Loss, grief and bereavement in interprofessional education, an example of process: Anecdotes and accounts.

The example of educational provision considered here is an elective module on an Interprofessional Masters programme that demonstrates the use of research based accounts and clinical anecdotes to effect learning and so, potentially, to enhance professional practice. Those who have suffered a significant loss, whether of an individual, or, part of their physical, psychological, social or spiritual selves, will present in most health and social care settings. An educational forum provides the opportunity to explore theory that promotes an understanding of loss and the process of grief as well as an awareness of the levels of support available for the bereaved.

Children's Explanations of Aggressive Incidents at School Within an Attribution Framework.

Background:   Previous research suggests children use different types of attribution to explain bullying. The research, however, has not explored links between children's attributions.

Method:   This study explores the types of, and links between, attributions made by children about bullying situations.

Pre-registration education: making a difference to critical care?

This paper aims to discuss the development of a pre-registration high-dependency nursing programme and evaluate its effects on student's perceived learning and confidence in managing critically ill patients. The programme consists of two modules that compliment one another, 'Care of the Acutely III Adult' focuses on a variety of disease processes and subsequent nursing care. Whilst the second module titled 'Caring for the Highly Dependant/Critically III Adult' focuses on assessment skills related to critically ill patients.

Needle phobia--changing venepuncture practice in ambulatory care.

Needle phobia is a term used in practice to describe an anticipatory fear of needle insertion. A proportion of children display high levels of fear, pain and behavioural distress when exposed to, or anticipating, needle insertion. A difficult routine venepuncture in our ambulatory care unit led staff to review practice and develop a three-step approach to overcoming 'needle phobia': relaxation, control and graded exposure.

"There's no place like home" a pilot study of perspectives of international health and social care professionals working in the UK.

Background: Many countries are reporting health workforce shortages across a range of professions at a time of relatively high workforce mobility. Utilising the global market to supply shortage health skills is now a common recruitment strategy in many developed countries. At the same time a number of countries report a 'brain drain' resulting from professional people leaving home to work overseas.

Medication management: older people and nursing.

Since 2001, medication management has been the topic of numerous reviews ( Department of Health (DH) 2001a , 2001b ), the increased collaboration between medical and pharmacy colleagues ( Bernett et al 2003, Royal College of General Practitioners 2000 ) and the introduction of pharmacy medication management pilot schemes ( Royal Pharmaceutical Society for Great Britain 2003 ).

A novel method for the performance of isometric exercise in the home.

There is a paucity of research on devices suitable for home-based isometric exercise. Our aim was to compare cardiovascular responses to isometric exercise using novel and established methods. Ten individuals (age 34.

Organ and tissue donation: a survey of nurse's knowledge and educational needs in an adult ITU.

The aim of this paper is to present the results of a survey that was undertaken to assess nurses' knowledge and educational needs towards organ donation within one adult general intensive care unit. The survey consists of 31 registered nurses who completed a confidential questionnaire that aimed to assess their existing knowledge and deficits in organ and tissue donation. The survey highlights the sample lacked confidence in approaching relatives for donation consent, deficits in brain stem death testing and donor criteria.

WAIS III UK: an extension of the UK comparability study.

Objectives: To correct and augment the sample on which a previous study, assessing the applicability of USA WAIS III norms to the UK population, was based. To repeat this study using the modified sample.

Design: The WAIS III UK was administered to a supplementary sample, which was used to enhance and correct the original sample, allowing a better match to UK population demographics.

Cardiovascular disease risk factors in habitual exercisers, lean sedentary men and abdominally obese sedentary men.

Objective: To investigate whether the favourable cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor profile of habitual exercisers is attributable to exercise or leanness.

Design: Cross-sectional study of 113 nonsmoking men aged 30-45 y. CVD risk factors were compared in exercisers (n=39) and sedentary men (n=74), and in subgroups of lean exercisers (n=37), lean sedentary men (n=46) and obese sedentary men (n=28).

The perception of ward-based nurses seconded into an Outreach Service.

A group of ward nurses were seconded into an Outreach Service for a 2-week period. Following this, the group took part in an evaluation of the placement using a focus group methodology. The aim of this project was to explore the perceptions of a ward-based nurse recruited into the Outreach Service so that they could function effectively and efficiently in that role.

Marking criteria for assessing practice-based portfolios at masters' level.

Whilst portfolios have increasingly been used to assess attainment and competence in nursing and other health care professions for over a decade, the assessment processes and criteria for assessing them have remained largely rudimentary and undeveloped. In fact, assessment often remains localised, impressionistic and dependent upon the interpretation and adaptation of criteria developed generically for work at this level within individual Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). This paper presents Masters' level marking criteria for portfolios from practice-based healthcare disciplines developed from the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) descriptors of Masters level achievement and graduateness [Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, 2001.

The principles of inflammation in the development of rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory condition that involves all elements of the immune response. The aetiology of RA is complex and centres on the development of autoantibodies and immune complexes. The pathogenesis is multistage and involves cytokines, angiogenesis and rheumatoid factor.

Reliability of sprint test indices in well-trained cyclists.

The study aim was to assess reliability of repeated laboratory sprint tests in well-trained endurance cyclists. Eleven male cyclists (mean +/- standard deviation: 27 +/- 6 yr, 1.79 +/- 0.

Implementing moving and handling in higher education.

Moving and handling education for staff and students was implemented by one higher education institution and examined across its pre-registration health programmes. This article describes related policy and is of relevance to nurse educators involved in moving and handling, back care advisers and mentors of students in the clinical environment.

Assessing the quality of life--reality or impossible dream? A discussion paper.

Many now claim that maintaining or improving the quality of life is the essence of healthcare (i.e. care and/or treatment that improves the patients' quality of life).

Infections and their treatment in older people.

Bacteria are robust micro-organisms that can survive even in the presence of antibiotics. This has led to problems treating bacterial infections. Bacteria are the most common cause of infection and Streptococcus pneumoniae is one such infection.

The health promoting school and social justice in a global environment.

Globalisation is present whether recognised in SARS, global terrorism, finance or youth music. With the growth of the health promoting school movement in this context and the increased numbers of countries and schools involved, eight themes are proposed as critical to how the Health Promotion School move forward. They are concerned with: the diverse origins and alliances of forces in the movement; holistic and ecological approach; its status as a global movement; the tension between and empowerment or compliances model; evidence-based and values-based approches; the radical vision; social capital and social inclusion; and sustainability.

The dilemmas of residential care staff working with the challenging behaviour of people with learning disabilities.

Objectives: To investigate residential care staff beliefs and feelings about the challenging behaviour of adults with learning disabilities in their care, and how they perceive these beliefs and feelings to have developed over time.

Design: A qualitative study using thematic analysis.

Methods: A group of 18 staff from 10 different residential services participated in indepth semi-structured interviews.

Conceptions of evidence, evidence-based medicine, evidence-based practice and their use in nursing: independent nurse prescribers' views.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore nurses' conceptions of evidence and evidence-based practice, whether there are differences between evidence-based practice and evidence-based medicine and to identify the uptake of research evidence in the workplace.

Background: The use and comprehension of the term 'evidence-based practice' in relation to nursing shows remarkable variation. Numerous definitions are provided, some tend to be closely related to the concept 'evidence-based medicine'.

The management of obesity: the role of the specialist nurse.

Obesity is a global problem, independent of age. The numbers of obese individuals are now reaching epidemic proportions around the world. This is contributing to the risk of inherent comorbidity.