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At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

PubMed2005

Out of necessity: oncology nurses' experiences integrating the internet into practice.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To understand the experiences of oncology nurses who use the Internet in their practice when their patients use the Internet for cancer care. RESEARCH APPROACH: Heideggerian hermeneutics branch of phenomenology. SETTING: Oncology nurses were interviewed at their practice settings (n = 13), the researcher's office (n = 5), or their homes (n = 2). PARTICIPANTS: 20 nurses recruited from local and national Oncology Nursing Society meetings. Their practice sites were cancer centers, hospitals, clinics, veterans centers, communities, and Internet companies. METHODOLOGIC APPROACH: Data were collected by informal interviews that provided the narrative stories for hermeneutic analysis. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Internet use for cancer care, nurse-patient relationships, and Internet use for nursing practice. FINDINGS: Five related themes emerged: (a) varying degrees of Internet integration in the practice environment, (b) changing schools of thought, (c) developing Internet use for professional practice, (d) redefining relationships, and (e) new nursing skills. The two constitutive patterns are (a) integrating Internet into practice out of necessity and (b) reflecting historical changes in practice patterns influenced by technology. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses who use the Internet are developing new practice patterns that incorporate technology and foster nurse-patient partnerships. Practice environments either foster or hinder technology use. Nurse computer competency is essential. INTERPRETATION: Findings reflect the influence of adapting technology on practice. Internet use is a catalyst for redefining nurse-patient relationships into partnerships. The movement suggests a need for nurse Internet competencies, environmental support, and consideration for patient access (digital divide). Evaluation of content in nursing curricula and of patient competencies is advised. Further research on patient experiences is recommended.

Adult↗

PubMed2007

Study design options in evaluating gene-environment interactions: practical considerations for a planned case-control study of pediatric leukemia.

BACKGROUND: We compare methodological approaches for evaluating gene-environment interaction using a planned study of pediatric leukemia as a practical example. We considered three design options: a full case-control study (Option I), a case-only study (Option II), and a partial case-control study (Option III), in which information on controls is limited to environmental exposure only. PROCEDURE: For each design option we determined its ability to measure the main effects of environmental factor E and genetic factor G, and the interaction between E and G. Using the leukemia study example, we calculated sample sizes required to detect and odds ratio (OR) of 2.0 for E alone, an OR of 10 for G alone and an interaction G x E of 3. RESULTS: Option I allows measuring both main effects and interaction, but requires a total sample size of 1,500 cases and 1,500 controls. Option II allows measuring only interaction, but requires just 121 cases. Option III allows calculating the main effect of E, and interaction, but not the main effect of G, and requires a total of 156 cases and 133 controls. CONCLUSIONS: In this case, the partial case-control study (Option III) appears to be more efficient with respect to its ability to answer the research questions for the amount of resources required. The design options considered in this example are not limited to observational epidemiology and may be applicable in studies of pharmacogenomics, survivorship, and other areas of pediatric ALL research.

Age of Onset↗

PubMed2001

Pain management. An organizational perspective.

To sustain optimal pain-relieving care for acutely and critically ill patients, organizations must have systems in place to support evidence-based interventions, facilitate expert practice in the area of pain management, and encourage ongoing communication among patients, families, and providers. The key to success may be to create an organizational culture that is supportive of all practitioners to use effectively the many therapeutic options available to manage pain. Although redesigning structures to support pain management care can be done with relative ease, altering the culture of the practice environment and the behavior of care providers may prove more challenging. Cultural changes occur slowly, but as the practice changes do take hold, so do the results. The steps to change an organizational culture around pain management include understanding the existing system and involving key formal and informal leaders. Most experts recommend not attacking the existing culture head-on but living the culture you are trying to create and understanding that the transformation is not going to take place overnight. The use of evidence-based collaborative practice and quality improvement models may be a key to improving the practice environment for pain management. Evidenced-based pain management practice combined with an organizational commitment to optimal pain management for all patients helps to create and sustain the environment to effect the change.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1995

Coordination as a critical element of managed care.

