An intervention to promote civility among nursing students.

Aim: The purpose of this exploratory, mixed-methods study was to test an intervention to build social capital and civility among nursing students.

Background: Incivility impacts nurses and nursing students, and can negatively influence patient care and the quality of nursing education. The Institute of Medicine and the Joint Commission recommended implementation of strategies to manage incivility and build social capital.

Does your older adult client have a gambling problem?

Pathological gambling is becoming an increasing problem in today's culture, particularly because opportunities and inducements to gamble abound. This article describes symptoms, consequences, and comorbidities experienced by pathological gamblers. Gambling pathology is often invisible because pathological gamblers seldom disclose gambling problems to their primary care provider.

Comorbid psychiatric disorders among older adult recovering pathological gamblers.

The proliferation of state lotteries and casinos has led to an increased participation in gambling and its associated problems. Older retired adults have more opportunities to gamble and available funds than other demographic groups. For these reasons, older adults may constitute a special risk group for pathological gambling.

Antidepressant treatment of depression in rural nursing home residents.

Under-diagnosis and under-treatment of depression are major problems in nursing home residents. The purpose of this study was to determine antidepressant use among nursing home residents who were diagnosed with depression using three different methods: (1) the Geriatric Depression Scale, (2) Minimum Data Set, and (3) primary care provider assessments. As one would expect, the odds of being treated with an antidepressant were about eight times higher for those diagnosed as depressed by the primary care provider compared to the Geriatric Depression Scale or the Minimum Data Set.

Use of a breathalyzer in a local bar: A community education project.

In completing a faculty-assigned service-learning project, a group of nursing students sought to educate their peers and the public about the effects of alcohol consumption. Breathalyzer readings were obtained from 150 bar patrons and correlated with the number of drinks consumed and number of hours spent drinking. The results were used to educate bar patrons about the difference between how intoxicated they felt and their actual blood alcohol levels.