Final year Australian nursing students’ experiences with bioscience: A cross‐sectional survey

Nursing students have reported bioscience to be challenging and difficult to understand. This might have a negative impact upon their ability to understand patients’ clinical conditions and nursing practice. We sought information about students’ experiences with bioscience. A total of 126 final year nursing students completed a questionnaire. The findings showed that the majority of participants considered bioscience subjects to require more work compared to nursing subjects (65.9%), and that they would like a better understanding of bioscience (73.8%), but understood that bioscience forms the foundation of nursing practice (76.2%). Younger participants without secondary school science rated bioscience harder than nursing subjects and spent more time studying bioscience compared to older participants. Participants without any secondary school science lacked an ability to apply bioscience concepts to patient conditions. These results showed that nursing students, especially those without secondary school science, would benefit from improved bioscience integration with nursing practice. Nursing and bioscience educators should consider greater alignment of bioscience with nursing practice subjects, especially earlier in the curriculum.     

The presence of the parasite Demodex folliculorum on the skin surface of the eyelid

It is well established that Demodectic mites can infest the meibomian glands, eyelash and hair follicles of the eyelid. In this study, scanning electron microscopy revealed Demodex folliculorum occurring freely on the skin surface of the eyelid. This indicates some mobility and implies further vector potential. Exoskeletons from these parasites also occur on the eyelid.     

Managerial strategy and nursing commitment in Australian hospitals

This study examined the relationship of managerial strategy and nursing commitment in Australian hospitals The general principles of managerial strategy and employee response were illustrated and the meaning of commitment and resistance were defined Data were collected by questionnaire survey and interviews The result demonstrated that the middle manager/nurse unit manager played an important role in generating nursing commitment in the workplace Trust and identification were the most relevant components of nursing commitment However, the study also found that there was still a high degree of distrust between senior management and nurses Change strategies which nurse managers could apply to promote greater organizational commitment in nursing are discussed     

Oncology nursing: professional development as a clinical specialty in Hong Kong

Cancer is a major health problem world-wide. Therefore, it is not surprising that cancer is identified as the top priority disease group for an improvement programme by the Hospital Authority in Hong Kong. Laser therapy for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, for example, is evidence of the advancement of the scientific and technological developments for cancer treatment. Furthermore, the establishment of the Cancer Centre has provided ample opportunities for clinical practices and research studies. In response to the proclamation of the 'urgent need for the establishment of a cancer society in every country' by Searle in 1990, the Oncology Care Society of Hong Kong, which aims to promote both cancer education and cancer research, was established in 1993. Adopted from the core curriculum of the European Oncology Nursing Society, the specialist course of cancer nursing care was first implemented in Hong Kong in 1993 and the nurse specialist is now a permanent part of nursing career structure in Hong Kong. This paper attempts to review the development of oncology nursing in Hong Kong according to these factors and to find ways to improve the current situation.     

On the moral nature of nursing practice

Until recent times many nursing authors have relied on rather narrow interpretations of selected aspects from the broader discourse of ethics and moral philosophy in their writing on ethics in nursing As a consequence, discourse in nursing ethics has been limited in its vision and far from comprehensive in its content This can be seen in the large number of texts and journals which discuss issues in nursing ethics Particularly in many of the nursing textbooks up to and including the 1960s, 1970s and, to a lesser extent, the early 1980s, ethics content is commonly framed in terms of the dilemmas of practice Moreover, overall there is a preoccupation with either deontological or teleological positions and the application of corresponding analytical frameworks consistent with the particular view taken In most texts the preferred view is deontological, with a predominating emphasis on principle and duty Recently in nursing ethics there has been a focus towards the deconstruction of the dominant views in ethics encompassed by the more traditional perspectives Consequently, as in other areas of applied and theoretical ethics, there has been a re-awakening of interest in the 'virtues', and in processes which encourage the articulation of ethical dimensions of practice in ways other than applying principles, rules and formulae to situations of clinical dilemma     

Mechanics of spinal joint manipulation in the thoracic and lumbar spine: a theoretical study of posteroanterior force techniques

Posteroanterior (PA) forces applied to the vertebrae are commonly used for the clinical assessment and treatment of vertebral column disorders. Three strategies for applying PA force in the thoracic and lumbar spine regions were studied. The components of the manipulative force which were directed along, and transverse to, the axis of the vertebra were calculated, and also the sagittal plane moment generated about the centre of the vertebra was determined. The three different strategies produced quite different loads on the vertebrae and all three strategies showed substantial variations across vertebral levels in at least one of the load components.     

The experience of spouses whose partners have suffered a myocardial infarction: a phenomenological study

The current emphasis in the United Kingdom on evidence-based health care requires that medical and non-medical professionals ensure that their clinical practice is founded on scientifically derived findings rather than on intuition and ritual. To this end, many initiatives have been introduced which are intended to increase both the corpus of available research evidence and the extent to which it informs practice. To date, however, there has been a disappointing shortfall in published research in the paramedical domain, which has been largely attributed to a number of structural and organizational issues. This paper suggests that confusion about what constitutes valid and useful research may be an additional significant contributory factor in the documented research/practice hiatus. Moreover, the emphasis on experimentation and Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), with the relative marginalization of alternative, more qualitative forms of research may seriously limit the nursing research data-base because of its inappropriateness for many nursing investigations. It is suggested that a more eclectic approach to evidence-based care is considered, with more attention being diverted to qualitative methodologies at the funding and dissemination stages. In this way, a comprehensive and balanced overview of relevant information can be obtained which has the potential to influence some of the less quantifiable aspects of care delivery.     

Rapid Measurement of Blood Propofol Levels: a Proof of Concept Study

Objective: Despite many advantages over traditional volatile anaesthetic techniques, propofol total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) makes up a small percentage of general anaesthetics administered. One of the reasons for this is the absence of a clinically useful method for measuring blood propofol concentrations. We have designed and tested a prototype system for rapidly measuring blood plasma levels of propofol using solid phase extraction (SPE) methodology, coupled with colorimetric and spectrometric techniques. Methods: Multiple venous blood samples were taken from 17 subjects during induction of anaesthesia with propofol. Samples were analysed in duplicate on both the prototype system and using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The prototype monitor response was calibrated against known methanol-based propofol standards and an estimate of the plasma concentration of propofol derived from regression analysis of the standard responses. Results: Bland Altman analysis from a total of 87 samples gave 95% limits of agreement between the two methods of −0.34 to 0.42 μg mL⁻¹ (with no significant bias). The mean absolute prediction error was 8.9(7.5)%. The run time per sample on the prototype system was 4.5 min, including sample preparation. Conclusion: The results show that this methodology may be suitable for rapid and accurate clinical monitoring of propofol levels during general anaesthesia. An erratum to this article can be found at