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Biomedical subjects

P Rushton

Publications and source records attributed to P Rushton.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

An evaluation of a laser scanning device for the detection of Cryptosporidium parvum in treated water samples.

A laser scanning device, the ChemScan RDI (Chemunex, Paris, France), was compared with manual fluorescence microscopy for the detection of oocysts of Cryptosporidium. Pairs of filters were spiked with approximately 100 oocysts. Over 24 h at least 1000 l of treated water was passed through the filters, then concentrated deposits were subjected to an immunomagnetic separation (IMS) protocol described by the manufacturer (Dynal, Oslo, Norway) and examination by fluorescence microscopy, or an IMS protocol (Chemunex) and detection by ChemScan laser scanning. Subsequently a set of five 1-ml samples containing oocysts over a range of concentrations, including a negative control, were examined blind by the two methods (stage two). In stage 1 the average recovery rates were estimated to be 49% (manual fluorescence microscopy) and 73% (ChemScan). The average ratio of ChemScan to manual fluorescence microscopy counts was 1.54 (range 1.08-2.36). In stage 2, statistical comparison of all but one set of results showed there was no significant difference between methods. Differences for the high count sample may possibly have been caused by duplicate counting of oocysts by manual fluorescence microscopy.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Teaching cancer principles to undergraduate students.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Most of the United States population will have some exposure to cancer during their lifetime. Medical knowledge becomes more advanced daily. Rapidly expanding knowledge specific to cancer etiology, diagnosis, and treatment is no exception. The consumer is at risk of misunderstanding this information at the time of the crisis because of the emotional, physical, and financial involvement. Gaining knowledge about cancer prior to such involvement may allow a better understanding if cancer care is required in the future. The Honors Oncology Course titled Learning to Live with Cancer was developed at the College of Nursing at Brigham Young University. It was developed to teach nursing and non-nursing students basic cancer principles, provide information regarding diagnosis and treatment of the disease, and allow students to work with cancer patients in the community to understand the impact of cancer on the patients, families, significant others, and the community at large.

Curriculum↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Patient and caregiver perceptions of cancer pain control.

OBJECTIVES: This study measured the perceptions of cancer patients and caregivers in Utah concerning knowledge about and adequacy of pharmacologic cancer pain control. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive survey was sent to a stratified random sample of adult cancer patients obtained from the Utah Tumor Registry. Questionnaires asked cancer patients and caregivers about their knowledge of pain control and about perceptions of the adequacy of pharmacologic cancer pain management. RESULTS: The study had a 52% response rate (259 of 500) after two mailings. Eighty-five percent (219 of 259) of the respondents stated that they had no cancer pain. With the first mailing, a "no pain" response was not offered as an option. When the researchers realized that this might be a possible response, a second mailing was sent, which may be the reason for the high response rate. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer literature indicates that much cancer pain is not effectively controlled. The majority of the respondents of this study reported no pain. Because this result is different than that reported in the literature, it may indicate that education of healthcare providers, patients, and families can improve cancer pain management and control. It may also indicate an inability of the study to obtain data from those patients having cancer pain. This study should be repeated with a focused population of advanced stage cancer patients with types of cancer typically producing high levels of cancer pain.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An undergraduate oncology nursing course.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To develop an undergraduate oncology nursing course that provides deeper, more structured education in cancer care. DATA SOURCES: Oncology Nursing Society and American Cancer Society materials, current oncology nursing texts, and published periodical literature. DATA SYNTHESIS: An undergraduate oncology nursing course was designed and successfully conducted that included clinical experience in the inpatient, outpatient, and home environments with experience in dealing with as many aspects of patient care as possible. CONCLUSIONS: An oncology nursing course taught by expert practitioners and mentors can and should be offered annually to undergraduate nursing students. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Improved oncology patient care should result when nurses caring for patients with cancer receive specific information and specialized clinical experience as students that they can apply upon program completion as healthcare providers in the community.

Curriculum↗