Although the concept of coordination is not new to nursing, little is known about how it contributes to cost-effective patient care outcomes. The authors examined the mechanisms used by staff nurses to coordinate patient care services in practice environments characterized by low, moderate, and high levels of uncertainty. Regardless of practice environment conditions, nurses used the same mechanisms to coordinate patient care. These findings suggest a potential for inadequate communication among providers, poor coordination of services, and lost efficiency. Strategies to improve coordination of patient care services are discussed.

Continuity of Patient Care↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Role orientation in novice home healthcare nurses.

The focus of healthcare delivery continues to shift from hospital-based nursing practice to care in the community, which includes home health care. Many basic nursing education programs provide home healthcare clinical experiences for students. However, this may not be enough to assist nurses in achieving home health nursing competency. Most nurses recruited into home health care worked exclusively in hospitals. Many nurses are employed in a practice environment for which they lack the necessary education and skills. As the practice environment for the nurse changes, so does the role of the nurse. Nurses are having difficulty adjusting to changing roles and responsibilities. This cross-sectional research study was conducted to evaluate the extent that new home healthcare nurses understand their role. This study reveals that nurses employed in home health care for 24 months or less continue to have only a moderate degree of understanding of their new role. These data suggest that educators critically evaluate the effectiveness of orientation programs for novice home healthcare nurses.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Virtual reality-induced cortical reorganization and associated locomotor recovery in chronic stroke: an experimenter-blind randomized study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Virtual reality (VR) is a new promising computer-assisted technology to promote motor recovery in stroke patients. VR-induced neuroplasticity supporting locomotor recovery is not known. We investigated the effects of VR intervention on cortical reorganization and associated locomotor recovery in stroke patients. METHODS: Ten chronic stroke patients were assigned randomly to either the control group or the VR group. VR was designed to provide interactive real-life practice environments in which practice parameters can be individualized to optimize motor relearning. Laterality index (LI) in the regions of interests (ROIs) and locomotor recovery were measured before and after VR using functional MRI (fMRI) and standardized locomotor tests, respectively. The t test and nonparametric test were performed to compare the mean differences at P<0.05. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the interval change in the LI score for the primary sensorimotor cortex (SMC) between the groups (P<0.05), indicating that VR practice produced a greater increase in LI for the control group. However, the interval changes in the other ROIs were not significantly different (P>0.05). Motor function was significantly improved after VR (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our novel findings suggest that VR could induce cortical reorganization from aberrant ipsilateral to contralateral SMC activation. This enhanced cortical reorganization might play an important role in recovery of locomotor function in patients with chronic stroke. This is the first fMRI study in the literature that provides evidence for neuroplasticity and associated locomotor recovery after VR.

Brain↗

PubMed1993

AAMC policy on the generalist physician.

In 1992 the Association of American Medical Colleges created the Generalist Physician Task Force to develop a policy statement for the AAMC and to recommend ways to help reverse the trend away from generalism. The task force strongly endorsed using private-sector initiatives exerted through consensus and voluntary cooperation, although recognizing the indispensable role of government in defining the magnitude of the need for generalist physicians and in eliminating barriers to meeting the need. As a policy, the AAMC advocates an overall national goal that a majority of graduating medical students be committed to generalist careers (family medicine, general internal medicine, or general pediatrics) and that appropriate efforts be made by all schools so that this goal can be reached within the shortest possible time. To further this goal, the task force recommended strategies for the AAMC, schools of medicine, graduate medical education, and the practice environment.

Family Practice↗

PubMed2003

Leveraging palm technology in the advanced practice nursing environment.

