A legal commentary on negligence

There is anecdotal evidence that a claim in negligence, or 'negligence' for short, is something that many nurses are fearful of and they worry that parents will sue them when something goes wrong. The aim of this article is to outline what negligence is from a legal perspective and to illustrate why, for most nurses, negligence is unlikely to be something that will affect their professional lives.     

Seizures. Regaining control

Witnessing a seizure is not something you're likely to forget, but as a bedside nurse it's something you're bound to experience. Seizures are a transient disruption in brain function caused by excessive electrical discharge of cortical neurons in one or more areas of the brain. They affect an estimated 2.5 million Americans. Each year in the United States, 300,000 people-120,000 of them younger than 18-have a seizure for the first time, and about 181,000 people are diagnosed with epilepsy.     

Trying something new: reform as embracing the possible, the familiar, and the at-hand

Trying something new in the reform of teaching through the use of a new nursing pedagogy, Narrative Pedagogy, is illuminated. Pedagogies are specific approaches to teaching and learning. Narrative Pedagogy is a site-specific approach to teaching and learning that evolves out of present resources and creates new possibilities. Exemplar student, teacher, and nurse preceptor narratives about their experiences of trying something new in precepting junior-level students in the acute care clinical setting were analyzed hermeneutically as an interpretive phenomenological study. Although Narrative Pedagogy is site specific, the processes of using this pedagogy for reform are generalizable.     

The lived experience of sacrificing something important

The purposes of this research, using the Parse method, were to discover the structure of sacrificing something important and to expand the theory of human becoming. The core concepts of relinquishing the cherished, shifting preferred options, and fortifying affiliations were discovered during the process of extraction-synthesis using synopses of dialogues from 10 church parishioners. The structure, sacrificing something important is relinquishing the cherished while shifting preferred options amid fortifying affiliations is the central finding of this study, adding to the theory of human becoming, stimulating further research, and informing nurses about this universal lived experience of health.     

Always learning; IDER's proposal

Professional development should help a professional person look at life from the first line, with deep knowledge in his field, with his own opinion, with know-how, with a critical sense, with something to say and something to add. This is IDER's philosophy based on having students develop their scientific, technical and human capacities, relating their experiences with the knowledge provided by textbooks, by other professional by other students, by consultations and scientific work. And always at one's own rhythm because IDER has specialized in continuing professional development from afar.     

Sacrificing something important: the lived experience of compensated kidney donors in the Philippines

The sale of solid organs is illegal in many countries, but the reality is that it happens. This study investigated and identified the structure of sacrificing something important among compensated kidney donors in the Philippines by conducting in-depth, face-to-face dialogues from 13 participants in the town of Baseco, Manila, Philippines. The structure of sacrificing something important among compensated kidney donors emerges from the extrinsic intent of adversity and the intrinsic intent of altruism, which is instrumental to the struggle of making a difficult decision, emerging in the act with reciprocation, and although resulting in the consequences of health deterioration and loss, resilience makes bouncing back possible.     

Surgery trends change nursing care: operating room nurses share new procedures that will affect home healthcare.

The word "surgery" does not mean what is used to. Community nursing care means something different now, too.     

Words of wisdom

When we feel that something is not right or is unsatisfactory in our lives, counselling can help us come to an understanding of the problem and its personal meaning.     

British Experience of the Pill

We have set up a study that can make a contribution to our knowledge of the effect of the present oral contraceptive agents. We may also learn something about the characteristics of women who chose the pill and about those who reject it. Perhaps our results will provide a more secure base from which research for a better product can begin.

It may be, however, that we have demonstrated something of greater importance: that meaningful large-scale morbidity statistics can be accurately collected from the point at which the greatest information is available-the records of the family physician.

     

腰椎间盘摘除术中俯卧位对患者呼吸的影响及护理

目的：了解和改善腰椎间盘摘除术中患者俯卧位对呼吸的负面影响。方法：使用AT608一多参数手术监护仪,对36例行硬膜外麻醉取得理想麻醉平面的患者,分别测定仰卧位、腹部垫物俯卧位、支撑点势物俯卧位时,患者的血氧饱和度（SPO2）、呼气末二氧化碳浓度（ET－CO2）。结果：以平卧位所得数值为参考对照值,支撑点垫物俯卧位时SPO2及ET－CO2值变化不明显,无统计学意义。而腹部整物俯卧位所得SPO2及ET－COZ值变化显著,两数值与前两种体位相应数值对比分析,经统计学处理,P＜005。结论：腹部垫物俯卧位对患者的呼吸有明显的影响,改进后的支撑点垫物俯卧位对呼吸无明显干扰,可推广应用。     

Higher education in nursing: between symbolic domination and political emancipation

In this reflection we problematize the action of caring and teaching how to care in nursing based on some of Pierre Bourdieu's concepts about domination and symbolic power. The basic tenet of this work was to think of education as something vital for our existence on Earth. In this article, we used Pedro Demo's ideas as a reference to talk about education, which is understood as a developer of political subjects and as something far beyond formal knowledge management. It is the very first base on which human autonomy is built, and it leads to a constant growth of opportunities to exercise citizenship, qualifying our everyday existence. In the academic context, where health, education and nursing are all gathered, the competent, critical and reflective teaching work can be highly institutive praxis.     

