Experiences of Nephrology Nurses in Assessing and Managing Pain in Patients Receiving Maintenance Hemodialysis.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health problem. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe nephrology nurses' experiences in assessing and managing pain in patients who were receiving maintenance hemodialysis at outpatient units within a tertiary care institution. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven nurses, and a thematic analysis was used to analyze data.

Meaningful experiences and end-of-life care in the intensive care unit: A qualitative study.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive exploration of nurses' meaningful experiences of providing end-of-life care to patients and families in the intensive care unit (ICU). The objectives of this research were: (1) To explore what is meaningful practice for nurses regarding end-of-life care; (2) To describe how nurses create a good death in the intensive care unit and (3) To identify the challenges that nurses face that affect their meaningful experiences and ultimately the creation of a good death.

Research Design: This study utilised an interpretive phenomenological approach using Van Manen's (1997) method.

Coping with moral distress - The experiences of intensive care nurses: An interpretive descriptive study.

Background: Over the last three decades, there has been a growing body of literature that has described moral distress as a prominent issue that negatively affects intensive care nurses. Yet, little focus has been given to how intensive care nurses cope and continue in their practice despite being exposed to moral distress.

Objective: To describe intensive care nurses' experiences of coping with moral distress.

A Multicenter Qualitative Investigation of the Experiences and Perspectives of Substitute Decision Makers Who Underwent Organ Donation Decisions.

Background: Organ donation research has centered on improving donation rates rather than focusing on the experience and impact on substitute decision makers. The purpose of this study was to document donor and nondonor family experiences, as well as lasting impacts of donation.

Methods: We used a qualitative exploratory design.

Building to Make a Difference: Advanced Practice Nurses' Experience of Power.

Power is necessary for nurses to affect change in patient care and to move the nursing profession forward. Despite the evolving body of nursing research on power, there have been no studies that have investigated the nature of advanced practice nurses' (APNs') power. The purpose of this study was to explore the APNs' lived experience of power.

The experience of intensive care nurses caring for patients with delirium: A phenomenological study.

Objectives: The purpose of this research was to seek to understand the lived experience of intensive care nurses caring for patients with delirium. The objectives of this inquiry were: 1) To examine intensive care nurses' experiences of caring for adult patients with delirium; 2) To identify factors that facilitate or hinder intensive care nurses caring for these patients.

Research Methodology: This study utilised an interpretive phenomenological approach as described by van Manen.

Battling a Tangled Web: The Lived Experience of Nurses Providing End-of-Life Care on an Acute Medical Unit.

Meeting the heath care needs of patients at the end of life is becoming more complex. In Canada, most patients with life-limiting illness will die in hospitals, many on medical units. Yet, few studies have qualitatively investigated end-of-life care (EOLC) in this context, or from the perspectives of nurses providing EOLC.

The meaning of being an oncology nurse: Investing to make a difference.

The landscape of cancer care is evolving. Oncology nursing continues to develop and respond to the changing needs of patients with cancer and their families. There is limited understanding of what it means to be an oncology nurse, as well as the factors that facilitate or hinder being an oncology nurse.

Intensive care nurses' assessment of pain in patients who are mechanically ventilated: How a pilot study helped to influence practice.

Background: Pain is a common experience among patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Many patients in ICUs have difficulty communicating their pain because of mechanical ventilation, and issues can arise when the nurse attempts to interpret the severity of pain,and work towards effective pain management.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the suitability of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) as an assessment tool to be used by ICU nursing staff to assess pain in adult.

Exploring the Facilitators and Barriers to Home Dialysis: A Scoping Review.

A meta-synthesis of qualitative literature from 2004-2014 was conducted to identify the facilitators and barriers related to patients' uptake and continued use of home dialysis. These factors were addressed from the patient perspective using a systematic scoping review. A total of 848 citations were retrieved, and 12 studies were ultimately included.

Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) practices in Canadian hospitals: Where are we now?

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication in critically ill patients. Renal replacement therapy is prescribed for as many as 70% of critically ill patients in AKI and may be provided in the form of intermittent or continuous dialysis including intermittent hemodialysis, sustained low-efficiency dialysis, and continuous renal replacement therapy (CR RT). CRRT is commonly used for unstable critically ill patients, as it involves a slow continuous process.

An Interhospital, Interdisciplinary Needs Assessment of Palliative Care in a Community Critical Care Context.

Aim: There is a paucity of data on the provision of palliative care in the critical care settings of smaller community hospitals. This study aimed to identify the gaps that affect the provision of palliative care in a community critical care setting.

Setting: The study was set in a 10-bed, open intensive care unit and emergency department at a community hospital.

A social construction of the development of ICU nursing in Canada, 1960 to 2002.

