Washing and changing uniforms: is guidance being adhered to?

To allay public apprehension regarding the risk of nurses' uniforms transmitting healthcare-associated infections (HCAI), national and local guidelines have been issued to control use, laundry and storage. This paper aims to measure the knowledge of registered nurses (RNs) and healthcare assistants (HCAs) working within a rural NHS foundation Trust and their adherence to the local infection prevention and control (IPC) standard regarding uniforms through a Trust-wide audit. Stratified random sampling selected 597 nursing staff and 399 responded (67%) by completing a short questionnaire based on the local standard.

A literature review of two laxatives: lactulose and polyethylene glycol.

This paper presents a literature review of two commonly used osmotic laxatives, lactulose and polyethylene glycol (PEG). With increasing numbers of nurses in the community being non-medical prescribers, informed decisions on choice of laxatives is required. Nurses who do not prescribe will often have a view for the benefit of their patients.

Nurses' attitudes towards the sexuality of colorectal patients.

This article reviews the literature on nurses' attitudes towards sexuality and highlights a range of studies carried out on functional outcomes following colorectal surgery. The article provides nurses with an insight into colorectal cancer, the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in men and women following colorectal surgery and the importance of addressing the various aspects of sexuality in a sensitive manner to provide patients with holistic care.

An evaluation of using a web-based statistics test to teach statistics to post-registration nursing students.

Part of evidence-based practice is an ability to appraise research. Studies have shown that understanding the statistical components of a study is an area some nursing students struggle with. This paper reports the implementation and evaluation of a web-based statistics test to teach statistics to post-registration nursing students.

A study into nurses' awareness of the National Service Frameworks.

This study sought to demonstrate nurses' awareness of the National Service Frameworks (NSFs), which began in 1999, and are an important part of the Government's modernization strategy for the NHS. A questionnaire was sent, in 2002, to a systematic random sample of 228 nurses. The results were analysed for descriptive and comparative statistics using the computer software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and the nurses questioned showed a low to moderate level of awareness.

A survey of pressure ulcer education within pre-registration radiography courses.

The prevention of pressure ulcers and the management of people with pressure ulcers is multi-disciplinary, though in many places it is considered a nursing problem. Radiography environments are a potential cause of pressure ulcers. This paper describes the results of a survey of pre-registration radiography education institutions regarding the education provision on the prevention of pressure ulcers within radiography environments.

The experience and opinions of teachers of radiography students regarding pressure ulcer prevention and management in x-ray departments.

As part of a survey of pre-registration radiography course providers about pressure ulcer education, we asked respondents to comment on their personal experience of pressure ulcer prevention and management in x-ray environments, and also to identify what they consider to be important issues in this area. Responses were received from 14 out of the 24 providers of radiography education in the UK. The qualitative data was content analysed.

A case-control study of the transit times through an accident and emergency department of ankle injured patients assessed using the Ottawa Ankle Rules.

This paper reports part of a larger study of 354 consecutive attendances to an Accident and Emergency department by patients with ankle injuries. One hundred and ninety-nine patients met the criteria for inclusion in this study. The case study group (n =79) were those patients assessed by a nurse practitioner who had been trained in, and had authority to use of the Ottawa Ankle Rules (OAR) and were referred for radiographs from triage assessment.

Nurse practitioners and the Ottawa Ankle Rules: comparisons with medical staff in requesting X-rays for ankle injured patients.

This paper reports on part of a study of 354 consecutive attendances to an Accident and Emergency (A&E) department by patients with ankle injuries. The aim of this study was to examine the percentage of X-ray photographs requested by nurse practitioners compared to those requested by medical practitioners. The study took place in an A&E department where nurse practitioners have the authority to request X-rays photographs for ankle injuries, either at triage assessment or at the subsequent treatment stage.

First aid in the history of occupational health nursing.

The history of occupational health nursing has been bedevilled with a vision of nurses who sit in treatment rooms providing first aid and nothing else. This paper provides a preliminary review of some of the literature available in the UK in an attempt to offer an explanatiion concerning the association of occupational health nursing with first aid. The argument suggests that female first aiders were known as nurses prior to 1919 and the legacy of this post-1919, with first aiders inappropriately and probably illegally using the title 'sister', has led to the ambiguity surrounding the role today.