Separation of conjoined twins: experiences of perioperative nurses and their recommendations

Within an 8-month period, an unprecedented and historical first in Queensland, Australia, the perioperative nurses were members of teams involved in the surgical separation of two sets of conjoined twins. Little is known about the (dis)stress that some of these perioperative nurses experienced nor how best to support them during such experiences. The aim of this paper is to report on the qualitative study that explored the experiences of those perioperative nurses involved in the surgical separation of cojoined twins and from their stories propose recommendations to support perioperative nurses who are confronted with such workplace experiences. Using a narrative methodology, nine perioperative nurses shared their stories of being involved in the surgical separation of conjoined twins in Australia. Narrative and thematic analyses were conducted and recommendations to support perioperative nurses through workplace (dis)stress were identified. Participants validated the findings and recommendations. The analyses revealed the themes of professionalism, teamwork, 'them vs. us' and emotional loads. Discussion: The sensationalism around the rarity of conjoined twins brought an intensive intrusiveness from the world media. As a result, secrecy within the hospital about the conjoined twin cases created divisions between those perioperative nurses on the teams and those not. The processes and outcomes of the two surgical cases were in contrast to each other. For some perioperative nurses this caused distress. It is essential that professional support is offered in a way in which the perioperative nurse can take it up without fear of negative judgement

An exploratory study into nurses' understanding and knowledge of children and young people with eczema

This is an exploratory research project that enquires into the capabilities of three different groups of paediatric-trained nurses to meet the needs of children and young people with eczema, one of the commonest of chronic conditions of childhood. Data methodology included vignettes and associated questionnaire, which was used with three groups of nurses working with children and young people: students; qualified children's nurses and school nurses. The findings indicated a low level of dermatology nursing knowledge about basic skin care and that some nurses even appeared to avoid those who were disfigured by skin disease. It also raises some questions about whether the disfiguring nature of skin disorders such as eczema can affect a nurse's decision-making ability. © 2007 Sage Publications

O direito à informação e a manifestação da autonomia de idosos hospitalizados The right to information and the autonomy of the hospitalized elderly

Partindo-se do pressuposto que a avaliação da qualidade para a organização e o funcionamento dos serviços de saúde não deva estar restrita a variáveis tecnicistas e financeiras, mas que contemple o respeito dos direitos do paciente, procurou-se conhecer e analisar a manifestação da autonomia de idosos hospitalizados, baseada nas informações que possuem sobre seu estado de saúde, através da pesquisa de suas expectativas, compreensão sobre o direito à informação e a utilização deste para a deliberação e o consentimento esclarecido às propostas diagnósticas e terapêuticas envolvidas na assistência à sua saúde. Os resultados evidenciaram carência da informação fornecida ao idoso, manifestação de insatisfação quanto ao padrão de informação revelada, o papel da família como intermediária da informação na relação do idoso com a equipe de saúde e o comprometimento do processo decisório autonômico do paciente bem como comprometimento da manifestação do consentimento esclarecido.<br>It was carried out a study with the aim to analyse the autonomy of hospitalised elderly, based on the comprehension about their rights of information and the informed consent on proposals of diagnosis and terapheutics. The results showed patient's lack of information, dissatisfaction on the degree of information. It was also verified that the patient's family frequently acts as information intermediary between the health team and the patient. Therefore, autonomy process of decision making was compromissed, as well as the informed consent of the elderly