A historical study of men in nursing

This study outlines a brief history of men as nurses in the United Kingdom. It uses a variety of historical sources, primary archival, oral history and secondary sources to retell the history of nursing with emphasis on the frequently neglected place of men within it. History appears to indicate that men have had a place in nursing for as long as records are available, but their contribution has been perceived as negligible, largely because of the dominant influence that the 19th century female nursing movement has had on the occupation's historical ideology. The study indicates that men have an equally valid historical role within nursing, and that this should be acknowledged when considering male nurses' position within the nursing profession.     

Image of nursing held by nursing students according to gender: A qualitative study

This paper is a report of a study to determine the nursing images of female and male nursing students. The study used a qualitative research design to determine nursing images of male (n = 20) and female (n = 20) nursing students. To analyse the data, the method used content analysis. Statements were organized under three categories and seven themes after content analysis. The first category, nursing concept, incorporates the two themes of: (i) female or sister; (ii) job definition. The second category, choosing, incorporates the four themes of: (i) Desire of Others; (ii) Guarantee of Work; (iii) Being Helpful to Others; and (iv) Limited to Academic Achievement. The third category, Gender, incorporates the one theme of: (i) Gendered Approach. Male students have started to take part in nursing programs relatively recently; therefore, more research is needed in the fields of academic accomplishments of male students.     

Traumatic and Routine Stressors in Emergency Nurses: A Turkish Validity and Reliability Study

IntroductionEmergency nurses face traumatic and stressful events of many different forms and severity. The aim of this study is to test the validity and reliability of the Traumatic and Routine Stressors Scale on Emergency Nurses in Turkey.MethodsThis methodological study was conducted with 195 nurses who had been working in the emergency service for at least six months and could be reached via an online questionnaire. Opinions of 9 experts were obtained with the translation-back translation method for linguistic validity, and the Davis technique was used for testing content validity. Test-retest analysis was used to test the time-invariance of the scale. Construct validity was evaluated with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The reliability of the scale was evaluated based on item-total correlation and Cronbach's alpha coefficients.ResultsThe expert opinions were found to be in agreement with each other. Factor analysis results were acceptable, the Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the scale were 0.890 for the frequency factor, 0.928 for the impact factor, and 0.866 for the total scale. It was determined that the correlation values for the time-invariance of the scale were 0.637 for the frequency factor and 0.766 for the effect factor, and the scale had good test-retest reliability.DiscussionThe Turkish version of the Traumatic and Routine Stressors Scale on Emergency Nurses, has high levels of validity and reliability. We recommend that the scale be used to evaluate the state of being affected by traumatic and routine stressors among emergency service nurses.     

Intimate partner violence as experienced by men

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study is to describe intimate partner violence as experienced by men and to formulate the common structure of meanings of experiences of men exposed to intimate partner violence. The data were gathered by open-ended interviews with 10 ( n  = 10) men. The participants had experiences in intimate partner violence. All the 10 men were interviewed twice and they were allowed to tell their experiences as they liked. The data were analysed by applying the method developed by Colaizzi. The experiences of men formulated three main themes describing the factors leading to intimate partner violence, being a victim of intimate partner violence and own violent behavior. The main themes are named as follows: (1) a burden on the pair relationship; (2) face to face with violence; and (3) from denying violence to striving towards the truth. The research results enhance the understanding of the experiences of men. The information may be useful in promoting women's, men's and families' health, developing work on violence and in the education of professionals in social and health care. The results may also help women to understand men's experiences in a pair relationship.     

Information-seeking behaviour of men newly diagnosed with cancer: a qualitative study

Aim. This paper reports the findings of a study, which explored the information‐seeking behaviour of men newly diagnosed with cancer. Background. There is worldwide recognition that there are significant differences in the way men and women react to and cope with illness, yet there seems to be a lack of research into men's information‐seeking behaviours and how they get their information needs met. The needs of men with cancer has so far received less research attention than women. Methods. A qualitative approach, consisting of in‐depth interviews, was used. A convenient sample of 13 men newly diagnosed with cancer and five healthcare professionals and four lay sources were recruited for this study. Results. Five themes emerged from the data. These were: ‘experiencing discomfort in the healthcare setting’, ‘reliance on partners as information gatherers’, ‘reluctance to explore a range of information sources and support’, ‘unmet information needs’ and ‘getting back to normal’. Together, they provide a perspective on men's information needs and information‐seeking behaviour. Conclusions. Healthcare professionals should be aware that there may be gender differences in how patients cope with their cancer, how they seek information and what information needs they have. Further training and preparation in ‘men's health’ is recommended for all those working with men in cancer care. Relevance to clinical practice. Understanding how, when and in what circumstances men express their information needs will help healthcare professionals to develop strategies to meet these needs and other support needs of men with cancer.     

Cultural encounters in reflective dialogue about nursing care: a qualitative study

Title.  Cultural encounters in reflective dialogue about nursing care: a qualitative study.
Aim.  This paper is a report of a study to explore how students developed reflective nursing practice through cultural encounters between students from Tanzania and Norway.
Background.  Nursing students need to develop cultural care competence to care for patients in a globalized world. One way to achieve this goal may be through international practice experience. Previous studies have shown that students visiting developing countries matured personally and intellectually more than those who experienced encounters between developed countries.
Method.  The study was exploratory, using qualitative data about nursing practice and cultural encounters experienced by nursing students from Tanzania and Norway. Data were collected through participatory observation, students' logs and focus group interviews in 2006.
Findings.  The encounter was characterized with an open attitude facilitating a good context for co-learning between the students. Three main themes were identified. The Norwegian students emphasized nurse–patient relationships, individualized care, direct communication and emotional involvement. The Tanzanian nursing students demonstrated a collectivist approach in nursing characterized by nurse–relative–patient relationships, and they emphasized curing attributes with skilful performance of procedures.
Conclusion.  A cultural encounter between students from different culture proved to be a fruitful way of teaching nurses. The opportunity to share thoughts, reflect on value systems and personal practice through dialogue with students from a different culture offer possibility in terms of cultural competence, reflexivity and consciousness of various ways practising nursing. This may contribute to bringing the practice of nursing a step forward in both cultures.     

