Health promotion training needs analysis: an integral role for clinical nurses in Lanarkshire,Scotland*

Training needs analysis is considered essential to professional and organizational development, for continuing education and for incorporation into professional practice. Increasingly, nurses are encouraged to develop their health promotion role. Despite this there has been relatively little research in Scotland into the health promotion role of the hospital nurse. This study describes the results of a health promotion training needs analysis undertaken on qualified, hospital-based nurses in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Information on the nurses' current health promotion practices, their attitudes and beliefs, their views on role development and priorities for further training were collated, analysed and discussed within the framework of the Health Action Model. This model was originally designed to assist understanding of the gap that exists between an individual intention to act and the eventual health action. However, in this study the ways in which ‘cognitive factors’ (knowledge and beliefs) and ‘motivational factors’ (considering values, attitudes and drives) and pressures from social norms and significant others assisted in the understanding of the nurse's orientation to, and beliefs about, health promotion practice. Fifty-seven per cent of nurses in the study considered health promotion activities to be emerging in clinical care and 4% considered them to be advanced. The interest respondents have in role development and the further integration of health promotion activities into nursing practice was explored by ascertaining the nurses' attitudes and beliefs about their own health promotion role. Of 107 respondents, a majority 72 (67%) agreed health promotion interventions to be an important function of the nurse with 29 (27%) strongly agreeing (n=107). Sixty per cent stated they would be interested in developing their role and 30% were very strongly interested. Recommendations are therefore made for future planning and development strategies for the health promotion role of hospital nurses.     

Men's issues: gender role conflict and substance abuse

The present paper aims to explore issues related to men within the context of seeking help for substance abuse. The male gender role is in conflict with help-seeking behaviour and with the fundamental principles of therapy, i.e. introspection, emotional expressivity and acknowledgement of difficulties. This creates a paradox for the male seeking psychological treatment and, it will be argued, particularly for the male substance abuser. It is argued that interventions which address the gender role and challenge men's perceptions of themselves are critical variables in the outcome of therapy, i.e. enabling them to make the necessary changes in order to promote psychological well-being. An examination of the male gender role in relation to intrapsychic issues and family systems will be followed by a brief discussion of therapeutic interventions. Some of the difficulties and issues confronted by workers who work with male substance abusers will be explored.     

Ski: Double roles in cancers

The Ski (Sloan-Kettering Institute) is an evolutionarily conserved protein that plays a dual role as an oncoprotein and tumor suppressor gene in the development of human cancer. The Ski oncogene was first identified as a transforming protein of the avian Sloan-Kettering retrovirus in 1986. Since its discovery, Ski has been identified as a carcinogenic regulator in a variety of malignant tumors. Later, it was reported that Ski regulates the occurrence and development of some cancers by acting as an oncogene. Ski mediates the proliferation, differentiation, metastasis, and invasion of numerous cancer cells through various mechanisms. Several studies have shown that Ski expression is correlated with the clinical characteristics of cancer patients and is a promising biomarker and therapeutic target for cancer. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms and potential clinical implications of Ski in dimorphism, cancer occurrence, and progression in various types of cancer.     

大学生性别角色与职业性别刻板印象的关系

目的探讨大学生性别角色与职业性别刻板印象的关系。方法采用贝姆性别角色量表与职业性别刻板印象问卷对某高校大学生进行了测量。结果在大学生4种性别角色类型中,双性化占33.1%、未分化占29.0%、女性化占20.4%、男性化占17.5%。大学生的男性职业性别刻板印象和女性职业性别刻板印象在性别上均存在显著差异(F=13.647,26.957;P<0.05),在不同性别角色类型上差异均不显著。结论大学生的职业性别刻板印象处于中等水平,应该弱化其职业性别刻板印象,以促使其更好地就业。     

Pathologists' workload and patient safety

Pathologists play a pivotal role in providing good laboratory services. They are involved in the interpretation of laboratory and pathology results, and through their role as administrators, which include medical oversight, ensure proper functioning of the laboratory. An overworked pathologist can result in deficiencies in any of these roles and cause dysfunction of the laboratory and laboratory errors. Laboratory derived information comprises 70% of medical information necessary for patient management. Therefore, any laboratory error has a potential to adversely affect patient care and thus patient safety.