Baccalaureate entry to practice: a systems view.

As the focus of health care shifts from inpatient hospital treatment to primary, community-based prevention, nurses will be required to learn new skills to take on new responsibilities. The authors use systems theory and a brief review of the history of nursing educational reform to explore the proposed requirement of a baccalaureate nursing degree for entry to practice and its potential effect on the nursing profession.

Concept mapping as a means of course evaluation.

Concept mapping is a teaching and learning tool that is especially suited for science-based instruction. This article describes concept mapping as a tool for course evaluation in a fourth-year undergraduate Wellness course in a Health Studies Department. Pre-lecture and post-lecture concept maps describing wellness were compared on the basis of the degree of complexity of the diagram and the relationships among the various parameters.

Organizational characteristics and their effect on health.

There is a complex relationship between work, employee health, and successful business results. At the individual level, multiple factors including physical, psychological, and social aspects of the work environment affect workers' health and well-being. At the organizational level, the consequences of unhealthy work environments may be traced to a decrease in the quality of service and products, and a loss in productivity.

"Surviving": registered nurses' experiences in a baccalaureate nursing program.

In 2000, one Canadian university began offering a 12-month baccalaureate program to provide registered nurses (RNs) with a condensed program to expedite baccalaureate preparation. The paucity of current literature regarding returning RNs' experiences emphasized the need to explore these students' perceptions regarding their educational experiences. Twelve participants were interviewed for this descriptive/exploratory study.

Effect of moderate exercise on salivary immunoglobulin A and infection risk in humans.

The incidence of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and salivary immunoglobulin A concentrations [IgA(s)] of nine individuals were examined during 12 weeks of moderate exercise training, and compared to ten sedentary controls. Changes in maximal oxygen uptake were assessed at initial, mid-point and final evaluations (T1-3), while changes in [IgA(s)] and salivary immunoglobulin concentration-salivary albumin concentration ratio ([IgA(s)]:[Alb(s)]) were monitored at T1 and T3. During the 12 week period, symptoms of URTI were self-recorded daily.