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Nurses' Ability (nurse + ability)
Selected AbstractsA literature review: factors that impact on nurses' effective use of the Medical Emergency Team (MET)JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 24 2009Lisa Jones Aims and objectives., The aim of this literature review is to identify factors, both positive and negative, that impact on nurses' effective use of the Medical Emergency Team (MET) in acute care settings. Background., Outcomes for patients are often dependent on nurses' ability to identify and respond to signs of increasing illness and initiate medical intervention. In an attempt to improve patient outcomes, many acute hospitals have implemented a rapid response system known as the Medical Emergency Team (MET) which has improved management of critically ill ward patients. Subsequent research has indicated that the MET system continues to be underused by nurses. Design., A comprehensive thematic literature review. Methods., The review was undertaken using key words and the electronic databases of Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), OVID/MEDLINE, Blackwell Synergy, Science Direct and Informit. Fifteen primary research reports were relevant and included in the review. Results., Five major themes emerged from the analysis of the literature as the major factors effecting nurses' use of the MET system. They were: education on the MET, expertise, support by medical and nursing staff, nurses' familiarity with and advocacy for the patient and nurses' workload. Conclusions., Ongoing education on all aspects of the MET system is recommended for nursing, medical and MET staff. Bringing MET education into undergraduate programs to prepare new graduates entering the workforce to care for acutely ill patients is also strongly recommended. Further research is also needed to determine other influences on MET activation. Relevance to clinical practice., Strategies that will assist nurses to use the MET system more effectively include recruitment and retention of adequate numbers of permanent skilled staff thereby increasing familiarity with and advocacy for the patient. Junior doctors and nurses should be encouraged to attend ward MET calls to gain skills in management of acutely ill patients. [source] Improving hand hygiene in community healthcare settings: the impact of research and clinical collaborationJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 1 2000Dinah Gould BSc, MPhil ,,Observation of nursing activities and bacteriological studies undertaken with a sample of nurses employed in a community NHS trust indicated that considerable scope for cross infection existed during domiciliary visits. ,,Poor conditions in patients' homes compromised nurses' ability to perform hand hygiene effectively, increasing risks. ,,A clinical trial indicated that carriage of medically significant bacteria likely to contribute to cross infection could be reduced by applying an antiseptic cream which exhibited residual effectiveness. ,,An audit of hand hygiene throughout the inner city trust indicated the need to pay greater attention to hand hygiene, especially during home nursing visits. The situation was less acute in a rural trust where a second audit was performed for comparative purposes. ,,The motivation of clinical staff to improve hand hygiene precautions was high. [source] Use of a think-aloud procedure to explore the relationship between clinical reasoning and solution-focused training in self-harm for emergency nursesJOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 2 2009M. MCALLISTER rn edd Self-harm is a risk factor for further episodes of self-harm and suicide. The most common service used by self-injurers is the emergency department. However, very often, nurses have received no special training to identify and address the needs of these patients. In addition this care context is typically biomedical and without psychosocial skills, nurses can tend to feel unprepared and lacking in confidence, particularly on the issue of self-harm. In a study that aimed to improve understanding and teach solution-focused skills to emergency nurses so that they may be more helpful with patients who self-harm, several outcome measures were considered, including knowledge, professional identity and clinical reasoning. The think-aloud procedure was used as a way of exploring and improving the solution-focused nature of nurses' clinical reasoning in a range of self-harm scenarios. A total of 28 emergency nurses completed the activity. Data were audiotaped, transcribed and analysed. The results indicated that significant improvements were noted in nurses' ability to consider the patients' psychosocial needs following the intervention. Thus this study has shown that interactive education not only improves attitude and confidence but enlarges nurses' reasoning skills to include psychosocial needs. This is likely to improve the quality of care provided to patients with mental health problems who present to emergency settings, reducing stigma for patients and providing the important first steps to enduring change , acknowledgment and respect. [source] Culture