Benefits and challenges of the integration of haptics-enhanced virtual reality training within dental curricula.

Background: Haptics-enhanced virtual reality (VR-haptic) simulation in dental education has evolved considerably during the past decade, representing a promising resource of simulation-based training opportunities to support conventional practice. We aim to summarize current literature on the applications of VR-haptics in learning, practicing, and teaching dental education.

Methods: A literature search was performed using PubMed, focusing on research articles published between January 2010 and January 2024.

Exploring perceptions of what increased gender diversity might bring to the nursing profession.

Aims: To explore university nursing students and academic staff's perceptions of what increased gender diversity might bring to the nursing profession.

Design: An exploratory study with students and academic staff from two university nursing schools.

Methods: Students and staff in two university nursing schools were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey (October-November 2022).

How to manage being bullied as a nurse leader.

Bullying has existed in health and social care organisations for many years. Although researchers have examined the effects of bullying on nurses and nursing students, there has been too little focus on bullying behaviours inflicted directly or indirectly on nurse leaders and managers. This article provides concise and practical guidance for nurses in leadership or management roles on how to identify and manage bullying behaviours directed at themselves.

End of life care: how nurses can use a compassionate approach.

The reality of death and dying is a central facet of life, often surrounded by feelings of sadness, fear and uncertainty. Nurses have an essential role in caring for people who are approaching the end of life and their families, while being mindful of the current demands and challenges in health and social care services. In this article, the author suggests that being more open to the reality of death as part of life may assist nurses in being more attuned to the personal needs of those who are dying.

O-Health-Edu: A viewpoint into the current state of oral health professional education in Europe: Part 2: Curriculum structure, facilities, staffing and quality assurance.

Introduction: Oral health professional (OHP) education is likely to vary across Europe in accordance with an EU directive that is open to broad interpretation. It is not clear how OHP curricula are structured or delivered across Europe. The objectives of Part 2 of this paper series are: (i) to provide an overview of common practices in curriculum structure, the availability of facilities, staffing (faculty) and quality assurance processes and (ii) to consider how the existing programme structures align to stakeholder guidance documents.

O-HEALTH-EDU: A viewpoint into the current state of Oral Health Professional education in Europe: Part 1: Programme-level data.

Introduction: Current legislation leaves Oral Health Professional (OHP) education open to wide interpretation and may result in significant variation in educational practice and resultant professional attributes across Europe. Data regarding the current state of OHP education across Europe is limited. The aim of Part 1 of this series is to provide programme-level data for Primary Dental Degree Programmes, Dental Hygiene and Postgraduate Education.

'Whose role is it anyway?' Experiences of community nurses in the delivery and support of oral health care for older people living at home: a grounded theory study.

Background: Older people who receive care at home are likely to require support with oral health care. Community nurses, who are also referred to as district or home care nurses, have an important role with this population. This is because they are the healthcare professionals who are most likely to encounter this population, who may also not be receiving regular dental care or oral health promotion.

Are we well? A post-pandemic snapshot of dental educator wellness, well-being, and fulfillment.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented changes to oral care and dental education delivery. To date, the vast majority of studies focus on the impact COVID-19 had on the well-being and wellness of patients, practitioners, and students; however, limited literature addresses the pandemic's impact on dental educators.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the wellness, well-being, and fulfillment of dental educators in the years following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exploring the Interprofessional Contributions of Spiritual Health Practitioners to Prevent Compassion Fatigue in Nurses.

Background: Few studies in academic literature involve the application of a spiritual health intervention for the purpose of mitigating compassion fatigue in nurses.

Objectives: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of Canadian spiritual health practitioners (SHPs) in their support for nurses to prevent compassion fatigue.

Method: Interpretive description was utilized for this research study.

Evaluation of a co-designed educational e-resource about oral health for community nurses: study protocol.

Background: Oral health is a crucial aspect of health and wellbeing for older people. Poor oral health has been found to significantly increase the risk of chronic health conditions and poor quality of life for older people. Nurses practicing in the community are well-placed to provide oral health care to older people in their own homes, yet there has been little research in this field to develop accessible support for them to do so.

How to undertake structured clinical reflection.

While clinical reflection has been an essential aspect of nursing practice for many years, some nurses may still find it challenging to constructively engage with this process and may not recognise the benefits and learning that can result from it. This article provides practical guidance for nurses on how to undertake reflection, to support them to reflect regularly as part of their practice. • Reflection is a process of engaging with and learning from one's thoughts, emotions and actions in a supportive and critical manner.

Spirituality in palliative care.

Although being recognized by the World Health Organization as an essential domain of palliative care, spiritual care is still one of the most neglected component of the healthcare system. In this editorial, we set the context and invite contributions for a BMC Palliative Care Collection of articles titled 'Spirituality in Palliative Care'.

Learning Clinical Skills Using Haptic vs. Phantom Head Dental Chair Simulators in Removal of Artificial Caries: Cluster-Randomized Trials with Two Cohorts' Cavity Preparation.

Dental task trainer simulators using haptics (virtual touch) offers a cost-effective method of teaching certain clinical skills. The purpose of this study is to evaluate students' performance in removing artificial caries after training with either a haptic dental chair simulator with virtual reality or a traditional dental chair simulator with a mannequin head. Cluster Randomized Controlled Trials in two cohorts, both Year 1 dental students.

