroidism treated by using iodine-131

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Dongju; Cao Guoxiang

2002-01-01

Hyperthyroidism was a common endocrine disease, its clinic treatment mainly include anti thyroid drug treatment, surgical operation and iodine-131 therapy. The latter have unique superiority, which was adapted by clinic doctors. The nursing method was distinguished from that of others because the principle of iodine-131 therapy was different from other therapy in course of the treatment of hyperthyroidism. Combining the nursing experiences with related documents, this article was about to sum up briefly the nursing and matters needing attention in course of treatment of iodine-131 in patients with hyperthyroidism

Nurse Knowledge Exchange Plus: Human-Centered Implementation for Spread and Sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Mike; Heisler, Scott; Fahey, Linda; McGinnis, Juli; Whiffen, Teri L

2015-07-01

Kaiser Permanente implemented a new model of nursing communication at shift change-in the bedside nursing report known as the Nurse Knowledge Exchange (NKE) in 2004-but noted variations in its spread and sustainability across medical centers five years later. The six core elements of NKEplus were as follows: team rounding in the last hour before shift changes, pre-shift patient assignments that limit the number of departing nurses at shift change, unit support for uninterrupted bedside reporting, standardization for report and safety check formats, and collaboration with patients to update in-room care boards. In January 2011 Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC; Pasadena) began implementing NKEplus in 125 nursing units across 14 hospitals, with the use of human-centered design principles: creating shared understanding of the need for change, minimum specifications, and customization by frontline staff. Champion teams on each nursing unit designed and pilot tested unit-specific versions of NKEplus for four to eight weeks. Implementation occurred in waves and proceeded from medical/surgical units to specialty units. Traditional performance improvement strategies of accountability, measurement, and management were also applied. By the end of 2012, 100% of the 64 medical/surgical units and 47 (77.0%) of the 61 specialty units in KPSC medical centers implemented NKEplus-as had all but 1 of the specialty units by May 2013. The mean KPSC score on the NKEplus nursing behavior bundle improved from 65.9% in 2010 to 71.3% in the first quarter of 2014. The mean KPSC Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) score for nurse communication improved from 73.1% in 2010 to 76.4% in the first quarter of 2014 (p < . 001). Human-centered implementation appeared to help spread a new model of nursing handoffs and change the culture of professional nursing practice related to shift change.

The influence of stress responses on surgical performance and outcomes: Literature review and the development of the surgical stress effects (SSE) framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Chrouser, Kristin L; Xu, Jie; Hallbeck, Susan; Weinger, Matthew B; Partin, Melissa R

2018-02-22

Surgical adverse events persist despite several decades of system-based quality improvement efforts, suggesting the need for alternative strategies. Qualitative studies suggest stress-induced negative intraoperative interpersonal dynamics might contribute to performance errors and undesirable patient outcomes. Understanding the impact of intraoperative stressors may be critical to reducing adverse events and improving outcomes. We searched MEDLINE, psycINFO, EMBASE, Business Source Premier, and CINAHL databases (1996-2016) to assess the relationship between negative (emotional and behavioral) responses to acute intraoperative stressors and provider performance or patient surgical outcomes. Drawing on theory and evidence from reviewed studies, we present the Surgical Stress Effects (SSE) framework. This illustrates how emotional and behavioral responses to stressors can influence individual surgical provider (e.g. surgeon, nurse) performance, team performance, and patient outcomes. It also demonstrates how uncompensated intraoperative threats and errors can lead to adverse events, highlighting evidence gaps for future research efforts. Published by Elsevier Inc.

TELECOM LAB

CERN Multimedia

IT-CS-TEL Section

2001-01-01

The Telecom Lab is moving from Building 104 to Building 31 S-026, with its entrance via the ramp on the side facing Restaurant n°2. The help desk will thus be closed to users on Tuesday 8 May. On May 9, the Lab will only be able to deal with problems of a technical nature at the new address and it will not be able to process any new subscription requests throughout the week from 7 to 11 May. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

Recommendations to Improve the Implementation Compliance of Surgical Safety Checklist in Surgery Rooms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Sandrawati

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Surgical Safety Checklist has been adopted in surgery room as a tool to improve safe surgery. Its implementation during 2012 was low (33.9% so was the completeness of filling it (57.3%. Objective: To increase the implementation of Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC through analyzing the effect of policy, procedures, patient safety culture, and individual factors on compliance SSC implementation in the surgery room. Methods: Cross-sectional study with descriptive observational approach was done to find influencing factors of health care personnels’ compliance to fill SSC. Sample consisted of all surgery room nurses (45 nurses, 10 surgeons and 4 anesthesists. Data collection was made use of questionnaires, surgical medical records and SSC form. Results:The compliance to fill SSC in April 2013 was still low (55.9%. Written policy on patient safety was absent and awareness of respondents about the procedure was low. Respondents’ assessment showed that patient safety culture in surgery room was good, except management and stress recognition dimensions. Likewise, the respondents’ knowledge about SSC was low (61.0%. Conclusion: The study conclude that influencing factors of compliance implementation SSC is absence of the written policy in patient safety, lack of socialization of Standar Prosedur Operasional to health care personnels, lack of knowledge about SSC, lack awareness about the importance of SSC, shortage of surgery room nurses, and innappropriate perception about filling SSC as workload. Recomendation:The study will be making of written policy in patient safety and SSC, followed by socialization to health care personnels, training about SSC implementation, empowering and advocating surgery room nurses and use of reminders.

An Investigation of Factors Influencing Nurses' Clinical Decision-Making Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Min; Yang, Jinqiu; Liu, Lingying; Ye, Benlan

2016-08-01

This study aims to investigate the influencing factors on nurses' clinical decision-making (CDM) skills. A cross-sectional nonexperimental research design was conducted in the medical, surgical, and emergency departments of two university hospitals, between May and June 2014. We used a quantile regression method to identify the influencing factors across different quantiles of the CDM skills distribution and compared the results with the corresponding ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates. Our findings revealed that nurses were best at the skills of managing oneself. Educational level, experience, and the total structural empowerment had significant positive impacts on nurses' CDM skills, while the nurse-patient relationship, patient care and interaction, formal empowerment, and information empowerment were negatively correlated with nurses' CDM skills. These variables explained no more than 30% of the variance in nurses' CDM skills and mainly explained the lower quantiles of nurses' CDM skills distribution. © The Author(s) 2016.

[EEG technician-nurse collaboration during stereo-electroencephalography].

Science.gov (United States)

Jomard, Caroline; Benghezal, Mouna; Cheramy, Isabelle; De Beaumont, Ségolène

2017-01-01

Drug-resistant epilepsy has significant repercussions on the daily life of children. Surgery may represent a hope. The nurse and the electroencephalogram technician carry out important teamwork during pre-surgical assessment tests and notably the stereo-electroencephalography. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Nurses' 'worry' as predictor of deteriorating surgical ward patients: A prospective cohort study of the Dutch-Early-Nurse-Worry-Indicator-Score

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Douw, G.; Huisman-de Waal, G.J.; Zanten, A.R. van; Hoeven, J.G. van der; Schoonhoven, L.

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Nurses' 'worry' is used as a calling criterion in many Rapid Response Systems, however it is valued inconsistently. Furthermore, barriers to call the Rapid Response Team can cause delay in escalating care. The literature identifies nine indicators which trigger nurses to worry about a

Measuring patient participation in surgical treatment decision-making from healthcare professionals' perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Heggland, Liv-Helen; Mikkelsen, Aslaug; Øgaard, Torvald; Hausken, Kjell

2014-02-01

To develop, empirical test, and validate an instrument measuring patient participation in surgical treatment decision-making from healthcare professionals' perspective. Since the advent of New Public Management in many Western countries, patient participation in healthcare decision-making has been considered to be a best practice. A common notion is that well-educated and well-informed public want to choose their own treatments and providers and want to ask questions about the quality of their health services. Survey. A self-report-measuring instrument was designed and administered to 620 healthcare professionals. Items were developed, validated and tested by 451 nurses and physicians working in six surgical wards in a University Hospital in Norway. A 16-item scale with the following four dimensions was developed: information dissemination, formulation of options, integration of information and control. Factor analysis procedures and reliability testing were performed. A one-way, between-groups analysis of variance was conducted to compare doctors' and nurses' opinions on four dimensions of patient participation in surgical treatment decision-making. This article shows that patient participation in surgical treatment decision-making can be measured by a 16-item scale and four distinct dimensions. The analysis demonstrated a reasonable level of construct validity and reliability. Nurses and physicians have a positive attitude towards patient participation overall, but the two groups differ in the extent to which they accept the idea of patient participation in treatment decision-making. The instrument can be a tool for managers and healthcare professionals in the implementation of patient participation in clinical practice. Data from the instrument can be useful to identify health services being provided and what areas that could strengthen patient participation. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Transformational leadership: implications for nursing leaders in facilities seeking magnet designation.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Diane Brady; Spencer, Tammy; Wilson, Brigitte; Wood, Kim

2011-06-01

A perioperative nurse leader's ability to effect positive change and inspire others to higher levels of achievement is related to his or her leadership style in the practice setting and the leadership style that is present across the organization. The American Nurses Credentialing Center's Magnet™ designation and redesignation process requires the demonstration of transformational leadership as one of the components of excellence. Transformational leadership can increase nurses' job satisfaction and commitment to the organization and organizational culture. Engaging staff members in the transition to transformational leadership and developing a common mission, vision, and goals are keys to success in the surgical setting. Bass's four interrelated leadership components-idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration-and associated behaviors were used by surgical services leaders in an East Coast, two-hospital system to successfully achieve redesignation as a Magnet facility. Copyright © 2011 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Staff perceptions of leadership during implementation of task-shifting in three surgical units.

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Amanda; Paterson, Karyn; Burmeister, Liz; Thomson, Bernadette; Young, Louise

2013-03-01

Registered nurses are difficult to recruit and retain. Task shifting, which involves reallocation of delegation, can reduce demand for registered nurses. Effective leadership is needed for successful task shifting. This study explored leadership styles of three surgical nurse unit managers. Staff completed surveys before and after the implementation of task shifting. Task shifting involved the introduction of endorsed enrolled nurses (licensed nurses who must practise under registered nurse supervision) to better utilize registered nurses. Implementation of task shifting occurred over 4 months in a 700-bed tertiary hospital, in southeast Queensland, Australia. A facilitator assisted nurse unit managers during implementation. The impact was assessed by comparison of data before (n = 49) and after (n = 72) task shifting from registered nurses and endorsed enrolled nurses (n = 121) who completed the Ward Organization Features Survey. Significant differences in leadership and staff organization subscales across the settings suggest that how change involving task shifting is implemented influences nurses' opinions of leadership. Leadership behaviours of nurse unit managers is a key consideration in managing change such as task shifting. Consistent and clear messages from leaders about practice change are viewed positively by nursing staff. In the short term, incremental change possibly results in staff maintaining confidence in leadership. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Readmissions to Different Hospitals After Common Surgical Procedures and Consequences for Implementation of Perioperative Surgical Home Programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Dexter, Franklin; Epstein, Richard H; Sun, Eric C; Lubarsky, David A; Dexter, Elisabeth U

2017-09-01

We consider whether there should be greater priority of information sharing about postacute surgical resources used: (1) at skilled nursing facilities or inpatient rehabilitation hospitals to which patients are transferred upon discharge (when applicable) versus (2) at different hospitals where readmissions occur. Obtaining and storing data electronically from these 2 sources for Perioperative Surgical Home initiatives are dissimilar; both can be challenging depending on the country and health system. Using the 2013 US Nationwide Readmissions Database, we studied discharges of surgical diagnosis-related group (DRG) with US national median length of stay (LOS) ≥ 3 days and ≥ 10 hospitals each with ≥ 100 discharges for the Medicare Severity DRG. Nationwide, 16.15% (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.14%-17.22%) of discharges were with a disposition of "not to home" (ie, transfer to a skilled nursing facility or an inpatient rehabilitation hospital). Within 30 days, 0.88% of discharges (0.82%-0.95%) were followed by readmission and to a different hospital than the original hospital where the surgery was performed. Among all discharges, disposition "not to home" versus "to home" was associated with greater odds that the patient would have readmission within 30 days and to a different hospital than where the surgery was performed (2.11, 95% CI, 1.96-2.27; P < .0001). In part, this was because disposition "not to home" was associated with greater odds of readmission to any hospital (1.90, 95% CI, 1.82-1.98; P < .0001). In addition, among the subset of discharges with readmission within 30 days, disposition "not to home" versus "to home" was associated with greater odds that the readmission was to a different hospital than where the surgery was performed (1.20, 95% CI, 1.11-1.31; P < .0001). There was no association between the hospitals' median LOS for the DRG and the odds that readmission was to a different hospital (P = .82). The odds ratio per each 1 day decrease

Discrepant perceptions of communication, teamwork and situation awareness among surgical team members

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wauben, L.S.G.L.; Dekker-van Doorn, C.M.; Van Wijngaarden, J.H.D.; Goossens, R.H.M.; Huijsman, R.; Klein, J.; Lange, J.F.

2011-01-01

Objective To assess surgical team members’ differences in perception of non-technical skills. Design Questionnaire design. Setting Operating theatres (OTs) at one university hospital, three teaching hospitals and one general hospital in the Netherlands. Participants Sixty-six surgeons, 97 OT nurses,

[The accreditation of professional competence: the analysis of nursinginterventions to control anxiety in surgical patients].

Science.gov (United States)

Brea-Rivero, Pilar; Herrera-Usagre, Manuel; Rojas-de-Mora-Figueroa, Ana; Esposito, Thomas

2016-01-01

. The accreditation of professional competence: the analysis of nursing interventions to control anxiety in surgical patients. The preoperative anxiety is a state of discomfort or unpleasant tension resulting from concerns about illness, hospitalization, anesthesia, surgery or the unknown. Nurses play a vital role reducing preoperative anxiety. An accreditation program was developed in Andalusia (Spain) to measure nurses' competences in this and others fields. To analyze the accredited nurses' interventions spectrum to reduce anxiety in surgical patients and to check if their range of interventions depends upon their professional skills accreditation level. Cross-sectional study. From 20016 to 2014, 1.282 interventions performed by 303 operating room nurses accredited through the Professional Skills Accreditation Program of the Andalusian Agency for Health Care Quality (ACSA) were analyzed with the latent class analysis (LCA) and multinomial logistic regression. Two-thirds of the sample was accredited in Advanced level, about 31% in Expert level and 2.6% in Excellent level. Mean age of patients was 58.5±19.8 years. Three professional profiles were obtained from the LCA. Those nurses classified in Class I (22.4% of the sample) were more likely to be women, to can for younger patients, and to be accredited in Expert or Excellent Level and to perform the larger range of interventions, becoming therefore the most complete professional profile. Those nurses who perform a wider range of interventions and specifically two evidence based interventions such Calming Technique and Coping Enhancement are those who have a higher level of accreditation level.

Effectiveness of the Nursing Methodology in Pain Management after Major Ambulatory Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Porras-González, María Helena; Barón-López, Francisco Javier; García-Luque, María José; Morales-Gil, Isabel María

2015-08-01

Patients undergoing a surgical intervention for the first time are unfamiliar with the perioperative context, and they usually have no knowledge of postoperative pain management. In the preoperative circuit, there is no time to educate the patient in these terms. The professional profile of nurses allows this need to be addressed, and provides a regulated language to evaluate their effectiveness. This study evaluates the effectiveness of nursing counseling during a preoperative consultation for the management of postoperative pain and its effects on patient satisfaction at hospital discharge. This quasi-experimental study assesses the efficacy of preoperative nursing intervention in two groups, control (n = 185) and intervention (n = 195). Those in the intervention group attended a preoperative session during which they received information from nursing staff and took part in activities to learn about postoperative pain management and the perioperative circuit. Control group patients underwent the standard preoperative protocol. Data were compiled from January to December 2009. Statistically significant differences existed between the two groups regarding postoperative pain (visual analogue scale >3, 20.5% versus 11.5%; p = .023), patient satisfaction (87.1% versus 78.7%; p = .041), and surgical wound complications (13.9% versus 5.5%; p = .010). The results confirm the benefits of applying the nursing methodology in preoperative clinics. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conception of undergraduate nursing students on the practice of health education on first aid

OpenAIRE

Marília Rosa de Oliveira; Ana Rita Arrigo Leonel; Juliana Helena Montezeli; Andréia Bendine Gastaldi; Eleine Aparecida Penha Martins; Cristiano Caveião

2015-01-01

Objective: to present the conception of undergraduate nursing students participating in an integrated project on health education on first aid. Methods: qualitative research conducted at the Universidade Estadual de Londrina with five senior nursing students, participating in the project “Nursing in clinical and surgical urgent and emergency care.” We applied semi-structured interviews with content analysis. Results: the following categories emerged: Health education as a facilitator for acad...

Payments to the Lab

Science.gov (United States)

Goals Recycling Green Purchasing Pollution Prevention Reusing Water Resources Environmental Management the Lab Make payments for event registrations, sponsorships, insurance, travel, other fees. Contact Treasury Team (505) 667-4090 Email If you need to make a payment to the Lab for an event registration

Clinical judgment in reflective journals of prelicensure nursing students.

Science.gov (United States)

Bussard, Michelle E

2015-01-01

Clinical judgment is an essential skill needed by RNs. Employers expect new graduate nurses to enter the work-force with established clinical judgment skills. Therefore, nurse educators must ensure that prelicensure nursing students develop clinical judgment before graduation. This qualitative, interpretive description study reviewed the reflective journals of 30 prelicensure nursing students who participated in four progressive high-fidelity simulation (HFS) scenarios during a medical-surgical nursing course. Eight themes were identified in the reflective journals: (a) expectations about the patient, (b) recognition of a focused assessment, (c) interpretation of medications, laboratory data, and diagnostics, (d) communication with the patient, (e) collaboration and interprofessionalism, (f) prioritizing interventions, (g) skillfulness with interventions, and (h) incorporation of skills and information into real patient situations. This study indicated that reflective journaling following progressive HFS scenarios may be an effective teaching-learning strategy to assist prelicensure nursing students in the development of clinical judgment. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

ScalaLab and GroovyLab: Comparing Scala and Groovy for Scientific Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stergios Papadimitriou

2015-01-01

Full Text Available ScalaLab and GroovyLab are both MATLAB-like environments for the Java Virtual Machine. ScalaLab is based on the Scala programming language and GroovyLab is based on the Groovy programming language. They present similar user interfaces and functionality to the user. They also share the same set of Java scientific libraries and of native code libraries. From the programmer's point of view though, they have significant differences. This paper compares some aspects of the two environments and highlights some of the strengths and weaknesses of Scala versus Groovy for scientific computing. The discussion also examines some aspects of the dilemma of using dynamic typing versus static typing for scientific programming. The performance of the Java platform is continuously improved at a fast pace. Today Java can effectively support demanding high-performance computing and scales well on multicore platforms. Thus, both systems can challenge the performance of the traditional C/C++/Fortran scientific code with an easier to use and more productive programming environment.

The exploration of in-service training needs of psychiatric nurses

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2014-10-10

Oct 10, 2014 ... Background: New research findings, changes in legislation and the use of information technology .... physical interventions used by the medical-surgical nurse. .... views about the topic of discussion (Burns & Grove 2005:543;.

Incidence and risk factors for surgically acquired pressure ulcers: a prospective cohort study investigators.

Science.gov (United States)

Webster, Joan; Lister, Carolyn; Corry, Jean; Holland, Michelle; Coleman, Kerrie; Marquart, Louise

2015-01-01

To assess the incidence of hospital-acquired, surgery-related pressure injury (ulcers) and identify risk factors for these injuries. We used a prospective cohort study to investigate the research question. The study was conducted at a major metropolitan hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Five hundred thirty-four adult patients booked for any surgical procedure expected to last more than 30 minutes were eligible for inclusion. Patients who provided informed consent for study participation were assessed for pressure ulcers, using the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel Guidelines, before entering the operating room and again in the post-anesthetic care unit (PACU). Research nurses and all PACU nurses were trained in skin assessment and in pressure ulcer staging. Patients were not assessed again after their discharge from the PACU. Seven patients (1.3%) had existing pressure injuries (ulcers) and a further 6 (1.3%) developed a surgery-related pressure ulcer. Risk factors associated with surgery-related pressure injuries were similar to non-surgically related risks and included older age, skin condition, and being admitted from a location other than one's own home. Length of surgery was not associated with pressure ulcer development in this cohort. Perioperative nurses play an important role in identifying existing or new pressure injuries. However, many of these nurses are unfamiliar with pressure ulcer classification, so education in this area is essential. Although the incidence of surgically acquired pressure ulcers was low in this cohort, careful skin inspection before and after surgery provides an opportunity for early treatment and may prevent existing lesions progressing to higher stages.

Duty and dilemma: Perioperative nurses hiding an objection to participate in organ procurement surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Zaneta

2017-07-01

Perioperative nurses assist in organ procurement surgery; however, there is a dearth of information of how they encounter making conscientious objection requests or refusals to participate in organ procurement surgery. Organ procurement surgical procedures can present to the operating room ad hoc and can catch a nurse who may not desire to participate by surprise with little opportunity to refuse as a result of staffing, skill mix or organizational work demands. This paper that stems from a larger doctoral research study exploring the experiences of perioperative nurses participating in multi-organ procurement surgery used a grounded theory method to develop a substantive theory of the nurses' experiences. This current paper aimed to highlight the experiences of perioperative nurses when confronted with expressing a conscientious objection towards their participation in these procedures. A number of organizational and cultural barriers within the healthcare organization were seen to hamper their ability in expressing a conscience-based refusal, which lead to their reluctant participation. Perioperative nurses must feel safe to express a conscientious objection towards these types of surgical procedures and feel supported in doing so by their respective hospital organizations and not be forced to participate unwillingly. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

13. Device therapy in secondary hospital (without a cath lab: Feasibility, logistics and outcome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Jelani

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Device therapy for conduction abnormalities, heart failure, primary or secondary SCD preventions is under delivered to requiring patients. Most of these devices are implanted at tertiary care centers in major cities of most countries. This makes the availability of these guideline guided therapies to a very small percentage of needy patients. Implant of such devices at a secondary hospital (without a cardiac cath lab with training of previously novice hospital staff and available resources as well as support of the industry is an alternative and very viable option to have such important therapy delivered to requiring patients. The usage of simple-readily available-C-arm in operating theatre (OR or the interventional radiology suite can be utilized for this purpose. OR nursing staff and radiology technicians can be trained –with help of nursing education department– to help in such procedures over a relatively short period. Technical support utilized from the vendors representatives is an alternative to face the lack of EP technicians in local or international market. The follow up of these patients in OPD can be organized with help of the vendors on regular basis under supervision of trained cardiologist/s. This model can help establish device therapy service at a secondary hospital without huge expenditure on infrastructure or facing the lack of recruitment of specialized technical support that is difficult to find –especially for smaller cities–. We present our experience at a 250 bed secondary hospital, with a relatively small cardiac unit (3 consultants, 5 hospitalists, 10 cardiac ECG/Echo techs and no cath lab of introduction of this service with the help of nursing education department and vendors supplying these devices as well as OR and radiology departments. Training of radiology technicians and OR nursing staff on the basic procedural support with few in-service demonstration helped prepare adequate staff helping during implant

CDC Lab Values

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

More than fifteen hundred scientists fill the lab benches at CDC, logging more than four million hours each year. CDC’s laboratories play a critical role in the agency’s ability to find, stop, and prevent disease outbreaks. This podcast provides a brief overview of what goes on inside CDC’s labs, and why this work makes a difference in American’s health.

Tele-Lab IT-Security: an Architecture for an online virtual IT Security Lab

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christoph Meinel

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Recently, Awareness Creation in terms of IT security has become a big thing – not only for enterprises. Campaigns for pupils try to highlight the importance of IT security even in the user’s early years. Common practices in security education – as seen in computer science courses at universities – mainly consist of literature and lecturing. In the best case, the teaching facility offers practical courses in a dedicated isolated computer lab. Additionally, there are some more or less interactive e-learning applications around. Most existing offers can do nothing more than impart theoretical knowledge or basic information. They all lack of possibilities to provide practical experience with security software or even hacker tools in a realistic environment. The only exceptions are the expensive and hard-to-maintain dedicated computer security labs. Those can only be provided by very few organizations. Tele-Lab IT-Security was designed to offer hands-on experience exercises in IT security without the need of additional hardware or maintenance expenses. The existing implementation of Tele-Lab even provides access to the learning environment over the Internet – and thus can be used anytime and anywhere. The present paper describes the extended architecture on which the current version of the Tele-Lab server is built.

