Family mentoring: a life experience.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a preservice education family mentor experience on the development of family-centered attitudes expressed by 84 nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and social work students from a private Midwestern university. The instrument, Issues in Early Intervention, was administered to students before and after participation in a field experience that included a minimum of 8 hours with assigned families. The instrument measured changes in attitude regarding family-centered care expressed by students in response to 24 statements reflective of family-centered concepts and approaches.

Palliative medical oncology.

Most advanced cancer patients remain incurable. They are carrying the tumor burden and the burden of symptoms as a result of physical, emotional, and spiritual distress. Modern medical oncology, sophisticated as it may appear in its endeavors to cure cancers, has historically failed to consider pain and symptom control as part of cancer care.

The relationship between surgery and medicine in palliative care.

Palliative care represents the beneficence of surgery and medicine. A unified approach toward symptom control in patients with advanced diseases by surgeons and physicians is essential. Proposals are put forward to develop relationships between surgery and medicine for palliative care, teaching, and research.

Use of monoclonal antibodies for rapid diagnosis of respiratory viruses in a community hospital.

An indirect fluorescence antibody (IFA) procedure was used for the rapid detection of respiratory viruses in direct clinical specimens and for determining the epidemiology of viruses in a community hospital setting. Viral respiratory diseases were monitored for 10 consecutive respiratory seasons. The Bartels Viral Respiratory Screening and Identification Kit is an IFA method that contains pooled and individual monoclonal antibodies for seven common respiratory viruses.

Achieving spiritual wellness: using reflective questions.

Health care professionals are increasingly recognizing the importance of spiritual health as a precursor of physical health. As we emerge into the 21st century, we must place greater emphasis on promoting spiritual wellness so that clients do not develop spiritual distress. Assisting clients in developing their spiritual wellness is a rewarding experience for nurses.

Promoting mental wellness in children and adolescents through positive coping mechanisms.

Children and adolescents frequently experience stressful events such as moving to a new city, divorce of parents, or peer pressure. Parents may be unavailable or unable to model effective coping mechanisms for their children. Without adequate coping mechanisms children frequently are unable to adapt to a stressor; thus a crisis develops.

Telemedicine and orthopaedic care. A review of 2 years of experience.

The objective of this study was to study the delivery of orthopaedic care via a telemedicine network. This study is a descriptive analysis of orthopaedic teleconsultations done during a 2-year period by three orthopaedic surgeons. Four hundred ten teleconsultations were done during the study period from February 1, 1995, to December 31, 1996.

Emergency physicians' roles in a clinical telemedicine network.

Study Objective: To study the roles emergency physicians have in a clinical telemedicine network.

Methods: A descriptive analysis of telemedicine consultations conducted by emergency physicians at 1 year of operation of a private clinical telemedicine program.

Results: From February 1, 1995, to February 1, 1996, 190 clinical telemedicine consultations were completed.

Inhalants: the instant, but deadly high.

There is an alarming increase in the number of children and adolescents inhaling chemicals for euphoric purposes. This trend merits serious concern, as abuse of inhalants can cause cardiac arrest, asphyxiation, and accidents. Substances such as gas, butane, and lighter fluid are highly toxic and destroy organs, and in some cases, inhalants have caused death on the first use.

A training plan for bedside computers.

As more hospitals implement bedside computer technology, staff development educators will be called on to develop complex training programs. This article describes a successful bedside computer training plan that includes use of a contract, pretraining activities, training methods, and training environment.

Identifying the manifestations of inhalant abuse.

Inhalants are frequently the first mood-altering drugs used by children. They are popular because of peer influences, low cost, availability, and rapid mood-elevation effects. Inhalants cause a fleeting sense of well being, but users frequently are also affected psychologically and physically.

Senior nursing students' self-reported college experiences and gains toward liberal education goals.

The purpose of this descriptive study is to assess baccalaureate nursing students' self-reported achievements toward liberal education goals in college and university settings and compare them to norms for the general college population by measuring their perceived involvement in campus life and activities. At the end of the spring semester, senior nursing students from 11 nursing programs in the Midwest filled out the College Student Experience Questionnaire, developed by Pace (1984), which measures the effort students put into liberal education goals. Nursing students reported high involvement in academic activities, but little involvement in other types of experiences in the college; they reported significant progress toward academic goals like intellectual skills, but less progress toward liberal education goals like art, literature, and music.

Is it really Alzheimer's?

Dementia is a syndrome of intellectual impairment. Established criteria can be used to diagnose dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) and to categorize it into three stages. This article compares DAT with other types of dementia and outlines the characteristic clinical differences.

Inhalant abuse: assessment guidelines.

It is important that nurses have full access to information that would help them identify inhalant abuse. Nurses need to take the leadership in assessing clients, in educating health care professionals and the public, and in promoting legislation to prevent minors from obtaining inhalants.

Treatment for radiation-induced xerostomia. An innovative remedy.

Xerostomia continues to be a major complaint of patients who have had radiation therapy of the salivary glands and neck. This article describes the advantages and disadvantages of conventional treatment methods and introduces an innovative, yet inexpensive remedy that has produced favorable results for those afflicted with this chronic complication of therapy.

Pelvic lymphadenectomy and transperineal interstitial implantation of IR 192 combined with external beam radiotherapy for bulky stage C prostatic carcinoma.

From January 1983 until June 1987, 51 patients with locally advanced prostatic carcinoma (47 Stage C, 4 bulky B2) were treated at Mayo Clinic (33 patients) and at William Beaumont Hospital (18 patients) with (a) 5 Gy delivered pre-operatively in one fraction, (b) pelvic lymphadenectomy and (c) interstitial implantation of the prostate with Ir 192 seeds via a perineal template (the Martinez Universal Perineal Interstitial Template) to deliver 35 Gy, and (d) 30.6 Gy external beam therapy in 17 fractions to prostate only fields. Initial clinical response has been excellent.

Ethical principles: application to an obstetric case.

This article focuses on the application of the ethical principles of double effect versus consequentialism, autonomy, beneficence, utility, and justice. An obstetrical case study is presented and discussion of each ethical principle is used to resolve the conflict. The intents of the article are to promote ethical awareness; provide topic areas to facilitate ethical discussion; enhance nurses' knowledge of the discipline of ethics; and support the necessity of interdisciplinary ethics committees.