Publications by authors named "Kathleen Macmillan"

Respiratory disease is common in the horse population and is often associated with poor performance in equine athletes. Despite their outstanding strength and aerobic capacity, little regard is given to draft horses and the respiratory disorders they may encounter when performing athletic activity. For this reason, the objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the prevalence of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), tracheal mucus (TM) and recurrent laryngeal hemiplegia (RLH) in a population of competitive draft pulling horses, and (2) to determine if there was an association between horse weight, height, age, amount pulled, or competition placing with EIPH, TM or RLH in draft pullers.

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Limited research has assessed the "human dimension" of horse care. The aims of this study were to (1) understand horse owner attitudes toward horse welfare when kept outdoors versus indoors and in groups versus individually, (2) compare horse owner attitudes toward horse welfare with the ways in which they house their horses, and (3) explore horse owner reasons for and challenges with their horses' housing. Seventy-six horse owners in Prince Edward Island, Canada completed a questionnaire.

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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most clinically relevant cardiac arrhythmia identified in the Standardbred racehorse. However, there is limited literature regarding athletic ability in Standardbred racehorses following AF conversion. To investigate this issue, the objectives of this review were to: i) determine the success rate in using quinidine sulphate to treat AF in a population of hospitalized equine patients in Atlantic Canada between January 2008 and December 2019; and ii) measure return to athletic ability (using racetrack earnings and top-3 finishes) following cardioversion with quinidine sulphate in a population of Standardbred racehorses.

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Purpose: This case report describes the therapeutic management of a 61-year-old male who experienced aquarium coral keratoconjunctivitis caused by exposure to palytoxin and provides an additional resource to raise awareness and treat patients with ocular exposure to palytoxin.

Observations: A 61-year-old male inadvertently touched his left eye while cleaning an aquarium. Within 24 hours, pain, redness and visual blurring was noted.

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Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept; it is increasingly being integrated into health care. As studies on attitudes toward AI have primarily focused on physicians, there is a need to assess the perspectives of students across health care disciplines to inform future curriculum development.

Objective: This study aims to explore and identify gaps in the knowledge that Canadian health care students have regarding AI, capture how health care students in different fields differ in their knowledge and perspectives on AI, and present student-identified ways that AI literacy may be incorporated into the health care curriculum.

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A study of musculoskeletal injuries in Standardbred racehorses on Prince Edward Island was conducted to determine the incidence and risk factors for injury. Monthly information was collected from 10 trainers and 153 Standardbred horses over a 12-month period. Seventeen new injuries were identified in pacers, representing a horse level incidence risk of 23% and an incidence rate of injury of 2.

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Background: In medicine, dissecting human cadavers is vital for learning anatomy, developing professional skills, and fostering a relationship with the body. This opportunity has received little pedagogical attention in nursing. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of nursing students in the human anatomy laboratory to inform strategies that may be implemented to optimize learning.

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The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of horse farms on Prince Edward Island, Canada that comply with the requirements of the (Code). An investigator performed on-farm assessments while administering a questionnaire to owners of 50 horse farms. The percentage of farms in compliance with specific requirements in the Code ranged from 20% to 100% per requirement.

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Globally, the advent and rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus has created significant disruption to health professions education and practice, and consequently interprofessional education, leading to a model of learning and practicing where much is unknown. Key questions for this ongoing evolution emerge for the global context leading to reflections on future directions for the interprofessional education field and its role in shaping future practice models. Health professions programs around the world have made a dramatic shift to virtual learning platforms in response to closures of academic institutions and restrictions imposed on learners accessing practice settings.

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Expanded nursing roles are being explored in Canada as a means to better support the health of the population, enable access to quality care and contribute to the sustainability of the healthcare system. As Canada embarks on a process of developing and implementing registered nurse (RN) prescribing roles, gathering evidence from jurisdictions with established nurse prescribing is helpful to inform policy development. Of particular interest is literature from the UK, with more than 20 years of experience with nurse prescribing, which identifies the importance of completing graduate pharmacological education and building on existing clinical knowledge and experience.

