Creating a more positive patient experience of pelvic examination.

Purpose: To explore through descriptive comparative analysis an alternative method of pelvic examination to increase patient comfort.

Data Sources: Sixty-two participants were recruited from a convenience sample of patients at an ambulatory women's healthcare clinic operated by a teaching hospital in the Southwest United States. Twenty-five were examined using the conventional pelvic examination technique; 37 with a new technique that we call the Rad technique, named after a co-author of the study.

Glucosamine and chondroitin: an appropriate adjunct treatment of symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of disability in the United States. Current treatment focuses on symptom relief and improving a patient's overall function. Pharmacological treatments aim to correct symptomatic complaints as well as structural problems in OA.

Best practices guidelines for nurse practitioners regarding smoking cessation in American Indian and Alaskan Native youth.

The greatest prevalence of tobacco use in the United States occurs with the American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN). A critical need exists for a culturally specific tobacco cessation option for AI/AN youth. The nurse practitioner is positioned to provide a culturally specific commercial tobacco cessation option by incorporating the transcultural nursing theory into the development of a decision tree to expand understanding of culturally appropriate best practices regarding screening and management of tobacco smoking cessation in AI/AN youth.

The coming of the blessing: A successful cross-cultural collaborative effort for American Indian/Alaska Native families.

This case study describes how the desire of an American Indian community in Wyoming grew into an American Indian/Alaska Native women's advisory committee, a culturally appropriate prenatal education booklet, and a national initiative for a nonprofit organization. The work began by bringing together women from 13 different nations and tribes, gaining the trust of the American Indian/Alaska Native women and working together to create an award winning booklet and a national initiative to support culturally appropriate prenatal education to every young American Indian/Alaska Native woman across this nation. Reservations from Wisconsin to Alaska have received this program for their young women.

Pressure ulcer prevention: utilizing unlicensed assistive personnel.

The purpose of this article is to provide education to the RN regarding pressure ulcer prevention and best practice interventions. This investigation focuses on the definition of a pressure ulcer, risk factors for pressure ulcers, and the benefits and importance of using unlicensed assistive personnel to help prevent pressure ulcers. A comprehensive literature review was completed using the Texas Woman's University Library, the Texas Christian University Library, and the World Wide Web.

Best practice guidelines for the nurse practitioner regarding screening, prevention, and management of postpartum depression.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to design a means to educate the registered nurse or nurse practitioner on epidemiology, signs and symptoms, risk factors, screening tools, management, and complications that can occur with delayed diagnosis of postpartum depression. A decision tree was also developed to help the registered nurse or nurse practitioner understand the best clinical practice guidelines regarding the best screening tool to use, when the tool should be used, and management of patients identified with postpartum depression.

Results: Best practice guidelines were developed from the literature review.

Circumcision care.

Though circumcision can be a debatable topic, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 1999 determined that scientific evidence demonstrated potential medical benefits of newborn male circumcision. However, there was insufficient data to prove neonatal circumcision is medically essential. The opinion of the AAP was reaffirmed in 2005.