The use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) in healthcare has expanded exponentially in the past several years. In addition to common feature functions such as contact lists, calculators, calendars, and expense logs, current PDAs boast a wide variety of practical healthcare-related applications such pharmacologic databases, infectious disease programs, medication calculators, and patient scheduling and billing applications. This article examines PDAs in general and the Palm series of handheld devices in particular for use in the advanced practice setting. These devices have several implications for advanced practice nursing including support of both differential diagnosis and diagnostic reasoning, reduction of medication errors, and development of effective treatment protocols. Personal digital assistant technology will inevitably become part and parcel of advanced practice nursing. The rapid, almost daily, changes in the healthcare environment require immediate access to the myriad resources and databases used by advanced practice nurses. Personal digital assistant technology provides such access.

Computers, Handheld↗

PubMed1999

The relationship of authority to decision-making behavior: implications for redesign.

Redesigning health care environments has occurred in response to cost and quality pressures. Efforts to redesign the nursing practice environment have focused on the structure and process of nursing care delivery. When redesign efforts address the structure of nursing practice systems to facilitate one important process, nurses' participation in decision making, better patient and organizational outcomes are expected. The purpose of this study was to determine if two dimensions of structure: administrative (decentralization) and professional authority (expertise) influence the process of participation in decision making for two kinds of decisions (caregiving and condition-of-work) that nurses make. The stratified sample consisted of 300 registered nurses working on medical-surgical units. Administrative and professional authority accounted for a small but significant amount of variation in participation in decision making. Because the extent of explained variation was small, the findings may challenge the prevailing assumption that greater authority for decision making results in the exercise of that authority. Redesign of the practice environment therefore must incorporate multiple factors in achieving greater participation in decision making.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Restraining impaired elders in the home environment: legal, practical, and policy implications.

Since the late 1980s, a combination of regulation and education has brought about tremendous changes in practices in nursing homes, and to a lesser extent hospitals, concerning the use of physical and chemical restraints on patients. However, case managers often seek to negotiate home living arrangements for impaired older persons as a less restrictive or intrusive alternative than institutional placement. This article moves the discussion about the legal and ethical propriety of restraints to this home setting. Questions are raised about theoretical legal implications, practical enforcement issues, and public policy dilemmas when restraints are applied to older, impaired individuals in the home environment either by professional agency personnel or by the individual's family. Specific questions for case managers are highlighted.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Further evidence on the Magnet Recognition program: implications for nursing leaders.

Growing evidence indicates that the Magnet Recognition program fosters excellence in nursing services through the development of a professional nursing practice environment. This study of 470 staff nurses from both Magnet and non-Magnet settings supports other recent evidence that nurses in Magnet hospitals demonstrate significantly higher levels of job satisfaction. Findings in this study suggest that this degree of job satisfaction, along with higher levels of satisfaction with key elements in the Magnet work environment, have a positive link to retention. The findings of this study, along with recommendations for developing a professional nursing practice environment through use of the 14 Forces of Magnetism, are timely and applicable to nursing leaders seeking remedies to the national nursing shortage.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Identifying barriers to psychosocial spiritual care at the end of life: a physician group study.

OBJECTIVE: The recent literature addresses the need to improve care for dying patients. The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to the psychosocial spiritual care of these patients by their physicians. Psychosocial spiritual care is defined as aspects of care concerning patient emotional state, social support and relationships, and spiritual well-being. The study was an exploratory means for generating hypotheses and identifying directions for interventions, research, and training in care for the dying. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: The study used a qualitative group discussion format. Seventeen physicians at a university-based health sciences center representing 10 areas of medical specialty--including internal medicine, oncology, pediatrics, and geriatrics met in two groups for 20 75-minute discussion sessions over the course of one year. Discussions were recorded, analyzed, and categorized. RESULTS: Barriers to psychosocial spiritual care were grouped into three domains and seven themes. The cultural domain included the themes of training, selection, medical practice environment, and debt/delay. Participants believed that medical selection and training combine to marginalize psychosocial spiritual approaches to patient care, while the practice environment and debt/delay augment emotional isolation and dampen idealism. The organizational domain included the themes of dissatisfaction and time/business. Physicians indicated that the current reimbursement climate and time pressures contribute to dissatisfaction and the tendency to avoid patient psychosocial spiritual issues. The clinical domain included the theme of communication. Physicians were concerned about their ability to communicate nonmedical issues effectively and manage the patient s reactions and needs in the psychosocial spiritual arena. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that research and educational approaches to improving the psychosocial spiritual care of the dying by physicians should address barriers at the cultural, organizational, and clinical levels. Suggestions for interventions at various levels are offered.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Authentic leaders creating healthy work environments for nursing practice.

