Pulmonary function status of workers exposed to hardwood or pine dust.

Wood dusts may have substantial health impacts beyond those of nuisance dust. This project reports results linking pulmonary function changes with exposure to maple and pine dust. A cross-sectional survey of 1157 woodworkers was conducted in 1978 in accordance with NHLBI standards for respiratory epidemiologic surveys.

Quantification of the expanded role of the nurse practitioner: a discriminant analysis approach.

Graduates of a family nurse practitioner program and a sample of nonpractitioner nurses were compared in terms of their professional roles and concomitant attitudes. The stepwide discriminant analysis technique used in the study permitted adjustments for variables that affect nursing roles and provided a method for quantifying differences between the two groups of nurses. Role differences were characterized by the nurse practitioners' more frequent performance of functions relatively new to the nursing profession, such as physical assessment and prescription of medications, as well as functions more traditional to nursing.

A model for health care delivery with an illustration of its application.

A framework for conceptualizing the process of health care delivery is presented. The framework identifies broad categories of activities by which the functions of a health care provider can be organized, and has practical application to studies of the roles of a variety of health care personnel. By permitting clear identification of each component of a health professional's role, the model provides a method for quantitatively determining what an individual or group of individuals does.

Educational program evaluation: the University of Vermont family nurse practitioner program.

Graduates of the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Program at the University of Vermont, Burlington, were surveyed to determine if the FNPs had enlarged their nursing roles following completion of the program. A sample of Vermont nurses served as a control group. Results of a questionnaire, used to obtain information about the nurses' training, functions, and attitudes, indicated that FNPs performed activities associated with an expanded nursing role more frequently than did their nonpractiioner counterparts.