Background: The early 1960s marked the opening of intensive care units (ICUs) in several hospitals across Canada. From the beginning, registered nurses constituted the largest body of health care providers in the ICU environment and they were the central provider of hands-on care to patients and families. From a historical perspective, however, a limited body of knowledge exists specific to the development of ICU nursing in Canada.

When Someone Dies in the Emergency Department: Perspectives of Emergency Nurses.

Unlabelled: Emergency nurses work in a clinical area where treatment measures usually are provided quickly, and they have little time to establish relationships. In addition to performing life-saving interventions, emergency nurses provide care for patients who are dying. Little is known about the experiences of emergency nurses who care for patients who die in the emergency department in the Canadian context.

Parents' experience of the transition with their child from a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) to the hospital ward: searching for comfort across transitions.

Parents of children in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) have many needs and stressors, but research has yet to examine their experience of their child's transfer from PICU to the hospital ward. Ten parents were interviewed following transfer from PICU to a hospital ward at a children's hospital in Canada. Parents' experience involved a search for comfort through transitions.

Living with sensor-augmented pump therapy in type 1 diabetes: adolescents' and parents' search for harmony.

Objective: Adolescents have difficulty successfully sustaining use of continuous glucose monitoring even when it is introduced to experienced pump users. However, little is known about how adolescents and parents perceive and manage sensor-augmented pump therapy (SAPT) in daily life. The purpose of this study was to explore adolescents' and parents' daily experience of living with SAPT.

Teaching successful medication administration today: more than just knowing your 'rights'.

Medication administration is an important skill taught in undergraduate nursing programs. Student learning for this activity includes not only how to prepare and administer medications, but also includes interventions such as patient and family teaching. Students also are taught a series of 'rights' in order to prevent medication errors.

Comprehensive assessment of critical care needs in a community hospital*.

Objective: To design and implement a needs assessment process that identifies gaps in caring for critically ill patients in a community hospital.

Design, Setting, Subjects: This mixed-method study was conducted between June 2011 and February 2012. A conceptual framework, centered on the critically ill patient, guided the design and selection of the data collection instruments.

The experience of being a trauma nurse: a phenomenological study.

The lived experience of being a trauma nurse was explored using a phenomenological qualitative research approach. Seven registered nurses employed in a trauma unit from one large metropolitan Canadian teaching hospital participated in in-depth conversational interviews. Data analysis revealed four sub theme clusters embedded within the overarching theme of Seeing Through Cloudy Situations: being on guard all the time, being caught up short, facing the challenge and sharing the journey.

The pain experience of patients on maintenance hemodialysis.

This article describes the pain experience of patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Nephrology nurses have noted that patients on maintenance hemodialysis experience pain; however, it may not be adequately assessed or treated. A qualitative approach was utilized.

Caring for patients and families at end of life: the experiences of nurses during withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment.

Background: Withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment is a process in which active treatment and the accompanying technology are removed, ending in the death of the patient.

Purpose: To understand the lived experience of critical care nurses who care for patients during the process of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment.

Methods: A phenomenological study was undertaken and interviews were conducted with six critical care nurses.

Learning end-of-life care in ICU: strategies for nurses new to ICU.

The experience of critical care nurses caring for patients and families during the withdrawal of life support has recently been explored (Vanderspank-Wright, Fothergill Bourbonnais, Brajtman, & Gagnon, 2011). In that study, the nurses were able to find, using their developing knowledge and experience, their own way, over time, through the process of withdrawing life support. Challenges in caring for patients and families were described by the participants in themes such as "the runaway train of technology," which explored nurses' experience of caring in a technologically complex environment.

Transitioning a master's of nursing course from campus to on-line delivery: Lessons learned.

Distance education continues to expand in nursing programs to service students in urban as well as rural areas in Canada. This article discusses the author's experience with transitioning a master's course in nursing from a traditional seminar format with 7-8 students to one that included distance students joining the classroom in real-time. The course, 'Nursing in Tertiary Health Care' which covers the fall and winter semesters addresses issues and concepts associated with advanced practice nursing for clients of all ages in tertiary care settings.

Survey of educators' end-of-life care learning needs in a Canadian baccalaureate nursing programme.

Aim: To examine the potential need for faculty development in end-of-life care (EOLC) of theory and clinical educators in a collaborative bilingual undergraduate nursing programme in a Canadian university.

Method: A purposive sample of 53 Anglophone and Francophone theory and clinical educators completed the Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing, the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale and an adapted Educators Educational Needs Questionnaire (Patterson et al, 1997).

Results: Results indicated that educators held positive attitudes towards caring for dying patients and had modest knowledge levels.