Changing times: the role of academe in health reform.

What is the role of nursing educators in the politics surrounding health reform? This critical question is posed, and exemplars of how nurse faculty can and should become more involved in the political arena are shared. The authors issue a call to action for every nurse educator in the country to become actively engaged in health reform discussions to bring this all-important perspective to the table. Recognizing and overcoming traditional roles and barriers for nurse faculty on university campuses are essential parts of the political activism that must be assumed.

Using evidence to determine diagnostic test efficacy.

Background: Various measures are used to summarize a diagnostic test's efficacy in deciding on the disease status of patients.

Measures: Sensitivity and specificity indicate the probability of a positive or negative test result, given that the patient either has or does not have, respectively, a specified disease, and are the most commonly reported measures of test efficacy. Predictive values indicate the probability of a disease, given the patient's diagnostic test result is positive or negative, and are more useful in clinical decision making.