Socialization of R.N. to B.S.N.

The Nurse's Professional Orientation Scale and Schwirian's Six-Dimension Scale of Nursing Performance (Six-D Scale) were used in a five-year, longitudinal study of the professional socialization of the Registered Nurse/Bachelor of Nursing Science (RN/BSN) (n = 30) and generic baccalaureate students (n = 193) in a nursing program in the Southeast United States, Program exit socialization scores between RN/BSN and generic graduates were not significantly different. Using an ANCOVA, significantly higher socialization scores were found for the generic graduates. The scores for the RN/BSN graduates were significantly higher than the generic students at graduation on the teaching/collaboration, planning/evaluation and interpersonal communication subscales of the Six-D scale. When program entry Six-D subscales score were controlled, only the professional development subscale differentiated between RN/BSN and generic graduates. The program impact on the RN/BSN student/graduate as well as the means by which this process can be studied are questioned.     

Diagnosis of rheumatic disease. 1. Radiographs.

Radiographs are a clinician's most valuable tool in differential diagnosis of rheumatic disease and in assessment of its severity. The patterns of joint involvement and the specific bony changes characteristic of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Reiter's syndrome and psoriatic arthritis, gout, and systemic lupus erythematosus are discussed here.