The bridge: providing nursing care for survivors of sexual violence.

Purpose: To describe the experiences of nurses who provide care for survivors of sexual violence (SV) on a number of different types of hospital units.

Data Sources: Semi-structured interviews of 23 unit managers and 12 advanced practice nurses from four tertiary care hospitals were audiotaped and transcribed. Participants were asked to describe how they screen for SV and how they provide care for survivors.

Cultural differences in therapeutic humor in nursing education.

Humor has been recognized by nurse researchers and practitioners as a constructive therapeutic intervention and has shown positive psychological and physiological outcomes for patient care. Because cross-cultural research on humor is sparse, this preliminary study investigates how nursing faculty members approach teaching therapeutic humor in the classroom and clinical education in different countries. Through an investigation of classroom (didactic) education and clinical practicum with direct patient care, the study may elucidate the linkage between theory and practice as well as how nursing faculty members view therapeutic humor in general.

Evaluating college student interest in pet therapy.

Unlabelled: The first year of college can be extremely stressful, especially for students residing on campus.

Objective: The authors obtained information from college freshmen about their relationships with pets and investigated interest in a pet therapy program as social support for transient stressful periods.

Participants: As part of a university orientation program, 246 college freshman attended 1 of 5 health issues sessions offered during the 2006-2007 academic year.

Substantive areas of clinical nurse specialist practice: a comprehensive review of the literature.

Aim: A comprehensive review of the literature was performed to describe the substantive clinical areas of clinical nurse specialist (CNS) practice.

Background: There is lack of understanding about the role of CNSs. Debates over blending CNS and nurse practitioner roles are common, as are questions and uncertainties about new models of advanced practice nursing endorsed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Oncology nurses' responses to patient-initiated humor.

The purpose of this study was to investigate potential predictors (patient variables) that would result in oncology nurses' recognition of and response to patient-initiated humor (PIH). Participants included 47 nurses of an 80-member Oncology Nursing Society chapter (57% response rate), which yielded 232 usable vignettes. Previously collected qualitative data of patient-nurse conversations were used to construct simulated vignettes using a factorial survey design.

Comparing teaching practices about humor among nursing faculty: an international collaborative study.

Humor has been recognized by nurse researchers as a therapeutic intervention known to have positive psychological and physiological outcomes for patients. There is, however, no research that examines how nurses learn about humor. The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine nursing faculty members' teaching practices about humor education in the classroom and in clinical settings.

Responding to patient-initiated humor: guidelines for practice.

Over the past few decades, increasing evidence has shown the beneficial effects of humor. The use of caregiver-initiated humor as an intervention in healthcare settings has both physiological and emotional benefits. Little has been written, however, about another very important aspect of humor, patient-initiated humor.

Humor in hospice care: who, where, and how much?

Humor has been identified as an intrinsic social phenomenon occurring in all groups throughout human history. It is among the most prevalent forms of human social behavior yet one of the least understood or defined. Although researchers in a number of disciplines have studied the effects of humor on patients, limited work has focused on end-of-life care.