Web-based News Reports on Midwives Compared with Obstetricians: A Prospective Analysis

Abstract: Background: The media both creates and reflects public opinion. The way in which health professionals are depicted in the media is likely to influence views held by and about different health professions. The aim of this study was to examine how midwives and obstetricians are reported in English language web-based news reports from around the world. Methods: News alerts from the Internet search engine Google were created to search for the terms “midwife,”“midwives,”“midwifery,”“obstetrics,” and “obstetricians.” These alerts were received over a 12-month period (May 1, 2006–April 31, 2007), downloaded, and analyzed using quantitative content analysis. Results: A total of 522 web-based news reports for midwifery and 564 for obstetrics (n = 1,086) were found. Dominant categories for midwives were: “mainstreaming midwives” (models of care/rise of midwifery) (28%); “the Cinderella of the maternity care” (workforce/industrial) (27%); “delivering the baby with your hands tied” (funding, insurance, and legislation) (21%); “ask the expert” (education, research, and health advice) (8%), “recognizing midwives” (awards and announcements) (7%), “unsafe midwives” (litigation) (6%); and “the art of birth” (books, film, and photographs) (2%). Dominant categories for obstetricians were: “ask the expert” (research and advice) (26%); “doctors are heroes amongst us” (awards and announcements) (19%); “obstetric workforce woes” (workforce/industrial) (19%); “new frontiers” (trends in care and new technology) (17%); “the disappearing obstetrician” (insurance and litigation) (10%); and “human-interest news reports” (9%). Obstetricians were more likely to be recognized as experts on pregnancy and birth and receive public recognition compared with midwives. Midwives were more likely to be depicted as struggling to be a mainstream option while being hampered by lack of funding, insurance, and legislative barriers. Conclusions: Although midwives have rising acceptance, they still struggle with recognition. Obstetricians have both acceptance and recognition. Countries where midwifery is a mainstream option have more news reports related to midwifery than obstetrics. Different issues appear more dominant in some countries, such as work force in the United Kingdom and funding, insurance, and legislation in the United States. (BIRTH 39:1 March 2012)     

Peripheral intravenous catheters in situ for more than 96 h in adults: What factors affect removal?

Peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVC) are widely used in clinical nursing, but indwelling time remains a subject of debate. This study aimed to assess the risk factors for PIVC phlebitis in adults and provide a basis for indwelling time decisions. A total of 189 first‐time PIVC patients in the emergency ward were assessed between May and October 2015. Data were retrieved for patient characteristics and PIVC assessment records. This study showed that over two‐thirds (67.72%) of PIVCs were removed because of phlebitis, including oedema (37.57%), rubefaction (33.33%), pain (32.28%), slow infusion speed (13.23%) and accidental extrusion (2.12%). PIVC indwelling time in the planned removal group was higher than that obtained for the unplanned removal group: 152.42 (74.58) vs. 94.64 (50.15) h, P < 0.001. At indwelling times > 96 h, 28.57% (n = 54) of catheters caused phlebitis, although 23.28% (n = 44) showed no phlebitis. PIVC phlebitis was associated with treatment with compound amino acid infusion (OR: 2.624), site at the elbow joint (OR: 3.049), haemoglobin level (OR: 2.492), white cell count (OR: 2.196) and catheter size (OR: 1.837). Study findings suggest that PIVC might be used for longer durations based on nursing assessments and health education.     

The nurse''s role in patient education: incongruent perceptions among nurses and patients

The purpose of this study was to describe the amount of congruence in the perceptions of 38 matched nurse-patient dyads concerning the nurse's role in patient education. The perceptions of nurses and patients from two hospital settings were measured with two complementary sets of questions, developed for this study; t-tests were used to compare the mean responses of nurses and patients within and between the two settings to each set of complementary questions. The results indicated that incongruencies existed between nurses' and patients' perceptions of the nurse's role in patient education. Patients identified a general teaching function for nurses. When asked who they preferred to have teach them the specific information related to their condition, patients most frequently chose a physician. Nurses most frequently chose a nurse as the current and most desired patient teacher. Nurses incorrectly assumed that the desires of their patients for patient education were similar to their own. The results suggest that nurses need to develop a clear definition of their role in patient education, to validate patients' desires for teaching, and to examine organizational factors influencing their performance of the patient teaching role.     

Academic espionage: dysfunctional aspects of the publish or perish ethic

There are many dysfunctional manifestations relative to the tenure and promotion process. These are disruptive to academic life. Much of this is encouraged by the university because of their publish or perish ethic. Excellence in classroom teaching and success in the field of clinical and human endeavours are not highly valued in deliberations to grant tenure and advancement in academic rank. Research and publications are the major yardsticks upon which a faculty member is judged. This prevailing perspective poses a dilemma for many nursing faculty who have high clinical workloads and have not been socialized for academic survival. The pressures to publish and research can be achieved in a realistic and non-stressful way. Three aspects seem to be particularly relevant to facilitate this achievement; these are: anticipatory planning, balancing the workload, and understanding the interpersonal dimensions of collegeality.     

An evaluation of a strategy to improve the support of orthopaedic nurses through a team preceptorship programme

Transition to a new work area is often stressful for both experienced and new graduate nurses. It is essential that the new graduate be supported through this transition period to enable them to adjust to the environment itself, refine knowledge, and develop skills specific to their chosen clinical stream. In past years, several strategies have been designed with varying levels of success.This study evaluates an Australian transition support model, where the fundamental difference is that the management of the program is facilitated by a nurse possessing refined leadership, communication, clinical and organisational skills.The model has been evaluated on its effectiveness in meeting specific outcomes. The findings revealed that this coordinated team approach provided increased support for the new graduate, reduced the stress and workloads on the preceptors, whilst promoting confidence in the new starters and preventing conflict between preceptors and preceptees. The Coordinator’s role was shown to be an effective and crucial component in the Coordinated Team Preceptorship Model (CTPM) and findings illustrated that a team preceptorship model is not sustainable without a Coordinator.