An Interdisciplinary Framework for Palliative and Hospice Education and Practice.

Leading highly functional health care teams in all practice settings is sustained through the identification of a conceptual framework to guide education and practice. This article presents an interdisciplinary framework for palliative and hospice education and practice. The framework builds on theoretical caring to convey elements of relational, holistic and compassion; articulates interprofessional tenets for guiding values; and aligns with constructs for palliative and hospice best practices.

Self-Care for Nurse Leaders in Acute Care Environment Reduces Perceived Stress: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study Merits Further Investigation.

Acute care practice settings are stressful. Nurse leaders face stressful demands of numerous competing priorities. Some nurse leaders experience unmanageable stress, but success requires self-care.

Structured Coaching Programs to Develop Staff.

Health care environments are complex and chaotic, therein challenging patients and professionals to attain satisfaction, well-being, and exceptional outcomes. These chaotic environments increase the stress and burnout of professionals and reduce the likelihood of optimizing success in many dimensions. Coaching is evolving as a professional skill that may influence the optimization of the health care environment.

Treatments for Inflammatory Arthritis: Potential But Unproven Role of Topical Copaiba.

Traditional medicines for inflammatory arthritis (IA) include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors (COXIBs), which have variable clinical benefits and serious side effects. In large-scale randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) in IA, they have demonstrated significant decreases in pain and inflammation but also significant increases in gastrointestinal symptoms, serious bleeding, and cardiovascular events. Copaiba, an essential oil used topically, has potential but unproven benefits, with few to no side effects.

Caring Across the Continuum: A Call to Nurse Leaders to Manifest Values Through Action With Community Outreach.

As health reform continues to advance, there is a need for nurse leaders to broaden their perspective related to possible nursing practice models and potential community partners in order to successfully address caring, accomplish the triple aim mandate, and achieve suitable metrics for maximum reimbursement. Intentional efforts must be made by nurse leaders to maximize caring and ensure that professional nurses are responding to the key drivers shifting health care delivery in the 21st century. Academic-practice collaboration (APC) and community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) align well.

Exploration and Description of Faith-Based Health Resources: Findings Inform Advancing Holistic Health Care.

It is important to use all holistic resource opportunities in communities, such as integrative healing centers, and mind-body-spirit approaches to health. These holistic approaches may be realized through nontraditional avenues, such as faith-based resources. This article reports on an exploratory study that describes faith-based resources supporting holistic health in a southeastern region of the United States.

Support for caring and resiliency among successful nurse leaders.

Health care practice settings are replete with competing priorities for nurse leaders who are responsible to the staff, the organization, and the patients and their families. In the midst of the competing priorities, there is a mandate for successful nursing leadership that is patient centered. To support the continuance of nurse leader success and avoid discouragement and attrition, a caring and resilient model for leadership may be necessary.

Hearing the voice of nurses in caring theory-based practice.

The authors in this paper describe the process and findings of a participatory action research project between a college of nursing and a for-profit acute healthcare organization as practice environment transformation occurred, grounded in caring theory. The participatory action research process and findings emphasize the importance of the intention to know what matters and the required time, courage, and commitment necessary to actualize practice environments that support nursing. Implications show efforts to develop and sustain theory-based practice environments that enable the full expression of nursing and a way of being that honors and celebrates the uniqueness of nurses.

Sustaining health in faith community nursing practice: emerging processes that support the development of a middle-range theory.

This article reveals processes that support theoretical development for holistic nursing in the context of a faith community. The emerging processes enhance the articulation of the holistically focused practice, add clarity to faith community nursing activities and outcomes, and contribute to theoretical clarification and development. Theoretical clarity is essential to guide faith community nursing practice, research, and education because there is tremendous potential for the specialty practice to contribute to the health of a community across the continuum of caring and because to date there has been no unifying model for this practice proposed.

A methodological review of faith-based health promotion literature: advancing the science to expand delivery of diabetes education to Black Americans.

Non-traditional avenues, such as faith-based organizations (FBOs), must be explored to expand delivery of diabetes self-management education (DSME) to benefit Black Americans with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The purpose of this study was to methodologically review the faith-based health promotion literature relevant to Blacks with T2D. A total of 14 intervention studies were identified for inclusion in the review.