The professional self-concept of new graduate nurses.

The purposes of this study were to: (1) describe the level of professional self-concept among new graduate nurses working in critical care and general medical surgical unit six months after completing a nursing program, (2) examine the professional self-concept in relation to age, marital status, and educational level of new graduate nurses, and (3) examine graduate nurses' perceptions of their nursing educational preparation for their clinical area. One hundred thirty two (n=132) new graduate nurses completed the professional self-concept nurses instrument (PSCNI) and answered two open ended questions focused on their educational preparation. Scores on the PSCNI ranged 58-106 with an overall mean of 83.

Husbands and wives living with multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently is diagnosed in young adults. Coping with symptoms of MS is challenging not only for the person with the disease, but also for his or her spouse. The well spouse often assumes the caregiving role.

Focus groups: the lived experience of participants with multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease affecting young adults. The presence of the sometimes-invisible symptoms (loss of vision, fatigue, incontinence) and the episodic nature and uncertainty of symptoms can create a constant sense of vigilance or support the use of denial. Indeed, family, friends, and even nursing support may be elusive, leaving one feeling lonely, frightened, and insecure.

Psychosocial adjustment of patients on home hemodialysis and their dialysis partners.

When hemodialysis (HD) became practical as an intervention for patients with end-stage renal disease, most were on home HD. The numbers of patients requiring dialysis are increasing as the resources for them are decreasing. Simultaneously, there is a move toward home health care.

Thriving: a life span theory.

There is a need for aging theories to become holistic and multidisciplinary with a life span focus. A theory is the construction of explicit explanations in accounting for empirical findings. A good gerontological theory integrates knowledge, tells how and why phenomena are related, leads to prediction, and provides process and understanding.

Family caregivers' attitudes toward aging, caregiving, and nursing home placement.

Nursing home placement (NHP) is stressful both for older adults and for their family caregivers. This descriptive survey research investigated family caregivers' attitudes toward aging, their emotional appraisal of nursing home placement, and their reactions to caregiving roles. Eighty-eight survey packets were mailed and 35 usable packets were returned for a response rate of 39.

Fall prevention program for community-dwelling older adults and their caregivers.

Falls are the leading cause of injury and death among community-dwelling older adults. Many of these falls are a result of environmental and internal risk factors. The authors developed a fall prevention program consisting of a self-administered checklist and an audio-visual presentation on ways to reduce or prevent falls for community-dwelling older adults and their caregivers.

The application process for nurse anesthesia programs: is there room for improvement?

In summary, we have observed that competition among programs for applicants has been strong in recent years. We believe the answers to preparation of adequate numbers of CRNAs in the future should be based upon cooperation and major recruitment activities within our geographical area. In addition, the results of this study will help us focus on strengths and areas needing improvement in our application process and programs.

Psychosocial adjustment of males on three types of dialysis.

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a chronic illness that challenges the coping ability of patients and their families, demanding behavioral and emotional lifestyle changes. The purposes of this comparative descriptive study were to explore the anxiety, depression, and psychosocial adjustment of male patients on three types of dialysis--home hemodialysis (home HD), in-center hemodialysis (in-center HD), and peritoneal dialysis (PD)--and to identify perception of hemodialysis stressors for those on home HD and in-center HD. Five subjects in each of the three groups (N = 15), matched for age, gender, education, and dialysis type, participated in the study.

Care of the traumatized older adult.

Older adults are experiencing excellent health and maintaining active lifestyles. They continue to engage in the activities they have enjoyed throughout their lives, but as they grow older they are at increased risk for injury related to these activities. Older adults suffer injuries of equivalent severity as those of younger patients; however, the consequences are much more severe.

Coping strategies and styles of hemodialysis patients by gender.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of gender to coping strategies of patients on hemodialysis.

Design: Nonexperimental, retrospective.

Sample/setting: A stratified random sample of 15 male and 15 female hemodialysis subjects was obtained from two privately owned outpatient hemodialysis centers in North Carolina.

Psychosomatic: connotations for people who are neither nurses nor physicians.

Words with ambiguous meanings allow or promote uncaring relationships that are destructive to nurses and patients. The term "psychosomatic" is frequently associated with the connotation that the mind affects the body, but disregards the continuous and joint interaction of mind and body. The purpose of this study was to examine the connotative meanings of the term psychosomatic among people who were neither nurses nor physicians.

Steps to a patient satisfaction survey.

Patient satisfaction must be assessed carefully in the current competitive climate. Seven steps are outlined for developing and testing a Patient Satisfaction Survey in a specialty unit of a general hospital.

Stress inoculation education and counseling with patients on hemodialysis.

A single-subject experimental design with multiple, repeated measures was used to investigate the effects of the cognitive-behavioral intervention of stress inoculation education (SIE) and counseling on anxiety, depression, psychosocial adjustment to illness, and perception of hemodialysis stressors. Two intervening variables, interpersonal support and control, were assessed to determine their influence on the dependent variables. The analyzed data suggested that SIE and counseling were effective in decreasing some problems for all study patients.

Psychoneuroimmunological aspects of nursing: a course sampler.

Health care consumers are searching for ways to enhance health. Bookstores are filled with self-help literature about mental, physical, and emotional connections and ways to manage these relationships. In an innovative and challenging course, the authors discuss mind-brain-body interactions and illustrate the application of alternative modalities in nursing practice.

Levels of glandular kallikrein in whole saliva obtained from patients with solid tumors remote from the oral cavity.

Glandular kallikrein activity in whole saliva was determined in 16 patients with malignant tumors distant from the oral cavity and in an equal number of healthy control subjects of similar age and sex distribution. The level of glandular kallikrein was significantly greater in saliva obtained from the patients with solid tumours as determined with a tripeptide nitro-anilide substrate, D-Val-Leu-ArgpNA. A basis for the higher levels of glandular kallikrein in saliva obtained from the solid tumor patients has not been established, nor is it possible to establish a role for glandular kallikrein in the pathogenesis of malignant disease.