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Whenever we approach a policy change or revision, it is important to consider the impact of mental models and path dependency on our ability to consider a full range of options. The need for an entry-to-practice (ETP) or pre-licensing nursing examination may well fit the description of an entrenched mental model that results in path dependency. In this commentary, the objectives and purpose of nursing ETP examinations are explored within Canadian historical context, jurisdictional comparisons are considered and questions raised that could inform a national discussion on why Canada may or may not need an ETP examination for nursing.

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Understanding the factors that can influence people to pursue a career in nursing is essential for healthcare service managers, human resource professionals and nurse educators, particularly given the global shortage of nurses. There is evidence that the public perception of nursing can be negatively influenced by the media and nursing recruitment advertisements, and that this can discourage some people from choosing nursing as a career. At the Dalhousie University in Canada, evidence regarding the career choices of prospective nurses was used to inform a rebranding strategy for the School of Nursing's recruitment materials.

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The objectives of this study were to determine the proportion of owners of horse farms in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada that were aware of the (CODE) and determine demographic factors associated with awareness. A questionnaire was completed by owners at fifty horse farms. In total, 38% of the farm owners were unaware of the CODE, 48% were aware, but were not familiar with its content and only 14% used the CODE when making decisions on caring for their horses.

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Mesothelioma is a rare malignancy in horses. This report describes a case in which marked hemoperitoneum, moderate anemia, and moderate dependent edema were the presenting clinical signs in a 2-year-old Standardbred stallion with mesothelioma of the vaginal tunic. On necropsy, approximately 40 L of dark red fluid distended the abdomen.

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Collaboration among nurses and other healthcare professionals is needed for effective hospital discharge planning. However, interprofessional interactions and practices related to discharge vary within and across hospitals. These interactions are influenced by the ways in which healthcare professionals' roles are being shaped by hospital discharge priorities.

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The purpose of this scoping review is to examine the nature of the interprofessional education (IPE) discussion that the Canadian nursing profession is having within the Canadian peer-reviewed nursing literature. An electronic database search of CINAHL was conducted using a modified Arksey & O'Malley scoping review framework. Peer-reviewed, English-language articles published in Canadian nursing journals from January 1981 to February 2016 were retrieved.

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The issues of missed or inadequately provided basic nursing care and related complications are being identified as worldwide phenomena of interest. Without being aware of it, educators and practicing nurses may be teaching nursing students that fundamental nursing care is unimportant, uncomplicated and not really nursing's responsibility. This paper explores the concept of the "hidden curriculum" in nursing education, as it relates to fundamental nursing care and calls for greater partnerships between education and service to uncover the hidden curriculum; to effectively shape it to achieve alignment between classroom and practice; and, ultimately, to improve care processes and patient outcomes through collaboration.

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Patient discharge is a key concern in hospitals, particularly in acute care, given the multifaceted and challenging nature of patients' healthcare needs. Policies on discharge have identified the importance of interprofessional collaboration, yet research has described its limitations in this clinical context. This study aimed to extend our understanding of interprofessional interactions related to discharge in a general internal medicine setting by using sociological theories to illuminate the existence of, and interplay between, structural factors and microlevel practices.

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Background: Interprofessional care ensures high quality healthcare. Effective interprofessional collaboration is required to enable interprofessional care, although within the acute care  hospital setting interprofessional collaboration is considered suboptimal. The integration of nurse practitioner roles into the acute and long-term care settings is influencing enhanced care.

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Background: Interprofessional collaboration is an important aspect of patient discharge from a general internal medicine (GIM) unit. However, there has been minimal empirical or theoretical research that has examined interactions that occur between medical residents and other healthcare professionals in the discharge process. This study provides insight into the social processes that shape and characterize such interactions.

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Purpose: To describe activities of interprofessional (IP) care, a key aspect of high-quality care, performed by nurse practitioners (NPs) employed in acute and long-term care institutions.

Data Sources: We developed and tested a new theory-driven process tool to quantify NP everyday activities of IP care. We then invited NPs in acute and long-term care to complete the IP self-assessment tool (IPSAT).

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