[THE IMPACT OF ACCREDITATION - ACHIEVEMENTS, BENEFITS AND BARRIERS: COMPARING THE VIEWPOINTS OF THE PROCESS LEADERS AND THE HOSPITAL STAFF].

Aims: Evaluating the impact of the accreditation process on the basis of achievements, benefits and barriers from the viewpoint of leaders of the hospital accreditation in comparison to the hospital staff members.

Background: The implementation of standards for accreditation aim to improve the safety and quality of treatment. Partaking in this process has raised dilemmas regarding the actual benefits of accreditation in relation to the efforts invested in its achievement.

Identification of the Learning Styles and "On-the-Job" Learning Methods Implemented by Nurses for Promoting Their Professional Knowledge and Skills.

The aim of this study was to identify the learning styles and methods used by nurses to promote their professional knowledge and skills. 928 nurses from 11 hospitals across Israel completed 2 questionnaires, (1) Kolb's Learning Style Inventory, Version 3.1.

An evaluation of preventing pressure ulcers in the urinary meatus.

As many as 5% of male hospital patients develop pressure ulcers. This brief study was done to obtain more research about this topic by evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention designed to prevent pressure ulcers in the urinary meatus as a result of urethral catheterization. Implications for critical care nurses are included.

Retrospective study of emerging themes in the decision-making process of patients considering amputation.

How patients make decisions about their future treatment has been sparsely study and with respect to limb amputation, a particularly difficult decision, not at all. An examination of this should furnish nurses vital knowledge about how patients come to the decision to give or refuse this consent. To reach as deep understanding as possible of how from the patients' point of view they reach the decision to consent to the amputation of a lower limb.

Values grading among nursing students - differences between the ethnic groups.

This study was aimed at measuring professional and personal values among nursing students. The participants were 180 students tested according to 36 personal values and 20 professional values. The findings indicated that passing time has not harmed the fundamental values on which the nursing profession is based: human dignity, the prevention of suffering, reliability, and faithful relationships.

'A pacemaker in my heart' -- classification of questions asked by pacemaker patients as a basis for intervention.

Aims: The research aimed to identify the information patients find necessary, following pacemaker implantation.

Background: Although pacemaker devices do not have an adverse impact on lifestyle, they evoke anxiety related to the patient's activities and lifestyle.

Design: Survey.

Familial polyposis: a case study.

This article presents a case study of a patient who was treated for 5 years from the time of diagnosis until his death. The patient was diagnosed with familial polyposis at the age of 35 due to a family history of the same. He suffered from low body image and showed a poor response to treatment, especially regarding nutrition.

Nurses' professional and personal values.

The purpose of this study was to measure professional and personal values among nurses, and to identify the factors affecting these values. The participants were 323 Israeli nurses, who were asked about 36 personal values and 20 professional values. The three fundamental professional nursing values of human dignity, equality among patients, and prevention of suffering, were rated first.

Emergency department staff preparedness for mass casualty events involving children.

Background: In recent years, the World Health Organization in general, and Israel in particular, have dealt with mass casualty events (MCEs) resulting from terrorism. Children are the casualties in many of these events-a reality that forces hospitals to prepare to deal with such a scenario. A literature review designed to identify unique recommendations regarding pediatric MCEs highlights both a lack of existing training programs and uncertainty on the part of health care staff when dealing with these events.

"Between the fixed and the changing": examining and comparing reliability and validity of 3 sedation-agitation measuring scales.

The goal of the study was to compare the reliability and validity of 3 Sedation Agitation Scale. Two nurses and a physician conducted 130 observations simultaneously. They found an excellent interrater reliability in the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale (r>0.

Caregivers' role in breaking bad news: patients, doctors, and nurses' points of view.

The aim of the research was to identify the caregivers' response patterns when breaking bad news at the first time of cancer diagnosis and their affect on the patient. These issues were examined from 3 points of view: patients, doctors, and nurses. A total of 152 Israelis subjects participated in the research: 51 patients with cancer, 51 nurses, and 50 doctors.

[Caregivers' role in breaking bad news: patients, doctors, and nurses' points of view].

The aim of the research was to identify the behavioral patterns employed by caregivers when breaking bad news, and their affect on the patient. These issues were examined from three points of view: patients, doctors, and nurses. A total of 152 interviewees participated in the research: 51 patients, 51 nurses, and 50 doctors.

Personal medical documents management--how patients perceive, keep and manage their medical documents: a qualitative study.

Background: Absence of medical documents damages the quality of treatment and service. Despite the computerized medical folder, its use is still limited, and not all countries have a national health communications systems. That is why the patients are asked to bring with them the documents they hold.

Importance of early referral in sudden loss of hearing.

Aim: To examine the personal and clinical characteristics of patients suffering from sudden hearing loss.

Method: The participants were 45 Israeli patients, and the data was collected retrospectively from their medical files.

Results: In most cases the injury was sensory, and in one ear.

The characteristics of self-referrals to ER for non-urgent conditions and comparison of urgency evaluation between patients and nurses.

The aim of the study was to identify the characteristics of self-referrals for non-urgent conditions to the ER, and compare urgency evaluation between patients and nurses. The participants were 73 Israeli clients who arrived at ER without referral from a physician, during the morning shift, and were discharged home after treatment. Their average age was 39.

Chronology of medication errors by nurses: accumulation of stresses and PTSD symptoms.

The aim of this research was to examine the influence of medication errors on the mental state of the erring caregiver. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 erring nurses. The data were analyzed using content analysis.

Fear, ambivalence, and liminality: key concepts in refusal to donate an organ after brain death.

The refusal to donate an organ is a phenomenon in need of exploration and explanation. This article refers to the major fear of becoming an organ donor in relation to a global culture perspective and to the Halacha (Jewish law). A theoretical critique about the ambivalence demonstrated by health care providers and families will discuss these concepts in relation to brain death, from the stages of hospitalization, through the period prior to the assertion of brain death, ending with brain death, and its perspective as a liminal situation.

Developing a computer game to prepare children for surgery.

Computer games are a major part of the culture of children and teenagers in many developed countries. Research shows that children of the computer age prefer computer-assisted learning to any other teaching strategy. Health care workers traditionally have used dolls, games, drawings, creative arts, and even videotapes to prepare children for surgery.