The implementation of Project 2000 in the community: a new perspective on the community nurse's role

This paper considers some of the initiatives taken by community nurses in England in implementing Project 2000 placements The data were obtained during an English National Board funded study in two phases The first phase involved a series of exploratory interviews, a postal questionnaire survey, and semi-structured interviews with 15 managers In phase two, one Project 2000 demonstration district was studied in depth by means of interviews complemented by small-scale questionnaire studies Community nurses had confronted a number of difficulties in implementing Project 2000 Among the most serious of these were shortage of time, poor communication with the colleges of nursing and lack of preparation As a consequence, community nurses took what they saw as independent approaches to students' placements Many set their own aims and objectives for placements and produced written guidelines and teaching plans for students Many also asserted the importance of their role in the assessment of students' practical work     

Finishing first grade: a study of school achievement in very-low-birth-weight children.

Factors that influence school achievement in very-low-birth-weight (< 1,500 g) children were investigated at the completion of first grade. The subjects were 71 children and their primary caregivers. Thirty-nine children were very low birth weight (VLBW) and 32 were normal birth weight (NBW). After controlling for birth weight status, over one third of the variance in children's school achievement was accounted for by the age of the child's mother when she began childbearing. Birth weight status accounted for significant amounts of variance in information processing skills. Significantly more children in the VLBW group required special services and fewer were promoted to second grade, although the difference was not significant.     

Integrating next‐generation sequencing into the diagnostic testing of inherited cancer predisposition

The clinical application of next‐generation sequencing (NGS) as a diagnostic tool has become increasingly evident. The coupling of NGS technologies with new genomic sequence enrichment methods has made the sequencing of panels of target genes technically feasible, at the same time as making such an approach cost‐effective for diagnostic applications. In this article, we discuss recent studies that have applied NGS in the diagnostic setting in relation to hereditary cancer.     

Qualitative observation in a clinical setting: Challenges at end of life

This paper explores the methodological challenges associated with undertaking qualitative observation in the clinical setting at end of life. The authors reflect on their experiences of using non‐participant observation to explore the nursing care delivered to dying patients in acute hospital wards. The challenges of observation as a method, clearly defining the participant group and involving vulnerable populations, such as the dying patients and their families, will be discussed. Consideration is also given to defining and working within the observational field, the researchers' dual roles, cost versus benefit, impact of culture, religion and ethnicity, and the determination of research limits/boundaries, with reflections from the authors' own experiences used to exemplify the issues.