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In this survey, research awareness and capacity within the Dermatology Nurses' Association (DNA) was investigated to inform the organization's development in both the use of research evidence to improve practice and the capacity to undertake research. The majority of respondents (almost 90%) indicated they were DNA members. Of the remaining respondents who did not answer this question, we could not be clear on their status and so decided not to separate member and non-member responses during analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Health care policy in the United Kingdom identifies the need for health professionals to find new ways of working to deliver patient-focussed and economic care. Much debate has followed on the nature of working relationships within the health care team. AIM: This paper reports on an ethnographic study that examined the nursing role in clinical decision-making in intensive care units. This was chosen as a case for analysis due to the close doctor-nurse relationships that are essential in this acute and complex care setting. METHODS: Data were collected during two-stages of fieldwork using participant observation, in-depth ethnographic interviews and documentation across three clinical sites. FINDINGS: The findings revealed the different types of knowledge used for, divergence of roles involved in and degree of authority in clinical decision-making. Furthermore, conflict arose between doctors and nurses due to these differences and in particular because medicine dominated the decision-making process. CONCLUSIONS: The nursing role, whilst pivotal to implementing clinical decisions, remained unacknowledged and devalued. Medical hegemony continues to render nurses unable to influence substantially the decision-making process. This has fundamental ramifications for the quality of team decision-making and the effectiveness of new ways of inter-professional working in intensive care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore any patterns that may be evident in the experiences of 20 patients and their partners 1 month after a first heart attack. An interpretive research approach was used to illuminate the illness experience of patients and its impact on their partners. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants, and qualitative analysis of the data revealed six major categories. These were: expectations about advice and information; feelings about the future; reactions of the partner; playing down the significance of the heart attack; wanting to get back to normal; and the effect on the couple's relationship. These findings are discussed in relation to the theoretical literature and other empirical research. The results of this study may provide pointers to the implications for practice of nurses, particularly on ways to improve support for patients and their partners during early convalescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first in a series of articles to be written jointly by Steven J. Ersser, PhD (Lond), RGN, Bsc (Hons), CertTHEd, and Noreen Nicol, MS, RN, FNP, on the challenges faced by dermatology nurses related to the application of evidence-based practice. We aim to highlight and examine specific issues that relate to the experience of nurses working in the dermatology field and link them to the issues and strategies underpinning evidence-based practice. Our starting point is the scientific integrity of paper presentations at educational meetings, and examining the role of the dermatology nurse as a consumer and appraiser of professional knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the account conducted by anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski involving the native life in the Trobriand Islands to the east of New Guinea. He emphasizes that Malinowski based his analytical reports by observing and living among the people in the islands. He adds that this classic ethnography gave prominence to the value studying human conduct by close participation in the social world under study that sought to examine culture at distance.