Implementation of authentic leadership can affect not only the nursing workforce and the profession but the healthcare delivery system and society as a whole. Creating a healthy work environment for nursing practice is crucial to maintain an adequate nursing workforce; the stressful nature of the profession often leads to burnout, disability, and high absenteeism and ultimately contributes to the escalating shortage of nurses. Leaders play a pivotal role in retention of nurses by shaping the healthcare practice environment to produce quality outcomes for staff nurses and patients. Few guidelines are available, however, for creating and sustaining the critical elements of a healthy work environment. In 2005, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses released a landmark publication specifying 6 standards (skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, and authentic leadership) necessary to establish and sustain healthy work environments in healthcare. Authentic leadership was described as the "glue" needed to hold together a healthy work environment. Now, the roles and relationships of authentic leaders in the healthy work environment are clarified as follows: An expanded definition of authentic leadership and its attributes (eg, genuineness, trustworthiness, reliability, compassion, and believability) is presented. Mechanisms by which authentic leaders can create healthy work environments for practice (eg, engaging employees in the work environment to promote positive behaviors) are described. A practical guide on how to become an authentic leader is advanced. A research agenda to advance the study of authentic leadership in nursing practice through collaboration between nursing and business is proposed.

Critical Care↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Depression of elderly outpatients: primary care physicians' attitudes and practice patterns.

OBJECTIVE: To determine primary care physicians' attitudes and practice patterns concerning the diagnosis and treatment of depression in elderly outpatients. DESIGN: Survey of primary care physicians' attitudes using a 22-item questionnaire. Current practice patterns were identified from a computerized medical record system. SETTING: Academic primary care group practice at an urban ambulatory care clinic. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-five faculty general internists and 118 resident internal medicine physicians who had cared for 2,759 patients 65 years of age and older in the previous year. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Attitudes: Eighty percent of all physicians considered the diagnosis and treatment of depressed elderly patients to be their responsibility. Fifty-five percent of the internists felt confident in accurately diagnosing depression, and 35% felt confident in prescribing antidepressants for this population. Residents reported more difficulties in dealing with depressed elderly patients than did faculty. Practice patterns: Of patients greater than or equal to 65 years old, 8% were prescribed antidepressants, 5.4% had current diagnoses of depression, and 2% were seen for evaluation by psychiatry professionals. Age was negatively correlated with depression diagnosis, antidepressant drug use, and psychiatry evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: Internists in this primary care group practice accept responsibility for the treatment of depressed elderly patients but perceive their clinical skills as inadequate and are frustrated with their practice environment. Interventions aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of depressed elderly patients may be more effective if they are able to improve knowledge, attitudes, and the practice environment.

Aged↗

PubMed1997

Pediatric facial fractures: a demographic analysis outside an urban environment.

