Reproducibility of goniometric measurement of the knee in the in-hospital phase following total knee arthroplasty.

Background: The objective of the present study was to assess interobserver reproducibility (in terms of reliability and agreement) of active and passive measurements of knee RoM using a long arm goniometer, performed by trained physical therapists in a clinical setting in total knee arthroplasty patients, within the first four days after surgery.

Methods: Test-retest analysis.

Setting: University hospital departments of orthopaedics and physical therapy.

Information literacy in an undergraduate nursing curriculum: development, implementation, and evaluation.

With the increasing complexity of nursing practice and health care delivery, developing information literacy in students for lifelong learning is a vital element of nursing education. The San Francisco State University School of Nursing has developed, implemented, and evaluated an integrated program of information literacy in its undergraduate curriculum. The curriculum strand includes a variety of instructional strategies woven through all semesters of the nursing program.

Development of a nurse-managed, school-based health center.

As the healthcare environment continues to change, nurses are developing models for interdisciplinary care in a variety of community settings. The high school is an ideal treatment setting for the delivery of health services to adolescents. This article describes the development of a nurse-managed, school-based health center.

Quality management in home care: models for today's practice.

In less than a decade, home care providers have been a part of two major transitions in health care delivery. First, because of the advent of managed care and a shift from inpatient to community-based services, home care service delivery systems have experienced tremendous growth. Second, the principles and practices of total quality management and continuous quality improvement have permeated the organization, administration, and practice of home health care.

Quality management in a school-based nursing center: program development and implementation.

As community-based health care services continue to grow, quality management programs for new, nontraditional settings are being developed. The article describes a quality management program implemented in a nursing center in an urban, multicultural high school. The three components of the program--formulation of the quality management plan, the development of written structure, process, and outcome standards, and the development of a monitoring and evaluation plan--are summarized.

Grief among gay men associated with multiple losses from AIDS.

Few quantitative studies have examined the phenomena of multiple loss and cumulative grief occurring in gay men as a result of the AIDS epidemic. In this study, Sanders's Integrative Theory of Bereavement (1989) was used to examine the relationship between multiple loss and the intensity of grief experienced by gay men. The relationship of selected situational factors and internal characteristics of the bereaved to the numbers of losses and intensity of grief was also explored.

A psychometric examination of the Stronge-Brodt Nurses' Attitudes Toward Computers Questionnaire.

The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure and reliability of the Stronge-Brodt Nurses' Attitudes Toward Computers Questionnaire. The instrument was administered to nurses before (T1, n = 391) and after (T2, n = 265) the implementation of a computerized patient care information system. A factor analysis of each sample was carried out using the SPSS/PC+ factor procedure with varimax rotation and Kaiser normalization.

Collaboration between families and university faculty: a partnership in education.

1. Collaboration between nursing faculty and family members of persons with mental illness can help nursing students form a positive view of the family as a resource to treatment and as a source of support for the client. 2.

Teaching quality management in a nursing graduate program: a collaborative university-agency quality team.

A graduate-level course in quality management has been developed through a partnership between the San Francisco State University Department of Nursing and over 80 clinical agencies. The course, required of all master's students and open to nurses in the community, combines the most current information and research in quality management with a major project conducted in a health care setting. This article describes the course objectives, content, and methods, as well as the positive outcomes for students and agencies.

How do psychiatric nurses learn?: Modes of learning and learning self-directedness.

Houle's typology of continuing professional learning was used to investigate the phenomena of continuing professional learning and learning self-directedness in psychiatric nurses. Five research questions guided the study that was the first to examine the learning styles and preferences of psychiatric nurses. The results have relevance for those planning educational opportunities and programs for psychiatric nurses and for those psychiatric nurses interested in insight into the dynamics of their own continuing learning.

Benefits of combined balloon pumping and percutaneous cardiopulmonary bypass.

Sixteen patients (2 women, 14 men) aged 29 to 72 years with continued cardiogenic shock during intraaortic balloon pumping (IABP) had additional treatment with percutaneous cardiopulmonary bypass (PBY). Cause of cardiogenic shock was myocardial infarction in 7 (3 survived), failed percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty requiring emergency coronary artery bypass grafting in 5, postoperative aortic valve replacement in 1, postoperative emergency coronary artery bypass grafting in 1, after cardiac transplantation in 1, and bridging to transplantation in 1. Mean blood pressure with PBY and IABP combined was 75 mm Hg versus 60 mm Hg with IABP off.

The career development internship program. Pathway to enhanced nursing practice.

Nurse administrators can enhance nursing practice and improve patient care by providing clinical nurses with ways to develop and share their expertise in areas such as education, management, quality assurance, advanced clinical practice, and research. The authors describe the Career Development Internship Program that grew out of the Management Internship Program. This creative program allows for professional growth in specific fields while also developing leadership capability.

A collaborative approach to clinical standards development. Psychiatry and psychiatric nursing in a changing world.

Today's consumers, faced with limited resources, want documented proof of the quality of a product or service. This shift to consumerism has caused health care providers and institutions to carefully examine their practice and move toward the establishment of standards of care in all areas. The authors are recommending a collaborative approach between standards and are advocating the use of the Marker Model as a system to define, organize, integrate, document, and monitor standards in the fields of psychiatry and psychiatric nursing.

Polymerase chain reaction and viral culture techniques to detect HSV in small volumes of cerebrospinal fluid; an experimental mouse encephalitis study.

A technique is described for the detection of HSV-DNA in very small volumes (5-10 microliters) of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The method was evaluated in CSF samples of 4-6-week-old mice inoculated with HSV-1 via the corneal route. The sensitivity of the PCR assay was compared with results of spin-amplified viral culture with immunofluorescent visualization (SAC/IF), routine viral culture (RVC) and radioactive dot-blot hybridization (DBA) in CSF samples obtained from other mice.

Effect of heparin on digitoxin protein binding.

Reduction of digitoxin binding to plasma proteins after heparin has been reported. Our aim was to determine whether this reduction is an in vivo effect or occurs only after blood collection as a result of heparin-induced lipolysis that increases levels of nonesterified fatty acids in vitro. The effect of heparin on digitoxin protein binding was studied in 10 patients undergoing hemodialysis receiving digitoxin maintenance therapy.