'A good person does not feel envy': envy in a nursing community

The definition of envy is commonly based on psychoanalytical views of organizational culture. The purpose of this paper is to describe envy in a nursing community. The population study consisted of random sample of 120 subjects drawn from among the employees of one central hospital in Finland. The study material consisted of data collected by questionnaires (response rate 65%). The data were processed by various statistical methods. Open-ended questions were analysed by inductive content analysis. The results of this study indicated that the employee's view of his/her official position in the nursing community, his/her relationships with his/her fellow workers and the management as well as relationships with other nursing communities are all related to envy. The employee's view of his/her official position intensified his/her feelings of envy, if he/she had other negative feelings, anxiety, dissatisfaction with him/herself, and negative feelings towards fellow workers. The major object of envy was fellow workers' salaries. Envy towards other nursing communities was generated by alleged differences in the amount of labour, or by the charge nurse's greater interest in other sections. Employees coped with envy by hiding these feelings and being modest. Women coped with envy by being silent, while men denied the value of the object of envy.     

Nursing in the health care system of the postmodern world: crossroads, paradoxes and complexity

Entering the postmodern world in which society is confronting crossroads, paradoxes, and complexity, the health care system is encountering a transformation more comprehensive and revolutionary than has ever been seen before. Analysis of the state of nursing vis a vis these transformations indicates that the current paradigm does not ensure the existence of the profession in the postmodern health care system. That is because of increased difficulties in consolidating the economic and quality issues into the core of nursing, and in understanding the complexity inherent in health related situations.     

Ketoprofen Versus Paracetamol in the Treatment of Acute Migraine

The efficacy and safety of ketoprofen and paracetamol were compared for the treatment of acute migraine in a randomized, double-blind study of 64 patients. Thirty-four patients received ketoprofen 100 mg intramuscularly, and 30 patients received paracetamol 500 mg intramuscularly. Partial or complete relief of pain and other symptoms was achieved 15 to 20 minutes after administration in the ketoprofen group and within 35 minutes in the paracetamol group. Complete relief of pain was achieved within 30 to 40 minutes after ketoprofen in 28 patients (82.5%) compared to 5 patients (17.5%) in the paracetamol group. Six of the patients treated with ketoprofen needed a second dose for complete relief of pain during the 4-hour follow-up period. Side effects were rare and minimal. Our findings suggest that ketoprofen produced statistically significant benefit in the treatment of acute migraine.     

Facilitating Perinatal Grieving Between the Mother and the Father

Society often expects mothers and fathers to share equally in the perinatal grief process because the child was a common bond between them. Unfortunately, in perinatal grief, this is not always the case. The mother and the father can experience incongruent grieving and use discordant coping mechanisms. It is important to evaluate these differences to facilitate communication between the distraught parents. Improved communication can in turn facilitate the grieving process.     

Effects of leg and body position on transcutaneous oxygen measurements in healthy subjects and subjects with peripheral artery disease after lower-extremity arterial revascularization: A pilot study

Transcutaneous oxygen (TcPO(2)) measurements provide a noninvasive, objective determination of the oxygen level at the skin surface. This offers a means of estimating the underlying circulation and tissue oxygenation. The purpose of the pilot study was to measure the TcPO(2) value of the lower extremity of healthy men and women and of patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in 4 different body and leg positions 24 hours after peripheral vascular surgery reconstruction. The specific aim was to determine if lower-extremity TcPO(2) measurements were affected by changes in extremity position in these subject populations. A convenience sample of 4 healthy health care professionals and 4 patients who had peripheral vascular reconstruction surgery 24 hours before the measurements were studied. Subjects were studied in 4 different leg and body positions: supine with legs extended, sitting with legs dependent, a 5 degrees head-up reverse Trendelenburg, and supine with legs elevated 10 in. The Radiometer TCM30 TcPO(2) monitor was used to carry out these measures. Findings revealed a statistically significant difference in TcPO(2) measurements between the 2 groups, with the healthy subjects having a significantly higher TcPO(2) measurement in all extremity positions compared with the revascularized subjects with PAD (P =.02-.05). Significant changes were noted in both the foot temperature (P =.03) and TcPO(2) measurements with extremity positions within the healthy subject group (P =.001). The foot and leg TcPO(2) measurements affect from leg and body position did not reach significance (P =.09) in the subjects with PAD. No change in foot temperature with extremity positioning (P =.42) was noted in the subjects with PAD. This pilot study provides a base in which additional research will be performed with TcPO(2) measurements in both the healthy and revascularized person.     

Caring for the Involuntarily Hospitalized Adolescent: The Issue of Power in the Nurse-Patient Relationship

TOPIC: The power relations between involuntarily hospitalized adolescents and their caregivers from the viewpoint of theory development in nursing and the concept of medicalization. PURPOSE: To contribute to the development of nursing theories that can guide nursing care of involuntarily hospitalized adolescents by examining the power relations between the adolescents and their caregivers. SOURCES: Published literature in medical sociology, and nursing and psychiatric ethics. Nursing and psychiatric literature, in which Michel Foucault's theories are used to explicate the disciplinary power of psychiatry. CONCLUSIONS: To empower involuntarily hospitalized adolescents nurses must both recognize the inevitable power imbalance and seek guidance from the egalitarian ideals of nursing. Nurses can draw from postmodern thinkers who dismiss the idea that one theory can explain human relationships.     

The role of nursing in managing treatment-associated adverse effects in patients with hepatitis C.

The treatment for chronic hepatitis C with interferon and ribavirin is associated with a large number of untoward side effects ( Cornberg, Wedemeyer &, Manns, 2002). Management of these adverse effects has a great impact on the compliance of affected patients during the course of their treatment. Thus, the influence of the nurse on patient compliance and quality of life improvement during interferon and ribavirin treatment cannot be understated. Anecdotally, from the patient's point of view, the adverse effects of treatment often overshadow the goal of treatment, viral clearance. Nurses, as a result of their role as patient advocates, have the ability to enhance treatment compliance greatly by recognizing and managing treatment-associated side effects.