Effects of hospital care environment on patient mortality and nurse outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Aiken, Linda H; Clarke, Sean P; Sloane, Douglas M; Lake, Eileen T; Cheney, Timothy

2008-05-01

The objective of this study was to analyze the net effects of nurse practice environments on nurse and patient outcomes after accounting for nurse staffing and education. Staffing and education have well-documented associations with patient outcomes, but evidence on the effect of care environments on outcomes has been more limited. Data from 10,184 nurses and 232,342 surgical patients in 168 Pennsylvania hospitals were analyzed. Care environments were measured using the practice environment scales of the Nursing Work Index. Outcomes included nurse job satisfaction, burnout, intent to leave, and reports of quality of care, as well as mortality and failure to rescue in patients. Nurses reported more positive job experiences and fewer concerns with care quality, and patients had significantly lower risks of death and failure to rescue in hospitals with better care environments. Care environment elements must be optimized alongside nurse staffing and education to achieve high quality of care.

Guidelines for Urban Labs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scholl, Christian; Agger Eriksen, Mette; Baerten, Nik

2017-01-01

urban lab initiatives from five different European cities: Antwerp (B), Graz and Leoben (A), Maastricht (NL) and Malmö (S). We do not pretend that these guidelines touch upon all possible challenges an urban lab may be confronted with, but we have incorporated all those we encountered in our...

[Job burnout and contributing factors for nurses].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Wei; Wang, Zhi-ming; Wang, Mian-zhen; Lan, Ya-jia; Wu, Si-ying

2006-07-01

To investigate the degree of job burnout and contributing factors for nurses. A total of 495 nurses from three provincial hospitals were randomly selected. The MBI-GS, EPQ-RSC and OSI-R were administered to measure job burnout, personality traits and occupational stress, respectively. The medical and surgical nurses had significant greater scores of job burnout than others (P < 0.05). The poorer educational background was correlated with lower professional efficacy. The younger nurses had stronger feeling of job burnout. The scores of job burnout changed with different personality traits. The main contributing variables to exhaustion were overload, sense of responsibility, role insufficient and self-care (P < 0.05). The main contributing variables to cynicism were role insufficiency, role boundary, sense of responsibility and self-care (P < 0.05). The main contributing variables to professional inefficacy were role insufficiency, social support and rational/cognitive coping (P < 0.05). Job burnout for nurses can be prevented by reducing or keeping moderate professional duties and responsibility, making clearer job descriptions, promoting leisure activities, and enhancing self-care capabilities.

A Nurse Communication Manager reduces the number of non‑relevant contacts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wright, Nana Keir; Seested Nielsen, Nina; Lauersen, Jannie

2015-01-01

Objective The aim of this study was to reduce interruptions in nursing practice by exploring the effects on the number of nonrelevant contacts received by the nursing staff after implementation of a Nurse Communication Manager. Design The study was designed as a pre/post interventional study. All...... in the surgical department. Interventions During the daytime a Nurse Communication Manager handled all incoming contacts irrespective of whether they were in person or by telephone. When the Nurse Communication Manager was not available and during the evening, night and weekends, telephone contacts were managed...... by an electronic Call Centre guiding the call to the care teams. Main outcome measure(s) The main outcome measures were the number of non-relevant contacts aimed at the nursing staff. Results Results showed a significant reduction in non-relevant contacts to the nursing staff from a mean of 80 contacts per day (SD...

Ophthalmic artery chemosurgery: A nursing perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary Elizabeth Davis

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Retinoblastoma (RB is the most common primary cancer to affect the eyes in children with approximately 350 cases/year in the United States and 8000 worldwide. Today, sadly, 50% of children with RB worldwide die from their disease. In our experience, utilization of ophthalmic artery chemosurgery (OAC has transformed the treatment plan for patients; with over 1500 procedures performed, our survival rate exceeds 98%. It is now our standard first-line therapy for RB. OAC is a surgical outpatient procedure which delivers concentrated doses of chemotherapy directly to the tumor without the toxicities of systemic chemotherapy. Our team approach and nursing management of these patients are the focus of this article. Nursing navigation and collaboration after OAC is vital and requires a combined effort by the nurses along with physicians, interventional radiologists, and the patient's families to ensure appropriate follow-up is established. Proper patient education throughout the process is crucial as is open and available communication for parents of patients with the nursing staff. The success in our treatment of this disease can be much accredited to the multidisciplinary team approach, with nursing playing an integral part in the support and management of these patients.

Pneumatic-type surgical robot end-effector for laparoscopic surgical-operation-by-wire.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chiwon; Park, Woo Jung; Kim, Myungjoon; Noh, Seungwoo; Yoon, Chiyul; Lee, Choonghee; Kim, Youdan; Kim, Hyeon Hoe; Kim, Hee Chan; Kim, Sungwan

2014-09-05

Although minimally invasive surgery (MIS) affords several advantages compared to conventional open surgery, robotic MIS systems still have many limitations. One of the limitations is the non-uniform gripping force due to mechanical strings of the existing systems. To overcome this limitation, a surgical instrument with a pneumatic gripping system consisting of a compressor, catheter balloon, micro motor, and other parts is developed. This study aims to implement a surgical instrument with a pneumatic gripping system and pitching/yawing joints using micro motors and without mechanical strings based on the surgical-operation-by-wire (SOBW) concept. A 6-axis external arm for increasing degrees of freedom (DOFs) is integrated with the surgical instrument using LabVIEW® for laparoscopic procedures. The gripping force is measured over a wide range of pressures and compared with the simulated ideal step function. Furthermore, a kinematic analysis is conducted. To validate and evaluate the system's clinical applicability, a simple peg task experiment and workspace identification experiment are performed with five novice volunteers using the fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS) board kit. The master interface of the proposed system employs the hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controller used in aerospace engineering. To develop an improved HOTAS (iHOTAS) controller, 6-axis force/torque sensor was integrated in the special housing. The mean gripping force (after 1,000 repetitions) at a pressure of 0.3 MPa was measured to be 5.8 N. The reaction time was found to be 0.4 s, which is almost real-time. All novice volunteers could complete the simple peg task within a mean time of 176 s, and none of them exceeded the 300 s cut-off time. The system's workspace was calculated to be 11,157.0 cm3. The proposed pneumatic gripping system provides a force consistent with that of other robotic MIS systems. It provides near real-time control. It is more durable than the

Cuidados de enfermagem realizados ao paciente cirúrgico no período pré-operatório Cuidados de enfermería realizados en el paciente quirúrgico en el período preoperatorio Nursing care applied to surgical patient in the pre-surgical period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Berendina Elsina Bouwman Christóforo

2009-03-01

orientaciones relacionadas con el procedimiento quirúrgico y con los cuidados de enfermería efectuados. Se percibe que algunos de estos cuidados incomodan a los pacientes, por ejemplo: la colocación de la camisa quirúrgica, la retirada de la ropa íntima y de la prótesis dentaria. En fin, este estudio permitió que se identificasen fragilidades en el cuidado del paciente quirúrgico, en el sentido de contribuir para la reflexión sobre la necesidad de introducir cambios en las prácticas de la enfermería en el ambiente hospitalario.This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, qualitative study performed at the surgical units of two hospitals in the city of Ponta Grossa. The purpose was to characterize the nursing care provided to patients in the pre-surgical period of elective surgeries. The studied population, chosen as a convenience sample, consisted of 129 patients, aged 18 to 70 years. Data collection was performed through structured interviews carried out at the hospital after the surgery. The results show that the care provided is mainly focused on the physical preparation of the patient, in which few instructions are provided about the surgical procedure and the nursing care delivered. It was also observed that some types of nursing care embarrass the patients, such as wearing the surgical gown and removing their underwear and dental prosthetics. Eventually, this study allowed for the identification of weaknesses in the care provided to the surgical patients, so as to contribute for the reflection about the need to make changes in the nursing practices performed in the hospital.

Relationship of workplace incivility, stress, and burnout on nurses' turnover intentions and psychological empowerment.

Science.gov (United States)

Oyeleye, Olubunmi; Hanson, Patricia; O'Connor, Nancy; Dunn, Deborah

2013-10-01

This study explored the relationships among perceived workplace incivility, stress, burnout, perceived turnover intentions, and perceived level of psychological empowerment among acute care nurses (medical-surgical and critical care) in community and tertiary hospitals through the lens of complexity science. An exploratory study was conducted, and findings demonstrate significant relationships among workplace incivility, stress, burnout, turnover intentions, total years of nursing experience, and RN education levels. Creating targeted retention strategies and policies that will be sensitive to the needs and interests of nurses at high risk for leaving their organizations is imperative for nurse executives.

Association of hand and arm disinfection with asthma control in US nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Dumas, Orianne; Varraso, Raphäelle; Boggs, Krislyn M; Descatha, Alexis; Henneberger, Paul K; Quinot, Catherine; Speizer, Frank E; Zock, Jan-Paul; Le Moual, Nicole; Camargo, Carlos A

2018-05-01

To investigate the association between occupational exposure to disinfectants/antiseptics used for hand hygiene and asthma control in nurses. In 2014, we invited female nurses with asthma drawn from the Nurses' Health Study II to complete two supplemental questionnaires on their occupation and asthma (cross-sectional study, response rate: 80%). Among 4055 nurses (mean age: 59 years) with physician-diagnosed asthma and asthma medication use in the past year, we examined asthma control, as defined by the Asthma Control Test (ACT). Nurses were asked about the daily frequency of hand hygiene tasks: 'wash/scrub hands with disinfectants/hand sanitizers' (hand hygiene) and 'wash/scrub arms with disinfecting products' (surrogate of surgical hand/arm antisepsis). Analyses were adjusted for age, race, ethnicity, smoking status and body mass index. Nurses with partly controlled asthma (ACT: 20-24, 50%) and poorly controlled asthma (ACT ≤19, 18%) were compared with nurses with controlled asthma (ACT=25, 32%). In separate models, both hand and arm hygiene were associated with poorly controlled asthma. After mutual adjustment, only arm hygiene was associated with poorly controlled asthma: OR (95% CI) for arm hygiene tasks (never to >10 times/day) and poor asthma control. Associations persisted after further adjustment for surfaces/instruments disinfection tasks. Frequency of hand/arm hygiene tasks in nurses was associated with poor asthma control. The results suggest an adverse effect of products used for surgical hand/arm antisepsis. This potential new occupational risk factor for asthma warrants further study. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

GeneLab: Open Science For Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Galazka, Jonathan

2018-01-01

The NASA GeneLab project capitalizes on multi-omic technologies to maximize the return on spaceflight experiments. The GeneLab project houses spaceflight and spaceflight-relevant multi-omics data in a publicly accessible data commons, and collaborates with NASA-funded principal investigators to maximize the omics data from spaceflight and spaceflight-relevant experiments. I will discuss the current status of GeneLab and give specific examples of how the GeneLab data system has been used to gain insight into how biology responds to spaceflight conditions.

Ntal/Lab/Lat2

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iwaki, Shoko; Jensen, Bettina M; Gilfillan, Alasdair M

2007-01-01

T cells. As demonstrated in monocytes and B cells, phosphorylated NTAL/LAB/LAT2 recruits signaling molecules such as Grb2, Gab1 and c-Cbl into receptor-signaling complexes. Although gene knock out and knock down studies have indicated that NTAL/LAB/LAT2 may function as both a positive and negative...

Time-motion analysis of clinical nursing documentation during implementation of an electronic operating room management system for ophthalmic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Read-Brown, Sarah; Sanders, David S; Brown, Anna S; Yackel, Thomas R; Choi, Dongseok; Tu, Daniel C; Chiang, Michael F

2013-01-01

Efficiency and quality of documentation are critical in surgical settings because operating rooms are a major source of revenue, and because adverse events may have enormous consequences. Electronic health records (EHRs) have potential to impact surgical volume, quality, and documentation time. Ophthalmology is an ideal domain to examine these issues because procedures are high-throughput and demand efficient documentation. This time-motion study examines nursing documentation during implementation of an EHR operating room management system in an ophthalmology department. Key findings are: (1) EHR nursing documentation time was significantly worse during early implementation, but improved to a level near but slightly worse than paper baseline, (2) Mean documentation time varied significantly among nurses during early implementation, and (3) There was no decrease in operating room turnover time or surgical volume after implementation. These findings have important implications for ambulatory surgery departments planning EHR implementation, and for research in system design.

OpenLabNotes--An Electronic Laboratory Notebook Extension for OpenLabFramework.

Science.gov (United States)

List, Markus; Franz, Michael; Tan, Qihua; Mollenhauer, Jan; Baumbach, Jan

2015-10-06

Electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs) are more accessible and reliable than their paper based alternatives and thus find widespread adoption. While a large number of commercial products is available, small- to mid-sized laboratories can often not afford the costs or are concerned about the longevity of the providers. Turning towards free alternatives, however, raises questions about data protection, which are not sufficiently addressed by available solutions. To serve as legal documents, ELNs must prevent scientific fraud through technical means such as digital signatures. It would also be advantageous if an ELN was integrated with a laboratory information management system to allow for a comprehensive documentation of experimental work including the location of samples that were used in a particular experiment. Here, we present OpenLabNotes, which adds state-of-the-art ELN capabilities to OpenLabFramework, a powerful and flexible laboratory information management system. In contrast to comparable solutions, it allows to protect the intellectual property of its users by offering data protection with digital signatures. OpenLabNotes effectively closes the gap between research documentation and sample management, thus making Open-LabFramework more attractive for laboratories that seek to increase productivity through electronic data management.

OpenLabNotes - An Electronic Laboratory Notebook Extension for OpenLabFramework.

Science.gov (United States)

List, Markus; Franz, Michael; Tan, Qihua; Mollenhauer, Jan; Baumbach, Jan

2015-09-01

Electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs) are more accessible and reliable than their paper based alternatives and thus find widespread adoption. While a large number of commercial products is available, small- to mid-sized laboratories can often not afford the costs or are concerned about the longevity of the providers. Turning towards free alternatives, however, raises questions about data protection, which are not sufficiently addressed by available solutions. To serve as legal documents, ELNs must prevent scientific fraud through technical means such as digital signatures. It would also be advantageous if an ELN was integrated with a laboratory information management system to allow for a comprehensive documentation of experimental work including the location of samples that were used in a particular experiment. Here, we present OpenLabNotes, which adds state-of-the-art ELN capabilities to OpenLabFramework, a powerful and flexible laboratory information management system. In contrast to comparable solutions, it allows to protect the intellectual property of its users by offering data protection with digital signatures. OpenLabNotes effectively closes the gap between research documentation and sample management, thus making Open- LabFramework more attractive for laboratories that seek to increase productivity through electronic data management.

Evaluation of an interactive web-based nursing course with streaming videos for medication administration skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Sowan, Azizeh K; Idhail, Jamila Abu

2014-08-01

Nursing students should exhibit competence in nursing skills in order to provide safe and quality patient care. This study describes the design and students' response to an interactive web-based course using streaming video technology tailored to students' needs and the course objectives of the fundamentals of nursing skills clinical course. A mixed-methodology design was used to describe the experience of 102 first-year undergraduate nursing students at a school of nursing in Jordan who were enrolled in the course. A virtual course with streaming videos was designed to demonstrate medication administration fundamental skills. The videos recorded the ideal lab demonstration of the skills, and real-world practice performed by registered nurses for patients in a hospital setting. After course completion, students completed a 30-item satisfaction questionnaire, 8 self-efficacy scales, and a 4-item scale solicited their preferences of using the virtual course as a substitute or a replacement of the lab demonstration. Students' grades in the skill examination of the procedures were measured. Relationships between the main variables and predictors of satisfaction and self-efficacy were examined. Students were satisfied with the virtual course (3.9 ± 0.56, out of a 5-point scale) with a high-perceived overall self-efficacy (4.38 ± 0.42, out of a 5-point scale). Data showed a significant correlation between student satisfaction, self-efficacy and achievement in the virtual course (r = 0.45-0.49, p students accessed the course from home and some faced technical difficulties. Significant predictors of satisfaction were ease of access the course and gender (B = 0.35, 0.25, CI = 0.12-0.57, 0.02-0.48 respectively). The mean achievement score of students in the virtual class (7.5 ± 0.34) was significantly higher than that of a previous comparable cohort who was taught in the traditional method (6.0 ± 0.23) (p students believed that the virtual course is a sufficient

THE UTILIZATION OF THE THERAPEUTIC TOY IN THE NURSING OPERA TORY VISIT TO THE INFANT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cláudia Silveira Viera

2003-12-01

Full Text Available The systematization of the peroperative nursing occurs in the moments pre, trans and postoperativeand also they happen in children, adolescents, adults and elders. Being like this, ours objective went verify thebenefits of the utilization of the therapeutic toy in the visit preoperative by the nurse of surgical center.

Altitude Lab

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Altitude Lab evaluates the performance of complete oxygen systems operated in individually controlled hypobaric chambers, which duplicate pressures that would be...

'It's a matter of patient safety': understanding challenges in everyday clinical practice for achieving good care on the surgical ward - a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jangland, Eva; Nyberg, Berit; Yngman-Uhlin, Pia

2017-06-01

Surgical care plays an important role in the acute hospital's delivery of safe, high-quality patient care. Although demands for effectiveness are high in surgical wards quality of care and patient safety must also be secured. It is therefore necessary to identify the challenges and barriers linked to quality of care and patient safety with a focus on this specific setting. To explore situations and processes that support or hinder good safe patient care on the surgical ward. This qualitative study was based on a strategic sample of 10 department and ward leaders in three hospitals and six surgical wards in Sweden. Repeated reflective interviews were analysed using systematic text condensation. Four themes described the leaders' view of a complex healthcare setting that demands effectiveness and efficiency in moving patients quickly through the healthcare system. Quality of care and patient safety were often hampered factors such as a shift of care level, with critically ill patients cared for without reorganisation of nurses' competencies on the surgical ward. There is a gap between what is described in written documents and what is or can be performed in clinical practice to achieve good care and safe care on the surgical ward. A shift in levels of care on the surgical ward without reallocation of the necessary competencies at the patient's bedside show consequences for quality of care and patient safety. This means that surgical wards should consider reviewing their organisation and implementing more advanced nursing roles in direct patient care on all shifts. The ethical issues and the moral stress on nurses who lack the resources and competence to deliver good care according to professional values need to be made more explicit as a part of the patient safety agenda in the surgical ward. © 2016 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Performance of manual hyperinflation: A skills lab study among trained intensive care unit nurses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Paulus, Frederique; Binnekade, Jan M.; Middelhoek, Pauline; Vroom, Margreeth B.; Schultz, Marcus J.

2009-01-01

Background: The aim of manual hyperinflation (MH) is to mobilize airway secretions and prevent sputum Plugging in intubated and mechanically ventilated patients. With MH, the nurse applies a larger than normal breath with a slow inspiratory flow and, after an inspiratory pause, a high expiratory

GitLab repository management

CERN Document Server

Hethey, Jonathan

2013-01-01

A simple, easy to understand tutorial guide on how to build teams and efficiently use version control, using GitLab.If you are a system administrator in a company that writes software or are in charge of an infrastructure, this book will show you the most important features of GitLab, including how to speed up the overall process

[Nursing care in perioperative period in patients with intenstinal stomia exposure].

Science.gov (United States)

Szewczyk, Joanna; Bajon, Anna

2009-05-01

Despite of enormous advance in minimally invasive surgery which is almost scarless nowadays, there is still very important emotional issue for patients connected with each surgical procedure. One of the most stressful surgical procedures for patients is the one which ends up with stomia exposure. The main objective of this article is to point out very the important factor which leads to decrease the number of complications, speeds up recovery and acceptation of the stomia by patients. This factor is known as a professional nursing care. It consists of physical and psychical preoperative preparation and postoperative care for patients. Special care in early postoperative 24h is crucial for preventing from development of any complications. That is why the nursing personnel is obliged to monitor vital signs very carefully. Complex preparation and postoperative care leads to diminish significantly the number of complications, facilitates cooperation with patients and also influences the increase of sense of safety and trust to medical personnel. Patients with stomia who were under professional nursing staff supervision achieve full recovery and higher quality of life considerably earlier.

Are Virtual Labs as Effective as Hands-on Labs for Undergraduate Physics? A Comparative Study at Two Major Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Darrah, Marjorie; Humbert, Roxann; Finstein, Jeanne; Simon, Marllin; Hopkins, John

2014-01-01

Most physics professors would agree that the lab experiences students have in introductory physics are central to the learning of the concepts in the course. It is also true that these physics labs require time and money for upkeep, not to mention the hours spent setting up and taking down labs. Virtual physics lab experiences can provide an…

Scandcleft randomised trials of primary surgery for unilateral cleft lip and palate: 3. Descriptive study of postoperative nursing care following first stage cleft closure.

Science.gov (United States)

Bannister, Patricia; Lindberg, Nina; Jeppesen, Karin; Elfving-Little, Ulla; Semmingsen, Ann-Margritt; Paganini, Anna; Gustavsson, Annica; Slevin, Emma; Jacobsen, Gry; Eyres, Phil; Semb, Gunvor

2017-02-01

Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common congenital anomalies requiring surgical treatment in children, normally commenced in the first year of life. Following the initiation of a group of multicentre surgical trials of primary surgery, variations in postoperative recovery and management became apparent. An agreement was made for a nurse-led survey in eight surgical centres to document postoperative care and recovery. A postoperative recovery clinical report form was developed to capture relevant data for the children participating in the four arms of the trials. This included the age and weight at admission, the postoperative recovery setting, pain management, postoperative feeding, post-operative complications, and length of hospital stay. Four hundred and three nursing forms from the first surgical procedure were returned for analysis. Differences in important aspects of care such as postoperative analgesia and postoperative feeding were evident. Postoperative care was influenced by local custom and practice, as little firm clinical evidence exists to guide optimal management. Postoperative recovery may play a significant role in the future selection of surgical protocols, and future trials need to consider cross-study site training to familiarise nurses, prior to any changes in surgical methods. ISRCTN29932826.

Nursing workload in a trauma intensive care unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luana Loppi Goulart

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Severely injured patients with multiple and conflicting injuries present themselves to nursing professionals at critical care units faced with care management challenges. The goal of the present study is to evaluate nursing workload and verify the correlation between workload and the APACHE II severity index. It is a descriptive study, conducted in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit of a teaching hospital. We used the Nursing Activities Score and APACHE II as instruments. The sample comprised 32 patients, of which most were male, young adults, presenting polytrauma, coming from the Reference Emergency Unit, in surgical treatment, and discharged from the ICU. The average obtained on the Nursing Activities Score instrument was 72% during hospitalization periods. The data displayed moderate correlation between workload and patient severity. In other words, the higher the score, the higher the patient’s mortality risk. doi: 10.5216/ree.v16i2.22922.

Designing Viable Business Models for Living Labs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernhard R. Katzy

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Over 300 regions have integrated the concept of living labs into their economic development strategy since 2006, when the former Finnish Prime Minister Esko Aho launched the living lab innovation policy initiative during his term of European presidency. Despite motivating initial results, however, success cases of turning research into usable new products and services remain few and uncertainty remains on what living labs actually do and contribute. This practitioner-oriented article presents a business excellence model that shows processes of idea creation and team mobilization, new product development, user involvement, and entrepreneurship through which living labs deliver high-potential investment opportunities. Customers of living labs are identified as investors such as venture capitalists or industrial firms because living labs can generate revenue from them to create their own sustainable business model. The article concludes that living labs provide extensive support “lab” infrastructure and that it remains a formidable challenge to finance it, which calls for a more intensive debate.

Nurses' perceptions of feedback to nursing teams on quality measurements: An embedded case study design.

Science.gov (United States)

Giesbers, A P M Suzanne; Schouteten, Roel L J; Poutsma, Erik; van der Heijden, Beatrice I J M; van Achterberg, Theo

2016-12-01

Providing nursing teams with feedback on quality measurements is used as a quality improvement instrument in healthcare organizations worldwide. Previous research indicated contradictory results regarding the effect of such feedback on both nurses' well-being and performance. Building on the Job Demands-Resources model this study explores: (1) whether and how nurses' perceptions of feedback on quality measurements (as a burdening job demand or rather as an intrinsically or extrinsically motivating job resource) are respectively related to nurses' well-being and performance; and (2) whether and how team reflection influences nurses' perceptions. An embedded case study. Four surgical wards within three different acute teaching-hospital settings in the Netherlands. During a period of four months, the nurses on each ward were provided with similar feedback on quality measurements. After this period, interviews with eight nurses and the ward manager for each ward were conducted. Additionally, observational data were collected from three oral feedback moments on each of the participating wards. The data revealed that individual nurses perceive the same feedback on quality measurements differently, leading to different effects on nurses' well-being and performance: 1) feedback can be perceived as a job demand that pressures nurses to improve the results on the quality measurements; 2) feedback can be perceived as an extrinsically motivating job resource, that is instrumental to improve the results on quality measurements; 3) feedback can be perceived as an intrinsically motivating job resource that stimulates nurses to improve the results on the quality measurements; and 4) feedback can be perceived neither as a job demand, nor as a job resource, and has no effect on nurses' well-being and performance. Additionally, this study indicates that team reflection after feedback seems to be very low in practice, while our data also provides evidence that nursing teams using the

Adverse reactions analysis and prevention of antiseptic drug in the obstetrics and gynecology nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yongli; Bo, Qing; Zhang, Ying; He, Jing

2018-05-01

Antimicrobial agents are widely used in gynecologic inflammation and surgical period, so as to cure some infectious diseases, reduce the chance of surgical incision infection, but at the same time, there are many adverse reactions. The use of nursing interventions in obstetrics and gynecology can significantly reduce the adverse drug reactions in the treatment. The results showed that the incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was 8.8%, while that in the control group was 15.6%. The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The results showed that the nursing intervention in obstetrics and gynecology could reduce the adverse drug reactions. In a word, the nursing intervention of obstetrics and gynecology can greatly reduce the adverse reaction of antibiotics and has certain application value. It is worth popularizing in clinical practice.

