The nurse as a lifelong learner: an exploration of nurses' perceptions of lifelong learning within nursing, and of nurses as lifelong learners

The arrival of lifelong learning within nursing constitutes a major conceptual shift that every qualified nurse is expected to adopt to be able to function as a Registered Nurse (RN) throughout their career. In the 1990s, lifelong learning had been appearing sporadically within nursing literature as a fait accompli, and with a seemingly general assumption that there was a shared understanding and acceptance of the concept amongst all nurses. The literature review revealed that lifelong learning is closely linked to the evolving nature of healthcare delivery in the National Health Service (NHS), and that it comprises of a number of related components. However, there was a dearth of empirical literature with regards to its application to day-to-day nursing practice at the time this study started. The study focused on examining the assumptions that seemed extant at the time and the areas that were not documented in the literature. It sought to ascertain the nature of RNs' perceptions of lifelong learning, and took into consideration the underlying philosophy, principles and practicalities of the concept. It also sought to identify both the formal structures required for effective implementation of lifelong learning as well as the day-to-day factors that might facilitate uptake and continuation of learning. Furthermore, the study endeavoured to ascertain the current and likely future impact of lifelong learning on nursing. To explore these issues, the study involved collecting, analysing and interpreting data from twenty-six individual interviews and two focus group discussions along with a comprehensive documentary analysis. The findings revealed that there are positive perceptions as well as reservations about lifelong learning amongst RNs, the latter mainly because mandatory continuous professional development (CPD) is resented by a number of nurses. This could be due to their lack of experience and apprehension related to studying in a university. The study found that structural mechanisms could be more firmly anchored and equitably available. Numerous day-to-day factors such as profession-based and personal networks tend to influence levels of engagement in formal learning. For instance, CPD in the form of workbased formal and informal learning is relatively widely utilised. Additionally, the impact of attitude change towards continuing development of own knowledge and competence yields favourable outcomes for the RN and for patient care

Salmonella meningitis a rare presentation in adult

Salmonella is a leading cause of food-borne infections worldwide. There are more than 2500 different serovars of salmonella enterica found to date, causing primarily gastroenteritis. However, the infection may occur elsewhere and produce characteristic clinical syndromes. Meningitis is a rare complication that occurs in less than 1% of clinical salmonellosis

Raga Therapy An Effective Treatment for Stress Management

Delayed encounters with stress are identified with poor individual well-being and related to significant monetary expenses for the general public. Accordingly, the advancement of cost-effective stress prevention or stress management tactics has turned into a vital attempt at recent research endeavors. Music has been appeared to influence physiological, cognitive, and emotional stress-related procedures advantageously. Subsequently, the utilisation of tuning in to music as a financial, non-intrusive, and profoundly acknowledged mediation apparatus has gotten uncommon enthusiasm for the administration of stress and stress-related medical problems. “Raga is the grouping of chosen notes (swaras) that loan suitable ‘temperament’ or feeling in a specific blend. “Raga therapy means healing through the raga. It’s a yoga framework with the help of resonant sounds. Ragatherapy implies curing through the raga. It is the information on the most proficient method to utilise raga for curing [1]”. Symphonies of raga ensure a calming influence on the mind and body. Researchers have found the role of raga therapy in treating stress. In the present research, raga therapy was administered to 74 subjects suffering from stress as an intervention plan. The ISMA questionnaire was administered to them before and after the intervention. Different sequences of ragas were directed to them for 30 min. A significant effect of raga therapy established on stress management

Morphology of Graphene on SiC(000-1) Surfaces

Graphene is formed on SiC(000-1) surfaces (the so-called C-face of the crystal) by annealing in vacuum, with the resulting films characterized by atomic force microscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning Auger microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Morphology of these films is compared with the graphene films grown on SiC(0001) surfaces (the Si-face). Graphene forms a terraced morphology on the C-face, whereas it forms with a flatter morphology on the Si-face. It is argued that this difference occurs because of differing interface structures in the two cases. For certain SiC wafers, nanocrystalline graphite is found to form on top of the graphene.Comment: Submitted to Applied Physics Letters; 9 pages, 3 figures; corrected the stated location of Raman G line for NCG spectrum, to 1596 cm^-

Characteristic temperatures of a triplon system of dimerized quantum magnets

Exploiting the analogy between ultracold atomic gases and the system of triplons, we study magneto-thermodynamic properties of dimerized quantum magnets in the framework of Bose -Einstein condensation (BEC). Particularly, introducing the inversion (or Joule - Thomson) temperature $T_{JT}$ as the point where Joule - Thomson coefficient of an isenthalpic process changes its sign, we show that for a simple paramagnet, this temperature is infinite, while for three-dimensional (3D) dimerized quantum magnets it is finite and always larger than the critical temperature $T_c$ of BEC. Below the inversion temperature $T<T_{JT}$ the system of triplons may be in a liquid phase, which undergoes a transition into a superfluid phase at $T\le T_c<T_{JT}$. The dependence of the inversion temperature on the external magnetic field $T_{JT} (H)$ has been calculated for quantum magnets of TlCuCl$_3$ and Sr$_3$Cr$_2$O$_8$.Comment: The text and figures have been revise

Interface Structure of Graphene on SiC(000-1)

Graphene films prepared by heating the SiC(000-1) surface (the C-face of the {0001} surfaces) in vacuum or in a Si-rich environment are compared. It is found that different interface structures occur for the two situations. The former yields a well known 3x3 reconstructed interface, whereas the latter produces an interface with rt(43)xrt(43)-R\pm7.6 degrees symmetry. This structure is shown to contain a graphene-like layer with properties similar to the 6rt(3)x6rt(3)-R30 degrees "buffer layer" that forms on the Si(0001) surface (the Si-face).Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; added Refs. 16 and 20, and made minor revisions to tex