A comparative study of antipsychotic medication taking in people with schizophrenia.

Medication adherence is problematic in all chronic illnesses, none more so than in individuals with schizophrenia. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the factors that impacted upon antipsychotic medication taking in people with schizophrenia living in regional-rural and metropolitan Victoria, Australia, and to assess if differences existed between these two groups of participants in the factors that affected medication taking. The Factors Influencing Neuroleptic Medication Taking Scale was used with a non-probability survey sample of 81 people with schizophrenia.

The effectiveness of a training program for emergency department nurses in managing violent situations.

An Australian Institute of Criminology report (1999) highlighted the health industry as the most violent industry in Australia with registered nurses recording the second highest number of violence-related workers compensation claims, ranking higher than prison and police officers. Workplace violence has become such a common phenomenon that many nurses accept it as a part of nursing. Nurses employed in emergency departments (EDs) are considered to be especially vulnerable to workplace violence.

Nursing education in Iran: past, present, and future.

Nursing education in Iran has undergone significant change since its genesis with foreign missionaries over one hundred years ago. More recently, following the 1979 Islamic revolution, nurse education has followed the direction taken by most other countries in moving from an apprenticeship model of training to an academic model. A series of transformative changes to nursing education specifically-and across the higher education system generally-has resulted in nurses now being able to undertake study across all university-based programs up to and including doctoral level.

Medication errors and professional practice of registered nurses.

This Australian study identified and described the incidence of medication errors among registered nurses, the type and causes of these errors and the impact that administration of medications has on the professional practice of registered nurses. Mostly, medication errors were attributed to documentation issues, including: illegible handwriting, misunderstanding abbreviations, misplaced decimal point, misreading and misinterpreting written orders. Several human factors were attributed to potential causes of medication errors, including: stress, fatigue, knowledge and skill deficits.

Attitudes of registered psychiatric nurses towards patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

Caring for patients with a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has been identified as a problem area for mental health professionals with some studies suggesting that a diagnosis of BPD will influence the level and quality of interaction staff have with patients. It is inherent to psychiatric nursing that practitioners are able to establish rapport, develop trust and demonstrate empathy with consumers of mental health services. Despite the importance of this issue for psychiatric nurses and for consumers, the perceptions and attitudes of psychiatric nurses towards patients diagnosed with BPD have received almost no research attention.

Nurses and occupational violence: the role of organisational support in moderating professional competence.

Objective: Occupational violence as experienced by professional nurses has been extensively researched. However, the majority of studies have focused primarily on psychological and emotional outcomes and have not identified any interventions that may reduce the impact of aggressive behaviour on professional competence. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between organisational support, occupational violence and perceived professional competence of professional nurses in Australia.

Raising awareness of fall risk among Chinese older adults. Use of the Home Fall Hazards Assessment tool.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Home Fall Hazards Assessment (HFHA) tool adjusted for Chinese homes to raise awareness of the dangers of falling among Chinese older adults. This descriptive study of 415 Chinese adults age 60 and older was completed in the older adults' homes in the community. The study was an assessment by nurses of hazards in the home setting using the HFHA.

University and service sector collaboration for undergraduate psychiatric nursing education.

Collaboration between the education and service providers assists with the development of enhanced clinical and educational experiences for students. This paper describes an innovative collaborative program developed by the School of Nursing, University of Ballarat and Grampians Psychiatric Services, Ballarat Health Services. Mental health clinical nursing staff are the student off-campus clinical supervisors and on-campus lecturers, supported by two jointly appointed co-ordinators.

Effectiveness of a training program for ECT nurses.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly technical procedure requiring a team that consists of an anesthetist, a psychiatrist, a clinical nurse specialist, and recovery nurses. Traditionally, nursing education and training in the context of providing a safe and high standard of care has not been addressed. Ninety-two nurses from 42 different health agencies participated in a training program focusing on defibrillation, electrocardiogram (ECG) and electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring, intubation, stimulus dosing, setting up the ECT equipment, and caring for the patient.

Nurse education in English universities in a period of change: expectations of nurse academics for the year 2008.

In England, the education of nurses in the academic arena has a relatively short history arguably representing recent advancement of the nursing discipline. Until we undertook this study, however, expectations for the next decade were unknown. The current investigation replicates a similar study of Australian nurse academics (Sellers & Deans, 1996) which found discrepancies between how nurse academics perceived the future development of the profession, compared to how they actually expected it to develop.