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This paper is concerned with the evaluation of a workshop for teachers of nursing devoted to an individualized teaching and learning strategy. The paper gives a brief account of the history of such workshops and continues by defining individualized teaching. Following this the characteristics of the Keller Plan strategy are outlined. This is followed by details of the course organization; its aims and objectives, and the characteristics of the course members. Finally, the method of evaluation is described and results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the phenomenon of human suffering and is an attempt to justify and begin theoretical development of this phenomenon for nursing science. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section describes the interest of nursing science in the phenomenon and critically examines relevant literature in order to further conceptualize development and clarification. This section concludes with a theoretical definition of suffering derived from this critique. Suffering is defined as an individual's experience of threat to self and is a meaning given to events such as pain or loss. The second section elaborates on this definition and examines how it can inform theoretical discussion in two areas with import for nursing -- the patient's experience of suffering and the nurse's experience of patient suffering. The final section briefly considers some implications for clinical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proposition of this paper is principally that if the term 'reassurance' is used by nurses its meaning should be clearly stated and the methods by which it may be achieved should be clearly identified. The author begins by attempting to identify a workable definition of the term and by arguing a case for taking the approach that it is a nursing interpersonal skill rather than a nursing psychotherapy. Using this as the basis for the rest of the discussion he then suggests that as an interpersonal skill it is open to analysis and behaviours can be identified which help to achieve a restoration of the patient's confidence. Further to this, learning objectives are stated in the hope that the concept of reassurance can be seen as a skill which can be enhanced by educational processes. Full competence in the use of interpersonal skills is not a stable feature in all human beings; in every individual nurse there is scope for the development and training of interpersonal skills. Finally, the author attempts to achieve the major aim of the paper--stating nursing actions which may be employed in order to achieve this reassurance of the patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. This paper reports findings from a large-scale quasi-experimental study that used a measure of caring as a means of evaluating person-centred nursing and aims to illustrate the synergy between the concepts of caring and person-centredness. Background. Evidence would suggest that effective person-centred nursing requires the formation of therapeutic relationships between professionals, patients and others significant to them in their lives and that these relationships are built on mutual trust, understanding and a sharing of collective knowledge. This correlates with the conceptualisation of caring that is underpinned by humanistic nursing theories. Design. A pretest post-test design was used in this study to evaluate the effect of person-centred nursing on a range of outcomes, one of which was nurses' and patients' perception of caring. Methods. The Person-Centred Nursing Index was the main data collection tool. The Caring Dimension Inventory and Nursing Dimensions Inventory, were component parts of the Person-Centred Nursing Index and were used to measure nurses' and patients' perceptions of caring. The Person-Centred Nursing Index was administered at five points in time over a two-year intervention period. Results. Nurses had a clear idea of what constituted caring in nursing, identifying statements that were reflective of person-centredness, which was consistent over time. This was in contrast to patients, whose perceptions were more variable, highlighting incongruencies that have important implications for developing person-centred practice. Conclusion. The findings confirm the Caring Dimension Inventory/Nursing Dimensions Inventory as an instrument that can be used as an indicator of person-centred practice. Furthermore, the findings highlight the potential of such instruments to generate data on aspects of nursing practice that are traditionally hard to measure. Relevance to clinical practice. The findings would suggest that nurses need to be aware of patients' perceptions of caring and use this to influence changes in practice, where the prime goal is to promote person-centredness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I explore the possibilities of nursing as safeguarding through a phenomenological description of a small sculpture by the German artist Käthe Kollwitz. My discussion will be grounded in Heidegger's understanding of technicity as a pervasive systematizing and aggressive challenging-out. The method is grounded in Merleau-Ponty's and Heidegger's contention that strong artworks are truth-disclosing and show up our precognitive contact with the world. Bringing nursing concerns to an encounter with single strong artworks can help us cultivate a more receptive openness to our patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores consequences of applying the view that illness is negative first-person experience in caring practice. The main reason this is an important issue is that it is empirically documented that patients conceive of illness in different ways. Communicating about illness in caring practice can therefore involve difficulties. I argue that many of these difficulties can be avoided if nurses focus directly on the extension of the concept of illness – patients’ experiences like the state of being in pain – and not on how this extension is represented as (the intension) illness. This argument is compatible with different views on the nurse–patient relationship as a communicative process. All it requires is the acceptance of minimal assumptions about concepts and concept possession. The argument has a descriptive and a normative dimension. It is descriptive in the sense that it seeks to use concepts from philosophy of mind to explain how many nurses succeed in talking about illness without applying the concept of illness. It is normative in the sense that it provides a philosophical justification for this practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows how female, ambulant, geriatric patients in a long-stay psychiatric ward, many of whom had become institutionalized and had lost much of their self-identity and initiative, could be encouraged to become more spontaneous and individualistic. This study utilized a programme which did not involve any great financial expenditure nor extra nursing staff, and enhanced, rather than interfered with, the daily functioning of the ward. Data are presented to show that sociability and spontaneity improved on the ward concerned and that the programme proved so flexible that it has since been extended to other wards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nurses in the United Kingdom spend much time attempting to fit British nursing practice into the theoretical framework of American nursing models. This is often a manipulative process in that it seeks to establish positive links with a care delivery system totally unlike our own. In the present paper the authors detail the process of establishing a new nursing model which integrates nursing curricula, education and practice to meet the needs of patients, staff and students within their own health district. An over-emphasis on lower levels of human need is common within nursing practice, which, although often blamed upon lack of human and financial resources, is also due to practitioners' misconceptions. The latter are invariably the result of a lack of an adequate or overt, practice orientated, conceptual framework. The Human Needs Model of Nursing adapts Maslow's concept of human needs to create such a conceptual framework for practice. It places equal emphasis on those patient problems which arise as the result of unmet needs at higher levels as well as those at lower levels, thereby acknowledging the holistic and dynamic nature of man. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the study on the HIV patients' preference and experiences about the quality of care. The study is supported by the assessment of quality of care received by patients with HIV from nurse specialists, nurse consultants and general practitioners. The questionnaire method used in the study is called QUOTE-HIV. It is a modified version of a scale that is designed to measure patient perceptions of care quality. There were 23 scale items used in the study.