RoboLab and virtual environments

Science.gov (United States)

Giarratano, Joseph C.

1994-01-01

A useful adjunct to the manned space station would be a self-contained free-flying laboratory (RoboLab). This laboratory would have a robot operated under telepresence from the space station or ground. Long duration experiments aboard RoboLab could be performed by astronauts or scientists using telepresence to operate equipment and perform experiments. Operating the lab by telepresence would eliminate the need for life support such as food, water and air. The robot would be capable of motion in three dimensions, have binocular vision TV cameras, and two arms with manipulators to simulate hands. The robot would move along a two-dimensional grid and have a rotating, telescoping periscope section for extension in the third dimension. The remote operator would wear a virtual reality type headset to allow the superposition of computer displays over the real-time video of the lab. The operators would wear exoskeleton type arms to facilitate the movement of objects and equipment operation. The combination of video displays, motion, and the exoskeleton arms would provide a high degree of telepresence, especially for novice users such as scientists doing short-term experiments. The RoboLab could be resupplied and samples removed on other space shuttle flights. A self-contained RoboLab module would be designed to fit within the cargo bay of the space shuttle. Different modules could be designed for specific applications, i.e., crystal-growing, medicine, life sciences, chemistry, etc. This paper describes a RoboLab simulation using virtual reality (VR). VR provides an ideal simulation of telepresence before the actual robot and laboratory modules are constructed. The easy simulation of different telepresence designs will produce a highly optimum design before construction rather than the more expensive and time consuming hardware changes afterwards.

The association of patient safety climate and nurse-related organizational factors with selected patient outcomes: a cross-sectional survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Ausserhofer, Dietmar; Schubert, Maria; Desmedt, Mario; Blegen, Mary A; De Geest, Sabina; Schwendimann, René

2013-02-01

Patient safety climate (PSC) is an important work environment factor determining patient safety and quality of care in healthcare organizations. Few studies have investigated the relationship between PSC and patient outcomes, considering possible confounding effects of other nurse-related organizational factors. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between PSC and patient outcomes in Swiss acute care hospitals, adjusting for major organizational variables. This is a sub-study of the Swiss arm of the multicenter-cross sectional RN4CAST (Nurse Forecasting: Human Resources Planning in Nursing) study. We utilized data from 1630 registered nurses (RNs) working in 132 surgical, medical and mixed surgical-medical units within 35 Swiss acute care hospitals. PSC was measured with the 9-item Safety Organizing Scale. Other organizational variables measured with established instruments included the quality of the nurse practice environment, implicit rationing of nursing care, nurse staffing, and skill mix levels. We performed multilevel multivariate logistic regression to explore relationships between seven patient outcomes (nurse-reported medication errors, pressure ulcers, patient falls, urinary tract infection, bloodstream infection, pneumonia; and patient satisfaction) and PSC. In none of our regression models was PSC a significant predictor for any of the seven patient outcomes. From our nurse-related organizational variables, the most robust predictor was implicit rationing of nursing care. After controlling for major organizational variables and hierarchical data structure, higher levels of implicit rationing of nursing care resulted in significant decrease in the odds of patient satisfaction (OR=0.276, 95%CI=0.113-0.675) and significant increase in the odds of nurse reported medication errors (OR=2.513, 95%CI=1.118-5.653), bloodstream infections (OR=3.011, 95%CI=1.429-6.347), and pneumonia (OR=2.672, 95%CI=1.117-6.395). We failed to confirm our

The Design:Lab as platform in participatory design research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Binder, Thomas; Brandt, Eva

2008-01-01

The notion of laboratory or simply 'lab' has become popular in recent years in areas outside science and technology development. Learning Labs, Innovation Labs, Usability Labs, Media and Communication Labs and even Art Labs designate institutions or fora dedicated to change and experimentation...... as others have frequently used other metaphors like workshop, studio or atelier in design research. In this article we will argue that the laboratory metaphor is particularly suitable and useful for the design:lab, and we will give examples of how we have worked with the design:lab as a platform...

A survey of Chinese nurses' guidance to parents in children's postoperative pain relief.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Hong-Gu; Pölkki, Tarja; Pietilä, Anna-Maija; Vehviläinen-Julkunen, Katri

2005-10-01

The aim of the study was to describe parental guidance provided by Chinese nurses regarding non-pharmacological methods in children's surgical pain relief as well as factors related to this. Parental involvement in children's pain management has been acknowledged and encouraged in recent years. However, parents' lack of related information has been pointed out and little is known about how parents are guided to use non-pharmacological methods to relieve the pain. A previously validated European questionnaire survey was conducted in 2002. Structured questionnaires were distributed to all 187 nurses working at 12 surgical wards in five hospitals of Fujian Province, China. The average response rate was 98%. The results show that nurses informed parents of the majority of cognitive information. The most commonly guided non-pharmacological methods were distraction, positive reinforcement, comforting/reassurance, positioning and relaxation. Nurses' background factors, including age, education, nursing position, professional work experience, number of their own children and experiences of earlier hospitalizations of their children, were significantly related to their perceptions regarding parental guidance. Chinese nurses provided much guidance to parents on non-pharmacological methods. However, the results show that sensory information and physical methods were poorly conveyed to parents, which needs future attention to reinforce parents' active role in pain management. This study provides new information on Chinese nurses' guiding parents to use non-pharmacological methods in pain alleviation, thereby contributing to the body of knowledge on this subject. Furthermore, the study makes the respondents aware of the importance of involving parents in their child's pain management.

CDC Lab Values

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2015-02-02

More than fifteen hundred scientists fill the lab benches at CDC, logging more than four million hours each year. CDC’s laboratories play a critical role in the agency’s ability to find, stop, and prevent disease outbreaks. This podcast provides a brief overview of what goes on inside CDC’s labs, and why this work makes a difference in American’s health.  Created: 2/2/2015 by Office of the Associate Director for Communication (OADC).   Date Released: 2/2/2015.

Nursing team stress in the perioperative period: an integrative review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dafne Eva Corrêa Brandão

2013-09-01

Full Text Available This integrative review aimed at analyzing evidences available in literature regarding stress levels in nursing teams during the perioperative period. Primary studies were searched in the following databases: PubMed, CINAHL and LILACS. Included studies were grouped into the following thematic categories: stress level in the workplace and stress factors (n=8 and stress coping strategies used by the nursing staff (n=6. Evidence suggests that stress in the workplace worsens the health of the nursing team, provoking undesirable effects both in the professional and personal lives of these professionals. The assessment of working conditions to identify the main stressing factors and the implementation of individual and organizational measures to reduce nursing teams stress may increase productivity and workers’ satisfaction, improving the assistance quality offered to surgical patients.

Development of a waste management protocol based on assessment of knowledge and practice of healthcare personnel in surgical departments.

Science.gov (United States)

Mostafa, Gehan M A; Shazly, Mona M; Sherief, Wafaa I

2009-01-01

Good healthcare waste management in a hospital depends on a dedicated waste management team, good administration, careful planning, sound organization, underpinning legislation, adequate financing, and full participation by trained staff. Hence, waste management protocols must be convenient and sensible. To assess the knowledge and practice related to waste management among doctors, nurses, and housekeepers in the surgical departments at Al-Mansoura University Hospital, and to design and validate a waste management protocol for the health team in these settings. This cross-sectional study was carried out in the eight surgical departments at Al-Mansoura University Hospital. All health care personnel and their assistants were included: 38 doctors, 106 nurses, and 56 housekeepers. Two groups of jury were included for experts' opinions validation of the developed protocol, one from academia (30 members) and the other from service providers (30 members). Data were collected using a self-administered knowledge questionnaire for nurses and doctors, and an interview questionnaire for housekeepers. Observation checklists were used for assessment of performance. The researchers developed the first draft of the waste management protocol according to the results of the analysis of the data collected in the assessment phase. Then, the protocol was presented to the jury group for validation, and then was implemented. Only 27.4% of the nurses, 32.1% of the housekeepers, and 36.8% of the doctors had satisfactory knowledge. Concerning practice, 18.9% of the nurses, 7.1% of the housekeepers, and none of the doctors had adequate practice. Nurses' knowledge score had a statistically significant weak positive correlation with the attendance of training courses (r=0.23, pwaste management. The knowledge among nurses is positively affected by attendance of training programs. Based on the findings, a protocol for healthcare waste management was developed and validated. It is recommended to

A new LabVIEW interface for MDSplus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manduchi, G.; De Marchi, E.; Mandelli, A.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Integration object oriented data access layer in LabVIEW. ► A new component of the MDSplus data acquisition package. ► A new approach in the graphical presentation of data acquisition systems. -- Abstract: The paper presents a new interface providing full integration of MDSplus in LabVIEW, based on the recent features of MDSplus, in particular, data streaming, multithreading and Object Oriented interface. Data streaming support fits into the data driven concept of LabVIEW and multithreading is a native concept in LabVIEW. The object oriented interface of MDSplus defines a set of classes which map specific functionality, such as Tree and TreeNode to represent pulse files and data items, respectively, and fits naturally into the LabVIEW Object Oriented programming interface (LVOOP) introduced in version 8.2. MDSplus objects have been mapped onto LabVIEW objects, which act as wrappers to the underlying MDSplus object instance. This approach allows exporting the full MDSplus functionality into LabVIEW retaining the language-independent system view provided by the MDSplus object oriented interface

A new LabVIEW interface for MDSplus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manduchi, G., E-mail: gabriele.manduchi@igi.cnr.it [Consorzio RFX, Euratom-ENEA Association, Padova (Italy); De Marchi, E. [Department of Information Engineering, Padova University (Italy); Mandelli, A. [National Instruments (Italy)

2013-10-15

Highlights: ► Integration object oriented data access layer in LabVIEW. ► A new component of the MDSplus data acquisition package. ► A new approach in the graphical presentation of data acquisition systems. -- Abstract: The paper presents a new interface providing full integration of MDSplus in LabVIEW, based on the recent features of MDSplus, in particular, data streaming, multithreading and Object Oriented interface. Data streaming support fits into the data driven concept of LabVIEW and multithreading is a native concept in LabVIEW. The object oriented interface of MDSplus defines a set of classes which map specific functionality, such as Tree and TreeNode to represent pulse files and data items, respectively, and fits naturally into the LabVIEW Object Oriented programming interface (LVOOP) introduced in version 8.2. MDSplus objects have been mapped onto LabVIEW objects, which act as wrappers to the underlying MDSplus object instance. This approach allows exporting the full MDSplus functionality into LabVIEW retaining the language-independent system view provided by the MDSplus object oriented interface.

Nursing students' perceptions of a video-based serious game's educational value: A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnsen, Hege M; Fossum, Mariann; Vivekananda-Schmidt, Pirashanthie; Fruhling, Ann; Slettebø, Åshild

2018-03-01

Despite an increasing number of serious games (SGs) in nursing education, few evaluation studies specifically address their educational value in terms of face, content, and construct validity. To assess nursing students' perceptions of a video-based SG in terms of face, content, and construct validity. In addition, the study assessed perceptions of usability, individual factors, and preferences regarding future use. A pilot study was conducted. An SG prototype was implemented as part of two simulation courses in nursing education: one for home health care and one for hospital medical-surgical wards. The SG aimed to teach clinical reasoning and decision-making skills to nursing students caring for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A total of 249second-year nursing students participated in pilot testing of the SG. A paper-based survey was used to assess students' perceptions of the SG's educational value. Overall, students from both simulation courses perceived the SG as educationally valuable and easy to use. No significant differences were found in perceptions of educational value between nursing students with previous healthcare experience versus those with none. However, significantly more students in the home healthcare simulation course indicated that the SG tested their clinical reasoning and decision-making skills. Students from both the medical-surgical and home healthcare simulation courses suggested that more video-based SGs should be developed and used in nursing education. Overall, the survey results indicate that the participants perceived the SG as educationally valuable, and that the SG has potential as an educational tool in nursing education, especially in caring for patients with chronic diseases and in home healthcare simulation. Showing a SG's educational value and user acceptance among nursing students may justify the development and application of more SGs in nursing education. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Professional Satisfaction Of Nurses Working In Operating Room Of A Hospital School

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jéssica Helena Dantas de Oliveira

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Objective: to characterize in a sociodemographic way the nursing staff of the surgical center; Check the degree of importance assigned to each component of satisfaction: autonomy, interaction, professional status, task requirements, organizational policies, and pay; verify job satisfaction perceived by nurses. Method: exploratory, descriptive, quantitative study, consisting of 9 nurses working in the operating room. The research project was approved by the CEP/HULW, CAAE Nº 24597513.2.0000.5183. Data were collected through questionnaires and then analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS 20. Results: We found that the standby component was considered the most important for job satisfaction and Professional Status least important. Conclusion: nurses have a low level of job satisfaction, impacting the performance of its activities. Descriptors: Job Satisfaction. Perioperative Nursing. Quality of Life.

Awakening interest in the natural sciences - BASF's Kids' Labs.

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Cinthia

2012-01-01

At BASF's Ludwigshafen headquarters, kids and young adults in grades 1-13 can learn about chemistry in the Kids' Labs. Different programs exist for different levels of knowledge. In the two 'Hands-on Lab H(2)O & Co.' Kids' Labs, students from grades 1-6 explore the secrets of chemistry. BASF Kids' Labs have now been set up in over 30 countries. In Switzerland alone, almost 2,000 students have taken part in the 'Water Loves Chemistry' Kids' Lab since it was started in 2011. In Alsace, 600 students have participated to date. In the Teens' Lab 'Xplore Middle School', middle school students explore five different programs with the themes 'substance labyrinth', 'nutrition', 'coffee, caffeine & co.', 'cosmetics' and 'energy'. Biotechnological methods are the focus of the Teens' Lab 'Xplore Biotech' for students taking basic and advanced biology courses. In the 'Xplore High School' Teens' Lab, chemistry teachers present their own experimental lab instruction for students in basic and advanced chemistry courses. The Virtual Lab has been expanding the offerings of the BASF Kids' Labs since 2011. The online lab was developed by the company for the International Year Of Chemistry and gives kids and young adults the opportunity to do interactive experiments outside of the lab.

LabVIEW Real-Time

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva; Flockhart, Ronald Bruce; Seppey, P

2003-01-01

With LabVIEW Real-Time, you can choose from a variety of RT Series hardware. Add a real-time data acquisition component into a larger measurement and automation system or create a single stand-alone real-time solution with data acquisition, signal conditioning, motion control, RS-232, GPIB instrumentation, and Ethernet connectivity. With the various hardware options, you can create a system to meet your precise needs today, while the modularity of the system means you can add to the solution as your system requirements grow. If you are interested in Reliable and Deterministic systems for Measurement and Automation, you will profit from this seminar. Agenda: Real-Time Overview LabVIEW RT Hardware Platforms - Linux on PXI Programming with LabVIEW RT Real-Time Operating Systems concepts Timing Applications Data Transfer

Measuring the Burden of Surgical Disease Averted by Emergency and Essential Surgical Care in a District Hospital in Papua New Guinea.

Science.gov (United States)

Stokes, Matthew A R; Guest, Glenn D; Mamadi, Perista; Seta, Westin; Yaubihi, Noel; Karawiga, Grace; Naidi, Billy; Watters, David A K

2017-03-01

Timely access to emergency and essential surgical care (EESC) and anaesthesia in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) prevents premature death, minimises lifelong disability and reduces their economic impact on families and communities. Papua New Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the Pacific region, and provides much of its surgical care at a district hospital level. We aimed to evaluate the surgical capacity of a district hospital in PNG and estimate the effectiveness of surgical interventions provided. We performed a prospective study to calculate the number of DALYs averted for 465 patients treated with surgical care over a 3-month period (Sep-Nov 2013) in Alotau Hospital, Milne Bay Province, PNG (pop 210,000). Data were also collected on infrastructure, workforce, interventions provided and equipment available using the World Health Organization's Integrated Management of Emergency and Essential Surgical Care Toolkit, a survey to assess EESC and surgical capacity. We also performed a retrospective one-year audit of surgical, obstetric and anaesthetic care to provide context with regards to annual disease burden treated and surgical activity. EESC was provided by 11 Surgeons/Anaesthetists/Obstetricians (SAO) providers, equating to 5.7 per 100,000 population (including 4 nurse anaesthetists). They performed 783/100,000 procedures annually. Over the 3-month prospective study period, 4954 DALYs were averted by 465 surgical interventions, 52 % of which were elective. This equates to 18,330 DALYs averted annually or, approximately 18 % of the published but estimated disease burden in the Province in the 2013 Global Burden of Disease Study. The overall peri-operative mortality rate was 1.29 %, with 0.41 % for elective procedures and 2.25 % for emergencies. Much of the burden of surgical disease in Papua New Guinea presenting to Alotau General Hospital serving Milne Bay Province can be effectively treated by a small team providing emergency and

UniSchooLabs Toolkit: Tools and Methodologies to Support the Adoption of Universities’ Remote and Virtual Labs in Schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Augusto Chioccariello

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The UniSchooLabs project aims at creating an infrastructure supporting web access to remote/virtual labs and associated educational resources to engage learners with hands-on and minds-on activities in science, technology and math in schools. The UniSchooLabs tool-kit supports the teacher in selecting a remote or virtual lab and developing a lab activity based on an inquiry model template. While working with the toolkit the teacher has access to three main features: a a catalogue of available online laboratories; b an archive of activities created by other users; c a tool for creating new activities or reusing existing ones.

Incorporating lab experience into computer security courses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ben Othmane, L.; Bhuse, V.; Lilien, L.T.

2013-01-01

We describe our experience with teaching computer security labs at two different universities. We report on the hardware and software lab setups, summarize lab assignments, present the challenges encountered, and discuss the lessons learned. We agree with and emphasize the viewpoint that security

Educational background of nurses and their perceptions of the quality and safety of patient care.

Science.gov (United States)

Swart, Reece P; Pretorius, Ronel; Klopper, Hester

2015-04-30

International health systems research confirms the critical role that nurses play in ensuring the delivery of high quality patient care and subsequent patient safety. It is therefore important that the education of nurses should prepare them for the provision of safe care of a high quality. The South African healthcare system is made up of public and private hospitals that employ various categories of nurses. The perceptions of the various categories of nurses with reference to quality of care and patient safety are unknown in South Africa (SA). To determine the relationship between the educational background of nurses and their perceptions of quality of care and patient safety in private surgical units in SA. A descriptive correlational design was used. A questionnaire was used for data collection, after which hierarchical linear modelling was utilised to determine the relationships amongst the variables. Both the registered- and enrolled nurses seemed satisfied with the quality of care and patient safety in the units were they work. Enrolled nurses (ENs) indicated that current efforts to prevent errors are adequate, whilst the registered nurses (RNs) obtained high scores in reporting incidents in surgical wards. From the results it was evident that perceptions of RNs and ENs related to the quality of care and patient safety differed. There seemed to be a statistically-significant difference between RNs and ENs perceptions of the prevention of errors in the unit, losing patient information between shifts and patient incidents related to medication errors, pressure ulcers and falls with injury.

Determination Of Measures That The Operating Nurses Take For The Fire Safety: Example Of Karabuk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isil Isik Andsoy

2012-06-01

Material and Methods: The research group consisted of 32 operating room nurses in Karabuk hospitals who accept volunteer to participate. The data were collected with face to face interviews. Questionnaire was prepared by the researcher with the accompaniment of literature. Evaluation of the data, number and percentage were used. Results: In this study, 96.9% of the nurses have indicated that precautionary measures are taken against fire, and 75% of them have reported to have fire extinguishers and alarm system, and also 93.8% of them have stated that maintenance of existing systems in the operating room is done at certain intervals. Furthermore, 87.6% of the nurses have noted to have a fire extinguisher instruction in the operating room, and 62.5% of them have remarked that there are fire exit signs. Conclusion: Finally all of the nurses have indicated that routine checks of the operating rooms' electirical system are done. It has been found out that most of the nurses are knowledgable but inadequate about precautions against fire. As a result, it has been recommended to do an emergency planning in case of fires in operating rooms; to teach this plan to nurses, anesthetists, surgeon and other surgical team by fire drills; to train surgical team about fire risks and measures and to repeat this training regularly. [J Contemp Med 2012; 2(2.000: 87-93

Lab architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Crease, Robert P.

2008-04-01

There are few more dramatic illustrations of the vicissitudes of laboratory architecturethan the contrast between Building 20 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and its replacement, the Ray and Maria Stata Center. Building 20 was built hurriedly in 1943 as temporary housing for MIT's famous Rad Lab, the site of wartime radar research, and it remained a productive laboratory space for over half a century. A decade ago it was demolished to make way for the Stata Center, an architecturally striking building designed by Frank Gehry to house MIT's computer science and artificial intelligence labs (above). But in 2004 - just two years after the Stata Center officially opened - the building was criticized for being unsuitable for research and became the subject of still ongoing lawsuits alleging design and construction failures.

mQoL smart lab

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

De Masi, Alexandre; Ciman, Matteo; Gustarini, Mattia

2016-01-01

serve quality research in all of them. In this paper, we present own "mQoL Smart Lab" for interdisciplinary research efforts on individuals' "Quality of Life" improvement. We present an evolution of our current in-house living lab platform enabling continuous, pervasive data collection from individuals...

Ontology: A Support Structure for a V-Labs Network: Euronet-Lab

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raul Cordeiro Correia

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Our propose is to build a network of virtual laboratories, based in a Virtual Closet that will contain all the elements and parts that are needed to build the various experiences available in a v-labs network (that we call Euronet-Lab. To build this complex network we need to find a system that supports effectively this structure. This probably will be a enormous database of v-labs and independent elements, where will be possible sometimes to “recycle” some of the elements. This means “re-use” the same element several times in many experiences. To do this is necessary to have a structure that allows us to have several instances of the same element. It’s important that in our structure and virtual environment we can create several “images” of the same reality and this images can be used simultaneously in different circuits/experiments. This means that we can create several instances of the same element, to be used in different experiences and exercises.

Thermal comfort assessment of a surgical room through computational fluid dynamics using local PMV index.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, Nelson J O; Oliveira, Ricardo F; Teixeira, Senhorinha F C F; Miguel, Alberto Sérgio; Teixeira, José Carlos; Baptista, João S

2015-01-01

Studies concerning indoor thermal conditions are very important in defining the satisfactory comfort range in health care facilities. This study focuses on the evaluation of the thermal comfort sensation felt by surgeons and nurses, in an orthopaedic surgical room of a Portuguese hospital. Two cases are assessed, with and without the presence of a person. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) tools were applied for evaluating the predicted mean vote (PMV) index locally. Using average ventilation values to calculate the PMV index does not provide a correct and enough descriptive evaluation of the surgical room thermal environment. As studied for both cases, surgeons feel the environment slightly hotter than nurses. The nurses feel a slightly cold sensation under the air supply diffuser and their neutral comfort zone is located in the air stagnation zones close to the walls, while the surgeons feel the opposite. It was observed that the presence of a person in the room leads to an increase of the PMV index for surgeons and nurses. That goes in line with the empirical knowledge that more persons in a room lead to an increased heat sensation. The clothing used by both classes, as well as the ventilation conditions, should be revised accordingly to the amount of persons in the room and the type of activity performed.

Future{at}Labs.Prosperity Game{trademark}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beck, D.F.; Boyack, K.W.; Berman, M. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Innovative Alliances Dept.

