PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Sandra P Thomas

Publications and source records attributed to Sandra P Thomas.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Through the lens of Merleau-Ponty: advancing the phenomenological approach to nursing research.

Phenomenology has proved to be a popular methodology for nursing research. I argue, however, that phenomenological nursing research could be strengthened by greater attention to its philosophical underpinnings. Many research reports devote more page space to procedure than to the philosophy that purportedly guided it. The philosophy of Maurice Merleau-Ponty is an excellent fit for nursing, although his work has received less attention than that of Husserl and Heidegger. In this paper, I examine the life and thought of Merleau-Ponty, with emphasis on concepts, such as perception, intentionality and embodiment, which have particular relevance to the discipline of nursing.

Emotions↗
PubMed2004

Men's health and psychosocial issues affecting men.

Contemporary scholars are calling on men to rethink "the male deal." As Samuels describes it, "In the male deal, the little boy, at around the age of 3 or 4. strikes a bargain with the social world in which he lives. If he will turn away from soft things, feminine things, maternal things...then the world will reward his gender certainty by giving him all the goodies in its possession." But the "deal" can have damaging effects, as shown in the studies reviewed in this article. Clinicians can help men to rethink the restrictions of the "male deal" so that they may experience the freedom of a wider emotional repertoire and move toward greater joy and wholeness.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2003

Identifying and intervening with girls at risk for violence.

Youth violence has become a prominent national concern, largely focused on boys who have perpetrated highly publicized massacres. Less well-publicized is the rapid increase in arrests of girls for violent crimes and weapons violations. In just 2 decades, violent crime arrests for female juveniles increased by 108%. From research findings, a composite portrait of the violent girl can be drawn. This profile can be used to identify girls at risk for criminal behaviors. In this article, a three-pronged approach to girls' violent behavior is presented: (a) violence prevention and emotional literacy programs that can be implemented by school nurses, (b) parent education programs that can be conducted at Parent-Teacher Association meetings, churches, and community centers, and (c) counseling interventions that can be delivered to troubled girls by psychiatric nurses. Nurses can play vital roles in consultation to teachers and parents and in direct service provision to girls who are on a tragic trajectory of fighting, expulsion from school, and juvenile justice infractions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Anger: the mismanaged emotion.

Mismanaged anger is a significant problem in health care settings. Research-based information is presented on the angry emotionality that nurses frequently encounter. Gender differences in anger are examined. Strategies are presented for dealing with angry patients, physicians, and colleagues.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2003

Anger: the mismanaged emotion.

Mismanaged anger is a significant problem in health care settings. Research-based information is presented on the angry emotionality that nurses frequently encounter. Gender differences in anger are examined. Strategies are presented for dealing with angry patients, physicians, and colleagues.

Anger↗
PubMed2002

What's therapeutic about the therapeutic milieu?

While the milieu of an inpatient facility is considered a treatment modality, extant literature focuses on the staff's role in creating the milieu rather than the patient's perception of it. Not since Goffman's Asylums (1961) has there been an in-depth examination of the phenomenal world of the hospitalized psychiatric patient. In this study, eight inpatients (ages 23 to 58) on the acute psychiatric unit of a metropolitan general hospital participated in phenomenological interviews about their experience of the environment. The essential meaning of the hospital was refuge from self-destructiveness. Prominent aspects of patients' experience within the place of refuge were three interrelated themes (like me/not like me, possibilities/no possibilities, and connection/disconnection). Universally, patients perceived peer-administered "therapy" as the most beneficial aspect of their hospitalization. They expressed longing for a deeper connection with staff and more intensive insight-oriented therapies. Although their needs for safety, structure, and medication were met, patients were not gaining greater understanding of their dysfunctional patterns of behavior. Renewed emphasis must be placed on the nurse-patient relationship and the therapeutic alliance.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Spouses' experiences in heart transplantation.

In this phenomenological study, in-depth interviews were used to obtain a description of spouses' experiences in heart transplantation. Thematic analysis of the transcripts revealed four major, interrelated themes: death-life, vigilance, change, and gift. The experience was contextualized by the existential grounds of time and other people. Findings suggested that the changes inherent in the transplant experience have not been fully described in previous studies. The theme of death-life was dominant and pervasive in all interviews. As the threat of their husbands' deaths became less prominent, wives reported difficulty letting go of their vigilance. Although the most outstanding gift was that of the donor organ, spouses also gratefully remembered the donor and donor family. Time was not perceived as a boundary separating periods of the transplant experience; all aspects of time seemed to be woven seamlessly from the past through the present and into the future. Spouses were adamant that health care personnel should recognize them as coparticipants in the critical life event of cardiac transplantation.

Adult↗