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Biomedical subjects

S Atkins

Publications and source records attributed to S Atkins.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Registered nurses' experiences of mentoring undergraduate nursing students.

This paper describes a research study undertaken by the first author, which explored and analysed registered nurses' experiences of mentoring undergraduate nursing students within a single health authority in England. The study design was qualitative and data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 mentors. The findings of the study indicate that mentoring undergraduate nursing students is a complex and skilled activity, requiring educational preparation, support and recognition. The potential for mentoring to further the personal and professional development of mentors is highlighted.

Education, Nursing↗
PubMed1993

Reflection: a review of the literature.

This paper is a review of the literature on reflection. The purpose was to unravel and make sense of the complex literature, and to identify the skills required to engage in reflection. An analysis of the literature revealed that differences between authors' accounts of reflective processes are largely those of terminology, detail and the extent to which these processes are arranged in a hierarchy. Key stages of reflection are identified and represented by a model. Skills required to engage in reflection were found to be implicit in the literature and these are identified. Methodological issues related to empirical literature are discussed. It is suggested that reflection is an important learning tool in professional education and that the skills required for reflection need to be developed in professional courses.

Humans↗
PubMed1989

Effect of calcium lactate in erosion and S. mutans in rats when added to Coca-Cola.

Thirty-six Sprague Dawley rats, 22 days of age, were divided randomly into three groups of 12 each and housed in a programmable feeder. The three experimental groups received either Coca-Cola (CC), Coca-Cola with calcium lactate (CC-CaL), or distilled water. The programmable feeder was set to deliver 17 equal volumes of fluid per day with each feeding period lasting between 80-90 min. All groups were given Diet MIT 305 in one premeasured amount per 24 hr period (ad libitum). The pH of the CC with calcium lactate was adjusted to match the CC without calcium lactate by the addition of citric and phosphoric acids. The test period lasted five weeks. Each week, the food and fluid consumed and the weight gain were measured. Erosion of the teeth was scored by the method of Restarski et al. (1945). ANOVA indicated that there was a significant difference in the amount of erosion among groups. A Newman-Keuls analysis showed that the mean erosion score of the CC group was significantly greater (P less than 0.05) than that of the CC-CaL and distilled water groups (54.2 +/- 0.12; 0.0275 +/- 0.0123; 0.132 +/- 0.070, respectively). There was no significant difference in erosion between the CC-CaL and distilled water groups. There was no difference in the amount of food and fluid consumed among the group of rats. In conclusion, calcium lactate added to CC resulted in significantly reduced tooth erosion in rats.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1987

Left atrial myxoma: pulmonary infarction caused by pulmonary venous occlusion.

Atrial myxomas are the most common primary cardiac tumors. Typical complications include congestive heart failure, systemic emboli, or vasculitic type syndromes. Presented is a case of postpartum congestive heart failure in a 17-year-old girl. Echocardiography revealed a left atrial mass. Intraoperatively this mass was found to be extending into and occluding the left pulmonary veins. Left pulmonary infarction had occurred, and left pneumonectomy was required to completely remove the lesion. This case thus represents an unusual complication of left atrial myxoma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Acute bereavement, threatened loss, ego defenses and adrenocortical function.

In this study of 43 acutely bereaved widows and widowers and a comparison group of 24 nonbereaved married persons who experienced critical illness in a spouse, we found no evidence of higher levels of affective arousal, higher levels of adrenocortical activity, less effective ego defenses, or higher levels of defensive work among bereaved persons by comparison with nonbereaved persons. Furthermore, we failed to observe expected relationships between ego defensive function and adrenocortical activity among either bereaved or nonbereaved persons. These observations are consistent with one previous study of bereaved parents.

Arousal↗
PubMed1982

Reduced catheter sepsis and prolonged catheter life using a tunnelled silicone rubber catheter for total parenteral nutrition.

One hundred and five patients were given total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for an average of 15 days via centrally placed venous catheters. Thirty-seven polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and 80 silicone rubber catheters were used. All the silicone rubber and 8 of the PVC catheters were buried in a subcutaneous tunnel. When silicone rubber catheters were used, there was significantly less catheter sepsis (P much less than 0.01), catheter life was prolonged by 50 per cent and fewer catheter insertions per patient were necessary.

Catheterization↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Psychological correlates of growth hormone response to stress.

A stressful interview was conducted in 52 older people to determine whether a stress provoked change in growth hormone (GH) is correlated with anxiety and "defensiveness." The interview was referred to events surrounding the potential loss of a spouse hospitalized two months previously: in 29 instances, the spouse had died before this interview. GH was measured before and, in 23 subjects, during the interview. After the interview, in addition to GH, anxiety was measured using the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (MAS), and defensiveness using the Crowne Marlowe Social Desirability Scale (SD). An elevation of at least 2.0 ng/ml in GH was used to classify subjects as GH responders (Rs) and nonresponders (NRs). Although the Rs and NRs had similar mean scores on defensiveness (SD), the Rs scored higher on anxiety (MAS) (14.9 vs. 10.2, p less than 0.05). Using a median cutoff with anxiety (MAS) alone, only 59% of the Rs were correctly classified as Rs. However, combining both scales in a discriminant function analysis (DFA) improved the ability of either scale alone to distinguish the Rs from the NRs. Using the DFA, 73% of the 29 NRs were correctly classified and 70% of the 23 Rs were correctly classified (p less than 0.005). With higher levels of defensiveness (SD), relatively low levels of anxiety were needed to provoke a GH response. This finding supports previous studies of GH response to stress and provides a multivariate model for the interaction of anxiety and "defensiveness."

Anxiety↗