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Background: The success of haemodialysis (HD) critically depends on the effective use of arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs). The precise needling technique is vital to minimise complications and ensure functional vascular access. Objective: This study assesses the effectiveness of a nursing consultation protocol, which integrates physical examination (PE) with Doppler Ultrasound (DUS), in preparing patients for the first AVF needling. Design/Participants: A cross‐sectional analysis at a Portuguese National Health Service Hospital engaged thirty new HD patients, four HD needling experienced nurses and one HD vascular access nurse. This study examines the accuracy of PE in assessing the matured AVF by the four nurses compared to a trained vascular access nurse encompassing systematic PE and DUS. Measurements: The primary data incorporated AVF characteristics derived from PE (inspection, palpation, and auscultation) and DUS findings (vein depth, diameter, and blood flow). A secondary focus was evaluating the change in nurses' perceived needling complexity following the nursing consultation. Results: The nursing consultation significantly enhanced the identification of crucial AVF features, such as accessory veins (p = 0.002), and improved the accuracy of AVF morphology assessments. This led to identifying longer needling tracks (p = 0.031) and a higher number of safe needling points (p = 0.016). Nurses reported a notable reduction in perceived complexity and potential adverse events following this method (p = 0.027). Conclusions: Integrating structured PE with DUS in a nursing consultation framework significantly improves the preparation for AVF needling. This approach enhances the efficiency and safety of AVF needling and boosts nurse confidence and patient care in HD settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: The social representations are socially produced that guide behavior and intervene in the individual and social identity. It is important to understand how the cognitive dimension is assimilated by entrepreneurship students and the changes that they are able to perform in the rational domain in the event of attending training sessions. Aim: To describe the content and structure of the social representations of entrepreneurship among Portuguese students, before and after educational interventions. Materials and methods: Qualitative research based on the Theory of Social Representations, in its structural approach, conducted at a higher education institution in Portugal (Coimbra). A population of 4th-year (final year) undergraduate nursing students in Portugal (Nursing School of Coimbra) was analyzed in two moments, 192 students in the first moment and 139 in the second moment. Participants were asked to answer the following question: Write down the first five words or expressions that come to your mind when you read the word -Entrepreneurship.Answers were analyzed by specific software, the EVOC and SIMI software (Vèrges, 1993a), 2005 version, through the techniques developed by Vèrges (1987-1994). Results: The results indicate stabilization in both structures of representations. However, the prototypical categorization highlighted a richer and more organized structuring of students after the training sessions in entrepreneurship. This structure was more in line with the concepts of entrepreneurship, from the idea to business, where a path to success is visible. Concepts such as dynamism, research, discovery, proactivity, taking a risk, challenge, commitment, ambition, bet, and challenge emerged in a second periphery and, therefore, it is necessary to invest even more in training, thus stimulating the need for determination to undertake. Conclusions: A consistency in the formative and learning processes was observed, consistent with the dimensions of concepts considered as important to undertake. Positive attitudes emerged that guided the representation under study, in line with the development of the core competencies to undertake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]