Introducing the doctor of nursing practice.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Donna Hathaway.
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The emergence of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree is being described as a disruptive innovation that is altering the landscape of nursing and health care and creating a great deal of controversy within and beyond the profession of nursing. This article proposes that the DNP is actually the natural evolution of a larger disruptive innovation begun in the late 1960s with the advent of nurse practitioner programs. As expected with disruptive innovations, many challenges face those who are early adopters and who forge ahead during the early phase of innovation and later during the upmarketing phase. As faculty and administrators of one of the early, second-generation DNP programs, the authors are fully aware of ongoing discussion and issues related to the practice doctorate. This article shares the experiences of this group of early adopters and their insights into controversies surrounding the DNP movement.
Identifying predictors of noncompliance and initiating preventive strategies, including education and support services, can lessen the occurrence of noncompliance. Selection of immunosuppression protocols that involve fewer adverse effects and fewer medications can help increase patient satisfaction, improve compliance, maintain graft function, and enrich the long-term quality of life for transplant recipients.
The academic nursing practice has a role in replenishing the diminished resources that confront higher education and, if well conceived and managed, is a viable option to support existing academic program stability and growth. An alternative model for defining the academic practice--beyond traditional nurse-managed centers--is presented in this article. The cohesive interconnection of the education, research, and practice missions is addressed with examples of how each contributes to a variety of communities of interest and expands professional nursing roles through innovative care model testing and development. With effective business planning and infrastructure support, faculty practice plans can evolve to a second generation, with heightened societal accountability for service, academic, and collaborative research outcomes.
BACKGROUND: Post-transplant patient quality of life (QOL) is affected by a number of different factors. A nationwide patient registry has been established to evaluate QOL and determine the effects of transplant and immunosuppressive regimens on patient outcomes. METHODS: Patients were contacted directly at national meetings, through transplant centers, and patient support groups and invited to participate in the registry. All transplant patients aged 16 and over were eligible to enroll. Patients completed a 100-item self-administered questionnaire consisting of questions about patient demographics, organ functioning, and other post-transplant outcomes. General QOL was measured by the Short form - 12 (SF-12). The Memphis Survey, an instrument developed and psychometrically validated at the University of Tennessee, was administered to patients to evaluate side-effects associated with immunosuppression. Data were analyzed from the first 722 patients who entered the registry. Side-effect profile and QOL outcomes were evaluated by organ type, time since transplant and immunosuppressive regimen. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine predictors of post-transplant QOL. RESULTS: When outcomes were analyzed by organ type, there were no differences in SF-12 or total weighted Memphis scores. Analysis by time since transplant demonstrated that side-effects in the mobility domain increased with patient age and time since transplant. Analysis by immunosuppressive regimen focused on cyclosporine and tacrolimus-based regimens congruent with similar classifications reported in previous studies (Pirsch JD et al. Transplantation 1997: 63: 977, Shield CF III et al. Transplantation 1997: 64: 1738). When analyzed by regimen, there were no differences between the groups in terms of patients reporting good to excellent organ function, treatment for rejection, infection, and over-immunosuppression. Statistically significant differences were observed when side-effect profile was analyzed by immunosuppressive regimen. Patients on cyclosporine-based regimens reported greater overall side-effect severity and more problems with mobility and life roles. Cyclosporine patients also reported more problems in the miscellaneous subscale, including high blood pressure, enlarged gums and hair growth, but less trouble with trembling hands. Multiple stepwise regression models identified several side-effect subscales as having profound effects on mental and physical QOL. CONCLUSION: Transplant recipients report good to excellent levels of QOL, however, side-effects associated with immunosuppressive regimens impair post-transplant QOL. Problems in certain domains, such as mobility, are found to increase with time since transplant. Tacrolimus-based regimens are associated with fewer and less severe side-effects than cyclosporine-based regimens in key domains that affect post-transplant QOL.
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CONTEXT: Assessing the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors is an essential step in developing risk profiles and individualizing interventions to reduce the cardiovascular morbidity and mortality of kidney transplant recipients. OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of pretransplant modifiable, potentially modifiable, and nonmodifiable cardiovascular risk factors in patients who received kidney transplants between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 1996. DESIGN: An exploratory, retrospective nested case-control design was employed to assess pretransplant cardiovascular risk factors in kidney transplant recipients with documented posttransplant cardiovascular events (n = 12) and kidney transplant recipients with no documented posttransplant cardiovascular events (n = 66). Data were analyzed using frequencies, unpaired t tests, and chi 2 analyses. RESULTS: Significantly higher means of body mass index values greater than 25 kg/m2 (32.3 +/- 5.8 kg/m2 vs 28.8 +/- 3.4 kg/m2) and serum total cholesterol levels greater than 200 mg/dL (254.5 +/- 5.7 mg/dL vs 242.3 +/- 39.3 mg/dL) were noted in patients with documented cardiovascular events compared to those with no documented cardiovascular events, respectively. Diabetes was more prevalent in patients with documented cardiovascular events (33%); these patients were also predominantly African American men who had a higher prevalence of family and personal histories of cardiovascular disease (17% and 33%).
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OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine effects of age, sex, race, body mass index, and Tanner's stage on short-term evoked cardiovascular autonomic tests (ie, Valsalva ratio and change in heart rate with deep breathing) and 24-hour heart rate variability (HRV) in a sample of healthy adolescents, as well as to identify normative indices of both short-term evoked and 24-hour HRV in this age group. DESIGN: A descriptive, correlational design was used. SETTING: Study took place in a university hospital in a health science center located in the mid-South. SUBJECTS: Participants included 75 healthy adolescents: mean age was 15.0 +/- 1.6 years, 14 were African American, 61 were white, 49 were girls, and 26 were boys. OUTCOME MEASURES: Study measures included the Valsalva ratio, change in heart rate with deep breathing, and 24-hour HRV with power spectral analysis with Holter monitoring. RESULTS: Major significant findings included lower values of 24-hour HRV measures for girls and African American adolescents (P <.05). Indices for normal ranges of both the short-term evoked and 24-hour HRV measures were computed with 95% confidence intervals. CONCLUSIONS: Few published studies address cardiac autonomic function, including 24-hour HRV, in adolescents. Most studies reporting actual normative control values of HRV for youth typically have not addressed sex or racial differences. Our study included the largest number of adolescents to date in the reported literature and demonstrated the importance of considering sex and race variation in interpreting test results. The availability of state-of-the-art technology for obtaining HRV data allows for the early identification of subclinical cardiac autonomic changes in youth who have predispositions for cardiac complications, such as those with diabetes, congenital heart disease, or obesity.
The present investigation extends the validation of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI; Rosen et al., 2000) to include women with vulvar excisions for vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN). No instrument previously has been validated in this population. We administered the instrument to 43 women (n = 43) with VIN treated with vulvar excision and age-matched healthy controls (n = 43). We found the FSFI to have high reliability and validity in the VIN excision population. Discriminant validity and internal consistency were within acceptable ranges. Using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ C-30; Agronson et al., 1993) and the FSFI in this population, we found a correlation between a related construct of quality of life and sexual function.