Working with parents to promote health.

A cleft lip, with or without cleft palate, is the most common craniofacial malformation. The issue of whether health can be attained if the person has a physical defect is discussed. Health education can be considered as a means whereby individuals learn to maintain, restore and promote health.

Informing the UK's South Asian communities on organ donation and transplantation.

There is a growing demand for human organs for transplantation, particularly of the kidney among the UK's South Asian population which, due to problems with histocompatibility can only be met with a significant increase in the number of Asian donors. Specific attempts have only recently been made to attract donors from South Asian communities using 'ethnically-targeted mass media'. A recent pilot study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of these initiatives in providing information with regards to organ donation for the South Asian population.

Evaluation of the use of a skills acquisition manual within the common foundation programme for pre-registration nursing.

A skills acquisition manual had been developed for use in the common foundation programme. This article describes an evaluative study of the use of this manual by two cohorts within the pre-registration programme. Information was gained by analysis of the skills acquisition manual and interviewing a sample of participants from both the student cohorts, clinical staff and lecturers involved with the programme.

Simulating hospital patient flows.

This case study development has benefited by the use of clear on-screen logic which has facilitated useful discussions between the analyst and end-users. The screen displays enable a realistic depiction of a system to be developed. A simple first model was gradually made more realistic in a step-by-step process involving both analyst and end-users.

The tao of professional appraisal: how to remain content and calm during the appraisal interview.

Aim: This paper sets out to investigate the theories and practices of healthcare appraisal systems, with particular emphasis on the appraisal of healthcare educators.

Background: The rhetoric used to inform appraisal theories, systems and practices claims to measure human attributes, although this is rarely achieved in reality.

Method: A national survey of healthcare educators is used to inform, analyse and evaluate the literature pertaining to professional appraisal theories and systems.

A decade of caring for drug users entirely within general practice.

Background: The government encourages general practitioners (GPs) to become involved in caring for drug users. However, in some areas of the country, including Bedford, secondary care support is inadequate. GPs in these areas have to decide how to cope with such patients entirely within general practice.

Shared governance as a way to involve staff in decision-making.

Increasing the involvement of clinicians in decision-making is a key part of recent NHS policy. One model designed to increase involvement is shared governance. This article describes the approach to shared governance developed at Kettering General Hospital.

The iatrogenic epidemic.

Medicine can often cause unnecessary harm to people while trying to treat them, but this phenomenon, known as iatrogenesis, is rarely debated. The author of this article argues that nurses have a responsibility to consider the concept of iatrogenesis and its effects on the health of their patients.

Current educational reforms in nursing in the United Kingdom and their impact on the role of nursing lecturers in practice: a case study approach.

This paper explores major developments in nurse education in the UK in the last 5 years and examines their impact on the role of nursing lecturers in practice. It builds upon the findings of an earlier study that described significant changes in the UK in the role and work of nurse teachers resulting from Project 2000 initiatives. Empirical data were collected over a 2.

Defining and assessing competence: the distraction of outcomes and the importance of educational process.

The concept of competence is in common usage in various areas of education and training at present, and it is evident from these different usages that it has a variety of meanings. These meanings are explored, with particular attention being paid to the increasing influence of the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) initiative and the rise of vocational education. It is concluded that the utilization of competence within these fields offers little to nurse/midwifery education (with the exception of a refocusing on the concept of skills) because it is exactly that: education, and is therefore different in some significant aspects from training and vocational approaches.

Non-pharmacological modification of cardiac risk factors: part 3. Smoking cessation and alcohol consumption.

Smoking cessation (SC) is probably the single most important risk factor modification for both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Interventions to stop smoking are highly cost effective. SC produces reductions in mortality and morbidity that generally outweigh any increase in risk due to weight gain, unless the gain is so great that it is accompanied by adverse changes in blood pressure, lipid profile or glucose tolerance.

Specialist nurse training programme: dealing with asking for organ donation.

The issue of cadaveric organ transplantation is by its very nature emotional as it is associated with the very traumatic time of a loved one's death. Making a request for organs needs to be handled very sensitively by health professionals when discussing the issue with a family. Those nurses working in critical care areas are most likely to confront this issue and need to be equipped for dealing with ensuing events.

The impending kidney transplant crisis for the Asian population in the UK.

Kidney transplantation offers the opportunity of an improved quality of life for those patients suffering from renal failure. Unfortunately, this treatment is not available to all people as this is influenced by the increasing demand for a limited supply of suitable organs. This situation is particularly alarming for the UK's Asian population with their higher susceptibility to end-stage renal failure which has resulted in a greater demand for transplants.

Permeability of dechorionated one-cell and six-somite stage zebrafish (Brachydanio rerio) embryos to water and methanol.

The permeability of dechorionated one-cell and six-somite stage zebrafish (Brachydanio rerio) embryos to water and the cryoprotectant methanol at 22 degreesC was studied, using real-time video microscopy to determine the volumetric changes of the embryos during cryoprotectant exposure. The equilibrium volumetric behavior of the embryos and the Boyle-van't Hoff relationships were determined using sucrose as a nonpermeating compound. These showed the embryos to behave as nearly ideal osmometers over the range of 253-1724 mOsm, with osmotically inactive volumes of 72.

Reflection of a therapeutic touch experience: case study 2.

The purpose of this case study was to explore the experience of both giving and receiving Therapeutic Touch. A subjective account of the Therapeutic Touch experience is given in an attempt to throw light on its unique creative and therapeutic qualities. In most instances it was shown that the experience of both giving and receiving Therapeutic Touch was a parallel experience.

Assessment of practice in pre-registration nurse education and the development of a skills acquisition manual.

It has been suggested that Project 2000 training has not taken account of the need to assess the development of specific nursing skills. This could result in nurses who may be in a vulnerable position upon qualification regarding the expectations of their skills performance. A new initiative has been developed at the University of Luton, which enables specific skills to be assessed for pre-registration students during the Common Foundation Programme.

The effects of caffeine on the maximal accumulated oxygen deficit and short-term running performance.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of acute caffeine ingestion on the maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD) and short-term running performance. Nine well-trained males performed a preliminary assessment and, at least 4 days later, a supramaximal run to exhaustion. Their VO2max values were determined, and the MAOD test at an exercise intensity equivalent to 125% VO2max was performed.

Caring through a reflective lens: giving meaning to being a reflective practitioner.

Who is a reflective practitioner? It is assumed that a reflective practitioner is someone who views and responds to practice through an appropriate reflective lens. The present paper is a reflective account that gives meaning to being a reflective practitioner within everyday practice whereby the reflective lens is structured through the Burford Nursing Development Unit (NDU) Model: Caring in Practice.