theorizing past and present: trends and challengesNURSING PHILOSOPHY, Issue 4 2010Helen E.R. Vandenberg RN MSc (Nursing) Abstract Over the past several decades, nurses have been increasingly theorizing about the relationships between culture, health, and nursing practice. This culture theorizing has changed over time and has recently been subject to much critical examination. The purpose of this paper is to identify the challenges impeding nurses' ability to build theory about the relationships between culture and health. Through a historical overview, I argue that continued support for the essentialist view of culture can maintain a limited view of complex race relations. I also argue that attempts to apply culture theory, without knowledge of important historical, political, and economic factors, has often resulted in oversimplified versions of what was originally intended. Furthermore, I argue that individual-level interventions alone will be insufficient to address health inequities related to culture. Despite new critical conceptualizations of culture and the uptake of cultural safety, nursing scholars must better address the broader organizational, population, and political interventions needed to address inequities in health. I conclude with suggestions for how nurses might proceed with culture theorizing given these challenges. [source] Beyond polarities of knowledge: the pragmatics of faithNURSING PHILOSOPHY, Issue 1 2002Gweneth A. Hartrick RN Abstract The dissociation between the domains of knowledge continues to perpetuate the fragmentation of people's health and healing experiences. Of particular significance are the polarities that have been created between the objective, subjective and spiritual dimensions of knowledge and human experience. This paper offers a consideration of how faith might serve as a pragmatic avenue towards assuaging the polarities between knowledges and enhancing nurses' ability to attend to the complex and mulitdimensional nature of health and healing processes. [source] Advances in the Pharmacological Treatment of Bipolar Affective DisordersPERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHIATRIC CARE, Issue 3 2003Susan McCabe EdD TOPIC Advances in the psychopharmacologic treatment of bipolar affective disorders (BPAD). PURPOSE To increase advanced practice nurses' ability to match prescribing practices with known etiological factors and the neurobiology of this complex set of disorders. SOURCES Published literature. CONCLUSIONS A wide array of pharmacological agents exist that can be useful to manage BPAD symptoms. APRNs play a critical role in helping patients and their families to use these drugs effectively. [source] Patients' Sexual Health: A Qualitative Research Approach on Greek Nurses' PerceptionsTHE JOURNAL OF SEXUAL MEDICINE, Issue 8 2009Evangelia Nakopoulou MSc ABSTRACT Introduction., Health care professionals, especially nurses, through their contact with patients, play an important role in encouraging discussions about sexual concerns. Aim., To explore perceptions on sexual health issues and how these might inhibit or enhance Greek nurses' ability to incorporate sexual health assessment into everyday practice. Main Outcome Measures., A discussion guide was used as checklist to ensure that the basic issues would be addressed. Topics related to the areas of interest were either brought up from the participants or introduced by the moderator. Methods., The study recruited a purposive sample of 44 Greek staff nurses (SN) attending a course leading to their professional upgrading. A qualitative research design was employed using seven focus groups. Discussions started with nurses' perceived definitions of sexual health and proceeded with open-ended questions. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis based on the principles of grounded theory. Results., Three central themes were identified from transcripts' thematic analysis: subjective perception of sexual health, discussing sexual problems, and educational and training needs. Participants' perceptions of sexual health centred mainly on the emotional and somatic dimensions. Regarding clinical practice, a variety of personal and contextual reasons limit nurses' willingness to talk about sexuality with patients, such as gender and age differences, familial upbringing, lack of time and privacy, and restricted perception of nursing role. All nurses stressed the need for further specialized training not only in physiology issues related to sexuality, but also most importantly in communication skills. Conclusions., Although Greek nurses acknowledge the importance of sexual health assessment, they believe that sexual history taking is not within the range of their professional tasks. Since holistic care demands sexual health assessment and intervention to be an integral part of nursing practice, it is necessary to introduce courses in their curriculum and experiential workshops addressing the multidimensionality of sexuality. Nakopoulou E, Papaharitou S, and Hatzichristou D. Patients' sexual health: A qualitative research approach on Greek nurses' perceptions. J Sex Med 2009;6:2124,2132. [source] | ||||||||||