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Background: Competency in end-of-life (EOL) care is a growing expectation for health professions students. This study assessed the impact of four EOL care scenarios, using high-fidelity simulation, on the perceived learning needs and attitudes of pharmacy and nursing students. Method: On three campuses, pharmacy students (N = 158) were exposed to standard paper EOL case scenarios, while a fourth campus exposed eight graduate nursing and 37 graduate pharmacy students to simulated versions of the same cases. Results: The paper-based groups produced similar pre-post changes on the End of Life Professional Caregiver Survey. Results were pooled and compared with the simulation-only group, revealing significantly higher changes in pre-post scores for the simulation group. Conclusion: Students participating in the simulation group showed some significant differences in attitudes toward EOL care, compared with students in the classroom setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting (#AGS18) which was attended by more than 2,500 colleagues in Orlando, Florida to explore some of the best and brightest updates on geriatrics.

Background: Because of frequent changes in health care, nursing requires lifelong learning. Information learned in nursing school is not enough. To deliver quality patient care throughout their career, nurses need to keep up with these changes. Method: This quantitative study explored using repetitive text messaging to improve retention of information to help nurses keep up with the perpetual changes in nursing. Participants attended a class, took an examination, and then were placed randomly in either a control or an experimental group. The experimental group received text messages with key details from the class, whereas the control group did not receive text messages. Participants took the examination again and group pretest–posttest scores were compared. Results: The experimental group showed statistically significant improvement in the final examination scores, whereas the control group showed no significant difference. Conclusion: The results demonstrated that repetitive text messaging can be used to enhance retention of information. The results demonstrated that repetitive text messaging can be used to enhance retention of information. [[J Contin Educ Nurs. 2019;50(9):399–403.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients admitted to psychiatric acute care settings benefit from interactions and caring relationships with hospital staff. The current study describes the association between patients' perceptions of nurse caring and their satisfaction with care at an inpatient psychiatric-mental health unit. The relationship between patients' perceptions of nurse caring and two measures of satisfaction with care were explored. A convenience sample of patients (N = 169) completed the Caring Behaviors Inventory-16 and Client Satisfaction Survey. Data were collected at the time of discharge from the hospital. The associations between perceived nurse caring and satisfaction with care and overall satisfaction with care resulted in strong, positive, statistically significant correlations. Treating patient information confidentially and giving treatments and medications on time were highly ranked, along with feeling safe during the hospitalization and satisfaction with nursing care. Additional research on patients' perception of nurse caring and satisfaction with care is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A record number of women are going through the major life transition of retirement. The purpose of the current study was to explore women's perceptions of retirement with the goals of better understanding important patterns of response regarding retirement transitioning and to inform nurses on how to assist clients who are anticipating or engaging in the retirement transition. A sample population of 170 retired women was recruited using convenience sampling from community settings within six southeastern U.S. states. Participants expressed their perceptions of retirement through written responses to open-ended questions. Content analysis revealed the following themes: Love It/Happy; Unhappy/Regrets; So Much Time, So Little (money, resources, etc.); Searching; Busy; Relief/Freedom; Giving: For Me and Thee; Adequate Resources; Creating Your Own Structure; and Positive Attitude. Careful assessment for health changes, promotion of positive coping skills, and provision of educational planning and therapeutic resources to women who are transitioning to retirement should assist women toward healthy and successful retirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is unknown if completing educational modules on understanding, reviewing, and synthesizing research literature is associated with higher value of, attitudes toward, and implementation of evidence-based practices. Method: Nurses completed valid, reliable questionnaires on the value of, attitudes toward, and implementation of evidence-based practice 6 months after four educational modules were introduced. Multivariable modeling was used to learn associations of education modules and evidence-based practice themes. Results: Of 1,033 participants, 54% completed at least one education module; 22% completed all modules. Value and attitude about evidence-based practice were moderately high, but implementation was low (mean =15.15 6 15.72; range = 0 to 72). After controlling for nurse characteristics and experiences associated with evidence-based practice value, attitudes, and implementation scores, education modules completion was associated with the implementation of evidence-based practice (p = .001), but not with value or attitude of evidencebased practices scores. Conclusion: Education on reviewing and synthesizing literature strengthened implementation of evidencebased practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As primary consumers of health care and prescription medication, older adults are more susceptible to potential drug-related adverse effects and medication interactions. With growing diversity among the older adult population, understanding ethnic differences in medication use becomes increasingly important. The current study describes polypharmacy and the occurrence of underprescribing among community-dwelling, low-income individuals 55 and older from four ethnic groups: (a) African American, (b) Afro-Caribbean, (c) European American, and (d) Hispanic American. Results revealed that number of illnesses, income level, and age were three major predictors associated with polypharmacy. No underprescription was identified. Overall, prevalence of polypharmacy was 47.5%. European American individuals had the highest prevalence followed by Hispanic American, African American, and Afro-Caribbean individuals. When caring for older adults from various ethnic groups, nurses should focus their efforts on those who have multiple illnesses and sufficient income to purchase medications to reduce the risk of polypharmacy. [Res Gerontol Nurs. 2015; 8(6):273-285.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used multilevel modeling to evaluate a newly revised model in which dementia caregivers' stress process variables-perceived stress and emotional-behavioral responses-were posited as predictors of behavioral symptoms of dementia (BSD) within community-based dyads. Secondary analyses were conducted on data from a primary two-group (experimental and control) trial, in which experimental participants received a home monitoring system for managing nighttime activity in individuals with dementia. Models indicated that caregivers'trajectories did not differ significantly between groups over time; however, the time-by-group interaction of BSD approached significance. Because BSD were not targeted, this indicated that the system may have indirectly lowered BSD. In addition, caregivers' perceived stress and emotional-behavioral responses predicted BSD, on average (across all occasions) and from occasion to occasion, with higher levels associated with worse BSD. These limited results provide support for further research to investigate the nature of these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses studies presented at the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) 2010 Annual Meeting held in Orlando, Florida. A study by Mays A. El-Dairi and colleagues found that children with stable glaucoma have good reproducible results with optical coherence tomography in measures of macular thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer. A lecture by A. Linn Murphree outlined strategies for addressing post-traumatic stress disorder in pediatric patients and families.

The article offers information on American Geriatrics Society Annual Scientific Meeting to be held in Florida in May 2018, which will include sessions on heart failure, hypertension, and care for older adults.