1996-10-01

Prosperity Games{trademark} are an outgrowth and adaptation of move/countermove and seminar War Games, Prosperity Games{trademark} are simulations that explore complex issues in a variety of areas including economics, politics, sociology, environment, education, and research. These issues can be examined from a variety of perspectives ranging from global, macroeconomic and geopolitical viewpoint down to the details of customer/supplier/market interactions specific industries. All Prosperity Games{trademark} are unique in that both the game format and the player contributions vary from game to game. This report documents the Future{at}Labs.Prosperity Game{trademark} conducted under the sponsorship of the Industry Advisory Boards of the national labs, the national labs, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and the University of California. Players were drawn from all stakeholders involved including government, industry, labs, and academia. The primary objectives of this game were to: (1) explore ways to optimize the role of the multidisciplinary labs in serving national missions and needs; (2) explore ways to increase collaboration and partnerships among government, laboratories, universities, and industry; and (3) create a network of partnership champions to promote findings and policy options. The deliberations and recommendations of these players provided valuable insights as to the views of this diverse group of decision makers concerning the future of the labs.

Nurses' Work Environment and Spirituality: A Descriptive Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zastrow Patricia

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Quality of care is a major health concern in the hospital setting. A work environment thatsupports professional nursing as well as the spirituality of nurses, or the meaning/purpose nurses find intheir work may contribute to quality of patient care. Yet, little is known about the nursing workenvironment and even less about the spirituality of nurses. Thus, the aims of this study were to measuremedical-surgical nurses’ perceived professional work environment score and perceived spiritual well-beingscore and determine if the two instruments are related. This cross-sectional survey consisted of aconvenience sample of 68 nurses who completed the Professional Practice Environment Scale (PPE andSpiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB on the hospital website during working hours. Several PPE subscalescores differed significantly among the various clinical units. As the nurse’s age, and years of clinicalexperience increased, specific PPE subscale scores also increased. The nurses’ mean SWB scores were allwithin the moderate range and did not differ significantly among the clinical units. The overall PPE andSWB scores were not significantly correlated. Nursing administrators can use the PPE scores from thisstudy to address the specific needs of individual clinical units. Older and more experienced nurses mayserve as resources for younger, less experienced nurses. Both instruments can be administered repeatedlyover time to monitor trends. Based on the SWB data, nurses in this study reported average levels ofspiritual well-being. However, there is a need to learn more about the specific spiritual needs of nurses.Spirituality of nurses as well as the nurse’s work environment are separate concepts that each merit furtherinvestigation and may add to the knowledge base for increased quality patient care.

Experiences of patients with acute abdominal pain in the ED or acute surgical ward --a qualitative comparative study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schultz, Helen; Qvist, Niels; Backer Mogensen, Christian

2013-01-01

The Danish health care system is currently establishing emergency departments (EDs) with an observation unit nationwide. The aim of the study was to investigate patients with acute abdominal pain and their experiences upon arrival and stay in an acute surgical ward (ASW) versus an ED with an obse......The Danish health care system is currently establishing emergency departments (EDs) with an observation unit nationwide. The aim of the study was to investigate patients with acute abdominal pain and their experiences upon arrival and stay in an acute surgical ward (ASW) versus an ED...... was that the ED included a multidisciplinary team with nurses, who mainly had interactions with the patients before surgical assessment. In all, it resulted in fragmentation of care and a patient experience of repetition. In ASW, focus was on assessment by a senior physician, only, and the nurses' interaction...... with the patients took place after surgical assessment. In all, patients experienced long waiting times. The study shows a need to define the roles of the professionals in units receiving patients with acute abdominal pain in order to fulfil the medical as well as the experienced needs of the acute patient....

Programming Arduino with LabVIEW

CERN Document Server

Schwartz, Marco

2015-01-01

If you already have some experience with LabVIEW and want to apply your skills to control physical objects and make measurements using the Arduino sensor, this book is for you. Prior knowledge of Arduino and LabVIEW is essential to fully understand the projects detailed in this book.

Nurse managers' decision-making in daily unit operation in peri-operative settings: a cross-sectional descriptive study.

Science.gov (United States)

Siirala, Eriikka; Peltonen, Laura-Maria; Lundgrén-Laine, Heljä; Salanterä, Sanna; Junttila, Kristiina

2016-09-01

To describe the tactical and the operational decisions made by nurse managers when managing the daily unit operation in peri-operative settings. Management is challenging as situations change rapidly and decisions are constantly made. Understanding decision-making in this complex environment helps to develop decision support systems to support nurse managers' operative and tactical decision-making. Descriptive cross-sectional design. Data were collected from 20 nurse managers with the think-aloud method during the busiest working hours and analysed using thematic content analysis. Nurse managers made over 700 decisions; either ad hoc (n = 289), near future (n = 268) or long-term (n = 187) by nature. Decisions were often made simultaneously with many interruptions. Ad hoc decisions covered staff allocation, ensuring adequate staff, rescheduling surgical procedures, confirmation tangible resources and following-up the daily unit operation. Decisions in the near future were: planning of surgical procedures and tangible resources, and planning staff allocation. Long-term decisions were: human recourses, nursing development, supplies and equipment, and finances in the unit. Decision-making was vulnerable to interruptions, which sometimes complicated the managing tasks. The results can be used when planning decision support systems and when defining the nurse managers' tasks in peri-operative settings. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Surgical Positioning: Evidence for Nursing Care Posicionamiento quirúrgico: evidencias para el cuidado de enfermería Posicionamento cirúrgico: evidências para o cuidado de enfermagem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camila Mendonça de Moraes Lopes

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The goal of surgical positioning is to promote access to the surgical site. It should be carried out correctly to ensure patient safety and prevent complications. This integrative literature review aimed to search for and evaluate available evidences in literature about nursing care related to surgical positioning of adult patients in the intraoperative period. Pubmed, Cinahl and Lilacs databases were used for the selection of the articles. The sample consisted of 20 articles. The synthesis of the available evidence showed that included studies focused on three main topics: risk factors for developing complications, complications due to surgical positioning and nursing care related to surgical positioning. Among the gaps in the research theme, the need to conduct studies on effective devices for each type of surgical position is highlighted.El posicionamiento quirúrgico tiene como principal finalidad promover el acceso al sitio quirúrgico y debe ser realizado de forma correcta para garantizar la seguridad del paciente y prevenir complicaciones. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo buscar y evaluar las evidencias disponibles en la literatura sobre los cuidados de enfermería, relacionados al posicionamiento quirúrgico del paciente adulto en el período intraoperatorio. El método de investigación adoptado fue la revisión integradora de la literatura. Para la selección de los artículos, se utilizaron las bases de datos PubMed, Cinahl y Lilacs. La muestra se constituyó de 20 artículos. En la síntesis de las evidencias se constató que los artículos incluidos enfocaron tres tópicos principales, que son: los factores de riesgo para el desarrollo de complicaciones, las complicaciones provenientes del posicionamiento quirúrgico y los cuidados de enfermería relacionados al posicionamiento quirúrgico. Entre los vacíos del tema investigado, se destaca la necesidad de conducir estudios sobre dispositivos eficaces para cada tipo de posici

Adaptive coordination in surgical teams: an interview study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bogdanovic, Jasmina; Perry, Juliana; Guggenheim, Merlin; Manser, Tanja

2015-04-01

Effective teamwork has been recognised as a major contributor to safe patient care in surgery. Previous research has highlighted the importance of adaptive coordination for effective performance in acute care settings. Expanding this line of research this study explores the coordination behaviours and adaptive coordination strategies employed by surgical teams and identifies relevant situational characteristics influencing those coordination processes. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews with 33 surgical team members (nurses and physicians) from different specialties and hospitals. We identified coordination behaviours (i.e. task management, information management, teaching and leadership) and adaptive coordination strategies triggered by varying requirements due to non-routine events, intraoperative complications and differing level of experience among operating room staff. Interviewees highlighted the importance of effectively managing challenging moments and the supporting effect of positive climate on teamwork. This study complements previous research on the non-technical skills underpinning safe performance in surgical teams. It highlights the central role of coordination and points out the ways in which situational variability requires the team to behave adaptively.

Online labs and the MARVEL experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dieter Mueller

2005-06-01

Full Text Available MARVEL is a Leonardo da Vinci project that provides a framework to analyse the pedagogic effectiveness of online labs in various heterogeneous areas that include solar energy, robotics, electronics and electro-pneumatics. It is also used as a test bench to compare the implementation of purely remote labs, where all devices are real, versus mixed-reality environments, where real devices work together with simulation models. This paper describes the basic concepts underlying the implementation of such online labs and presents two case studies (which are openly available to the public. A final section discusses the main pedagogical implications of online labs and presents the research directions that are being considered as a follow-up from this project.

Efficacy and safety of an insulin infusion protocol in a surgical ICU.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Beth E; Schallom, Marilyn E; Sona, Carrie S; Buchman, Timothy G; Boyle, Walter A; Mazuski, John E; Schuerer, Douglas E; Thomas, James M; Kaiser, Christy; Huey, Way Y; Ward, Myrna R; Zack, Jeanne E; Coopersmith, Craig M

2006-01-01

Hyperglycemia is associated with complications in the surgical intensive care unit. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of nurse-driven insulin infusion protocols in lowering blood glucose (BG) in critical illness. All patients in a 24-bed surgical intensive care unit who required i.v. insulin infusions during 3 noncontiguous 6-month periods from 2002 to 2004 were evaluated. In the preintervention phase, 71 patients received a physician-initiated insulin infusion without a developed protocol. They were compared with 95 patients who received a nurse-driven insulin infusion protocol with a target BG of 120 to 150 mg/dL and to 119 patients who received a more stringent protocol with a target BG of 80 to 110 mg/dL. There was a stepwise decrease in average daily BG levels, from 190 to 163 to 132 mg/dL (p < 0.001). The less stringent protocol decreased the time to achieve a BG level < 150 mg/dL from 14.1 to 7.4 hours compared with physician-driven management (p < 0.05) resulting in similar time on an insulin infusion (53 versus 48 hours). The more intensive protocol brought BG levels < 150 mg/dL in 7.2 hours and < 111 mg/dL in 13.6 hours, but increased the length of time a patient was on an insulin infusion to 77 hours. The incidence of severe hypoglycemia (BG < 40 mg/dL) was statistically similar between the groups, ranging between 1.1% and 3.4%. Implementation of a nurse-driven protocol led to more rapid and more effective BG control in critically ill surgical patients compared with physician management. Tighter BG control can be obtained without a significant increase in hypoglycemia, although this is associated with increased time on an insulin infusion.

Newly graduated nurses' use of knowledge sources in clinical decision-making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Voldbjerg, Siri Lygum; Grønkjaer, Mette; Wiechula, Rick

2017-01-01

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore which knowledge sources newly graduated nurses' use in clinical decision-making and why and how they are used. BACKGROUND: In spite of an increased educational focus on skills and competencies within evidence based practice newly graduated nurses' ability to use...... approaches to strengthen the knowledgebase used in clinical decision-making. DESIGN AND METHODS: Ethnographic study using participant-observation and individual semi-structured interviews of nine Danish newly graduated nurses in medical and surgical hospital settings. RESULTS: Newly graduates use...... in clinical decision-making. If newly graduates are to be supported in an articulate and reflective use of a variety of sources, they have to be allocated to experienced nurses who model a reflective, articulate and balanced use of knowledge sources. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved....

OpenLabNotes – An Electronic Laboratory Notebook Extension for OpenLabFramework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

List Markus

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs are more accessible and reliable than their paper based alternatives and thus find widespread adoption. While a large number of commercial products is available, small- to mid-sized laboratories can often not afford the costs or are concerned about the longevity of the providers. Turning towards free alternatives, however, raises questions about data protection, which are not sufficiently addressed by available solutions. To serve as legal documents, ELNs must prevent scientific fraud through technical means such as digital signatures. It would also be advantageous if an ELN was integrated with a laboratory information management system to allow for a comprehensive documentation of experimental work including the location of samples that were used in a particular experiment. Here, we present OpenLabNotes, which adds state-of-the-art ELN capabilities to OpenLabFramework, a powerful and flexible laboratory information management system. In contrast to comparable solutions, it allows to protect the intellectual property of its users by offering data protection with digital signatures. OpenLabNotes effectively closes the gap between research documentation and sample management, thus making Open- LabFramework more attractive for laboratories that seek to increase productivity through electronic data management.

Awareness and Use of Surgical Checklist among Theatre Users at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogunlusi, Johnson Dare; Yusuf, Moruf Babatunde; Ogunsuyi, Popoola Sunday; Wuraola, Obafemi K; Babalola, Waheed O; Oluwadiya, Kehinde Sunday; Ajogbasile, Oduwole Olayemi

2017-01-01

Surgical checklist was introduced by the World Health Organization to reduce the number of surgical deaths and complications. During a surgical conference on "safety in surgical practice," it was noticed that the awareness and the use of surgical checklist are poor in Nigerian hospitals. This study was aimed at determining the awareness and use of surgical checklist among the theater users in our hospital, factors militating against its implementation, and make recommendations. This is a prospective study at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti; questionnaires were distributed to three groups of theater users - surgeons, anesthetists, and perioperative nurses. The responses were collated by the lead researcher, entered into Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, exported, and analyzed with SPSS. Eighty-five questionnaires were distributed, 70 were returned, and 4 were discarded due to poor filling. The studied 66 comprised 40, 12, and 14 surgeons, anesthetists, and perioperative nurses, respectively. Fifty-five (83.3%) of the responders indicated awareness of the checklist but only 12 (21.8%) correctly stated that the main objective is for patients' safety and for safe surgery. Major barriers to its use include lack of training 58.2%, lack of assertiveness of staff 58.2%, and that its delays operation list 47.2%. The study demonstrated high level of awareness of surgical checklist in our hospital; however, this awareness is based on wrong premises as it is not reflected in the true aim of the checklist. Majority of the responders would want to be trained on the use of checklist despite the highlighted barriers.

Discrepant perceptions of communication, teamwork and situation awareness among surgical team members.

Science.gov (United States)

Wauben, L S G L; Dekker-van Doorn, C M; van Wijngaarden, J D H; Goossens, R H M; Huijsman, R; Klein, J; Lange, J F

2011-04-01

To assess surgical team members' differences in perception of non-technical skills. Questionnaire design. Operating theatres (OTs) at one university hospital, three teaching hospitals and one general hospital in the Netherlands. Sixty-six surgeons, 97 OT nurses, 18 anaesthetists and 40 nurse anaesthetists. All surgical team members, of five hospitals, were asked to complete a questionnaire and state their opinion on the current state of communication, teamwork and situation awareness at the OT. Ratings for 'communication' were significantly different, particularly between surgeons and all other team members (P ≤ 0.001). The ratings for 'teamwork' differed significantly between all team members (P ≤ 0.005). Within 'situation awareness' significant differences were mainly observed for 'gathering information' between surgeons and other team members (P communication, teamwork and situation awareness. Future research needs to ascertain whether these discrepancies are linked to greater risk of adverse events or to process as well as systems failures. Establishing this link would support implementation and use of complex team interventions that intervene at multiple levels of the healthcare system.

The relationship of educational preparation, autonomy, and critical thinking to nursing job satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Zurmehly, Joyce

2008-10-01

This descriptive correlational study explored factors influencing job satisfaction in nursing. Relationships between educational preparation, autonomy, and critical thinking and job satisfaction were examined. A convenience sample of 140 registered nurses was drawn from medical-surgical, management, and home health nursing specialties. The nurses were asked to complete the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Relationships between variables were analyzed to determine which explained the most variance in job satisfaction. Results indicated significant positive correlations between total job satisfaction and perceived autonomy, critical thinking, educational preparation, and job satisfiers. Significant negative correlations between job dissatisfiers and total job satisfaction were also found. Understanding nursing job satisfaction through critical thinking, educational level, and autonomy is the key to staff retention. Further research focusing on increasing these satisfiers is needed.

[Impact of chronic illness on hospital nursing workloads].

Science.gov (United States)

Vallés, S; Valdavida, E; Menéndez, C; Natal, C

To evaluate the short-term impact of chronic illness in hospital units and to establish a method that allows nursing workloads to be adapted according to the care needs of patients. A descriptive study of the evolution of workloads of nursing staff associated with the care needs of patients between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2016, in a county hospital. The care needs of the patients were assessed daily using an adaptation of the Montesinos scheme. The estimated times of nursing care and auxiliary nursing required by the patients, based on their level of dependence for time distribution, were based on the standards and recommendations of the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality. During the study period, there was a change in the patient care needs, with no increase in activity, which resulted in an increase in the nursing staffing needs of 1,396 theoretical hours per year. This increase implies an increase in the workforce of 5 nurses in the second period. In the study period, the needs for direct nursing care increased by 7%, this increase is not related to the increase in activity, but to the level of dependency of the patients with chronic diseases. This increase occurred in both medical and surgical units. Copyright © 2017 SECA. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Dimensions of hospital nurses' quality of working life.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Ming-Yi; Kernohan, George

2006-04-01

This paper is a report of a study describing the quality of working life of nurses in Taiwan. The purpose of the study was to gather data on which to base a questionnaire to be used in further research. Nurses often complain of overwork and underpay. Problems persist with nurses' job satisfaction, stress, organizational commitment and intent to leave. 'Quality of working life' is a system of analysing how people experience work: it relates to job satisfaction, intent to leave, turnover rate, personality and work stress. However, reliable information on hospital nurses' quality of working life is limited. A descriptive study was carried out with a convenience sample. A total of 16 focus groups in one medical centre and five regional hospitals informed a quality of working life framework. Each group had three to five participants who were Registered Nurses in medical or surgical wards with at least 2 years' nursing experience, and who held a position below assistant nurse manager. The data were collected in 2000. A total of 56 nurses' quality of working life categories were identified and fitted into six dimensions: socio-economic relevance, demography, organizational aspects, work aspects, human relation aspects and self-actualization. In this paper, we focus on issues emphasized by focus group participants. These were managing shift work within the demands of family life; accommodation; support resources; and nurses' clinical ladder system and salary system. Further research is needed with other groups of nurses in a wider variety of settings in order to examine strengths and weaknesses in the total healthcare work environment and to develop appropriate strategies for nurses' quality of working life.

Editor's choice--Use of disposable radiation-absorbing surgical drapes results in significant dose reduction during EVAR procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

Kloeze, C; Klompenhouwer, E G; Brands, P J M; van Sambeek, M R H M; Cuypers, P W M; Teijink, J A W

2014-03-01

Because of the increasing number of interventional endovascular procedures with fluoroscopy and the corresponding high annual dose for interventionalists, additional dose-protecting measures are desirable. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of disposable radiation-absorbing surgical drapes in reducing scatter radiation exposure for interventionalists and supporting staff during an endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) procedure. This was a randomized control trial in which 36 EVAR procedures were randomized between execution with and without disposable radiation-absorbing surgical drapes (Radpad: Worldwide Innovations & Technologies, Inc., Kansas City, US, type 5511A). Dosimetric measurements were performed on the interventionalist (hand and chest) and theatre nurse (chest) with and without the use of the drapes to obtain the dose reduction and effect on the annual dose caused by the drapes. Use of disposable radiation-absorbing surgical drapes resulted in dose reductions of 49%, 55%, and 48%, respectively, measured on the hand and chest of the interventionalist and the chest of the theatre nurse. The use of disposable radiation-absorbing surgical drapes significantly reduces scatter radiation exposure for both the interventionalist and the supporting staff during EVAR procedures. Copyright © 2013 European Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

42 CFR 409.33 - Examples of skilled nursing and rehabilitation services.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... indicators for adjusting therapeutic measures. Similarly, surgical patients transferred from a hospital to an... physicians' orders or nursing or therapy notes. (3) Patient education services—(i) When patient education services constitute skilled services. Patient education services are skilled services if the use of...

Effects of a continuing education program on nurses' pain assessment practices.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Francke, A.L.; Luiken, J.B.; Schepper, A.M.E. de; Huijer Abu-Saad, H.; Grypdonck, M.

1997-01-01

Surgical nurses from five Dutch general hospitals participated in a continuing education program on pain assessment and management. A pretest-posttest controlled intervention study revealed that the program led to an increase in the quality of activities relevant to taking pain histories. Although

The Telecom Lab is moving

CERN Multimedia

IT Department

2009-01-01

As of 2nd March 2009, the Telecom Lab will move to Building 58 R-017. The Telecom Lab is the central point for all support questions regarding CERN mobile phone services (provision of SIM cards, requests for modifications of subscriptions, diagnostics for mobile phone problems, etc.). The opening hours as well as the contact details for the Telecom Lab remain unchanged: New location: Building 58 R-017 Opening hours: Every week day, from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. Phone number: 72480 Email address: labo.telecom@cern.ch This change has no impact on support requests for mobile services. Users can still submit their requests concerning mobile phone subscriptions using the usual EDH form (https://edh.cern.ch/Document/GSM). The automatic message sent to inform users of their SIM card availability will be updated to indicate the new Telecom Lab location. You can find all information related to CERN mobile phone services at the following link: http://cern.ch/gsm CS Section - IT/CS group

Use of aromatherapy to promote a therapeutic nurse environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Kari; West, Toni; Diana, Shelly; Todd, Jodi; Haynes, Brianna; Bernhardt, Judy; Johnson, Roberta

2017-06-01

Workplace stress can affect nurse satisfaction. Aroma therapy as a therapeutic use of essential oil can be beneficial in reducing stress. Assess perceived stress pre-post introduction of Essential Oil Lavender among registered nurses, charge nurses, and patient care technicians in a trauma intensive care unit, surgical specialty care unit and an orthopedic trauma unit. Pre-post intervention with a quasi-experimental design. After a pre-survey, Essential Oil Lavender was diffused 24h per day over 30days in a designated nursing area that all nurses were not required to enter on each unit. Dependent sample t-test for "how often do nurses feel stressed a work in a typical week" revealed pre-survey mean 2.97 (SD=0.99) which was significantly higher than post-survey mean 2.70 (SD=0.92) with significance, t(69)=2.36, p=0.021, suggesting a difference in how often staff felt stressed at work in a typical week, trending down from "feeling stressed half of time" to "once in a while". There were no statistically significant differences in pre-post survey scores for TICU, TOU, or SSC as separate units. Use of essential oils to decrease work-related stress among nursing staff may improve retention, workplace environment, and increase nurse satisfaction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Promoting emancipated decision-making for surgical treatment of early stage breast cancer among Jordanian women

Science.gov (United States)

Obeidat, Rana F.

2015-01-01

To use the critical social theory as a framework to analyze the oppression of Jordanian women with early stage breast cancer in the decision-making process for surgical treatment and suggest strategies to emancipate these women to make free choices. This is a discussion paper utilizing the critical social theory as a framework for analysis. The sexist and paternalistic ideology that characterizes Jordanian society in general and the medical establishment in particular as well as the biomedical ideology are some of the responsible ideologies for the fact that many Jordanian women with early stage breast cancer are denied the right to choose a surgical treatment according to their own preferences and values. The financial and political power of Jordanian medical organizations (e.g., Jordan Medical Council), the weakness of nursing administration in the healthcare system, and the hierarchical organization of Jordanian society, where men are first and women are second, support these oppressing ideologies. Knowledge is a strong tool of power. Jordanian nurses could empower women with early stage breast cancer by enhancing their knowledge regarding their health and the options available for surgical treatment. To successfully emancipate patients, education alone may not be enough; there is also a need for health care providers’ support and unconditional acceptance of choice. To achieve the aim of emancipating women with breast cancer from the oppression inherent in the persistence of mastectomy, Jordanian nurses need to recognize that they should first gain greater power and authority in the healthcare system. PMID:27981122

Promoting emancipated decision-making for surgical treatment of early stage breast cancer among Jordanian women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rana F Obeidat

2015-01-01

Full Text Available To use the critical social theory as a framework to analyze the oppression of Jordanian women with early stage breast cancer in the decision-making process for surgical treatment and suggest strategies to emancipate these women to make free choices. This is a discussion paper utilizing the critical social theory as a framework for analysis. The sexist and paternalistic ideology that characterizes Jordanian society in general and the medical establishment in particular as well as the biomedical ideology are some of the responsible ideologies for the fact that many Jordanian women with early stage breast cancer are denied the right to choose a surgical treatment according to their own preferences and values. The financial and political power of Jordanian medical organizations (e.g., Jordan Medical Council, the weakness of nursing administration in the healthcare system, and the hierarchical organization of Jordanian society, where men are first and women are second, support these oppressing ideologies. Knowledge is a strong tool of power. Jordanian nurses could empower women with early stage breast cancer by enhancing their knowledge regarding their health and the options available for surgical treatment. To successfully emancipate patients, education alone may not be enough; there is also a need for health care providers′ support and unconditional acceptance of choice. To achieve the aim of emancipating women with breast cancer from the oppression inherent in the persistence of mastectomy, Jordanian nurses need to recognize that they should first gain greater power and authority in the healthcare system.

Towards a Manifesto for Living Lab Co-creation

Science.gov (United States)

Følstad, Asbjørn; Brandtzæg, Petter Bae; Gulliksen, Jan; Börjeson, Mikael; Näkki, Pirjo

There is a growing interest in Living Labs for innovation and development in the field of information and communication technology. In particular there seem to be a tendency that current Living Labs aim to involve users for co-creative purposes. However, the current literature on Living Lab co-creation is severely limited. Therefore an Interact workshop is arranged as a first step towards a manifesto for Living Lab co-creation.