This study reviews all pediatric facial fractures treated operatively at the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital of the University of Michigan over a 5-year period. Previous series of pediatric facial fractures have been collected at large urban centers and may not be representative of all practice environments. Our institution is a level 1 trauma center that serves a patient population primarily from suburban and rural regions throughout the state. Referral and practice patterns at our institution gave us an important opportunity to analyze differences in patient care and management secondary to venue, and challenge the assumptions made by studies collected at large urban centers. We reviewed 80 fractures in 62 patients. Patient age ranged from 2 to 18 years old with the majority of patients (58%) between 15 and 18 years old. Most fractures resulted from motor vehicle accidents (43%) and there were no firearm injuries. Fracture sites included the mandible (38%), the frontonasoethmoid region (35%), the midface (17%), and the orbit (10%). Only two operative complications were reported. There were no cervical spine injuries. Median patient age was higher and mechanism of injury differed in our study compared with urban studies. Rapid changes in the health care delivery system and the emergence of managed care demand accurate demographic updates for the efficient allocation of valuable resources. Our results showed important differences with previous studies and imply that assumptions and analysis of the care of pediatric facial fractures based solely on data collected at large urban centers may be too parochial, and therefore subsequent health care decisions of resource allocation arrived at without respect to practice environment could be erroneous.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Nursing practice models: implications for information system design.

Nursing practice models (NPMs) describe the structural and contextual features of nursing practice environments. They offer direction in the design of information systems. Eleven factors describing NPMs emerged from a modified Delphi process: continuity of care, participation in management, collaboration, leadership, learning environment, nurse's role, staffing, communication, specialization, orientation of temporary staff, and group commitment. These factors provide nurse administrators with specific features of the clinical practice environment that IS applications should support.

Health Facility Environment↗

PubMed2005

Cultural considerations in interprofessional education and practice.

Promoting cultural competency in health care was examined from the Canadian perspective, and explored practice environments and educational programs for future health professionals that foster cultural awareness and support culturally sensitive care. Many of the issues raised are generic and likely to occur whenever patients' health practices and beliefs differ from conventional Western care. The main theme that emerged with respect to the practice environment was the use of a participatory action approach to foster collaboration with patients, traditional healers and the community. Successful collaboration is likely to result in a blend of ideas and perspectives from traditional health practices and conventional Western health care. With respect to education, programs need to focus on providing opportunities both in the classroom and in the clinical arena for students to work in interprofessional teams. These teams should not only comprise partners from medicine, nursing, physical therapy and other health professions but also include aboriginal paraprofessionals. Pedagogical initiatives also need to incorporate case-based formats and interactive sessions with patients and families. The principles underlying this approach: openness, mutual respect, inclusiveness, responsiveness and understanding one's roles should be fundamental to the delivery of culturally competent health care to all ethnic communities.

Canada↗

PubMed2006

Application of the CIT concept in the clinical environment: hurdles, practicalities, and clinical benefits.

Basic neuroscience research on brain plasticity, motor learning, and recovery has stimulated new concepts in motor rehabilitation. Combined with the development of methodological goal standards in clinical outcome research, these findings have effectuated the introduction of a double-paradigm shift in physical rehabilitation: (a) the move toward evidence-based procedures and disablement models for the assessment of clinical outcome and (b) the introduction of training-based concepts that are theoretically founded in learning theory. A major drive for new interventions has further come from recent findings on the adaptive capacities of neural networks and their linkage to perception, performance, and long-term recovery. In this context, constraint-induced movement therapy, an intervention initially designed for upper-limb hemiparesis, represents the theoretically and empirically most thoroughly founded training concept. Several clinical trials on constraint-induced therapy (CIT) have shown its efficacy in higher functioning patients; however, the transfer of the treatment into standard health care seems slow. Survey research further suggests a rather poor acceptance of CIT among clinical staff and it seems that the implementation of CIT is hindered by barriers constructed of beliefs and assumptions that demand a critical and evidence-based discussion. Within this context, we have conducted a series of experiments on amended CIT protocols and their application in the clinical environment which addressed the following issues: (1) massed practice: are 6 hours of daily training inevitable to achieve clinical benefits? (2) practicality: what is feasible in the standard care setting and what are the clinical benefits achieved by "feasible compromise CIT protocols?" (3) apprehensions: are concerns on increased muscular tone and pathologic movement patterns justified, and (4) learned nonuse: is the assumption of "hidden" residual abilities valid so that it warrants the constraint condition? In the present paper, the key findings of these studies will be summarized and critically discussed.

Brain Damage, Chronic↗