Interventions supporting community nurses in the provision of Oral healthcare to people living at home: a scoping review.

Background: Oral health is a critical issue for public health and poor oral health is associated with significant chronic health conditions and lower quality of life. There has been little focus on providing oral health care to people who receive care in their own homes, despite the high risk of poor oral health in older people. Nurses practicing in the community are well placed to deliver this care, but little is known about how to build this capability through education or training interventions.

Challenges and opportunities of online education in dentistry post-COVID-19.

Identifies the main tenets of learner-centred education. Identifies different modes of delivering educational content. Considers the boundary between formal and informal learning.

Co-producing transgender awareness training for healthcare students and professionals.

Nurses and doctors must be culturally competent to care for transgender patients. However, there is little time dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer plus (LGBTQ+) health in undergraduate and postgraduate nursing and medicine education and healthcare professionals often lack the competence and skills to treat transgender patients sensitively. At Queen's University Belfast, a transgender awareness training session was developed to enhance the cultural competence of nursing and medicine students and academic staff.

O-Health-Edu: A vision for oral health professional education in Europe.

This consensus paper reports on the process of developing a renewed vision for Oral Health Professional (OHP) education across Europe, and forms part of a larger EU-funded collaborative Erasmus+ project, "O-Health-Edu." The vision aligns with the World Health Organisation milestones (2016) and resolutions (2021), and EU4Health programme (2020) objectives - and projects 20 years into the future, to 2040. This longitudinal vision takes a multi-stakeholder perspective to deliver OHP education that acts in the best interests of both students and patients, and sits within the context of a wider strategy for general health.

Providing palliative and end of life care for people with advanced disease.

All nurses and healthcare workers have a vital role in caring for people with a life-limiting prognosis. The importance of this role was accentuated during the widespread loss of life resulting from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This article revisits the crucial role of nurses in the care of people with advanced disease, while outlining how nurses can provide evidence-based palliative and end of life care.

ARTICULATE: A European glossary of terms used in oral health professional education.

Introduction: The Erasmus+O-Health-EDU project aims to gain a comprehensive view of oral health professional (OHP) education in Europe, through the development of web-based surveys and online toolkits. A glossary to facilitate a common language through which academic teams could cooperate and communicate more accurately was identified as a key need within the project. The aim of ARTICULATE was thus to create a shared language, with a European focus, for terms and concepts used in the field of OHP education.

The Managing Advanced Cancer Pain Together (MACPT) conversation tool: an evaluation of use in clinical practice.

To investigate use of the 'Managing Advanced Cancer Pain Together' conversation tool between individuals with advanced cancer and healthcare professionals (HCPs) during routine consultations. Twenty-one patients and six HCPs completed questionnaires before and after use of the tool (at their routine consultation 1 and consecutive consultation 2, respectively). Patients and HCPs were satisfied with communication during both consultations.

Gender diversity in nursing: time to think again.

Despite recent discussions and campaigns to widen nursing's appeal to people of diverse gender identities, it continues to be perceived as a largely female profession. In the context of an ageing workforce, and alongside recruitment and retention challenges, efforts should be directed at developing a more inclusive profession rather than focusing on why people other than women do not become nurses. To attract more men, transgender people and those who identify as nonbinary, as well as women, the approach to nursing recruitment needs to change.

Patients' and dentists' perceptions of tele-dentistry at the time of COVID-19. A questionnaire-based study.

Objectives: COVID-19 has had a significant impact on dentistry in unforeseen ways, including a substantial rise in the development and implementation of video consultations. The research aimed to investigate dentists' and patients' attitudes towards dental video consultations (tele-dentistry) and to identify potential ways to improve the experience.

Methods: A cross-sectional, pre-post design, online survey was carried out with patients' and dentists' before and after video consultations.

Physical, emotional and social pain communication by patients diagnosed and living with multiple myeloma.

To describe physical, social and emotional aspects of pain self-reported by patients with multiple myeloma (MM), and patient-physician communication of physical pain. We analyzed self-reported data from 330 adults receiving anti-MM therapy in Germany and Italy on health-related quality of life (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core-30 Questionnaire version 3, -MY20) and bone pain symptoms. Patients experienced clinically important physical (69%), emotional (58%) and social (22%) pain.

COVID 19 and Dental Education: Transitioning from a Well-established Synchronous Format and Face to Face Teaching to an Asynchronous Format of Dental Clinical Teaching and Learning.

The Covid-19 pandemic made it necessary to adopt and establish complete or partial online delivery of our clinical teaching and learning. We developed an alternative approach with a combination of Problem based Learning asynchronous fora and Teacher-facilitated synchronous online discussions. Our aim is to share our educational practice and highlight the requirements and constraints, advantages and challenges of such an approach.

Cooperative financial institutions: A review of the literature.

Financial cooperatives play an important role in the financial systems of many countries. They act as a safe haven for deposits and are major sources of credit for households and small- and medium-sized firms. A not-for-profit orientation (in many cases) and a focus on maximising benefits to members have ensured the enduring popularity and sustainability of financial cooperatives.