Improving confidence and job satisfaction in emergency nurses through TeamSTEPPS

Problem Statement: New-graduate nurses (NGNs) are experiencing job dissatisfaction related to low communication confidence leading to high turnover rates and avoidance behaviors. Purpose: To improve communication confidence and job satisfaction in NGNs through a nurse-led education session on emergency department (ED) communication techniques. Methods: One online class lasting ~60 minutes was provided to educate NGNs on standardized emergency communication techniques. A pre-test post-test design was used with evaluations occurring before the education, immediately after, and 30 days later. Results: Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the sample makeup. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to calculate significant changes in communication knowledge, confidence, and job satisfaction. Communication education led to a significant increase in communication knowledge (p = .027). No significant differences were found for job satisfaction and professional confidence. Correlations were noted between job satisfaction and mutual support and confidence. Implications for Practice: The TeamSTEPPS modules should be used as a means of educating NGNs in the ED to improve their professional confidence and job satisfaction. These modules should involve unit leadership, role-play activities, and real-life scenarios for that unit

The woman traveller in French literature of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries

This dissertation studies the woman traveller in French narrative literature of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries with emphasis on the courtly romance. It examines factual aspects of women\u27s travel in the literature under study, offering for comparison some factual material from other sources. The study shows that a focus on the travel of women often allows their identities to emerge sharply and to develop as they respond to the challenges, foreseen and unforeseen, of the road. Following women\u27s travel in this literature reveals shifts in their portrayal that correspond to chronology, theme and genre. In the twelfth century, the theme of the shorter narrative forms is the intense love that motivates the travels of often persecuted women who have the full sympathy of a narrator who values the love they experience. The classic romans courtois of the great twelfth-century poet Chrétien de Troyes present the theme that love should be integrated into a broader societal perspective in which a chivalry of service is of first importance. Women travellers, usually strong and resourceful, value and serve this idea. In the thirteenth century, competent, independent women travellers are depicted in the romans d\u27aventure. Although the travel in the romans d\u27aventure is motivated by love, still a prominent theme, the idea of women\u27s self-sufficiency is important as well. However, in the thirteenth-century Arthurian romances, the themes of chivalry and the camaraderie of knights receive increasing emphasis. More and more, the woman traveller serves the knight\u27s story. Sometimes the traveller in these romances deteriorates in character from her usually high-minded counterpart in the work of Chrétien de Troyes. In thirteenth-century verse and prose romances, fairly frequent examples of the unsavory types of women travellers that overrun Guiron le Courtois appear. The contrast between twelfth-century depictions of women travellers where love is an important theme and those in Guiron le Courtois where the theme is a chivalry reduced to the camaraderie of severely misognynistic knights emphasizes the widely differing incarnations of the woman traveller in this literature

Sustained home visiting for vulnerable families and children: a review of effective processes and strategies

Parenting young children has become a more complex and stressful business, especially for those families in our community with the least resources (Grose, 2006; Hayes et al, 2010; Poole, 2004; Richardson & Prior, 2005; Trask, 2010). A widening gap exists between families that function well and those that are vulnerable. The paradox of service delivery for children and families is that vulnerable families – that is, those families with the greatest needs – are also the least likely to be able to access those services (Ghate & Hazel, 2002; Fram, 2003). A range of barriers exist for vulnerable and at risk families in making use of services (Carbone et al, 2004). One of the key barriers to vulnerable families accessing services is that many find it difficult to relate to the formal service system and are easily alienated by practices others find acceptable. Research regarding parents’ experiences of support services suggests that parents want services where they are simultaneously cared for and enabled in their role as parents, and to receive services characterised by empathy, competence, functionality, respect, flexibility and honesty (Attride-Stirling et al, 2001; Winkworth et al, 2009). Vulnerable parents fear a loss of autonomy in their interactions with support services and want services that are non-judgemental and that provide continuity of care (Ghate & Hazel, 2002; von Bultzingslowen, 2006). In addition to the barriers faced by vulnerable and marginalised families in accessing services, the system does not work in an integrated or coherent fashion to ensure that all children and families needing support receive it. Furthermore, the vast majority of services for children and families in Australia do not have an outreach function, that is, a means of engaging these vulnerable and at risk families who are in need of support but use services inconsistently or not at all. In short, the service system was not designed to meet the needs of vulnerable families within the context of a rapidly changing social and economic climate. Therefore, many families requiring support are not receiving it. Related identifier: ISSN 2204-340

Vitamin D Supplementation in Persons with Parkinson\u27s Disease

Individuals with Parkinson\u27s Disease (PD) have a higher incidence of osteoporosis and hypovitaminosis D. Vitamin D supplementation has not been widely evaluated in people with PD for bone and muscular health. This investigation examined the effects of vitamin D supplementation over 12 weeks (treatment n=5; control n=2) in PD. Subjects performed one repetition maximum for leg and chest press, six-minute walk, timed up and go, and quality of life questionnaires. Blood samples were analyzed for vitamin D levels and markers of bone turnover. Dual x-ray absorptiometry scans were performed to determine body composition and bone quality data. Significant improvements (p\u3c0.05) were found in relative strength for one repetition maximum chest press, as well as fat mass for the treatment group when compared to controls, indicating a positive effect of vitamin D supplementation. No other significant differences were found between groups over time

Blurring the lines between working and conservation lands: Bird use of prairie strips in row-cropped watersheds

Information collected for this project, along with additional research conducted on the STRIPS project, showed that prairie strips can be a valuable tool for improving ecosystem health in agricultural lands, especially in terms of improving water quality and increasing biodiversity and landscape heterogeneity

The Keck Cosmic Web Imager

We are designing the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) as a new facility instrument for the Keck II telescope at the W. M. Keck Observatory (WMKO). KCWI is based on the Cosmic Web Imager (CWI), an instrument that has recently had first light at the Hale Telescope. KCWI is a wide-field integral-field spectrograph (IFS) optimized for precision sky limited spectroscopy of low surface brightness phenomena. KCWI will feature high throughput, and flexibility in field of view (FOV), spatial sampling, bandpass, and spectral resolution. KCWI will provide full wavelength coverage (0.35 to 1.05 μm) using optimized blue and red channels. KCWI will provide a unique and complementary capability at WMKO (optical band integral field spectroscopy) that is directly connected to one of the Observatory's strategic goals (faint object, high precision spectroscopy), at a modest cost and on a competitive time scale, made possible by its simple concept and the prior demonstration of CWI

Joint protection for people with arthritis

"File: Rehabilitation, 8/78/6M""Arthritis literally means inflammation of a joint. However, approximately 100 different conditions causing pain or dysfunction of joints and other connective tissues throughout the body are referred to as 'arthritis.' The two most common types are Osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease) and Rheumatoid Arthritis."--First paragraph.Anna Cathryn Yost (Associate Professor ; College of Home Economics), Pat Moore, R.N. (Arthritis Center ; UMC Medical Center), in consultation with: Charles W. Sisk, M.D. (Arthritis Special ; UMC Medical Center