Sexual Fluidity: An Integrative Review

Historically, sexuality had been considered a fundamental, biologically determined characteristic of humans. Lately, better protection of human rights and recognition of non-traditional relationships have been leading to acceptance towards gay, transgendered and bisexual people. Nonetheless, little advancement has been made into fully understanding the intricacies of human sexuality and recent research has found that sexuality may not be fixed after all; instead, it appears to be more variable and fluid. This integrative review on sexual fluidity has drawn four discussed themes: Sexuality as a Continuum, Sexual Fluidity of Women, Sexual Agency and Hetero/Homosexuality Binary of Men. Several questions call for more research into understanding sexual fluidity across the lifespan and the development of initiatives to help individuals to both understand and accept this trait. Furthermore, advocacy is needed to ensure equal rights and freedoms without discrimination, both socially and economically

Barriers to Practice of Rural and Remote Nursing in Canada

The delivery of rural and remote healthcare has been identified in the literature as a unique and complex working environment for Nursing practice. This Canadian setting integrative review looks at barriers associated with rural and remote nursing. Nine articles were retained after filtering over 200 articles extracted from 4 databases. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist (CASP) for qualitative research and Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies (QATQ) were used for assessment of a total sample of N=3402 participants. Four (4) main themes (barriers) were extracted: 1) Professional Isolation, 2) Competing Demands, 3) Lack of Sustainable Continuing Educational Initiatives and 4) Lack of Organizational Support. Following analysis of the demographic data, an emerging theme of an aging workforce was also seen as a potential future barrier to rural nursing practice. Future research is required in order for sufficient and appropriate action to be taken in addressing aforementioned barriers. Recommendations for nursing practice and policy in rural and remote areas revolve around exposing nursing students to rural / remote settings, incentives for new graduate students to practice in these areas, as well as support and educational initiatives encouraging practitioners to work to their full scope of practice

Clozapine vs. Haloperidol in Aggression Prevention

Nurses and physicians working in forensic psychiatric facilities are frequently exposed to violent incidents at the hands of forensic psychiatric patients and inmates. Aside from seclusion, segregation and restraint, prevention serves as an efficient strategy in dealing with violence and aggression, including a proper medication regimen. This paper aims to address a specific clinical research question in terms of prevention of violence and aggression among forensic psychiatric patients, from a pharmaceutical perspective. Clinical Question: In forensic psychiatric patients with a history of aggression, is regular use of Clozapine more effective in reducing the incidence of violence and/or aggression than regular use of Haloperidol? Five primary research studies were found to be specific to the clinical question and its context. Review results: Resulting from its superior efficacy in treating complicated, positive schizophrenia symptoms, including violence and aggression, Clozapine may be better situated to prevent aggressive incidents among Forensic Patients with a history of aggression. Answering the clinical question has led to reflection and application of new recommendations of pharmaceutical interventions in a forensic setting

Les Barrières à la Pratique des Sages-Femmes au Canada

Barriers to the current practice of midwives in Canada relate to the perception of clients and care providers, the lack of financial and physical resources, the reluctance on the part of other medical specialists and a lack of recognition of midwives professional activity and their skills. Although deliveries without serious complications are the vast majority of births, lowrisk pregnancies are often supported by physicians, rather than by midwives. In Quebec, long waiting lists prevent women from resorting to a midwife because, often, this service is simply not present, despite the satisfaction with care extended by the mothers. Training programs for midwives have limited contingency. At the global level, access to the practice of midwives is restricted due to lack of funding, although the practice of midwives generates less cost than other practitioners’. In addition, obstetricians are not open to the idea of losing less complicated cases, handled by midwives. However, in light of the current budgetary constraints, Governments would benefit from investing in the profession of midwives which clearly demonstrates its effectiveness in the delivery of quality care.Les barrières à la pratique actuelle des sages-femmes au Canada sont reliées à la perception des pourvoyeurs de soins et des clientes, au manque de ressources matérielles et humaines, aux réticences de la part du personnel médical et à un manque de reconnaissance de l’activité des sages-femmes et de leurs compétences. Malgré que la plupart des accouchements se déroulent sans complications graves, les grossesses à faibles risques sont souvent prises en charge par des médecins, plutôt que par des sages-femmes. Au Québec, de longues listes d’attente empêchent les femmes d’avoir recours à une sagefemme car ce service est peu développé, même inexistant par endroit, et ce, malgré la satisfaction des soins reportée par les parturientes. Les programmes de formation de sages-femmes sont contingentés. Au niveau mondial, l’accès à la pratique des sages-femmes est restreint en raison d’un manque de financement, bien que la pratique des sages-femmes génère moins de coût que la pratique des autres praticiens. De plus, les obstétriciens ne sont pas ouverts à l’idée de perdre les cas les moins compliqués, pouvant être confiés aux sages-femmes. En tout et compte tenu des difficultés budgétaires actuelles, les gouvernements auraient avantage à investir dans cette profession qui, de toute évidence, démontre clairement son efficacité et offre des soins de qualité