Depressed men: an exploratory study of close relationships

Patients suffering from schizophrenia or bipolar affective disorder may progressively worsen and become severely disabled, and may then be classified as suffering from severe and enduring mental illness. Concern about risk to self and others focuses on this patient group, and community psychiatric nurses (CPNs) are under pressure to target patients with this diagnosis. CPNs have been accused of neglecting patients with a severe and enduring diagnosis in favour of other patient groups, but if they restrict services at primary care level this may have serious implications for patients. Patients who have had no previous contact with mental health services may have potentially serious and life threatening conditions. For example, depressed men may not be categorized as severely mentally ill, but the suicide rate amongst this patient group is very high, and they may externalize depression and resort to violence if untreated. Depressed men may lack social support and the means to express psychological distress, and these factors may precipitate or exacerbate depression. Early referral and assessment can prevent crises, deterioration in mental health and suicide. CPNs do not necessarily have to provide ongoing care following assessment, but they do have a significant role to play in primary health care referrals for the non-psychotic mentally ill. CPNs act as a filter for the expertise and resources of multidisciplinary mental health teams. General practitioners will have increasing difficulty accessing the resources of multidisciplinary mental health teams if CPNs are unable to accept primary health care referrals. Primary care interventions are very important for the assessment of depression because they may help men to express psychological distress and assist them to access appropriate services and treatment. The experience of working with depressed men in a primary health care setting revealed that many lack confidants, or do not confide in those close to them. The interview schedule designed by Brown & Harris (1978) to gather data on the relationships of depressed women was used to explore the relationships of depressed men who were attending a Mental Health Day Centre.     

Stressors experienced by the family members of brain-dead people during the process of organ donation: A qualitative study

Abstract

More is known about organ donor recipients than donor families. We explored the stressors experienced by family members of brain-dead people during the process of organ donation. Seventeen family members and five organ procurers were interviewed and the data analyzed through conventional qualitative content analysis. Stressors experienced by family members fell into six themes—perceived threat of loss, decision making under conflict, painful corrosive farewell, feeling of insecurity, complexity of grief, and seeking relief. Findings highlight the necessity of developing and using standard protocols for supporting brain-dead people’s family members throughout the process of organ donation and following bereavement.     

Stressors in the ICU: a comparison of patients' and nurses' perceptions

Aims and objectives. The aim of the study was to compare the stressors as perceived by patients in an intensive care unit (ICU) against those of nurses on the basis of their perceptions of patients’ stressors. Background. Getting admitted to an ICU is viewed as a stressful event by patients. However, numerous studies have indicated that nurses do not always accurately perceive the stressors of their clients. Therefore, it is important for nurses to know what seems most stressful from the patients’ perspective so that appropriate nursing measures can be directed towards minimising such stressors. Design. Survey. Methods. As a convenience sample, 60 patients and 54 critical care nurses were recruited. The Intensive Care Unit Stressor Questionnaire (Chinese) (ICU‐CSQ) was used to collect the perceptions of stressors by the patients. Nurses were also asked to rate the items in the said questionnaire according to how they believe patients would rate them. Results. In every comparison, nurses evaluated the items to be significantly more stressful than patients did. Overall perceived stress levels of nurses were also significantly higher than those of their patients (z = ?8·78, p < 0·001). Conclusions. Nurses tended to rate the items as more stressful than did the patients, perhaps over‐emphasising the stressful nature of the ICU. The findings also highlight the importance of cultural beliefs on the perceived stress levels among the Chinese population. Relevance to clinical practice. Findings in this study have strong implications in clinical practice, especially in a critical care setting. Nurses must attempt to identify and endeavour to cope with the situations that patients listed as most stressful. Moreover, attention must be drawn towards measures aimed at relieving the stress of patients by taking into account their cultural values so that culture‐specific interventions for reducing their stress can be established.     

实习早期护生压力源与自我效能感的相关性研究

目的了解实习早期护生的压力源和自我效能感的现状及其相关性。方法采用一般情况调查表、一般自我效能感量表(general self-efficacy scale,GSES)及护生压力源量表对2011年7月在第二军医大学长征医院实习的176名大专及本科护生进行调查。结果实习早期护生的一般自我效能感平均得分为(26.86±5.11)分,自信心较高,而不同学习态度、受带教老师鼓励次数及是否曾担任学生干部护生的一般自我效能感得分差异均有统计学意义(均P0.01);不同学历、生源地、性格、选择护理专业原因及是否为独生子女护生的一般自我效能感得分差异均无统计学意义(均P0.05)。实习早期护生的总体压力处于中等水平,其中处理患者紧急情况的能力、接触传染性疾病及临床考试的方法处于压力源得分的前3位;除病房的环境与设备、教学安排维度外,实习早期护生的压力源其他4个维度与一般自我效能感呈中度负相关(P0.05)。结论护理教育者应结合护生自身的特点,通过有效方法和途径,在护生实习的早期提高其自我效能感,减轻护生压力。