[Surgical intensive care medicine. Current therapy concepts for septic diseases].

Science.gov (United States)

Niederbichler, A D; Ipaktchi, K; Jokuszies, A; Hirsch, T; Altintas, M A; Handschin, A E; Busch, K H; Gellert, M; Steinau, H-U; Vogt, P M; Steinsträsser, L

2009-10-01

The clinical appearance of septic disorders is characterized by an enormous dynamic. The sepsis-induced dysbalance of the immune system necessitates immediate and aggressive therapeutic interventions to prevent further damage progression of the disease to septic shock and multiple organ failure. This includes supportive therapy to normalize and maintain organ and tissue perfusion as well as the identification of the infection focus. In cases where an infectious focus is identified, surgical source control frequently is a key element of the treatment strategy besides pharmacologic and supportive measures. The integrative approach of the management of septic patients requires rapid communication between the involved medical disciplines and the nursing personnel. Therefore, this article outlines current therapeutic concepts of septic diseases as well as central nursing aspects.

Nurses caring for ENT patients in a district general hospital without a dedicated ENT ward score significantly less in a test of knowledge than nurses caring for ENT patients in a dedicated ENT ward in a comparable district general hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Foxton, C R; Black, D; Muhlschlegel, J; Jardine, A

2014-12-01

To assess whether there is a difference in ENT knowledge amongst nurses caring for patients on a dedicated ENT ward and nurses caring for ENT patients in a similar hospital without a dedicated ENT ward. A test of theoretical knowledge of ENT nursing care was devised and administered to nurses working on a dedicated ENT ward and then to nurses working on generic non-subspecialist wards regularly caring for ENT patients in a hospital without a dedicated ENT ward. The test scores were then compared. A single specialist ENT/Maxillo-Facial/Opthalmology ward in hospital A and 3 generic surgical wards in hospital B. Both hospitals are comparable district general hospitals in the south west of England. Nursing staff working in hospital A and hospital B on the relevant wards were approached during the working day. 11 nurses on ward 1, 10 nurses on ward 2, 11 nurses on ward 3 and 10 nurses on ward 4 (the dedicated ENT ward). Each individual test score was used to generate an average score per ward and these scores compared to see if there was a significant difference. The average score out of 10 on ward 1 was 6.8 (+/-1.6). The average score on ward two was 4.8 (+/-1.6). The average score on ward three was 5.5 (+/-2.1). The average score on ward 4, which is the dedicated ENT ward, was 9.7 (+/-0.5). The differences in average test score between the dedicated ENT ward and all of the other wards are statistically significant. Nurses working on a dedicated ENT ward have an average higher score in a test of knowledge than nurses working on generic surgical wards. This difference is statistically significant and persists despite banding or training. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Nursing process: from literature to practice. What are we actually doing?

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Simoni Pokorski

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: To describe the steps of the nursing process as prescribed in the literature and to investigate the process as actually applied in the daily routine of a general hospital. METHODS: Cross-sectional retrospective study (May/June 2005, performed in a hospital in Porto Alegre, RS. Medical records of adult patients admitted to a surgical, clinical or intensive care unit were reviewed to identify the nursing process steps accomplished during the first 48h after admission. The form for data collection was structured according to other reports. RESULTS: 302 medical records were evaluated. Nursing records and physical examination were included in over 90% of them. Nursing diagnosis was not found in any of the records. Among the steps performed, prescription was the least frequent. Evolution of the case was described in over 95% of the records. CONCLUSIONS: All nursing steps recommended in the literature, except for diagnosis, are performed in the research institution.

Barriers to critical thinking: workflow interruptions and task switching among nurses.

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Cornell, Paul; Riordan, Monica; Townsend-Gervis, Mary; Mobley, Robin

2011-10-01

Nurses are increasingly called upon to engage in critical thinking. However, current workflow inhibits this goal with frequent task switching and unpredictable demands. To assess workflow's cognitive impact, nurses were observed at 2 hospitals with different patient loads and acuity levels. Workflow on a medical/surgical and pediatric oncology unit was observed, recording tasks, tools, collaborators, and locations. Nineteen nurses were observed for a total of 85.2 hours. Tasks were short with a mean duration of 62.4 and 81.6 seconds on the 2 units. More than 50% of the recorded tasks were less than 30 seconds in length. An analysis of task sequence revealed few patterns and little pairwise repetition. Performance on specific tasks differed between the 2 units, but the character of the workflow was highly similar. The nonrepetitive flow and high amount of switching indicate nurses experience a heavy cognitive load with little uninterrupted time. This implies that nurses rarely have the conditions necessary for critical thinking.

LabVIEW A Developer's Guide to Real World Integration

CERN Document Server

Fairweather, Ian

2011-01-01

LabVIEW(t) has become one of the preeminent platforms for the development of data acquisition and data analysis programs. LabVIEW(t): A Developer's Guide to Real World Integration explains how to integrate LabVIEW into real-life applications. Written by experienced LabVIEW developers and engineers, the book describes how LabVIEW has been pivotal in solving real-world challenges. Each chapter is self-contained and demonstrates the power and simplicity of LabVIEW in various applications, from image processing to solar tracking systems. Many of the chapters explore how exciting new technologies c

Patient Participation in Decision Making During Nursing Care in Greece--A Comparative Study.

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Kolovos, Petros; Kaitelidou, Daphne; Lemonidou, Chrysoula; Sachlas, Athanasios; Sourtzi, Panayota

2015-01-01

To describe patient participation in decision making during nursing care from patients' and nursing staff' perspectives. The sample consisted of medical and surgical patients (n = 300) and the nursing staff (n = 118) working in the respective wards in three general hospitals. A questionnaire was used for the study; data were collected from April 2009 to September 2010. Data were analyzed by an exploratory factor analysis. Patient participation was recorded at a medium level during nursing care, although it was rated as important from both patients and nursing staff. Exploratory factor analysis revealed the factor structure for the planning and implementation of the nursing care. Providers and receivers of nursing care perceived participation in a similar way. Interpersonal interaction was supported from older and less educated patients, as well as from university-educated nurses. Patient participation was greater in practical aspects of care and limited in technical medical issues and supportive services. Patient participation, although moderate, was evident during nursing care in hospital settings. Paternalism in the decision-making process was the dominant trend, whereas interpersonal interaction between the parties was recognized as a prerequisite for planning nursing care. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Job satisfaction of Malaysian registered nurses: a qualitative study.

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Atefi, Narges; Abdullah, Khatijah L; Wong, Li P

2016-01-01

Job satisfaction is an important factor in health care settings. Strong empirical evidence supports a causal relationship between job satisfaction, patient safety and quality of care. However, there have not been any studies exploring the job satisfaction of Malaysian nurses. The main purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the factors related to feelings of job satisfaction as well as job dissatisfaction experienced by registered nurses in Malaysia. A convenient sample of 46 Malaysian nurses recruited from a large hospital (number of beds = 895) participated in the study. A total of seven focus group discussions were conducted with nurses from surgical, medical and critical care wards. A semi-structured interview guide was used to facilitate the interviews, which were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and checked. The transcripts were used as data and were analysed using a thematic approach. The study identified three main themes that influenced job satisfaction: (1) nurses' personal values and beliefs; (2) work environment factors and (3) motivation factors. Concerning the nurses' personal values and beliefs, the ability to help people made the nurses felt honoured and happy, which indirectly contributed to job satisfaction. For work environment factors, team cohesion, benefit and reward, working conditions play an important role in the nurses' job satisfaction. Motivation factors, namely, professional development and clinical autonomy contributed to job satisfaction. It is important for nurse leaders to provide more rewards, comfortable work environments and to understand issues that affect nurses' job satisfaction. Our findings highlight the importance of factors that can improve nurses' job satisfaction. The study provides basic information for hospital administrators in planning effective and efficient policies to improve nursing job satisfaction in order to increase the quality of patient care and decrease nursing turnover. © 2014

Report from the banding lab

Science.gov (United States)

Tautin, J.

1995-01-01

Mr. Tautin reported on the seemingly everchanging structure of biological science units within the Interior Department. Current Congressional proposals would either change the name of the Bird Banding Lab's parent agency or make it part of the Geological Survey. The current Congress has not looked favorably on science budgets within the Interior Department, and the Banding Lab's budget is being squeezed ever tighter.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at Berkeley Lab

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Berkeley Lab A-Z Index Directory Search Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at Berkeley Lab Home Diversity & Inclusion Council Women Scientists & Engineers Council Employee Resource Groups -and culture of inclusion are key to attracting and engaging the brightest minds and furthering our

Magnetic Media Lab

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Federal Laboratory Consortium — This lab specializes in tape certification and performance characterization of high density digital tape and isprepared to support the certification of standard size...

Crystallization Formulation Lab

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Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Crystallization Formulation Lab fills a critical need in the process development and optimization of current and new explosives and energetic formulations. The...

Computer-based Astronomy Labs for Non-science Majors

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Smith, A. B. E.; Murray, S. D.; Ward, R. A.

1998-12-01

We describe and demonstrate two laboratory exercises, Kepler's Third Law and Stellar Structure, which are being developed for use in an astronomy laboratory class aimed at non-science majors. The labs run with Microsoft's Excel 98 (Macintosh) or Excel 97 (Windows). They can be run in a classroom setting or in an independent learning environment. The intent of the labs is twofold; first and foremost, students learn the subject matter through a series of informational frames. Next, students enhance their understanding by applying their knowledge in lab procedures, while also gaining familiarity with the use and power of a widely-used software package and scientific tool. No mathematical knowledge beyond basic algebra is required to complete the labs or to understand the computations in the spreadsheets, although the students are exposed to the concepts of numerical integration. The labs are contained in Excel workbook files. In the files are multiple spreadsheets, which contain either a frame with information on how to run the lab, material on the subject, or one or more procedures. Excel's VBA macro language is used to automate the labs. The macros are accessed through button interfaces positioned on the spreadsheets. This is done intentionally so that students can focus on learning the subject matter and the basic spreadsheet features without having to learn advanced Excel features all at once. Students open the file and progress through the informational frames to the procedures. After each procedure, student comments and data are automatically recorded in a preformatted Lab Report spreadsheet. Once all procedures have been completed, the student is prompted for a filename in which to save their Lab Report. The lab reports can then be printed or emailed to the instructor. The files will have full worksheet and workbook protection, and will have a "redo" feature at the end of the lab for students who want to repeat a procedure.

The cutting-edge training modalities and educational platforms for accredited surgical training: A systematic review.

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Forgione, Antonello; Guraya, Salman Y

2017-01-01

Historically, operating room (OR) has always been considered as a stand-alone trusted platform for surgical education and training. However, concerns about financial constraints, quality control, and patient safety have urged the surgical educators to develop more cost-effective, surgical educational platforms that can be employed outside the OR. Furthermore, trained surgeons need to regularly update their surgical skills to keep abreast with the emerging surgical technologies. This research aimed to explore the value of currently available modern surgical tools that can be used outside the OR and also elaborates the existing laparoscopic surgical training programs in world-class centers across the globe with a view to formulate a blended and unified structured surgical training program. Several data sources were searched using MeSH terms "Laparoscopic surgery" and "Surgical training" and "Surgical curriculum" and "fundamentals of endoscopic surgery" and "fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery" and "Telementoring" and "Box trainer." The eligibility criteria used in data extraction searched for original and review articles and by excluding the editorial articles, short communications, conference proceedings, personal view, and commentaries. Data synthesis and data analysis were done by reviewing the initially retrieved 211 articles. Irrelevant and duplicate and redundant articles were excluded from the study. Finally, 12 articles were selected for this systematic review. Data results showed that a myriad of cutting-edge technical innovations have provided modern surgical training tools such as the simulation-based mechanical and virtual reality simulators, animal and cadaveric labs, telementoring, telerobotic-assisted surgery, and video games. Surgical simulators allow the trainees to acquire surgical skills in a tension-free environment without supervision or time constraints. The existing world-renowned surgical training centers employ various clusters of training

Awareness and use of surgical checklist among theatre users at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

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Johnson Dare Ogunlusi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Surgical checklist was introduced by the World Health Organization to reduce the number of surgical deaths and complications. During a surgical conference on “safety in surgical practice,” it was noticed that the awareness and the use of surgical checklist are poor in Nigerian hospitals. This study was aimed at determining the awareness and use of surgical checklist among the theater users in our hospital, factors militating against its implementation, and make recommendations. Methods: This is a prospective study at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti; questionnaires were distributed to three groups of theater users – surgeons, anesthetists, and perioperative nurses. The responses were collated by the lead researcher, entered into Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, exported, and analyzed with SPSS. Results: Eighty-five questionnaires were distributed, 70 were returned, and 4 were discarded due to poor filling. The studied 66 comprised 40, 12, and 14 surgeons, anesthetists, and perioperative nurses, respectively. Fifty-five (83.3% of the responders indicated awareness of the checklist but only 12 (21.8% correctly stated that the main objective is for patients' safety and for safe surgery. Major barriers to its use include lack of training 58.2%, lack of assertiveness of staff 58.2%, and that its delays operation list 47.2%. Conclusion: The study demonstrated high level of awareness of surgical checklist in our hospital; however, this awareness is based on wrong premises as it is not reflected in the true aim of the checklist. Majority of the responders would want to be trained on the use of checklist despite the highlighted barriers.

The Udall Lab

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Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Udall lab is interested in genome evolution and cotton genomics.The cotton genus ( Gossypium) is an extraordinarily diverse group with approximately 50 species...

Laser Research Lab

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Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Laser Research lab is thecenter for the development of new laser sources, nonlinear optical materials, frequency conversion processes and laser-based sensors for...

Age is associated with latent tuberculosis in nurses

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Naesinee Chaiear

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate risk factors for developing latent tuberculosis (LTB in Thai nurses. Methods: A comparison study was conducted at Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand. Clinical factors were compared between persons with tuberculin conversion and those without tuberculin conversion identified by tuberculin skin test. Results: There were 173 eligible persons with the LTB (34.7%. There were five workplaces where participants worked regularly including the general ward, surgical ward, pediatric ward, medical ward and critical care ward. In a multivariate model, two factors were significantly associated with LTB including age and history of tuberculosis in colleagues. The adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval of both variables were 1.056 (1.004–1.104 and 0.202 (0.044– 0.941. Conclusions: Older age is associated with latent tuberculosis in nurses. LTB should be screened routinely and treated if diagnosed for nurses.

Spirituality Intervention and Outcomes: Corner stone of Holistic Nursing Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mardiyono Mardiyono

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Holistic nursing results in healing the whole person as human being that has interconnectedness of body mind social cultural spiritual aspect.Objective: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of Islamic spirituality interventions on health outcomes in nursing.Method: Databases searched for electronic journals and books that were published since 1994 to 2010 were included.Results: Spirituality intervention mainly composes of prayer, recitation of the holy Qur’an, remembrance of Allah, fasting, charity, prophets’ methods, and modified Islamic methods. Thirteen studies found that various outcomes have been highlighted when applied in several areas of nursing, such as stimulating baby’s cognitive ability in maternal nursing, promoting health during eating halal food, fasting, abstinence of alcohol and tobacco consumption, performing regular exercise, reducing anxiety, and pain in medical-surgical nursing. In mental health nursing, six studies explored effects of prayer and religious psychotherapy to enhance happiness and physical health and alleviate anxiety, and depression. Three studies reported Islamic cognitive therapy to alleviate the auditory hallucination, bereavement, and depression. In critical care nursing, three studies employed reciting the holy Qur’an and talqin in end of life care.Conclusion: Although the literature is limited in the amount and quality of spirituality interventions, some evidences have shown as integrative energy in nursing practice to promote health and minimize some symptoms. Spirituality interventions should be performed to acknowledge the high priority in holistic nursing and support interventions.Keywords: spirituality intervention, holistic nursing, Islam

LAB building a home for scientists

CERN Document Server

Fishman, Mark C

2017-01-01

Laboratories are both monasteries and space stations, redolent of the great ideas of generations past and of technologies to propel the future. Yet standard lab design has changed only little over recent years. Here Mark Fishman describes how to build labs as homes for scientists, to accommodate not just their fancy tools, but also their personalities. This richly illustrated book explores the roles of labs through history, from the alchemists of the Middle Ages to the chemists of the 19th and 20th centuries, and to the geneticists and structural biologists of today, and then turns to the special features of the laboratories Fishman helped to design in Cambridge, Shanghai, and Basel. Anyone who works in, or plans to build a lab, will enjoy this book, which will encourage them to think about how this special environment drives or impedes their important work.

Virtual labs in Leonardo da Vinci

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Stanislaw Nagy

2006-10-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the problem of virtual lab capabilities in the e-learning. Using combination of web conferencing and "virtual labs" capabilities, a new quality distance learning teaching is now in preparation and will be included in the course teaching to produce interactive, online simulations for the natural gas engineering studies. The activities are designed to enhance the existing curriculum and to include online assessments. A special care is devoted to the security problem between a server and a client computer. Several examples of the virtual labs related to the PVT thermodynamics, fluid flow, the natural gas well-testing, and thev gas network flow are prepared and tested. A major challenge for the 'CELGAS' system is in managing the delicate balance between the student collaboration and the isolation. Students may be encouraged to collaborate and work with each other, simulating their exploration of the lab material.

Lab-on-fiber technology

CERN Document Server

Cusano, Andrea; Crescitelli, Alessio; Ricciardi, Armando

2014-01-01

This book focuses on a research field that is rapidly emerging as one of the most promising ones for the global optics and photonics community: the "lab-on-fiber" technology. Inspired by the well-established 'lab on-a-chip' concept, this new technology essentially envisages novel and highly functionalized devices completely integrated into a single optical fiber for both communication and sensing applications.Based on the R&D experience of some of the world's leading authorities in the fields of optics, photonics, nanotechnology, and material science, this book provides a broad and accurate de

Evaluation of oral microbiology lab curriculum reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, Min; Gao, Zhen Y; Wu, Xin Y; Jiang, Chen X; Du, Jia H

2015-12-07

According to the updated concept of oral microbiology, the School of Stomatology, Wuhan University, has carried out oral microbiology teaching reforms during the last 5 years. There was no lab curriculum before 2009 except for a theory course of oral microbiology. The school has implemented an innovative curriculum with oral medicine characteristics to strengthen understanding of knowledge, cultivate students' scientific interest and develop their potential, to cultivate the comprehensive ability of students. This study was designed to evaluate the oral microbiology lab curriculum by analyzing student performance and perceptions regarding the curriculum from 2009 to 2013. The lab curriculum adopted modalities for cooperative learning. Students collected dental plaque from each other and isolated the cariogenic bacteria with selective medium plates. Then they purified the enrichment culture medium and identified the cariogenic strains by Gram stain and biochemical tests. Both quantitative and qualitative data for 5 years were analysed in this study. Part One of the current study assessed student performance in the lab from 2009 to 2013. Part Two used qualitative means to assess students' perceptions by an open questionnaire. The 271 study students' grades on oral microbiology improved during the lab curriculum: "A" grades rose from 60.5 to 81.2 %, and "C" grades fell from 28.4 to 6.3 %. All students considered the lab curriculum to be interesting and helpful. Quantitative and qualitative data converge to suggest that the lab curriculum has strengthened students' grasp of important microbiology-related theory, cultivated their scientific interest, and developed their potential and comprehensive abilities. Our student performance and perception data support the continued use of the innovative teaching system. As an extension and complement of the theory course, the oral microbiology lab curriculum appears to improve the quality of oral medicine education and help to

Decreased Stress Levels in Nurses: A Benefit of Quiet Time.

Science.gov (United States)

Riemer, Heather C; Mates, Joanna; Ryan, Linda; Schleder, Bonnie J

2015-09-01

The benefits of quiet time, a therapeutic method of improving the health care environment, have been evaluated in patients, but only a few studies have examined the effects of quiet time on intensive care nurses. To evaluate the effects of implementing quiet time in a medical-surgical intensive care unit on levels of light, noise, and nurses' stress. Quiet time consisted of turning down the unit lights for a designated time. Levels of light, noise, and nurses' stress were measured. Nurses' stress levels were measured by using a 100-point visual analog scale; unit noise, by using a digital sound level meter (model 407736, Extech Instruments); and unit light, by using an illumination light meter (model 615, Huygen Corporation). Measurements were obtained 30 minutes before and 30 minutes, 1 hour, and 2 hours after implementation of quiet time. Analysis of variance and comparisons of means indicated that both light levels and nurses' stress levels were significantly decreased after quiet time (both P quiet time, but the decrease was not significant (P = .08). Use of quiet time resulted in decreased light levels and decreased stress levels among nurses. Quiet time is an easily performed energy-saving intervention to promote a healthy work environment. ©2015 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Capturing early signs of deterioration: the dutch-early-nurse-worry-indicator-score and its value in the Rapid Response System.

Science.gov (United States)

Douw, Gooske; Huisman-de Waal, Getty; van Zanten, Arthur R H; van der Hoeven, Johannes G; Schoonhoven, Lisette

2017-09-01

To determine the predictive value of individual and combined dutch-early-nurse-worry-indicator-score indicators at various Early Warning Score levels, differentiating between Early Warning Scores reaching the trigger threshold to call a rapid response team and Early Warning Score levels not reaching this point. Dutch-early-nurse-worry-indicator-score comprises nine indicators underlying nurses' 'worry' about a patient's condition. All indicators independently show significant association with unplanned intensive care/high dependency unit admission or unexpected mortality. Prediction of this outcome improved by adding the dutch-early-nurse-worry-indicator-score indicators to an Early Warning Score based on vital signs. An observational cohort study was conducted on three surgical wards in a tertiary university-affiliated teaching hospital. Included were surgical, native-speaking, adult patients. Nurses scored presence of 'worry' and/or dutch-early-nurse-worry-indicator-score indicators every shift or when worried. Vital signs were measured according to the prevailing protocol. Unplanned intensive care/high dependency unit admission or unexpected mortality was the composite endpoint. Percentages of 'worry' and dutch-early-nurse-worry-indicator-score indicators were calculated at various Early Warning Score levels in control and event groups. Entering all dutch-early-nurse-worry-indicator-score indicators in a multiple logistic regression analysis, we calculated a weighted score and calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive predicted value and negative predicted value for each possible total score. In 3522 patients, 102 (2·9%) had an unplanned intensive care/high dependency unit admissions (n = 97) or unexpected mortality (n = 5). Patients with such events and only slightly changed vital signs had significantly higher percentages of 'worry' and dutch-early-nurse-worry-indicator-score indicators expressed than patients in the control group. Increasing number

Innovation - A view from the Lab

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The USDA Ag Lab in Peoria helps bridge the gap between agricultural producers and commercial manufacturers. In 2015, the Ag Lab, officially known as the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR), is celebrating 75 years of research in Peoria. T...

Surgical travellers: tapestry to Bayeux.

Science.gov (United States)

Hedley-Whyte, John; Milamed, Debra R

2014-09-01

The planning for surgery in war was revisited in 1937 when Ian Fraser was elected a member of the Surgical Travellers. At their 1938 Surgical Travellers meeting in Vienna, Ian and Eleanor Fraser were evicted from their hotel room by the Nazis. The 1939 meeting in Belfast discussed the organization of surgery and the conduct of Emergency Medical Service Hospitals in the United Kingdom; the vast majority were to be under civilian government and military control. From 1943 lengthy and informative organizational meetings were held at least monthly under the chairmanship of Sir Alexander Hood, KBE, Head of the RAMC. Surgical Consultants, now Major Generals, Brigadiers or Full Colonels in the British and U.S. Armies stationed in the UK, prepared for the invasion of Europe. The allocation of medical, surgical, nursing and auxiliary responsibilities was delineated. Liaison with the RAF and US Army Air Force was close as it was with the proposed leaders, Ulstermen Brooke and Montgomery. Montgomery chose Arthur Porritt as Surgeon in Chief to Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), and Eisenhower, General Albert W. Kenner. Just after D-Day, Porritt met Ian Fraser, who had waded in on Arromanches Beach. The triage and evacuation plans for Allied casualties had been controversial, particularly as regards Landing Ship Tanks (LSTs). The dispute with the Hood-selected surgeons on one side, against medical and surgical deployment of LSTs, and Admiral Ernest King and Winston Churchill on the other, favouring LST use for surgery and evacuation. King and Churchill were correct but total Allied air superiority allowed wide use of many of the Allies' Dakotas; 10,000 DC-3s were eventually in service. Supported by forty Allied combat planes to each Luftwaffe, the dispute about Landing Ship Tank use in about a fortnight became moot. The multifaceted role of the Princess Royal in the Emergency Medical Services of the United Kingdom and her close liaison with the Consultant

Collaborative testing as a learning strategy in nursing education.

