The telephone survey: a methodological strategy for obtaining information

Studies have shown that students and the general population have little knowledge about nursing schools and the nursing profession. This study investigates the extent to which a sample of the population of Brazil is aware of the existence of nursing schools, and how they have obtained this information. Data were collected by telephone interviews. The sample consisted of 326 subjects whose telephone numbers were taken from the telephone book. Analysis showed that 73% of the subjects were aware of the existence of two nursing schools in the city; however, 65.03% did not know the names of these schools. Direct communication with friends and family, as well as indirect communication by television and advertising, were the sources of information mentioned by those questioned.     

Accelerating effects of epidermal growth factor on skin lesions of pemphigus vulgaris: a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a severe blistering disease involving the skin and mucous membranes. The most common causes of death in these patients are adverse effects of drugs, and infection. Skin lesions are one of the important sources of infection. Thus, any local treatment that could reduce healing time of lesions and consequently reduce the total dosage of drugs needed to treat is favourable. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in reducing healing time of lesions in patients with pemphigus vulgaris. METHODS: In this randomized, double-blind, within-patient, left/right, controlled trial, 20 hospitalized patients with pathologial and immunohistologial (direct and indirect immunoflourecence) proven pemphigus vulgaris (PV) were chosen. In addition, all patients had at least one appropriate pemphigus lesion on each side of the body that had not healed after 2-week systemic therapy and sterile saline washing. EGF (10 microg/g) in 0.1% silver sulfadiazine cream vs. 0.1% silver sulfadiazine cream alone was applied randomly on one side of the body. RESULTS: Kaplan-Meier survival analysis suggested that median time to heal with application of EGF plus silver sulfadiazine cream was 9 days, in comparison with 15 days for silver sulfadiazine cream alone (log-rank test, P=0.0003). No intervention-related adverse effect was observed during the study. CONCLUSIONS: EGF can significantly reduce healing time of skin lesions in patients with pemphigus vulgaris, at least when this cream base is applied (Cochrane skin group identifier: CSG20).     

Evaluating clinical educators: an employer's perspective

An Australian school of nursing's attempt to introduce an evaluation process required by management for clinical educators involved in undergraduate preregistration education is discussed Reliance on student feedback and clinical agencies' perceptions of the quality of teaching were seen as inadequate mechanisms for evaluation The evaluation process adopted incorporated observation of the educators together with self-reflection on their performance We conclude that post-briefings were poorly used and generally not reflective Educators relied heavily on their clinical skills and used a limited range of teaching strategies Whilst evaluation of clinical educators was time consuming and therefore costly, it is argued that it is essential to the integrity of the course The evaluation process has provided direction for support and development of clinical educators within the context of the curriculum     

The lived experience of clinical educators

This phenomenological study was undertaken to discover the everyday meanings which clinical educators of pre-registration Bachelor of Nursing students attached to their experiences as clinical educators The researcher employed a qualitative design using audiotaped in-depth interviews with four registered nurses employed as clinical educators in four different schools of nursing in Victoria, Australia Using hermeneutics, thematic analysis revealed five themes of meaning central to the lived experiences of clinical educators They are (a) being human, (b) having standards, (c) developing own teaching style, (d) learn as you go, and (e) not belonging The first three themes are described in the literature on clinical education, however, the latter two are unique to this research The results of this study indicate there is need for extensive preparation and on-going support of clinical educators The researcher, who is respectful of the enormity of the task which educators face in preparing students for practice, speculates whether clinical educators are the vanguards of student learning in the clinical field It is evident that the participants of this study did not possess many of the role requirements of clinical educators identified in the literature Further studies are needed which explore the link between student learning and clinical educator support     

Remodeling Adult Nursing

This article describes a nursing education experience in which a critical thinking approach was planned and implemented. Background discussion on critical thinking concepts and related research provides a foundation for presentation of the Mackie teaching model. The model uses a community-based, family-centered scenario as the basis for developing problemfocused nursing intervention skills from a holistic viewpoint. Role expectations of students and faculty are outlined, and related implementation difficulties, together with their resolution strategies, are described. Evaluation methods and outcomes are reviewed in the conclusion.     

Teaching About HIV/AIDS: The Lessons Learned

To learn and teach about HIV/AIDS is to enter complex and senstitive territory that at times may be personally challenging. ⁵ In the vast literature on HIV infection and nursing two main themes recur: nurses' lack of understanding, negative attitudes and anxieties related to HIV/AIDS and the need for education to change such attitudes and enhance nurses' knowledge and skills.     

Collagen-induced arthritis in C57BL/6 (H-2b) mice: new insights into an important disease model of rheumatoid arthritis

Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) is a widely used model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and has been important for understanding autoimmunity. CIA is purportedly restricted to mice bearing the MHC class II H-2q or H-2r haplotypes. In this study, we re-examined established concepts regarding susceptibility to CIA. We found mice derived from the C57BU6 (B6) (H-2b) background can develop CIA with high incidence (60-70%), and sustained severity by using an immunization procedure modified for optimum response in DBA/1 (D1) (H-2q) mice. Clinically and histologically the B6 disease resembles that of D1 mice and is dependent on immunization with type II collagen, as well as on B and CD4+ T cells. In contrast, 129/Sv mice, which share H-2b, are resistant to CIA. We conclude that susceptibility to CIA may reflect immunization conditions and/or important contributions from non-MHC genes, revealed by different immunization protocols. A practical outcome is that CIA can be directly applied to gene knockout mice generated from B6 embryonic stem cells without need for backcross onto the D1 background. This model may lead to improved understanding of autoimmunity in CIA and RA and may provide a platform for analysis of the contribution of non-MHC genes to CIA.     

Cellular pathology changes in rat skin following intradermal injection of nerve growth factor: neutrophil-dependent and -independent events

Nerve growth factor (NGF) regulates the survival and development of specific populations of neurones and is involved in wound healing. A further area of study relating to the role of neurotrophins in the mature animal has concerned the possibility that NGF may be a pivotal mediator of inflammation and pain. It has previously been shown that injection of intradermal NGF can result in a neutrophil-dependent hyperalgesia in the rat. The purpose of the present study was to examine the pathological consequence of NGF injected intradermally into mature rat skin and to examine further the role of neutrophils. Standard histopathology techniques (H & E) were employed to determine inflammatory cell counts. Circulating neutrophils were depleted using an anti-rat neutrophil antiserum and results were compared to treatment with vehicle controls. Saline-pretreated rats exhibited normal circulating neutrophil numbers and the dorsal skin showed a significant increase of neutrophil and macrophages at 3 and 5 h and lymphocytes at 5 h after NGF treatment. By comparison, skin sites from neutrophil-depleted rats did not demonstrate a significant increase in neutrophil and macrophage accumulation after NGF administration. All NGF-treated sites, independent of pretreatment, demonstrated abnormal muscle fibre morphology and proliferation of the muscle sarcolemmal nuclei after NGF injection, indicative of tissue injury. In addition, oedema and some fibroplasia were also noted. Furthermore, fibrin production was increased at 3 and 5 h after NGF administration. It is suggested that NGF has a damaging effect on rat muscle which is independent of accumulating neutrophil and other inflammatory cells. In conclusion, the findings indicate a link between NGF-induced neutrophil and macrophage accumulation, as the increase in dermal macrophages was not observed in neutrophil-depleted rats. The results also suggest that NGF can have a profound effect on rat muscle and that this effect may be related to muscle regeneration.