A viable entry level into practice: factors determining diploma nursing program success

Entry level into the practice of registered nursing has been a controversial topic in the profession of nursing since the American Nurses Association (ANA) Position Statement in 1965, which stated that entry level into practice should be at the baccalaureate degree level. The oldest and most traditional type of nursing program is the diploma nursing program. Diploma nursing programs have proven to score at or above the national mean on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) required by all nursing graduates to pass to obtain licensure for the practice of nursing, regardless of educational preparation. The purpose of this study was to explore and determine what factors make diploma nursing programs successful in the U.S. Based on a review of the literature, extensive information exists on predicting student success on the NCLEX-RN, but very little information exists on program success. Faculties of nursing programs are intricately involved with students and with the program and are uniquely qualified to determine these factors. The Diploma Nursing Program Success Survey, a 42-item questionnaire based on a four-point Likert-type scale, was developed and administered online to 446 faculty members of National League for Nursing Accreditation Committee (NLNAC) accredited diploma nursing programs in the U. S. One hundred ninety diploma nursing faculty participated in the study. Factor analysis identified five factors that determined success among diploma nursing programs labeled as: 1) clinical and faculty experiences, 2) instructors’ years of experience, 3) critical thinking skills, 4) small classes and low faculty-student ratio, and 5) admission criteria. Multiple regression analysis revealed “average number of graduates per year” and “average number of clinical hours in acute care setting per course” as strong predictors of diploma program success predicting 15% of the variance. In addition, seven emerging themes were identified from the question, “What do you think contributes to diploma nursing program success?” These themes were: 1) faculty-student relationship/individualized attention/close relationships/mentoring, 2) increased clinical time, 3) small class size/low faculty-to-student ratio, 4) faculty commitment/dedicated instructors, 5) application of theory into practice, 6) enhancing critical thinking, and 7) same instruction in classroom and clinical

Resigned indifference: an explanation of gaps in care for culturally and linguistically diverse patients'

Aims: To develop a theory that explains students and registered nurses’ behaviours when caring for culturally and linguistically diverse patients’. Background: Despite ongoing calls for improvements to the quality of patient care, the continued reports of substandard care to patients from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds are concerning. Methods: A classic grounded theory methodology incorporating focus groups (n-10) and individual interviews (n-30) with students and registered nurses in one region of Ireland. Findings: Participants resolved their main concern of uncertainty through disengagement (masking, distancing and fitting in), which was sustained by resigned indifference, resulting in gaps in care. Resigned indifference explains how participants were aware of the consequences of disengagement, but became resigned and accepting of substandard care. Conclusion: This study explains how nurses want to provide quality care, but gaps in care to culturally and linguistically diverse patients’ are perpetuated through resigned indifference. Implications for Nursing Management: Nurse Managers need to understand nurses’ behaviours as a means of supporting collective ways of addressing gaps in care for culturally and linguistically diverse patients. Strategic leadership in developing culturally responsive structures is essential. Nurturing nursing values such as; commitment, compassion, and courage through education and leadership is a priority

The Illawarra at Work: A Summary of the Major Findings of the Illawarra Regional Workplace Industrial Relations Survey

This paper summarises the main results of the Illawarra Regional Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (IRWIRS). The data is unique in that it provides the only comprehensive and statistically reliable source of information about workplace employee relations at the regional level in Australia, and compares regional patterns with national trends. The data collected relates to industrial relations indicators, workplace ownership, market conditions, management organisation and decision- making in the workplace, among other things. The results reveal a positive pattern of employment relations in the Illawarra, distinctive in many respects from national trends.Illawarra Regional Workplace Industrial Relations Survey, workplace employee relations, Australia

Spontaneous Iliopsoas Hematoma following Microvascular Free Tissue Transfer.

Spontaneous hematoma within the iliopsoas muscle (SIH) is a rare complication most commonly seen in coagulopathic patients. Often, patients undergoing microvascular free tissue transfer are anticoagulated for anastomotic patency. Here we describe two cases of postoperative SIH following contralateral anterolateral thigh (ALT) free tissue transfer for reconstruction of oncologic head and neck defects. Both patients described hip pain after mobilization and had a corresponding acute blood loss anemia. Diagnosis of SIH was confirmed by CT and both patients were managed conservatively. Given that anticoagulation is a common practice following head and neck free tissue transfer, surgeons should be aware of this potential complication

Equilibrium Configurations of Strongly Magnetized Neutron Stars with Realistic Equations of State

We investigate equilibrium sequences of magnetized rotating stars with four kinds of realistic equations of state (EOSs) of SLy (Douchin et al.), FPS (Pandharipande et al.), Shen (Shen et al.), and LS (Lattimer & Swesty). Employing the Tomimura-Eriguchi scheme to construct the equilibrium configurations. we study the basic physical properties of the sequences in the framework of Newton gravity. In addition we newly take into account a general relativistic effect to the magnetized rotating configurations. With these computations, we find that the properties of the Newtonian magnetized stars, e.g., structure of magnetic field, highly depends on the EOSs. The toroidal magnetic fields concentrate rather near the surface for Shen and LS EOSs than those for SLy and FPS EOSs. The poloidal fields are also affected by the toroidal configurations. Paying attention to the stiffness of the EOSs, we analyze this tendency in detail. In the general relativistic stars, we find that the difference due to the EOSs becomes small because all the employed EOSs become sufficiently stiff for the large maximum density, typically greater than $10^{15}\rm{g} \rm{cm}^{-3}$. The maximum baryon mass of the magnetized stars with axis ratio $q\sim 0.7$ increases about up to twenty percents for that of spherical stars. We furthermore compute equilibrium sequences at finite temperature, which should serve as an initial condition for the hydrodynamic study of newly-born magnetars. Our results suggest that we may obtain information about the EOSs from the observation of the masses of magnetars.Comment: submitted to MNRA

Parametric Power Spectral Density Analysis of Noise from Instrumentation in MALDI TOF Mass Spectrometry

Noise in mass spectrometry can interfere with identification of the biochemical substances in the sample. For example, the electric motors and circuits inside the mass spectrometer or in nearby equipment generate random noise that may distort the true shape of mass spectra. This paper presents a stochastic signal processing approach to analyzing noise from electrical noise sources (i.e., noise from instrumentation) in MALDI TOF mass spectrometry. Noise from instrumentation was hypothesized to be a mixture of thermal noise, 1/f noise, and electric or magnetic interference in the instrument. Parametric power spectral density estimation was conducted to derive the power distribution of noise from instrumentation with respect to frequencies. As expected, the experimental results show that noise from instrumentation contains 1/f noise and prominent periodic components in addition to thermal noise. These periodic components imply that the mass spectrometers used in this study may not be completely shielded from the internal or external electrical noise sources. However, according to a simulation study of human plasma mass spectra, noise from instrumentation does not seem to affect mass spectra significantly. In conclusion, analysis of noise from instrumentation using stochastic signal processing here provides an intuitive perspective on how to quantify noise in mass spectrometry through spectral modeling