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Sandahl, Sheryl S

2010-01-01

A primary goal of nursing education is to prepare nurses to work collaboratively as members of interprofessional health care teams on behalf of patients. Collaborative testing is a collaborative learning strategy used to foster knowledge development, critical thinking in decision making, and group processing skills. This study incorporated a quasi-experimental design with a comparison group to examine the effect of collaborative testing as a learning strategy on student learning and retention of course content as well as group process skills and student perceptions of their learning and anxiety. The setting was a baccalaureate nursing program; the sample consisted of two groups of senior students enrolled in Medical-Surgical Nursing II. Student learning, as measured by unit examination scores, was greater for students taking examinations collaboratively compared to individually. Retention of course content, as measured by final examination scores, was not greater for students taking examinations collaboratively compared to individually. Student perceptions were overwhelmingly positive, with students reporting increased learning as a result of the collaborative testing experiences. Despite the lack of data to support increased retention, collaborative testing may be a learning strategy worth implementing in nursing education. Students reported more positive interactions and collaboration with their peers, skills required by the professional nurse.

Effective and efficient learning in the operating theater with intraoperative video-enhanced surgical procedure training

OpenAIRE

van Det, M.J.; Meijerink, W.J.; Hoff, C.; Middel, B.; Pierie, J.P.

2013-01-01

INtraoperative Video Enhanced Surgical procedure Training (INVEST) is a new training method designed to improve the transition from basic skills training in a skills lab to procedural training in the operating theater. Traditionally, the master-apprentice model (MAM) is used for procedural training in the operating theater, but this model lacks uniformity and efficiency at the beginning of the learning curve. This study was designed to investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of INVEST co...

Anatomy of a defective barrier: sequential glove leak detection in a surgical and dental environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Albin, M S; Bunegin, L; Duke, E S; Ritter, R R; Page, C P

1992-02-01

a) To determine the frequency of perforations in latex surgical gloves before, during, and after surgical and dental procedures; b) to evaluate the topographical distribution of perforations in latex surgical gloves after surgical and dental procedures; and c) to validate methods of testing for latex surgical glove patency. Multitrial tests under in vitro conditions and a prospective sequential patient study using consecutive testing. An outpatient dental clinic at a university dental school, the operating suite in a medical school affiliated with the Veteran's Hospital, and a biomechanics laboratory. Surgeons, scrub nurses, and dental technicians participating in 50 surgical and 50 dental procedures. We collected 679 latex surgical gloves after surgical procedures and tested them for patency by using a water pressure test. We also employed an electronic glove leak detector before donning, after sequential time intervals, and upon termination of 47 surgical (sequential surgical), 50 dental (sequential dental), and in three orthopedic cases where double gloving was used. The electronic glove leak detector was validated by using electronic point-by-point surface probing, fluorescein dye diffusion, as well as detecting glove punctures made with a 27-gauge needle. The random study indicated a leak rate of 33.0% (224 out of 679) in latex surgical gloves; the sequential surgical study demonstrated patency in 203 out of 347 gloves (58.5%); the sequential dental study showed 34 leaks in the 106 gloves used (32.1%); and with double gloving, the leak rate decreased to 25.0% (13 of 52 gloves tested). While the allowable FDA defect rate for unused latex surgical gloves is 1.5%, we noted defect rates in unused gloves of 5.5% in the sequential surgical, 1.9% in the sequential dental, and 4.0% in our electronic glove leak detector validating study. In the sequential surgical study, 52% of the leaks had occurred by 75 mins, and in the sequential dental study, 75% of the leaks

Mapping the nursing care with the NIC for patients in risk for pressure ulcer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Gabriela Silva Pereira

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Objective:To identify the nursing care prescribed for patients in risk for pressure ulcer (PU and to compare those with the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC interventions. Method: Cross mapping study conducted in a university hospital. The sample was composed of 219 adult patients hospitalized in clinical and surgical units. The inclusion criteria were: score ≤ 13 in the Braden Scale and one of the nursing diagnoses, Self-Care deficit syndrome, Impaired physical mobility, Impaired tissue integrity, Impaired skin integrity, Risk for impaired skin integrity. The data were collected retrospectively in a nursing prescription system and statistically analyzed by crossed mapping. Result: It was identified 32 different nursing cares to prevent PU, mapped in 17 different NIC interventions, within them: Skin surveillance, Pressure ulcer prevention and Positioning. Conclusion: The cross mapping showed similarities between the prescribed nursing care and the NIC interventions.

Measurement and classification of heart and lung sounds by using LabView for educational use.

Science.gov (United States)

Altrabsheh, B

2010-01-01

This study presents the design, development and implementation of a simple low-cost method of phonocardiography signal detection. Human heart and lung signals are detected by using a simple microphone through a personal computer; the signals are recorded and analysed using LabView software. Amplitude and frequency analyses are carried out for various phonocardiography pathological cases. Methods for automatic classification of normal and abnormal heart sounds, murmurs and lung sounds are presented. Various cases of heart and lung sound measurement are recorded and analysed. The measurements can be saved for further analysis. The method in this study can be used by doctors as a detection tool aid and may be useful for teaching purposes at medical and nursing schools.

Environment monitoring using LabVIEW

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hawtree, J.

1995-01-01

A system has been developed for electronically recording and monitoring temperature, humidity, and other environmental variables at the Silicon Detector Facility located in Lab D. The data is collected by LabVIEW software, which runs in the background on an Apple Macintosh. The software is completely portable between Macintosh, MS Windows, and Sun platforms. The hardware includes a Macintosh with 8 MB of RAM; an external ADC-1 analog-to-digital converter that uses a serial port; LabVIEW software; temperature sensors; humidity sensors; and other voltage/current sensing devices. ADC values are converted to ASCII strings and entered into files which are read over Ethernet. Advantages include automatic logging, automatic recovery after power interruptions, and the availability of stand-alone applications for other locations with inexpensive software and hardware

AUDIT OF SURGICAL EMERGENCY AT LAHORE GENERAL HOSPITAL.

Science.gov (United States)

Khalid, Sadaf; Bhatti, Afsar Ali; Burhanulhuq

2015-01-01

Audit is a quality improvement process that seeks to improve patient care and outcomes through systematic review of care against explicit criteria and the review of change. Objective of this study was to report the patterns of admissions in our surgical emergency and the comparison of results with the available data. All the patients presented in the surgical emergency of Unit III from April to December 2014. Detail of all surgical patients admitted during the period was recorded from the emergency entry register maintained by the staff nurse. Demographic data, mode of admission, diagnosis and outcomes were recorded on a pro forma. Total number of patients were 11140, out of which 5998 (53.8%) were males and 5142 (46%) were females, mostly were between 18-56 years of age. Emergency surgeries were performed in 650 of our cases whereas the rest of the patients were managed conservatively, treated at minor operation theatre (MOT), referred to their concerned emergencies or discharged. The most common presentation was road traffic accidents followed by trauma, urological emergencies and intestinal obstruction. Overall mortality was estimated as 1.5%. Surgical audit should be made a regular practice to serve as an important and effective tool of accountibilty on clinical outcomes and self evaluation and in improving the quality of our health care system.

Audit of surgical emergency at lahore general hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalid, S.; Bhatti, A.A.; Burhanulhuq, A.

2015-01-01

Audit is a quality improvement process that seeks to improve patient care and outcomes through systematic review of care against explicit criteria and the review of change. Objective of this study was to report the patterns of admissions in our surgical emergency and the comparison of results with the available data Methods: All the patients presented in the surgical emergency of Unit III from April to December 2014. Detail of all surgical patients admitted during the period was recorded from the emergency entry register maintained by the staff nurse. Demographic data mode of admission, diagnosis and outcomes were recorded on proforma. Results: Results: Total number of patients were 11140, out of which 5998 (53.8%) were males and 5142 (46%) were females, mostly were between 18-56 years of age. Emergency surgeries were performed in 650 of our cases whereas the rest of the patients were managed conservatively, treated at minor operation theatre (MOT), referred to their concerned emergencies or discharged. The most common presentation was road traffic accidents followed by trauma, urological emergencies and intestinal obstruction. Overall mortality was estimated as 1.5%. Conclusions: Surgical audit should be made a regular practice to serve as an important and effective tool of accountibilty on clinical outcomes and self evaluation and in improving the quality of our health care system. (author)

Consensus Bundle on Prevention of Surgical Site Infections After Major Gynecologic Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Pellegrini, Joseph E; Toledo, Paloma; Soper, David E; Bradford, William C; Cruz, Deborah A; Levy, Barbara S; Lemieux, Lauren A

Surgical site infections are the most common complications of surgery in the United States. Of surgeries in women of reproductive age, hysterectomy is one of the most frequently performed, second only to cesarean birth. Therefore, prevention of surgical site infections in women undergoing gynecologic surgery is an ideal topic for a patient safety bundle. The primary purpose of this safety bundle is to provide recommendations that can be implemented into any surgical environment in an effort to reduce the incidence of surgical site infection. This bundle was developed by a multidisciplinary team convened by the Council on Patient Safety in Women's Health Care. The bundle is organized into four domains: Readiness, Recognition and Prevention, Response, and Reporting and Systems Learning. In addition to recommendations for practice, each of the domains stresses communication and teamwork between all members of the surgical team. Although the bundle components are designed to be adaptable to work in a variety of clinical settings, standardization within institutions is encouraged. Copyright © 2017 AWHONN, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Experiential Learning of Digital Communication Using LabVIEW

Science.gov (United States)

Zhan, Wei; Porter, Jay R.; Morgan, Joseph A.

2014-01-01

This paper discusses the design and implementation of laboratories and course projects using LabVIEW in an instrumentation course. The pedagogical challenge is to enhance students' learning of digital communication using LabVIEW. LabVIEW was extensively used in the laboratory sessions, which better prepared students for the course projects. Two…

Effects of a pain programme on nurses' psychosocial, physical and relaxation interventions.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Francke, A.L.; Luiken, J.B.; Garssen, B.; Huijer-Abu Saad, H.; Grypdonck, M.

1996-01-01

The effectiveness of a continuing education programme on pain assessment and management was investigated in 106 surgical cancer nurses. It was found that the programme led to a more positive attitude towards physical and relaxation interventions (such as the use of relaxation, distraction and

Utilization of the Nursing Process to Foster Clinical Reasoning During a Simulation Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda Lambie

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Nursing practice includes complex reasoning and multifaceted decision making with minimal standardized guidance in how to evaluate this phenomenon among nursing students. Learning outcomes related to the clinical reasoning process among novice baccalaureate nursing students during a simulation experience were evaluated. Nursing process records were utilized to evaluate and foster the development of clinical reasoning in a high-fidelity medical-surgical simulation experience. Students were unable to describe and process pertinent patient information appropriately prior to the simulation experience. Students’ ability to identify pertinent patient cues and plan appropriate patient care improved following the simulation. The learning activity afforded a structured opportunity to identify cues, prioritize the proper course of nursing interventions, and engage in collaboration among peers. The simulation experience provides faculty insight into the students’ clinical reasoning processes, while providing students with a clear framework for successfully accomplishing learning outcomes.

Baseball Physics: A New Mechanics Lab

Science.gov (United States)

Wagoner, Kasey; Flanagan, Daniel

2018-05-01

The game of baseball provides an interesting laboratory for experimenting with mechanical phenomena (there are many good examples in The Physics Teacher, available on Professor Alan Nathan's website, and discussed in Physics of Baseball & Softball). We have developed a lab, for an introductory-level physics course, that investigates many of these phenomena. The lab uses inexpensive, readily available equipment such as wooden baseball bats, baseballs, and actual Major League Baseball data. By the end of the lab, students have revisited many concepts they learned earlier in the semester and come away with an understanding of how to put seemingly disparate ideas together to analyze a fun sport.

Living Lab voor Informatiemanagement in Agri-Food

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wolfert, J.

2010-01-01

Het Living Lab is een specifieke open innovatie aanpak waarbij in feite het laboratorium naar de praktijk wordt gebracht. het Agri-Food Living lab is een informatiemanagementsysteem specifiek voor de agri-food sector.

Leadership skills for nursing unit managers to decrease intention to leave

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roche MA

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Michael A Roche,1 Christine Duffield,1,2 Sofia Dimitrelis,1 Belinda Frew1 1Centre for Health Services Management, Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, 2Clinical Nursing and Midwifery Research Centre, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia Aim: To examine specific elements of nursing leadership linked to intention to leave, in public acute care hospitals. Background: Nurse turnover is a global issue receiving widespread attention due to prolonged and projected workforce shortages. Nurse management and leadership qualities have been associated with intention to leave and turnover of nurses. The role of the nurse unit managers in the retention of nurses is becoming increasingly important, particularly because of their strong influence on the quality and stability of the work environment. Methods: Data were collected from 62 medical, surgical, and mixed units across eleven public acute care hospitals in three Australian states (September 2008 to August 2010. A total of 1,673 nurses completed a nurse survey that included measures of intention to leave and leadership aspects of the practice environment. Analyses explored specific leadership characteristics that were associated with turnover intent. Results: The role of nursing unit managers was confirmed to be a major factor in nurses’ intention to remain or leave their current workplace. Nurses valued “human” skills more highly than other leadership characteristics, including their manager’s connection with nurses’ concerns, clarity, participation in decisions, and encouragement. Conclusion: Strong leadership qualities in the nursing unit manager have been associated with greater job satisfaction, reduced turnover intention among nursing staff, and improved patient outcomes. Nurse leaders need to be supported in an effort to retain nurses given ongoing workforce issues and to ensure high-quality patient care. Keywords: nurse

Hydrogel Beads: The New Slime Lab?

Science.gov (United States)

Brockway, Debra; Libera, Matthew; Welner, Heidi

2011-01-01

Creating slime fascinates students. Unfortunately, though intrigue is at its peak, the educational aspect of this activity is often minimal. This article describes a chemistry lab that closely relates to the slime lab and allows high school students to explore the concepts of chemical bonding, properties, and replacement reactions. It involves the…

Nursing students’ valuation on their clinical clerkship

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana R. Rodríguez Gonzalo

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To know how the nursing students evaluate the clinical-practical knowledge appraised at their clinical clerkship, measured through the satisfaction with the nursing staff Teaching Skills, the Perceived Support and their Global Satisfaction. Methodology: Cross-section, descriptive study carried out at the Ramon y Cajal Hospital. The target population were the 2008/09 nursing students at their clinical clerkship in the hospital, with a total number of 459 shifts. Questionnaire was self-designed and self-administered. Analyzed variables were the student academic year, the hospital ward and their relation with: 1. Teaching Skills, 2. Perceived Support, 3. General Satisfaction.Results: 314 questionnaires were filled out and returned, which is 69,41% of the total number of questionnaires. Students at the Operating Rooms and at the Paediatric Wards gave statistically significant lower qualifications (p=0,005 and p=0,003 than the Emergencies students to the nursing staff Teaching Skills. Regarding the Perceived Support, statistically significant higher scores were given to the Paediatrics (p=0,002 and the Surgical Wards (0,001 compared to the Operating Rooms staff. Finally, in General Satisfaction the lowest, but non statistically significant, scores were given also to the Operating Rooms (p>0,05.Conclusions: Nursing staff from the Operating Rooms and the Paediatric Wards should ameliorate their teaching skills, and those at the Operating Rooms, also the support given during the students clinical clerkship. The proposed improvement actions suggest that meetings between supervisors, nursing staff and professors in order to discuss the teaching objectives are necessary, as well as informational sessions between students and nursing staff at the wards.

[Correlation Between Nursing Work Environment and Nurse Burnout, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intention in the Western Region of Mainland China].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yu-Meng; Fang, Jin-Bo

2016-02-01

Nurse burnout and low job satisfaction are main reasons that cause nurses to leave their current position. Improving the nursing work environment may reduce the severity of job burnout and of job dissatisfaction and thus decrease the turnover intention of nursing staff. The aim of this study was to explore the correlation between the nursing work environment and the outcome variables of burnout, job satisfaction, and turnover intention in the western region of Mainland China. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. Survey data were collected between February and December 2012 from 1,112 clinical nurses working at 83 medical, surgical, and intensive care units in 20 hospitals across the western region of Mainland China. Multistage sampling was conducted on some of the participants. The research instruments that were used included the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Nurse Job Satisfaction Scale, and the self-developed basic information and turnover intention questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19.0. The level of statistical significance was set at penvironment, collegial nurse-physician relations earned the most favorable mean scores (3.57±0.68; total=4 points), whereas adequacy of staffing and resources earned the lowest (3.21±0.82). Over half of the participants (58.4%) reported experiencing a high level of emotional exhaustion (EE) burnout, 45.2% reported experiencing a high level of depersonalization (DP) burnout, and 24.6% reported experiencing a high level of personal accomplishment (PA) burnout. About 59% of the participants were satisfied with their work and 3.8% reported intention to leave. Participants in self-reported "favorable" work environments were less likely to report high burnout, less likely to report intention to leave, and more likely to report job satisfaction than their peers in self-reported "poor" work

GeoLab: A Geological Workstation for Future Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Cynthia; Calaway, Michael; Bell, Mary Sue; Li, Zheng; Tong, Shuo; Zhong, Ye; Dahiwala, Ravi

2014-01-01

The GeoLab glovebox was, until November 2012, fully integrated into NASA's Deep Space Habitat (DSH) Analog Testbed. The conceptual design for GeoLab came from several sources, including current research instruments (Microgravity Science Glovebox) used on the International Space Station, existing Astromaterials Curation Laboratory hardware and clean room procedures, and mission scenarios developed for earlier programs. GeoLab allowed NASA scientists to test science operations related to contained sample examination during simulated exploration missions. The team demonstrated science operations that enhance theThe GeoLab glovebox was, until November 2012, fully integrated into NASA's Deep Space Habitat (DSH) Analog Testbed. The conceptual design for GeoLab came from several sources, including current research instruments (Microgravity Science Glovebox) used on the International Space Station, existing Astromaterials Curation Laboratory hardware and clean room procedures, and mission scenarios developed for earlier programs. GeoLab allowed NASA scientists to test science operations related to contained sample examination during simulated exploration missions. The team demonstrated science operations that enhance the early scientific returns from future missions and ensure that the best samples are selected for Earth return. The facility was also designed to foster the development of instrument technology. Since 2009, when GeoLab design and construction began, the GeoLab team [a group of scientists from the Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office within the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Directorate at JSC] has progressively developed and reconfigured the GeoLab hardware and software interfaces and developed test objectives, which were to 1) determine requirements and strategies for sample handling and prioritization for geological operations on other planetary surfaces, 2) assess the scientific contribution of selective in-situ sample

CERN Technical Training 2006: LabVIEW Course Sessions (September-December 2006)

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

The following LabVIEW course sessions are currently scheduled in the framework of the CERN Technical Training Programme 2006, and in collaboration with National Instruments (CH): LabVIEW Basics 1 (course in English): 11-13.9.2006 (3 days, only 3 places available) LabVIEW Basics 2 (course in English): 14-15.9.2006 (2 days) LabVIEW: Working efficiently with LabVIEW 8 (course in English): 18.9.2006 (1 day) **NEW COURSE** LabVIEW Application Development (course in English): 13-15.11.2006 (3 days. Pre-requisite: LabVIEW Basics I ans II, or equivalent experience) LabVIEW Advanced Programming (course in English): 16-17.11.2006 (2 days. Pre-requisite: LabVIEW Application Development, or equivalent experience) LabVIEW Base 1 (course in French): 4-6.12.2006 (3 days, only 1 place available) LabVIEW Base 2 (course in French): 7-8.12.2006 (2 days) If you are interested in attending any of the above course sessions, please discuss with your supervisor and/or your DTO, and apply electronically via EDH from the cour...

Virtual Lab for Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PICOVICI, D.

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This article details an experimental system developed to enhance the education and research in the area of wireless networks technologies. The system referred, as Virtual Lab (VL is primarily targeting first time users or users with limited experience in programming and using wireless sensor networks. The VL enables a set of predefined sensor networks to be remotely accessible and controlled for constructive and time-efficient experimentation. In order to facilitate the user's wireless sensor applications, the VL is using three main components: a a Virtual Lab Motes (VLM, representing the wireless sensor, b a Virtual Lab Client (VLC, representing the user's tool to interact with the VLM and c a Virtual Lab Server (VLS representing the software link between the VLM and VLC. The concept has been proven using the moteiv produced Tmote Sky modules. Initial experimental use clearly demonstrates that the VL approach reduces dramatically the learning curve involved in programming and using the associated wireless sensor nodes. In addition the VL allows the user's focus to be directed towards the experiment and not towards the software programming challenges.

Nursing teamwork, staff characteristics, work schedules, and staffing.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalisch, Beatrice J; Lee, Hyunhwa

2009-01-01

This study aimed to explore whether and how staff characteristics, staffing, and scheduling variables are associated with the level of teamwork in nursing staff on acute care hospital patient units. This was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 1,758 nursing staff members from two different hospitals on 38 patient care units who completed the Nursing Teamwork Survey in 2008. This study focused on nursing teams who are stationed on a particular patient care unit (as opposed to visitors to the units). The return rate was 56.9%. The sample was made up of 77.4% nurses (registered nurses and licensed practical nurses), 11.9% assistive personnel, and 7.9% unit secretaries. Teamwork varied by unit and service type, with the highest scores occurring in pediatrics and maternity and the lowest scores on the medical-surgical and emergency units. Staff with less than 6 months of experience, those working 8- or 10-hour shifts (as opposed to 12 hours or a combination of 8 and 12 hours), part-time staff (as opposed to full time), and those working on night shift had higher teamwork scores. The higher teamwork scores were also associated with no or little overtime. The higher perception of the adequacy of staffing and the fewer patients cared for on a previous shift, the higher the teamwork scores. There is a relationship between selected staff characteristics, aspects of work schedules, staffing, and teamwork. Nursing staff want to work where teamwork is high, and perceptions of good staffing lead to higher teamwork. Higher teamwork scores correlated with those who worked less overtime.

Nurses' attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention in Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Aslan, Arzu; Yavuz van Giersbergen, Meryem

2016-02-01

Pressure ulcers remain a major problem in healthcare system. Pressure ulcer incidence is widely accepted as an indicator for the quality of care. Positive attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention have positive impacts on preventive care. The aim of this study was to identify nurses' attitude towards pressure ulcer prevention. The study design was descriptive. The study was carried out in a university hospital in Izmir, Turkey. The study population consisted of 660 nurses who work in medical and surgical clinics and intensive care units. The study sample consisted of 426 nurses who agreed to participate. Attitude towards Pressure Ulcer Prevention Instrument was used in order to evaluate nurses' attitudes. Written permissions for ethical considerations and Attitude towards Pressure Ulcer Prevention Instrument permission were obtained. Data were collected between June and July 2014. The statistics program SPSS 18 packaged software was used in the analyses of data. The average age of the nurses who took part in the study was 31.86 ± 7.09 years and the average work experience was 8.88 ± 7.41 years; 36.9% (n: 157) were working in intensive care units. The nurses' average score on the Attitude towards Pressure Ulcer Prevention Instrument was 43.74 ± 4.29 (84.12%). It was seen that the attitudes of the nurses towards the prevention of pressure ulcers was positive. To read guidelines and training time about pressure ulcer prevention affect positively attitudes towards the prevention of pressure ulcers. Copyright © 2015 Tissue Viability Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Magnetic Viscous Drag for Friction Labs

Science.gov (United States)

Gaffney, Chris; Catching, Adam

2016-01-01

The typical friction lab performed in introductory mechanics courses is usually not the favorite of either the student or the instructor. The measurements are not all that easy to make, and reproducibility is usually a troublesome issue. This paper describes the augmentation of such a friction lab with a study of the viscous drag on a magnet…

Nurse-Patient Communication Interactions in the Intensive Care Unit

Science.gov (United States)

Happ, Mary Beth; Garrett, Kathryn; Thomas, Dana DiVirgilio; Tate, Judith; George, Elisabeth; Houze, Martin; Radtke, Jill; Sereika, Susan

2011-01-01

Background The inability to speak during critical illness is a source of distress for patients, yet nurse-patient communication in the intensive care unit has not been systematically studied or measured. Objectives To describe communication interactions, methods, and assistive techniques between nurses and nonspeaking critically ill patients in the intensive care unit. Methods Descriptive observational study of the nonintervention/usual care cohort from a larger clinical trial of nurse-patient communication in a medical and a cardiothoracic surgical intensive care unit. Videorecorded interactions between 10 randomly selected nurses (5 per unit) and a convenience sample of 30 critically ill adults (15 per unit) who were awake, responsive, and unable to speak because of respiratory tract intubation were rated for frequency, success, quality, communication methods, and assistive communication techniques. Patients self-rated ease of communication. Results Nurses initiated most (86.2%) of the communication exchanges. Mean rate of completed communication exchange was 2.62 exchanges per minute. The most common positive nurse act was making eye contact with the patient. Although communication exchanges were generally (>70%) successful, more than one-third (37.7%) of communications about pain were unsuccessful. Patients rated 40% of the communication sessions with nurses as somewhat difficult to extremely difficult. Assistive communication strategies were uncommon, with little to no use of assistive communication materials (eg, writing supplies, alphabet or word boards). Conclusions Study results highlight specific areas for improvement in communication between nurses and nonspeaking patients in the intensive care unit, particularly in communication about pain and in the use of assistive communication strategies and communication materials. PMID:21362711

Automatic creation of LabVIEW network shared variables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kluge, T.; Schroeder, H.

