The educational outcomes of innovative teaching methods in clinical nursing education

AbstractBackground and aim:Clinical education is one of the principal elements of nursing education. Cultural competency asone of the clinical education outcomes is an important issue in medical and nursing education by ithealth care providers can gain the ability of working efficiently. Cultural competency can beachieved by implementation and purposeful utilization some learning strategies and processes. Thepurpose of this article is an overview of utilization of new teaching approaches in clinical educationof nursing students and getting information about achieving to learning outcomes, particularly in thecultural competence field.Materials and Methods:This was a review article. Persian databases, including Magiran, IranMedex, SID and Irandoc weresearched using keyword's clinical training, nursing, innovative teaching methods, clinical education.A total of 62 articles were collected, then 26 relevant articles were included in the final analysisResults:Among related studies, six concept maps, six clinical education related, four varieties of mentorshipapproaches, three blended clinical teaching, and two computer-based approach were reviewed andthe rest were other approaches.Conclusion:The results showed that cultural competency is a missing component in nursing education.Considering the importance and necessity of cultural competency, it is recommended that clinicaleducation approaches particularly innovative strategies should use. The qualitative and quantitativemethods should use for assessment and improvement of education of this important component.Key words:Training; Nursing, Cultural Competenc

Effects of Ramadan fasting on cardiovascular risk factors: a prospective observational study

Abstract Background Previous research has shown that Ramadan fasting has beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors, however there are controversies. In the present study, the effect of Ramadan fasting on cardiovascular risk factors has been investigated. Method This is a prospective observational study that was carried out in a group of patients with at least one cardiovascular risk factor (including history of documented previous history of either coronary artery disease (CAD), metabolic syndrome or cerebro-vascular disease in past 10 y). Eighty two volunteers including 38 male and 44 female, aged 29–70 y, mean 54.0 ± 10 y, with a previous history of either coronary artery disease, metabolic syndrome or cerebro-vascular disease were recruited. Subjects attended the metabolic unit after at least 10 h fasting, before and after Ramadan who were been fasting for at least 10 days. A fasting blood sample was obtained, blood pressure was measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Lipids profile, fasting blood sugar (FBS) and insulin, homocysteine (hcy), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and complete blood count (CBC) were analyzed on all blood samples. Results A significant improvement in 10 years coronary heart disease risk (based on Framingham risk score) was found (13.0 ± 8 before Ramadan and 10.8 ±7 after Ramadan, P 0.001, t test).There was a significant higher HDL-c, WBC, RBC and platelet count (PLT), and lower plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-c, VLDL-c, systolic blood pressure, body mass index and waist circumference after Ramadan (P 0.05, t test). The changes in FBS, insulin,Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), hcy, hs-CRP and diastolic blood pressure before and after Ramadan were not significant (P >0.05, t test). Conclusions This study shows a significant improvement in 10 years coronary heart disease risk score and other cardiovascular risk factors such as lipids profile, systolic blood pressure, weight, BMI and waist circumference in subjects with a previous history of cardiovascular disease.</p

Features of Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Iran: a Report from Double Center Study

Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia is one of the important malignancies in children. For better managing the prognosis of this disease, there should be enough information about common features of this malignancy. The aim of this study was to evaluate these common features in children with Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia. A total of 104 eligible children less than 15-year-old have been referred from 2007-2011 to two referral centers for childhood malignancies. Basic epidemiological information recorded in checklists for each individual. Analyzes have been done by SPSS version 22. Out of patients, 57 cases were males (54.8%). The male/female ratio was 1.2. The mean age of patients was 6.5 ± 4.3 years. The majority subtypes of patients were M3, M4, non-M3, and M2, respectively. The common molecular abnormalities were t (15;17) and inv (16). Of patients, 19.2% had an early relapse. The mean age of relapse in patients was 6.7 ± 3.9 years. Sixty patients (57.7%) were alive, and 44 cases (42.3%) died during or after therapy. The three years overall survival rate of patients was 42% in this study. According to our data, AML has the same frequency as compared with data from developing countries. But different epidemiological characteristic was a lower rate of three years overall survival in patients. These data may serve the health authorities for more effective environmental and preventive measurements, purposeful allocation of resources for facilitating up-to-date diagnostic and treatment modalities, psychological support programs for respective family members and educational purposes

Comparison of Prooxidant-antioxidant Balance Method with Crocin Method for Determination of total Prooxidant-antioxidant Capacity

Objective(s)Comparison of prooxidant-antioxidant balance (PAB) assay with crocin assay.Materials and MethodsTwenty eight serum samples were chosen, PAB and the total antioxidant capacity were measured by PABassay and crocin, respectively, and the correlation of both assays, along with their correlation with otherclinical and biochemical parameters, were determined.ResultsA significant negative correlation was established between PAB assay and crocin assay. Also a significantnegative correlation was established between PAB and uric acid and creatinine.ConclusionThe results showed that by increasing the total antioxidant capacity, which is showed by crocin, the PABshifts in favor of antioxidants, which is showed by PAB assay. Now, it could be considered that the PAB,along with other risk factors, might help in the prediction of the risk for cardiovascular events; and furtherresearch could clarify whether by application of PAB assay and appropriate interventions for correctingoxidative stress, progression of the cardiovascular disease could be reduced.Keywords: Crocin, Oxidative stress, Prooxidant-antioxidant balance assa