Impact of Nurse Residency Programs on Retention and Job Satisfaction: An Integrative Review

Retention of new nurses is vital within the context of the nursing shortage Canada is currently facing. Nurse residency programs need to be explored to better understand their role in combating the nursing shortage. The study utilized Whittemore and Knafl’s integrative review methodology to review current literature on nurse residency programs in The United States of America and focuses on retention rates, job satisfaction and intent to leave as a means for understanding the role of nursing residency programs within the Canadian nursing context. The literature review found that Nurse Residency Programs (NRP) can improve retention and job satisfaction for newly licensed registered nurses (NLRNs), but their impact on reducing turnover intention is unclear and needs further study

Deficits in trace fear conditioning in a rat model of fetal alcohol exposure: dose-response and timing effects

In humans, prenatal alcohol exposure can result in significant impairments in several types of learning and memory, including declarative and spatial memory. Animal models have been useful for confirming that many of the observed effects are the result of alcohol exposure, and not secondary to poor maternal nutrition or adverse home environments. Wagner and Hunt (2006) reported that rats exposed to ethanol during the neonatal period (postnatal days [PDs] 4-9) exhibited impaired trace fear conditioning when trained as adolescents, but were unaffected in delay fear conditioning. The present series of three experiments represent a more detailed analysis of ethanol-induced deficits in trace conditioning. In Experiment 1, the dose of ethanol given to neonates was varied (3.0, 4.0, or 5.0 g/kg/day). There was a dose-dependent reduction in trace conditioning, with the poorest performance observed in animals treated with the highest dose. In Experiment 2, it was found that the impairment in trace conditioning resulting from neonatal ethanol exposure was dependent on the duration of the trace interval used for training; less learning was evident in ethanol-exposed animals trained with longer trace interval durations. These results confirm other reports of delay-dependent memory deficits. Finally, Experiment 3 determined that ethanol exposure limited to the first half of the neonatal period (PDs 4-6) was more detrimental to later trace conditioning than exposure during the second half (PDs 7-9). These results support the hypothesis that trace-conditioning impairments resulting from early ethanol exposure are due to the drug\u27s teratogenic effects on the developing hippocampus, as the findings parallel those observed in animals with discrete hippocampal lesions. Comparisons between delay and trace fear-conditioning performance in animals exposed to ethanol during the brain growth spurt provide a model system to study both selective learning impairments and possible treatment approaches for humans with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Impact of Nurse Residency Programs on Retention and Job Satisfaction: An Integrative Review

Objects: Retention of new nurses is vital within the context of the nursing shortage Canada is currently facing. Nurse residency programs (NRP) need to be explored to better understand their role in combating the nursing shortage. The aim of this study is to explore current nurse residency programs and their impacts on retention and job satisfaction with the aim to inform development of similar programs in Canada.  Methods: The study utilized Whittemore and Knafl’s integrative review methodology to review current literature on nurse residency programs in The United States of America with focuses on retention rates, job satisfaction and intent to leave. Overall, this article drew on seven distinct research studies. Findings: The literature review found that Nurse Residency Programs (NRP) can improve retention rates however, this may be due to contracts signed upon beginning of NRP. Job satisfaction for newly licensed registered nurses (NLRNs) participating in NRP also showed improvements but their impact on reducing turnover intention is unclear and needs further study. Conclusion: The impact of nurse residency programs on retention and job satisfaction has some positive effects, but the strength of this relationship remains unclear and would benefit from further research

Lo spazio delle donne: conversazione con le astronome di Arcetri

Il giorno 17 Marzo 2018, presso la Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica di Firenze, si è tenuto un seminario pubblico presentato da tre astronome dell’Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri sul tema della parità di genere in discipline scientifiche (definite anche discipline STEM dall’inglese Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Il seminario era inserito nell’iniziativa “Il Cielo Negato”, una mostra d’arte organizzata presso la Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica di Firenze centrata sul tema delle donne nella scienza accompagnata da incontri interdisciplinari di diversa natura.On March 17th 2018, the Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica in Florence hosted a special public conference held by three female astronomers working at the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory: the subject of the conference was gender equality in scientific disciplines (often referred to as STEM, with STEM standing for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The conference was part of “Il Cielo Negato”, a broader initiative organised by the Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica, with a focus on the role of women in science. An art show on the subject is at the centre of the initiative, but several interdisciplinary events accompany the exhibition of Gloria Pastore’s works