2012-01-01

We are in the process of preparing the LabVIEW controlled system components of our Solid State Direct Drive experiments for the integration into a Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) or distributed control system. The predetermined route to this is the generation of LabVIEW network shared variables that can easily be exported by LabVIEW to the SCADA system using OLE for Process Control (OPC) or other means. Many repetitive tasks are associated with the creation of the shared variables and the required code. We are introducing an efficient and inexpensive procedure that automatically creates shared variable libraries and sets default values for the shared variables. Furthermore, LabVIEW controls are created that are used for managing the connection to the shared variable inside the LabVIEW code operating on the shared variables. The procedure takes as input an XML spread-sheet defining the required input. The procedure utilizes XSLT and LabVIEW scripting. In a later state of the project the code generation can be expanded to also create code and configuration files that will become necessary in order to access the shared variables from the SCADA system of choice. (authors)

Microstructural characterization of LaB6-ZrB2 eutectic composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Shengchang; Wei, W.J.; Zhang Litong

2003-01-01

Detail microstructure of LaB 6 -ZrB 2 composites has been characterized by TEM and HRTEM. The directionally solidified ZrB 2 fibers in LaB 6 matrix near LaB 6 -ZrB 2 eutectics present at least three growing relationship systems. In addition to previous report of [001]LaB 6 / [0001]ZrB 2 relationship, [0 anti 11]LaB 6 / [0001]ZrB 2 and [1 anti 20]LaB 6 / [0001]ZrB 2 . were identified. Different with [001]LaB 6 / [0001]ZrB 2 system, the interfaces of [0 anti 11]LaB 6 / [0001]ZrB 2 and [1 anti 20]LaB 6 / [0001]ZrB 2 . show non-coherent and clean interfaces. There is neither glassy phase nor reaction products found at the interfaces (orig.)

Interactive reconstructions of cranial 3D implants under MeVisLab as an alternative to commercial planning software.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Egger

Full Text Available In this publication, the interactive planning and reconstruction of cranial 3D Implants under the medical prototyping platform MeVisLab as alternative to commercial planning software is introduced. In doing so, a MeVisLab prototype consisting of a customized data-flow network and an own C++ module was set up. As a result, the Computer-Aided Design (CAD software prototype guides a user through the whole workflow to generate an implant. Therefore, the workflow begins with loading and mirroring the patients head for an initial curvature of the implant. Then, the user can perform an additional Laplacian smoothing, followed by a Delaunay triangulation. The result is an aesthetic looking and well-fitting 3D implant, which can be stored in a CAD file format, e.g. STereoLithography (STL, for 3D printing. The 3D printed implant can finally be used for an in-depth pre-surgical evaluation or even as a real implant for the patient. In a nutshell, our research and development shows that a customized MeVisLab software prototype can be used as an alternative to complex commercial planning software, which may also not be available in every clinic. Finally, not to conform ourselves directly to available commercial software and look for other options that might improve the workflow.

Interactive reconstructions of cranial 3D implants under MeVisLab as an alternative to commercial planning software

Science.gov (United States)

Egger, Jan; Gall, Markus; Tax, Alois; Ücal, Muammer; Zefferer, Ulrike; Li, Xing; von Campe, Gord; Schäfer, Ute; Schmalstieg, Dieter; Chen, Xiaojun

2017-01-01

In this publication, the interactive planning and reconstruction of cranial 3D Implants under the medical prototyping platform MeVisLab as alternative to commercial planning software is introduced. In doing so, a MeVisLab prototype consisting of a customized data-flow network and an own C++ module was set up. As a result, the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software prototype guides a user through the whole workflow to generate an implant. Therefore, the workflow begins with loading and mirroring the patients head for an initial curvature of the implant. Then, the user can perform an additional Laplacian smoothing, followed by a Delaunay triangulation. The result is an aesthetic looking and well-fitting 3D implant, which can be stored in a CAD file format, e.g. STereoLithography (STL), for 3D printing. The 3D printed implant can finally be used for an in-depth pre-surgical evaluation or even as a real implant for the patient. In a nutshell, our research and development shows that a customized MeVisLab software prototype can be used as an alternative to complex commercial planning software, which may also not be available in every clinic. Finally, not to conform ourselves directly to available commercial software and look for other options that might improve the workflow. PMID:28264062

Corbally House Nursing Home, Mill Road, Corbally, Limerick.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Sermeus, Walter

2011-04-18

Abstract Background Current human resources planning models in nursing are unreliable and ineffective as they consider volumes, but ignore effects on quality in patient care. The project RN4CAST aims innovative forecasting methods by addressing not only volumes, but quality of nursing staff as well as quality of patient care. Methods\\/Design A multi-country, multilevel cross-sectional design is used to obtain important unmeasured factors in forecasting models including how features of hospital work environments impact on nurse recruitment, retention and patient outcomes. In each of the 12 participating European countries, at least 30 general acute hospitals were sampled. Data are gathered via four data sources (nurse, patient and organizational surveys and via routinely collected hospital discharge data). All staff nurses of a random selection of medical and surgical units (at least 2 per hospital) were surveyed. The nurse survey has the purpose to measure the experiences of nurses on their job (e.g. job satisfaction, burnout) as well as to allow the creation of aggregated hospital level measures of staffing and working conditions. The patient survey is organized in a sub-sample of countries and hospitals using a one-day census approach to measure the patient experiences with medical and nursing care. In addition to conducting a patient survey, hospital discharge abstract datasets will be used to calculate additional patient outcomes like in-hospital mortality and failure-to-rescue. Via the organizational survey, information about the organizational profile (e.g. bed size, types of technology available, teaching status) is collected to control the analyses for institutional differences. This information will be linked via common identifiers and the relationships between different aspects of the nursing work environment and patient and nurse outcomes will be studied by using multilevel regression type analyses. These results will be used to simulate the impact of

Nurse staffing and education and hospital mortality in nine European countries: a retrospective observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Aiken, Linda H; Sloane, Douglas M; Bruyneel, Luk; Van den Heede, Koen; Griffiths, Peter; Busse, Reinhard; Diomidous, Marianna; Kinnunen, Juha; Kózka, Maria; Lesaffre, Emmanuel; McHugh, Matthew D; Moreno-Casbas, M T; Rafferty, Anne Marie; Schwendimann, Rene; Scott, P Anne; Tishelman, Carol; van Achterberg, Theo; Sermeus, Walter

2014-05-24

Austerity measures and health-system redesign to minimise hospital expenditures risk adversely affecting patient outcomes. The RN4CAST study was designed to inform decision making about nursing, one of the largest components of hospital operating expenses. We aimed to assess whether differences in patient to nurse ratios and nurses' educational qualifications in nine of the 12 RN4CAST countries with similar patient discharge data were associated with variation in hospital mortality after common surgical procedures. For this observational study, we obtained discharge data for 422,730 patients aged 50 years or older who underwent common surgeries in 300 hospitals in nine European countries. Administrative data were coded with a standard protocol (variants of the ninth or tenth versions of the International Classification of Diseases) to estimate 30 day in-hospital mortality by use of risk adjustment measures including age, sex, admission type, 43 dummy variables suggesting surgery type, and 17 dummy variables suggesting comorbidities present at admission. Surveys of 26,516 nurses practising in study hospitals were used to measure nurse staffing and nurse education. We used generalised estimating equations to assess the effects of nursing factors on the likelihood of surgical patients dying within 30 days of admission, before and after adjusting for other hospital and patient characteristics. An increase in a nurses' workload by one patient increased the likelihood of an inpatient dying within 30 days of admission by 7% (odds ratio 1·068, 95% CI 1·031-1·106), and every 10% increase in bachelor's degree nurses was associated with a decrease in this likelihood by 7% (0·929, 0·886-0·973). These associations imply that patients in hospitals in which 60% of nurses had bachelor's degrees and nurses cared for an average of six patients would have almost 30% lower mortality than patients in hospitals in which only 30% of nurses had bachelor's degrees and nurses cared

Nurses' self-reported knowledge about and attitude to nutrition - before and after a training programme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjerrum, Merete; Tewes, Marianne; Pedersen, Preben Ulrich

2012-01-01

the patients' hospital stay. But putting evidence of nutritional topics into practice is challenging and nutrition care seems to be a low priority nursing task. Aim: to investigate the impact of an educational programme targeted nurses with special responsibilities for nutrition on the nurses' knowledge...... of nutrition, and whether it enhanced their attitude to their responsibility for nutrition care in relation to assessment and management. Methods: An intervention study was conducted with 16 nurses from either medical or surgical wards who participated in a 12-month educational programme. These nurses were...... divided into two groups and interviewed twice before and after the intervention. Focus group interviews were used to gather data about their daily clinical work in relation to nutrition.  Deductive content analysis was used to analyse the described data. Results: the educational programme did have...

Becoming nursing manager in the nested and complex border of caring and management dimensions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela Marcellino de Melo Lanzoni

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The study aimed to understand the experience of managing medical-surgical inpatient units in a general hospital, highlighting the meaning of being a nursing manager, with the intention to qualify and instrument nurses for caring management practice in this scenario. This is a Grounded Theory research, conducted from August 2010 to August 2012, through interviews with 19 participants from the nursing team, distributed in 3 sampling groups. From the analysis emerged the phenomenon “Becoming a nursing manager in the nested and complex border of caring and management dimension”. To exercise caring management, nurses use management instruments as essential tools, they become capable theoretically and enhances, based on his experience, professional skills and personal characteristics.  We conclude that competency mobilization beyond the clinical aspect is needed; allowing the use of management instruments to make caring viable and to improve relational and interactive processes.

A Prospective Randomized Study Comparing Mini-surgical Percutaneous Dilatational Tracheostomy With Surgical and Classical Percutaneous Tracheostomy

Science.gov (United States)

Hashemian, Seyed Mohammad-Reza; Digaleh, Hadi

2015-01-01

Abstract Although percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) is more accessible and less time-demanding compared with surgical tracheostomy (ST), it has its own limitations. We introduced a modified PDT technique and brought some surgical knowledge to the bedside to overcome some standard percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy relative contraindications. PDT uses a blind route of tracheal access that usually requires perioperational imaging guidance to protect accidental injuries. Moreover, there are contraindications in certain cases, limiting widespread PDT application. Different PDT modifications and devices have been represented to address the problem; however, these approaches are not generally popular among professionals due to limited accessibility and/or other reasons. We prospectively analyzed the double-blinded trial, patient and nurse head evaluating the complications, and collected data from 360 patients who underwent PDT, ST, or our modified mini-surgical PDT (msPDT, Hashemian method). These patients were divided into 2 groups—contraindicated to PDT—and randomization was done for msPDT or PDT in PDT-indicated group and msPDT or ST for PDT-contraindicated patients. The cases were compared in terms of pre and postoperational complications. Data analysis demonstrated that the mean value of procedural time was significantly lower in the msPDT group, either compared with the standard PDT or the ST group. Paratracheal insertion, intraprocedural hypoxemia, and bleeding were also significantly lower in the msPDT group compared with the standard PDT group. Other complications were not significantly different between msPDT and ST patients. The introduced msPDT represented a semiopen incision, other than blinded PDT route of tracheal access that allowed proceduralist to withdraw bronchoscopy and reduced the total time of procedure. Interestingly, the most important improvement was performing msPDT on PDT-contraindicated patients with the complication rate

Comparison of nurse staffing based on changes in unit-level workload associated with patient churn.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Ronda G; Bobay, Kathleen L; Jolly, Nicholas A; Suby, Chrysmarie

2015-04-01

This analysis compares the staffing implications of three measures of nurse staffing requirements: midnight census, turnover adjustment based on length of stay, and volume of admissions, discharges and transfers. Midnight census is commonly used to determine registered nurse staffing. Unit-level workload increases with patient churn, the movement of patients in and out of the nursing unit. Failure to account for patient churn in staffing allocation impacts nurse workload and may result in adverse patient outcomes. Secondary data analysis of unit-level data from 32 hospitals, where nursing units are grouped into three unit-type categories: intensive care, intermediate care, and medical surgical. Midnight census alone did not account adequately for registered nurse workload intensity associated with patient churn. On average, units were staffed with a mixture of registered nurses and other nursing staff not always to budgeted levels. Adjusting for patient churn increases nurse staffing across all units and shifts. Use of the discharges and transfers adjustment to midnight census may be useful in adjusting RN staffing on a shift basis to account for patient churn. Nurse managers should understand the implications to nurse workload of various methods of calculating registered nurse staff requirements. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The power of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program--achieving a zero pneumonia rate in general surgery patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuchshuber, Pascal R; Greif, William; Tidwell, Chantal R; Klemm, Michael S; Frydel, Cheryl; Wali, Abdul; Rosas, Efren; Clopp, Molly P

2012-01-01

The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) of the American College of Surgeons provides risk-adjusted surgical outcome measures for participating hospitals that can be used for performance improvement of surgical mortality and morbidity. A surgical clinical nurse reviewer collects 135 clinical variables including preoperative risk factors, intraoperative variables, and 30-day postoperative mortality and morbidity outcomes for patients undergoing major surgical procedures. A report on mortality and complications is prepared twice a year. This article summarizes briefly the history of NSQIP and how its report on surgical outcomes can be used for performance improvement within a hospital system. In particular, it describes how to drive performance improvement with NSQIP data using the example of postoperative respiratory complications--a major factor of postoperative mortality. In addition, this article explains the benefit of a collaborative of several participating NSQIP hospitals and describes how to develop a "playbook" on the basis of an outcome improvement project.

Flexible HVAC System for Lab or Classroom.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedan, Jonathan

2001-01-01

Discusses an effort to design a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system flexible enough to accommodate an easy conversion of classrooms to laboratories and dry labs to wet labs. The design's energy efficiency and operations and maintenance are examined. (GR)

Preparing nursing students to be competent for future professional practice: applying the team-based learning-teaching strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Ching-Yu; Liou, Shwu-Ru; Hsu, Tsui-Hua; Pan, Mei-Yu; Liu, Hsiu-Chen; Chang, Chia-Hao

2014-01-01

Team-based learning (TBL) has been used for many years in business and science, but little research has focused on its application in nursing education. This quasi-experimental study was to apply the TBL in four nursing courses at a university in Taiwan and to evaluate its effect on students' learning outcomes and behaviors. Adult health nursing, maternal-child nursing, community health nursing, and medical-surgical nursing were the 4 designated courses for this study. Three hundred ninety-nine students in 2-year registered nurse-bachelor of science in nursing, and regular 4-year nursing programs enrolled in the designated courses were contacted. Three hundred eighty-seven students agreed to participate in the data collection. Results showed that the TBL significantly improved the learning behaviors of students in both programs, including class engagement (p students' academic performance. The study revealed that TBL generally improves students' learning behaviors and academic performance. These learning behaviors are important and beneficial for the students' future professional development. The TBL method can be considered for broader application in nursing education. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Dynamics and Facilitation of a Living Lab Construct

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brønnum, Louise; Nielsen, Louise Møller

2013-01-01

During the last decade Living Labs have established itself as an attractive innovation approach. Living Labs are an interesting construction because it offers a collaboration platform for dynamic interaction with users in all the project phases. Living Labs frame knowledge about actors in their o...

Army Reserve Component Personal Empowerment Program #2t

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-01

rescheduling of appointments • Retrieved lab reports from hospital lab for 161 participants 8 • Identified abnormal values and sent copies to campus nurse ...recommendation of SHU Scientific Committee • Collaborated with SHU nurse to establish procedure for abnormal lab values • Implemented suggested...results were encouraged to discuss further with nurse as per protocol. • Researched literature concerning vitamin D to better understand lab results

The cutting-edge training modalities and educational platforms for accredited surgical training: A systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonello Forgione

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Historically, operating room (OR has always been considered as a stand-alone trusted platform for surgical education and training.However, concerns about financial constraints, quality control, and patient safety have urged the surgical educators to develop more cost-effective, surgical educational platforms that can be employed outside the OR. Furthermore, trained surgeons need to regularly update their surgical skills to keep abreast with the emerging surgical technologies. This research aimed to explore the value of currently available modern surgical tools that can be used outside the OR and also elaborates the existing laparoscopic surgical training programs in world-class centers across the globe with a view to formulate a blended and unified structured surgical training program. Materials and Methods: Several data sources were searched using MeSH terms “Laparoscopic surgery” and “Surgical training” and “Surgical curriculum” and “fundamentals of endoscopic surgery” and “fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery” and “Telementoring” and “Box trainer.” The eligibility criteria used in data extraction searched for original and review articles and by excluding the editorial articles, short communications, conference proceedings, personal view, and commentaries. Data synthesis and data analysis were done by reviewing the initially retrieved 211 articles. Irrelevant and duplicate and redundant articles were excluded from the study. Results: Finally, 12 articles were selected for this systematic review. Data results showed that a myriad of cutting-edge technical innovations have provided modern surgical training tools such as the simulation-based mechanical and virtual reality simulators, animal and cadaveric labs, telementoring, telerobotic-assisted surgery, and video games. Surgical simulators allow the trainees to acquire surgical skills in a tension-free environment without supervision or time constraints

Assessing Usage and Maximizing Finance Lab Impact: A Case Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Noguera, Magdy; Budden, Michael Craig; Silva, Alberto

2011-01-01

This paper reports the results of a survey conducted to assess students' usage and perceptions of a finance lab. Finance labs differ from simple computer labs as they typically contain data boards, streaming market quotes, terminals and software that allow for real-time financial analyses. Despite the fact that such labs represent significant and…

Comparison of homecare costs of local wound care in surgical patients randomized between occlusive and gauze dressings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ubbink, Dirk Th; Vermeulen, Hester; van Hattem, Jarne

2008-01-01

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To study the material and nursing costs and outcome of wound care at home comparing two dressing groups (occlusive vs. gauze-based) in surgical patients after hospital dismissal. BACKGROUND: The large variety in dressing materials and lack of convincing evidence make the choice

[Nursing Care Experiences of Periwound Moisture-Associated Dermatitis After Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney Transplantation].

Science.gov (United States)

Yeh, Pei-Ying; Chen, Hsiao-Ping; Wu, Jing-Yi

2018-04-01

Simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplantation is the primary surgical treatment for type I diabetes mellitus with end-stage renal disease. However, this transplant surgery has a high-risk of surgical complications, including duodenal anastomotic leakage, which may lead to pancreas transplantation failure if the leakage worsens. This case report describes a patient who suffered from duodenal anastomotic leakage after SPK transplantation. The digestive enzymes eroded the wound and skin around the wound, resulting in periwound moisture-associated dermatitis. During the period of nursing care, the wound-care intervention was determined by interdisciplinary cooperation. In our case report, the periwound moisture-associated dermatitis healed completely under inter-hospital care. In clinical nursing practice, periwound moisture-associated dermatitis should be cared in combination with macerated wounds. We suggest the following: (1) control the moisture source; (2) use advanced dressings as the primary dressing with sterile gauze as a secondary dressing and silver antimicrobial dressings for infected wounds; (3) consider using negative pressure wound therapy for complicated chronic wounds; and (4) use a pH-neutral skin cleanser with non-woven gauze to clean the periwound skin and keep the skin clean and dry. Finally, we suggest isolating and protecting the skin with No Sting Barrier Film and a hydrocolloid dressing. We hope this nursing care experiences serves as a reference for the nursing care of periwound moisture-associated dermatitis resulting from duodenal anastomotic leakage during / after SPK transplantation.

Innovative Educational Practice: Using Virtual Labs in the Secondary Classroom

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcel Satsky Kerr, PhD

2004-07-01

Full Text Available Two studies investigated the effectiveness of teaching science labs online to secondary students. Study 1 compared achievement among students instructed using hands-on Chemistry labs versus those instructed using virtual Chemistry labs (eLabs. Study 2 compared the same groups of students again while both teachers instructed using hands-on Chemistry labs to determine whether teacher or student characteristics may have affected Study 1’s findings. Participants were high school Chemistry students from a Central Texas Independent School District. Results indicated that: students learn science effectively online, schools may experience cost savings from delivering labs online, and students gain valuable technology skills needed later in college and in the workplace.

Designing virtual science labs for the Islamic Academy of Delaware

Science.gov (United States)

AlZahrani, Nada Saeed

Science education is a basic part of the curriculum in modern day classrooms. Instructional approaches to science education can take many forms but hands-on application of theory via science laboratory activities for the learner is common. Not all schools have the resources to provide the laboratory environment necessary for hands-on application of science theory. Some settings rely on technology to provide a virtual laboratory experience instead. The Islamic Academy of Delaware (IAD), a typical community-based organization, was formed to support and meet the essential needs of the Muslim community of Delaware. IAD provides science education as part of the overall curriculum, but cannot provide laboratory activities as part of the science program. Virtual science labs may be a successful model for students at IAD. This study was conducted to investigate the potential of implementing virtual science labs at IAD and to develop an implementation plan for integrating the virtual labs. The literature has shown us that the lab experience is a valuable part of the science curriculum (NBPTS, 2013, Wolf, 2010, National Research Council, 1997 & 2012). The National Research Council (2012) stressed the inclusion of laboratory investigations in the science curriculum. The literature also supports the use of virtual labs as an effective substitute for classroom labs (Babateen, 2011; National Science Teachers Association, 2008). Pyatt and Simms (2011) found evidence that virtual labs were as good, if not better than physical lab experiences in some respects. Although not identical in experience to a live lab, the virtual lab has been shown to provide the student with an effective laboratory experience in situations where the live lab is not possible. The results of the IAD teacher interviews indicate that the teachers are well-prepared for, and supportive of, the implementation of virtual labs to improve the science education curriculum. The investigator believes that with the

Biosimulation of inflammation and healing in surgically injured vocal folds.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Nicole Y K; Vodovotz, Yoram; Hebda, Patricia A; Abbott, Katherine Verdolini

2010-06-01

The pathogenesis of vocal fold scarring is complex and remains to be deciphered. The current study is part of research endeavors aimed at applying systems biology approaches to address the complex biological processes involved in the pathogenesis of vocal fold scarring and other lesions affecting the larynx. We developed a computational agent-based model (ABM) to quantitatively characterize multiple cellular and molecular interactions involved in inflammation and healing in vocal fold mucosa after surgical trauma. The ABM was calibrated with empirical data on inflammatory mediators (eg, tumor necrosis factor) and extracellular matrix components (eg, hyaluronan) from published studies on surgical vocal fold injury in the rat population. The simulation results reproduced and predicted trajectories seen in the empirical data from the animals. Moreover, the ABM studies suggested that hyaluronan fragments might be the clinical surrogate of tissue damage, a key variable that in these simulations both is enhanced by and further induces inflammation. A relatively simple ABM such as the one reported in this study can provide new understanding of laryngeal wound healing and generate working hypotheses for further wet-lab studies.

Communication and Culture in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit: Boundary Production and the Improvement of Patient Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Conn, Lesley Gotlib; Haas, Barbara; Cuthbertson, Brian H; Amaral, Andre C; Coburn, Natalie; Nathens, Avery B

2016-06-01

This ethnography explores communication around critically ill surgical patients in three surgical intensive care units (ICUs) in Canada. A boundary framework is used to articulate how surgeons', intensivists', and nurses' communication practices shape and are shaped by their respective disciplinary perspectives and experiences. Through 50 hours of observations and 43 interviews, these health care providers are found to engage in seven communication behaviors that either mitigate or magnify three contested symbolic boundaries: expertise, patient ownership, and decisional authority. Where these boundaries are successfully mitigated, experiences of collaborative, high-quality patient care are produced; by contrast, boundary magnification produces conflict and perceptions of unsafe patient care. Findings reveal that high quality and safe patient care are produced through complex social and cultural interactions among surgeons, intensivists, and nurses that are also expressions of knowledge and power. This enhances our understanding of why current quality improvement efforts targeting communication may be ineffective. © The Author(s) 2015.

Nurse Practitioner-Physician Comanagement: A Theoretical Model to Alleviate Primary Care Strain.

