Comparison of communication outcomes in traditional versus simulation strategies in nursing and medical students.

The Institute of Medicine has called for more interprofessional collaboration between physicians and nurses. The purpose of this research was to compare the outcomes in affective and communication domains using a traditional (roundtable) model versus simulation in nursing and medical students. A prospective, descriptive survey design was used to collect data on 41 senior bachelor of science in nursing students, and 19 second-year medical students.

Using service-learning to develop health promotion and research skills in nursing students.

Health promotion skills are a key component of most nursing education programs. While many curricula center around a singular health promotion project contained in one course, this nursing program saw the opportunity to use service-learning as a vehicle for developing a range of both health promotion and research skills. This report details a service-learning research program involving second and third year nursing students.

Pain intensity and postoperative pulmonary complications among the elderly after abdominal surgery.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether postoperative pain intensity differs between elderly abdominal surgery patients in whom postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) develop and those in whom they do not.

Methods: The exploratory secondary analysis of data from a prospective study of risk factors for PPC had a convenience sample of 86 patients (> or =60 years old) after abdominal surgery at 3 Midwestern hospitals. Daily measurements from postoperative day (POD) 1 to 6 included: pain (rated 0 to 10) at rest, with coughing, deep breathing, movement and walking, and frequency of ambulation.