Creating a Research Agenda and Setting Research Priorities for Clinical Nurse Specialists.

Purpose/objectives: The purpose of this article is to describe the evolution and results of the process for establishing a research agenda and identification of research priorities for clinical nurse specialists, approved by the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) membership and sanctioned by the NACNS Board of Directors.

Description Of The Project/program: Development of the research agenda and identification of the priorities were an iterative process and involved a review of the literature; input from multiple stakeholders, including individuals with expertise in conducting research serving as task force members, and NACNS members; and feedback from national board members.

Outcome: A research agenda, which is to provide an enduring research platform, was established and research priorities, which are to be applied in the immediate future, were identified as a result of this process.

Clinical Nurse Specialist Roles in Conducting Research: Changes Over 3 Years.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to describe clinical nurse specialists' characteristics, interest, confidence, motivators, and barriers in conducting research.

Design: This study was a descriptive, multicohort design.

Methods: Clinical nurse specialists were recruited electronically through national and local organizations to complete anonymous surveys 3 times, over 3 years.

Complications of Sedation in Critical Illness: An Update.

Sedation is a necessary component of care for the critically ill. Oversedation, however, is associated with immediate complications and long-term problems, termed post-intensive care unit syndrome. It also contributes to unnecessary costs of care.

Motivational interviewing and dietary counseling for obesity in primary care: an RCT.

Background And Objective: Few studies have tested the impact of motivational interviewing (MI) delivered by primary care providers on pediatric obesity. This study tested the efficacy of MI delivered by providers and registered dietitians (RDs) to parents of overweight children aged 2 through 8.

Methods: Forty-two practices from the Pediatric Research in Office Settings Network of the American Academy of Pediatrics were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups.

Nursing journal clubs and the clinical nurse specialist.

Purpose/objectives: The purpose of this article was to describe the clinical nurse specialist's role in developing and implementing a journal club. Tools for critiquing clinical and research articles with an application of each are provided.

Background: The journal club provides a forum through which nurses maintain their knowledge base about clinically relevant topics and developments in their specific clinical discipline, analyze and synthesize the relevant scientific literature as evidence, and engage in informal discussions about evidence-based and best practices.

Energy balance for kids with play: design and implementation of a multi-component school-based obesity prevention program.

Background: Improving nutrition and physical activity behaviors associated with childhood obesity are significant national public health goals. Energy Balance for Kids with Play (EB4K with Play), developed through a partnership between the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation and Playworks, is a multi-component school-based intervention designed to address youth's nutrition and physical activity behaviors. This article describes the EB4K with Play intervention and evaluation study and presents the baseline data.

Challenges in Clinical Nurse Specialist Education and Practice.

Clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) are well-positioned to participate in the transformation of healthcare as outlined by the Institute of Medicine and called upon by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. CNSs exercise their expertise through population-based care across three spheres of influence (patient/family, nurses/other professionals, systems). However, challenges during the educational process as well as implementation in practice can be barriers to optimization of the role, denying the public full benefit from the potential of CNSs.

A pilot study to test the feasibility of a nonpharmacologic intervention for the prevention of delirium in the medical intensive care unit.

Purpose/objectives: The aims of this study were to determine the feasibility of and test a multicomponent, nonpharmacologic, nurse-driven intervention for prevention of delirium.

Design: This was a prospective, cohort pilot study.

Setting: This study was carried out in a 12-bed medical intensive care unit in a Magnet-designated community hospital in a major metropolitan city in the Southwest United States.

PP2B-dependent NO production in the medullary thick ascending limb during diabetes.

Calcineurin (PP2B) has recently been shown to be upregulated in the medullary thick ascending limb (mTAL) during diabetes. The mTAL expresses all three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which are subject to phosphoregulation and represent substrates for PP2B. Therefore, we hypothesized that diabetes induces PP2B-dependent upregulation of NOS activity and NO production in the mTAL.

Medication safety: just a label away.

In perioperative settings, medications are removed from manufacturers' identifying containers; therefore, scrub personnel should label medications placed on the sterile field. Compliance with medication labeling practices with the use of both blank and preprinted labels was tested in the OR at a Houston, Texas, hospital. Scrub personnel were more likely to label medications and medication-delivery devices when preprinted medication labels were provided.

Complications of sedation and critical illness.

Critically ill patients require sedation to reduce anxiety, agitation, and achieve therapeutic goals. Over-sedation in combination with multiple causes for extreme muscle weakness, however, interferes with recovery from critical illness. This article describes contributing factors and explores methods of preventing over-sedation and related sequelae.

Critical illness--a lived reality for patients and their families.

This case study tells of one family's experience surrounding the diagnosis of rare cancer, where both the medical system and family struggle with a critical, largely unknown illness. The experience was complicated by communication issues between the medical profession and family, support from counselling services, and lack of information--compounded by a health system concentrated in metropolitan areas.