Science.gov (United States)

Norful, Allison A; de Jacq, Krystyna; Carlino, Richard; Poghosyan, Lusine

2018-05-01

Various models of care delivery have been investigated to meet the increasing demands in primary care. One proposed model is comanagement of patients by more than 1 primary care clinician. Comanagement has been investigated in acute care with surgical teams and in outpatient settings with primary care physicians and specialists. Because nurse practitioners are increasingly managing patient care as independent clinicians, our study objective was to propose a model of nurse practitioner-physician comanagement. We conducted a literature search using the following key words: comanagement; primary care; nurse practitioner OR advanced practice nurse. From 156 studies, we extracted information about nurse practitioner-physician comanagement antecedents, attributes, and consequences. A systematic review of the findings helped determine effects of nurse practitioner-physician comanagement on patient care. Then, we performed 26 interviews with nurse practitioners and physicians to obtain their perspectives on nurse practitioner-physician comanagement. Results were compiled to create our conceptual nurse practitioner-physician comanagement model. Our model of nurse practitioner-physician comanagement has 3 elements: effective communication; mutual respect and trust; and clinical alignment/shared philosophy of care. Interviews indicated that successful comanagement can alleviate individual workload, prevent burnout, improve patient care quality, and lead to increased patient access to care. Legal and organizational barriers, however, inhibit the ability of nurse practitioners to practice autonomously or with equal care management resources as primary care physicians. Future research should focus on developing instruments to measure and further assess nurse practitioner-physician comanagement in the primary care practice setting. © 2018 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

Using lab notebooks to examine students' engagement in modeling in an upper-division electronics lab course

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley, Jacob T.; Su, Weifeng; Lewandowski, H. J.

2017-12-01

We demonstrate how students' use of modeling can be examined and assessed using student notebooks collected from an upper-division electronics lab course. The use of models is a ubiquitous practice in undergraduate physics education, but the process of constructing, testing, and refining these models is much less common. We focus our attention on a lab course that has been transformed to engage students in this modeling process during lab activities. The design of the lab activities was guided by a framework that captures the different components of model-based reasoning, called the Modeling Framework for Experimental Physics. We demonstrate how this framework can be used to assess students' written work and to identify how students' model-based reasoning differed from activity to activity. Broadly speaking, we were able to identify the different steps of students' model-based reasoning and assess the completeness of their reasoning. Varying degrees of scaffolding present across the activities had an impact on how thoroughly students would engage in the full modeling process, with more scaffolded activities resulting in more thorough engagement with the process. Finally, we identified that the step in the process with which students had the most difficulty was the comparison between their interpreted data and their model prediction. Students did not use sufficiently sophisticated criteria in evaluating such comparisons, which had the effect of halting the modeling process. This may indicate that in order to engage students further in using model-based reasoning during lab activities, the instructor needs to provide further scaffolding for how students make these types of experimental comparisons. This is an important design consideration for other such courses attempting to incorporate modeling as a learning goal.

Cassandra - WP400 - final report of living lab 2

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Engler, M.; Klievink, A.J.

2014-01-01

This CASSANDRA LL2 final deliverable contains all information regarding the CASSANDRA Living Lab Europe – USA via Bremerhaven including information from two intermediate reports (CASSANDRA D4.21 and D4.22) about the very same Living Lab handed in during runtime of the Living Lab. CASSANDRA Living

Comunicación USB entre aplicaciones desarrolladas en LabVIEW y microcontroladores de Silicon Labs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julio César Herrera Benítez

2013-06-01

Full Text Available El presente artículo trata sobre la utilización de LabVIEW para establecer comunicación USB con microcontroladores de la familia 8051 de Silicon Laboratories, utilizando un driver desarrollado por dicha compañía. En el documento se incluye una descripción de este driver, así como de las funciones principales que permiten el manejo del mismo, las cuales se encuentran en una biblioteca de enlace dinámico. El artículo contiene además una metodología básica para el uso de estas funciones y una explicación detallada a través de un ejemplo, donde se ilustra como cargar y configurar las mismas con el ambiente de desarrollo LabVIEW. Finalmente se muestran dos ejemplos de la utilización del driver a partir de una biblioteca de funciones USB creada en LabVIEW para la comunicación con un microcontrolador.

USNA DIGITAL FORENSICS LAB

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Federal Laboratory Consortium — To enable Digital Forensics and Computer Security research and educational opportunities across majors and departments. Lab MissionEstablish and maintain a Digital...

Nursing Performance and Mobile Phone Use: Are Nurses Aware of Their Performance Decrements?

Science.gov (United States)

McBride, Deborah; LeVasseur, Sandra A; Li, Dongmei

2015-04-23

Prior research has documented the effect of concurrent mobile phone use on medical care. This study examined the extent of hospital registered nurses' awareness of their mobile-phone-associated performance decrements. The objective of this study was to compare self-reported performance with reported observed performance of others with respect to mobile phone use by hospital registered nurses. In March 2014, a previously validated survey was emailed to the 10,978 members of the Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses. The responses were analyzed using a two-proportion z test (alpha=.05, two-tailed) to examine whether self-reported and observed rates of error were significantly different. All possible demographic and employment confounders which could potentially contribute to self-reported and observed performance errors were tested for significance. Of the 950 respondents, 825 (8.68%, 825/950) met the inclusion criteria for analysis. The representativeness of the sample relative to the US nursing workforce was assessed using a two-proportion z test. This indicated that sex and location of primary place of employment (urban/rural) were represented appropriately in the study sample. Respondents in the age groups 55 years old were overrepresented. Whites, American Indians/Alaskan natives, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders were underrepresented, while Hispanic and multiple/other ethnicities were overrepresented. It was decided to report the unweighted, rather than the weighted survey data, with the recognition that the results, while valuable, may not be generalizable to the entire US registered nursing workforce. A significant difference was found between registered nurses' self-reported and observed rates of errors associated with concurrent mobile phone use in following three categories (1) work performance (z=-26.6142, Pmobile phone use by nurses at work was a serious distraction; always (13%, 107/825), often (29.6%, 244/825), sometimes (44.6%, 368/825), rarely

Pressure Injury Knowledge in Critical Care Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Donna M; Neelon, Lisa; Kish-Smith, Kathleen; Whitney, Laura; Burant, Christopher J

The purpose of this study was to identify pressure injury knowledge in critical care nurses related to prevention and staging following multimodal education initiatives. Postintervention descriptive study. The sample comprised 32 RNs employed in medical intensive care/coronary intensive care or surgical intensive care units. The study setting was a 237-bed Veterans Affairs acute care hospital in the Midwestern United States. Critical care RNs were asked to participate in this project over a 3-week period following a multimodal 2-year education initiative. Nurses completed the paper version of the 72-item Pieper-Zulkowski Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Test (PZ-PUKT) to determine pressure injury knowledge level. Calculated mean cumulative scores and subscores for items related to prevention and staging, respectively. Pearson correlations were used to examine associations between nursing staff characteristics and the PZ-PUKT prevention and staging scores. The cumulative score on the PZ-PUKT was 51.66 (72%); nurses with 5 to 10 years' experience had a higher mean score than nurses with experiences of 20 years or more (mean ± SD = 54.25 ± 4.37 vs 49.5 ± 7.12), but the difference was not statistically significant. Nurses scored higher on the staging system-related items as compared to the prevention-related items (81% vs 70%). Nurses achieved higher staging subscale scores if they were younger (r =-0.41, P < .05), had less experience (r =-0.43, P < .05), and if they worked in the medical intensive care unit (r = 0.37, P < .05). Study findings indicate gaps in knowledge related to pressure injury practice; participants had greater knowledge of staging rather than prevention. Cumulative and subscale findings can be used to direct educational efforts needed to improve and maintain an effective pressure injury prevention program.

Who attends clinical supervision? The uptake of clinical supervision by hospital nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Koivu, Aija; Hyrkäs, Kristiina; Saarinen, Pirjo Irmeli

2011-01-01

The aim of the present study was to identify which nurses decide to participate in clinical supervision (CS) when it is provided for all nursing staff. Clinical supervision is available today for health care providers in many organisations. However, regardless of evidence showing the benefits of CS, some providers decide not to participate in the sessions. A baseline survey on work and health issues was conducted in 2003 with a 3-year follow-up of the uptake of CS by the respondents. Background characteristics and perceptions of work and health were compared between medical and surgical nurses who had undertaken CS (n=124) and their peers who decided not to undertake it (n=204). Differences in the perceptions of work and dimensions of burnout were found between the two groups. Nurses attracted to CS form a distinctive group in the unit, standing out as self-confident, committed and competent professionals supported by empowering and fair leadership. Facilitating clinical supervision for committed and innovative nurses may be seen as part of the empowering leadership of the nurse manager. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The Burnout on Nurses in ICU, Emergency and Surgery at Teaching Hospital Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences and Relationship with Perceived Stress

OpenAIRE

MK Fakhri; A Aslipoor

2015-01-01

Abstract Introduction: Nursing Profession is stressful and the stress of the job, it will eventually cause burnout but people's different perception of stressful event can adjust this relation. The purpose of study is to assessment burnout on nurses in ICU, emergency and surgical and relationship with perceived stress. Methods: This is a descriptive analytically cross-sectional study. The population of study were all male and female nurses who are working in 4 teaching hospitals which ...

Fabrication and Prototyping Lab

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — Purpose: The Fabrication and Prototyping Lab for composite structures provides a wide variety of fabrication capabilities critical to enabling hands-on research and...

"Mr Smith's been our problem child today…": anticipatory management communication (AMC) in VA end-of-shift medicine and nursing handoffs.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergman, Alicia A; Flanagan, Mindy E; Ebright, Patricia R; O'Brien, Colleen M; Frankel, Richard M

2016-02-01

Tools and procedures designed to improve end-of-shift handoffs through standardisation of processes and reliance on technology may miss contextually sensitive information about anticipated events that emerges during face-to-face handoff interactions. Such information, what we refer to as anticipatory management communication (AMC), is necessary to ensure timely and safe patient care, but has been little studied and understood. To investigate AMC and the role it plays in nursing and medicine handoffs. Qualitative thematic analysis based on audio recordings of nurse-to-nurse, medical resident-to-resident and surgical intern-to-intern handoffs. 27 nurse handoff dyads and 18 medical resident and surgical intern handoff dyads at one VA Medical Center. Heads-up information was the most frequent type of AMC across all handoff dyads (N=257; 108 resident and 149 nursing). Indirect instructions AMC was used in a little over half the resident handoff dyads, but occurred in all nursing dyads (292 instances). Direct instructions AMC occurred in roughly equal proportion across all dyads but at a modest frequency (N=45; 28 resident and 17 nursing). Direct (if/then) contingency AMC occurred in resident handoffs more frequently than in nursing handoffs (N=32; 30 resident and 2 nursing). The different frequencies for types of AMC likely reflect differences in how residents and nurses work and disparate professional cultures. But, verbal communication in both groups included important information unlikely to be captured in written handoff tools or the electronic medical record, underscoring the importance of direct communication to ensure safe handoffs. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Evaluating nurse understanding and participation in the informed consent process.

Science.gov (United States)

Axson, Sydney A; Giordano, Nicholas A; Hermann, Robin M; Ulrich, Connie M

2017-01-01

Informed consent is fundamental to the autonomous decision-making of patients, yet much is still unknown about the process in the clinical setting. In an evolving healthcare landscape, nurses must be prepared to address patient understanding and participate in the informed consent process to better fulfill their well-established role as patient advocates. This study examines hospital-based nurses' experiences and understandings of the informed consent process. This qualitative descriptive study utilized a semi-structured interview approach identifying thematic concerns, experiences, and knowledge of informed consent across a selected population of clinically practicing nurses. Participants and research context: In all, 20 baccalaureate prepared registered nurses practicing in various clinical settings (i.e. critical care, oncology, medical/surgical) at a large northeastern academic medical center in the United States completed semi-structured interviews and a demographic survey. The mean age of participants was 36.6 years old, with a mean of 12.2 years of clinical experience. Ethical considerations: Participation in this study involved minimal risk and no invasive measures. This study received Institutional Review Board approval from the University of Pennsylvania. All participants voluntarily consented. The majority of participants (N = 19) believe patient safety is directly linked to patient comprehension of the informed consent process. However, when asked if nurses have a defined role in the informed consent process, nearly half did not agree (N = 9). Through this qualitative approach, three major nursing roles emerged: the nurse as a communicator, the nurse as an advocate, and the clerical role of the nurse. This investigation contributes to the foundation of ethical research that will better prepare nurses for patient engagement, advance current understanding of informed consent, and allow for future development of solutions. Nurses are at the forefront of

Digital Design with KP-Lab

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Ponta

2007-08-01

Full Text Available KP-Lab is an EU Integrated Project envisioning a learning system that facilitates innovative practices of sharing, creating and working with knowledge in education and workplaces. The project exploits a novel pedagogical view, the knowledge-creation metaphor of learning. According to such “trialogical” approach, cognition arises through collaborative work in systematically developing shared “knowledge artefacts”, such as concepts, plans, material products, or social practices. The paper presents the plan of a pilot course to test the KP-Lab methodologies and tools in the field of Digital Design.

Modifying Cookbook Labs.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Robert, L.; Clough, Michael P.; Berg, Craig A.

2000-01-01

Modifies an extended lab activity from a cookbook approach for determining the percent mass of water in copper sulfate pentahydrate crystals to one which incorporates students' prior knowledge, engenders active mental struggling with prior knowledge and new experiences, and encourages metacognition. (Contains 12 references.) (ASK)

LabVIEW Library to EPICS Channel Access

CERN Document Server

Liyu, Andrei; Thompson, Dave H

2005-01-01

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) accelerator systems will deliver a 1.0 GeV, 1.4 MW proton beam to a liquid mercury target for neutron scattering research. The accelerator complex consists of a 1 GeV linear accelerator, an accumulator ring and associated transport lines. The SNS diagnostics platform is PC-based and will run Windows for its OS and LabVIEW as its programming language. Data acquisition hardware will be based on PCI cards. There will be about 300 rack-mounted computers. The Channel Access (CA) protocol of the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) is the SNS control system communication standard. This paper describes the approaches, implementation, and features of LabVIEW library to CA for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. We also discuss how the library implements the asynchronous CA monitor routine using LabVIEW's occurrence mechanism instead of a callback function (which is not available in LabVIEW). The library is used to acquire accelerator data and applications have been ...

Clothing Systems Design Lab

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Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Clothing Systems Design Lab houses facilities for the design and rapid prototyping of military protective apparel.Other focuses include: creation of patterns and...

Providing surgical care in Somalia: A model of task shifting.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Kathryn M; Ford, Nathan P; Trelles, Miguel

2011-07-15

Somalia is one of the most political unstable countries in the world. Ongoing insecurity has forced an inconsistent medical response by the international community, with little data collection. This paper describes the "remote" model of surgical care by Medecins Sans Frontieres, in Guri-El, Somalia. The challenges of providing the necessary prerequisites for safe surgery are discussed as well as the successes and limitations of task shifting in this resource-limited context. In January 2006, MSF opened a project in Guri-El located between Mogadishu and Galcayo. The objectives were to reduce mortality due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth and from violent and non-violent trauma. At the start of the program, expatriate surgeons and anesthesiologists established safe surgical practices and performed surgical procedures. After January 2008, expatriates were evacuated due to insecurity and surgical care has been provided by local Somalian doctors and nurses with periodic supervisory visits from expatriate staff. Between October 2006 and December 2009, 2086 operations were performed on 1602 patients. The majority (1049, 65%) were male and the median age was 22 (interquartile range, 17-30). 1460 (70%) of interventions were emergent. Trauma accounted for 76% (1585) of all surgical pathology; gunshot wounds accounted for 89% (584) of violent injuries. Operative mortality (0.5% of all surgical interventions) was not higher when Somalian staff provided care compared to when expatriate surgeons and anesthesiologists. The delivery of surgical care in any conflict-settings is difficult, but in situations where international support is limited, the challenges are more extreme. In this model, task shifting, or the provision of services by less trained cadres, was utilized and peri-operative mortality remained low demonstrating that safe surgical practices can be accomplished even without the presence of fully trained surgeon and anesthesiologists. If security improves

Information transfer and communication during the morning rounds in surgical departments: an observational study on the use of SBAR.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Merten, H.; Langelaan, M.; Wagner, C.

2013-01-01

Objectives: To study the structure and completeness of the information transfer between nurses and physicians during the morning rounds on surgical wards after the implementation of the SBAR-communication tool. Methods: in collaboration with the care professionals, we adjusted the SBAR-tool

Correlating Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance Among Jordanian Hospitals' Registered Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Hamdan, Zaid; Oweidat, Islam Ali; Al-Faouri, Ibrahim; Codier, Estelle

2017-01-01

Emotional intelligence (EI) is an ability to recognize our and others' emotions, and manage emotions in ourselves and in relationships with other people. A large body of research evidence outside nursing shows that measured (EI) abilities correlated with employee performance, motivation, and job satisfaction; and preliminary nursing research evidence shows the correlation between EI ability and nurses' clinical performance. There is less research on the EI ability of Jordanian nurses, and the present study was undertaken to address this gap. A descriptive, cross-sectional, correlation comparative design (nonexperimental) was employed. Six Jordanian hospitals were included in the study. Two hundred fifty questionnaires were distributed to prospective participants. One hundred ninety-four questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 78%. EI was measured using the Genos Instrument. Clinical performance was measured using a self-report measure. Findings demonstrated significant positive relationships between all subscales of EI and job performance, ranging from r = .250, p = .000 to r = .193, p = .007. Regression analysis indicated working in medical-surgical wards, recognizing and expressing emotions scores (β = 0.186, p = .048), and controlling emotions (β = 0.255, p = .027) explained 19.1% of variance in nurses' job performance. The study findings confirm the correlation between nurse EI ability and clinical performance. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Recognizing and responding to uncertainty: a grounded theory of nurses' uncertainty.

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Cranley, Lisa A; Doran, Diane M; Tourangeau, Ann E; Kushniruk, Andre; Nagle, Lynn

2012-08-01

There has been little research to date exploring nurses' uncertainty in their practice. Understanding nurses' uncertainty is important because it has potential implications for how care is delivered. The purpose of this study is to develop a substantive theory to explain how staff nurses experience and respond to uncertainty in their practice. Between 2006 and 2008, a grounded theory study was conducted that included in-depth semi-structured interviews. Fourteen staff nurses working in adult medical-surgical intensive care units at two teaching hospitals in Ontario, Canada, participated in the study. The theory recognizing and responding to uncertainty characterizes the processes through which nurses' uncertainty manifested and how it was managed. Recognizing uncertainty involved the processes of assessing, reflecting, questioning, and/or being unable to predict aspects of the patient situation. Nurses' responses to uncertainty highlighted the cognitive-affective strategies used to manage uncertainty. Study findings highlight the importance of acknowledging uncertainty and having collegial support to manage uncertainty. The theory adds to our understanding the processes involved in recognizing uncertainty, strategies and outcomes of managing uncertainty, and influencing factors. Tailored nursing education programs should be developed to assist nurses in developing skills in articulating and managing their uncertainty. Further research is needed to extend, test and refine the theory of recognizing and responding to uncertainty to develop strategies for managing uncertainty. This theory advances the nursing perspective of uncertainty in clinical practice. The theory is relevant to nurses who are faced with uncertainty and complex clinical decisions, to managers who support nurses in their clinical decision-making, and to researchers who investigate ways to improve decision-making and care delivery. ©2012 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Nurses who work outside nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Duffield, Christine; Pallas, Linda O'Brien; Aitken, Leanne M

2004-09-01

The desire to care for people, a family history of professional health care work, and security in career choice are documented reasons for entering nursing. Reasons for leaving include workload, unsafe work environments and harassment. The relationship between these factors and the time nurses spend in the profession has not been explored. This paper reports a study with people who have left nursing, to investigate why they became a nurse, how long they stayed in nursing, and their reasons for leaving. A questionnaire was mailed to Registered Nurses currently working outside nursing, seeking respondents' reasons for entering and leaving nursing, and perceptions of the skills gained from nursing and the ease of adjustment to working in a non-nursing environment. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, correlational analysis and linear and multiple regression analysis. A model incorporating the factors 'altruistic reasons', 'default choice' and 'stepping stone' explained 36.2% of the variance in reasons for becoming a nurse. A model incorporating the factors 'legal and employer', 'external values and beliefs about nursing', 'professional practice', 'work life/home life' and 'contract requirements' explained 55.4% of the variance in reasons for leaving nursing. Forty-eight per cent of the variance in tenure in nursing practice was explained through personal characteristics of nurses (36%), reasons for becoming a nurse (7%) and reasons for leaving (6%). The reasons why nurses entered or left the profession were varied and complex. While personal characteristics accounted for a large component of tenure in nursing, those managing the nursing workforce should consider professional practice issues and the balance between work life and home life.

LIDAR Research & Development Lab

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — The LIDAR Research and Development labs are used to investigate and improve LIDAR components such as laser sources, optical signal detectors and optical filters. The...

Staff satisfaction and retention and the role of the nursing unit manager.

Science.gov (United States)

Duffield, Christine; Roche, Michael; O'Brien-Pallas, Linda; Catling-Paull, Christine; King, Madeleine

2009-01-01

Despite recent increases in nursing recruitment in Australia, participation in the workforce is still below the numbers predicted to meet future needs. This paper discusses factors impacting on nurses' job satisfaction, satisfaction with nursing and intention to leave in public sector hospitals in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Staffing and patient data were collected on 80 medical and surgical units during 2004/5. This included a wide range of individual nurse data from a Nurse Survey; detailed and comprehensive staffing data including skill mix variables; patient characteristics; workload data; a profile of the ward's characteristics; and adverse event patient data. Nurses who were intending to remain in their job were more likely to be satisfied, be older, and have dependents. They were also likely to be experiencing good leadership and to have allied health support on the ward. Most nurses reported being satisfied with their profession, while a lower proportion reported satisfaction with their current position. Work environment factors such as nurses' autonomy, control over their practice and nursing leadership on the ward were statistically significant predictors of job satisfaction. This study will inform decision-making and policy for managers in both the public and private hospital sectors. This is the first large study which explored the work environment at the ward/unit level in public hospitals in NSW (Australia). It illustrates that there are no typical wards; each ward functions differently. The importance of nursing leadership at the ward level to job satisfaction, satisfaction with nursing and intention to leave, cannot be overstated.

German lab wins linear collider contest

CERN Multimedia

Cartlidge, Edwin

2004-01-01

Particle physicists have chosen to base the proposed International Linear Collider on superconducting technology developed by an international collaboration centred on the DESY lab in Germany. The superconducting approach was chosen by an internatinal panel ahead of a rival technology developed at Stanford in the US and the KEK lab in Japan. The eagerly-awaited decision was announced at the International Conference on High Energy Physics in Beijing today (½ page)

Fifteen years experience: Egyptian metabolic lab

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ekram M. Fateen

2014-10-01

Conclusion: This study illustrates the experience of the reference metabolic lab in Egypt over 15 years. The lab began metabolic disorder screening by using simple diagnostic techniques like thin layer chromatography and colored tests in urine which by time updated and upgraded the methods to diagnose a wide range of disorders. This study shows the most common diagnosed inherited inborn errors of metabolism among the Egyptian population.

S'Cool LAB Summer CAMP 2017

CERN Multimedia

Woithe, Julia

2017-01-01

The S’Cool LAB Summer CAMP is an opportunity for high-school students (aged 16-19) from all around the world to spend 2 weeks exploring the fascinating world of particle physics. The 24 selected participants spend their summer at S’Cool LAB, CERN’s hands-on particle physics learning laboratory, for an epic programme of lectures and tutorials, team research projects, visits of CERN’s research installations, and social activities.

Teaching and testing basic surgical skills without using patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Razavi M

2004-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Nowadays, clinical skills centers are important structural components of authentic universities in the world. These centers can be use for tuition of cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills. In this study we have designed a surgical course, consist of 19 theoretical knowledge (cognitive skills and 10 procedural skills. Purpose: teaching and testing the designed course. Methods: This study has been conducted on 678 medical students at clerkship stage. Pre and post-self assessment technique has been used to assess learning progress. A multivariate statistical comparison were adapted for Judgments of learning achievement, Hotelling’s T-square has been used to ascertain the differences between pre and post tests score. For measuring the reliability of the test items. Cronbach's Alpha has been used to measure the reliability of test item. Results: The reliability of the test was 0.84 for cognitive skills and 0.92 for procedural skills. The two tailed test for comparing each pairs of score of 19 cognitive items showed a significant statistical difference between 13 items (P=0.000. For procedural skills the differences between the mean score of 9 items were significant (P=0.000. These results indicate learning achievements by students. Conclusion: This study suggests that, the ability of trainees in both cognitive and psychomotor skills can be improved by tuition of basic surgical skills in skill Lab. (without use of patients. Key words: BASIC SURGICAL SKILLS, CSC, (CLINICAL SKILLS CENTER PRE AND POST SELF-ASSESSMENT