Facilitating children's grief.

A program of education and support is essential for children and their parent or adult caregivers when the children have experienced the death of a significant person. Children need guidance on how to deal with their profound feelings of grief. The purpose of this article is to give school nurses the ability to help children face the strange new world that follows the death experience.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.