Towards an inclusive spirituality: Wholeness,interdependence and waiting

In this paper I want to tread a careful path between spirituality as something to be examined and spirituality as something to be experienced. While we need knowledge, the relationship between spirituality and disability exists in the experiences of those concerned, and should not be reduced to purely analytical categories. This leads me to an examination of some of the contemporary uses of the terms spirituality and disability. This is the inclusive part of the title. The paper will examine the cult of perfection as it acts to stigmatize disability. This is the wholeness part of the title. I will also examine the concept of dependence. In my view there is a need to rehabilitate this concept. This is the interdependence and waiting part of the title. What has all this to do with spirituality? It has to do with the integrity of the human person as an essentially spiritual being.     

Tired blood. Part 1

"Tired blood" is a common term used to describe anemia because of the association between fatigue, often the first sign of anemia, and the idea that it has "something to do with blood." Today, millions of people have diagnosed anemia, and millions more with chronic diseases are at risk for developing anemia. Anemia is not a specific disease; rather, it is an indication that something has either disturbed the maturation of essential red blood cells or interfered with the oxygen carry capacity of red cells. In this two-part series about tired blood, the etiology and pathophysiology of selected forms of anemia are discussed and pharmacotherapy designed to address the condition of anemia is identified. Part 1 addresses anemia related to red blood cell development, and Part 2 explores the physiology of hemoglobin-related anemia and inherited anemia.     

Problems of aging: Geriatrics in the Medical Aphorisms of Moses Maimonides

The repulsion or hindrance of [the advent of] old age is something that is impossible. However, the postponement thereof, so that it not hasten [to occur], is possible.

—De Marasmo.     

Pre‐understanding and openness – a relationship without hope?

Pre‐understanding and openness – a relationship without hope? In all research, quantitative as well as qualitative, we have to deal with our presuppositions in order to remain open throughout the whole process of inquiry. If we fail to do so the findings might be little more than a reflected image of something already existing in our understanding. The question dealt with in this paper is: how can we gain increased openness by being more aware of our presuppositions. The aim was to investigate the intentional structure of pre‐understanding and its effects upon data‐collection as well as data‐analysis and conclusions in research. The question of pre‐understanding is central in Gadamer’s philosophy, even if he is not the first one to discuss this concept. Gadamer further developed the philosophy of understanding. According to him pre‐ understanding is an intentional structure of feelings and thoughts, which is activated when we regard something as something. By studying the structure of pre‐understanding we became more aware of its effect upon understanding. In this paper, theoretical frameworks within cognitive and social psychology as well as psychoanalytic object‐relation‐theory were compared with Gadamer’s philosophy concerning the conditions of human understanding. Finally the possibility of increased openness in the process of research was discussed. (Such openness is related to knowledge about the structure of pre‐understanding.)     

In the spirit of creativity: the learning and teaching of ethics in nursing

AIM: This paper discusses the development of a pedagogy that nurtures not only the caring and the critical, but also the creative spirit of nursing. To explore the idea of creative pedagogy the learning/teaching of ethics in nursing is considered. BACKGROUND: Based on the understanding of ethics as a deeply personal process that is lived in the complexity and ambiguity of everyday nursing work I describe a pedagogy that seeks to support students to 'become' moral agents -- to see ethics as something they are, not merely as something they follow, and to develop the knowledge and ability to live in and navigate their way through the complex, ambiguous, and shifting terrain of ethical nursing practice. An example of one student's experience is used to illustrate how a pedagogy of creativity can promote the development of students' creative capacity in their everyday ethical practice.     

An exploration of the concept of sacrifice

This column seeks to contribute to the understanding of the concept of sacrifice and its significance to nursing through an extensive account of relevant literature from the disciplines of theology, sociology, anthropology, and psychology. The review uncovered that in sacrificing something of value, individuals anticipate connecting with families, groups, society, and deities. Knowledge of the phenomenon of sacrifice has importance for nurses who use the human becoming theory as a guide for practice as they participate with individuals who are struggling with relinquishing something of value, while hoping to strengthen connections with others.     

What else does the box say?

Have you ever thought about why - if you do - you read the combination of ingredients found in a particular product? Usually, you want to know what makes something good for you or not; what enhances the palatability of the chosen item; or, sometimes, it's sheer curiosity as to whether you have made a good choice. More often than not, you buy something by virtue of its popularity and market penetration or its personal appeal. The successful launch of a product is frequently linked to creative and targeted marketing. But let's face it, there are times when we throw caution to the wind and simply ignore the caloric, saturated fat, sodium and sugar counts of a chosen product. In so doing, we accept the associated potential risks to our well-being.     

Creating trust in an acute psychiatric ward

The ideal of trust pervades nursing. This article uses empirical material from acute psychiatry that reveals that it is distrust rather than trust that is prevalent in this field. Our data analyses show how distrust is expressed in the therapeutic environment and in the relationship between nurse and patient. We point out how trust can nonetheless be created in an environment that is characterized by distrust. Both trust and distrust are exposed as ;fragile' phenomena that can easily ;tip over' towards their opposites. Trust is not something that nurses possess or are given; it is rather something that they earn and have to work hard to achieve. Regarding themselves as potential causes of distrust and active wielders of power can contribute to nurses developing a more realistic view of their practice. Assuming a realistic middle-way perspective can help to manoeuvre between the extremities of excellence and resignation, which in turn can lead to processes that create trust between psychotic patients and nurses.