The article focuses on the study concerning the alternative forms of patient and nurse consultations. The study aims to investigate ways of improving access for patients to practice nurse appointments. The researchers found out that there had been no support for the use of phone or e-mail as alternative to consultation in their general study setting.

Comments on the use of special surface devices for patients identified to be at risk and even for those with an identified pressure ulcer. Factors that influenced crude prevalence rates; Limitations of all risk assessment scales; Support surfaces for pressure ulcer prevention.

Aims and objectives. The aim of this present study was to explore patients’ experiences of the meaning they attribute to hope and hoping a year after acute spinal cord injury. Background. Nursing literature is pointing towards the importance of having hope for a healthful living. However, the concept of hope has preliminarily been defined in an abstract and general way and is therefore difficult to grasp. Design and methods. This qualitative study has a longitudinal and descriptive–explorative design. Data were collected by personal interviews ( n = 10) one year after acute spinal cord injury. A phenomenological–hermeneutic approach, based on the philosophy of Ricoeur, was used to extract the essences of the patients’ experiences. Results. The findings resulted in one main interpretation: ‘The Power of Hope’, and two sub-themes: ‘Will, Faith and Hope’ and ‘Hoping, Struggling and Growing’. The power of hope was interpreted as the individual having experienced the meaning a year after the injury, mainly expressed through will power. Conclusions. This study shows that experiences of hope were important to all participants, providing energy and power to the process of struggling because hope is necessary for further progress and personal development. Relevance to clinical practice. Nursing interventions should be mainly directed towards emotional and motivational strategies to promote the will power and personal growth through learning experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to critically review and synthesize the literature related to the general concepts and the process of diagnosing the client's condition, and the possible variables which influence diagnostic practise in nursing. It is suggested that statistical theories are capable of capturing the diagnostic process and offer an effective means to predict diagnostic decisions. Studies underpinned by information-processing theory argue that diagnosing a patient's condition follows a hypothetico-deductive model that consists of specific stages. Those who hold a phenomenological perspective remark that there is yet another form of diagnostic practise: intuitive reasoning, which plays an important role in diagnosing the patient's clinical condition. Other related studies suggest that diagnostic practise is contingent on some personal, psychosocial, and structural variables. Regrettably, these studies offer no conclusive explanation to delineate diagnostic practise in nursing. Based on the literature reviewed, a conceptual framework is suggested to help articulate the underlying structures and processes of diagnostic practise in nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nurses make mistakes in practice despite the culturally based expectation of perfection. Such a disparity between reality and expectation calls members of the profession to question the current attitudes toward mistakes in practice. Two explanatory models of the origin of mistakes are presented. The Perfectibility Model holds that any error or harm is caused by an individual practitioner's lack of knowledge or motivation. The Faulty Systems Model offers a broader explanation of human error. I conclude that a Faulty Systems Model is more comprehensive and more effective for managing mistakes. Integrating the Faulty Systems Model into practice and education can result in more ethically fitting responses to errors and ultimately better outcomes for nurses, institutions and patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that reviews one method implemented in an acute medical/surgical ward and discusses the use of a quality assurance project to ensure a consistent approach to the handover. Need for communicating high-quality patient information accurately, completely and in the most timely and effective way; Analysis of change of shift handovers between nurses; Problems encountered during handovers; Improvement in the communication between staff with less time wasted in accessing information as a result of the audit on the nursing handover.

Reports on the completion of a study of nurses' judgment of patient distress derived from different cultures. Cooperation of the American Nurses Foundation, health professionals from the various countries studied; Confirmation of the difference of the judgment of patient distress by licensed practical nurses; Use of the standard Measure of Inference questionnaire in the study.