Men’s experiences of surviving testicular cancer: An integrated literature review

Purpose: To synthesise literature in order to elucidate the experiences of men who have survived testicular cancer and determine their quality of life following treatment. Methods: An integrated review sought appropriate literature by utilising a keyword search across seven databases. Retrieved studies were appraised for quality, with 2 qualitative, 12 quantitative and 2 mixed method studies deemed appropriate for this review. The data were extracted and aggregated into categories by way of a thematic analysis. The themes were personal challenges and impact on health, psychological and emotive challenges, perception of reproduction and sexual changes and outlook and support. Results: Men experienced physical, emotional and sexual difficulties. Some men believed they were infertile, despite evidence that fertility is not compromised in the long term. Psychological conditions can be exacerbated by cultural pressures to conceive and cultural expressions about male identity. Men who had undergone orchidectomy reported minimal impact on their mental health than the men who had chemotherapy or radiotherapy as part of their treatment modality. Sexual dysfunction caused by chemotherapy-associated side effects was detrimental to men’s quality of life. In addition, men who had a partner, who were employed, and who had children were able to adjust better after treatment than those who did not. Provision of clear and honest information post-treatment helped testicular cancer survivors return to their normal lives. Conclusions: The evidence from the review suggests that the burden of disease for testicular cancer survivors is overall low. Men who had surgical intervention and were treated for testicular cancer experienced minimal impact on their mental health status than the men who had chemotherapy or radiotherapy as part of their treatment modality. Implications for Cancer Survivors: There is a need to provide appropriate referrals to the relevant services, including psychosocial support, and the development of more adequate communication resources for men following treatment for testicular cancer

The Transition of Nigerian-educated Nurses to the Australian Healthcare System: An Exploratory Qualitative Study in Work-Life Learning

Internationally qualified nurses' flow to Australia is not new and has increased over recent decades. Immigrant nurses working in Australia come from diverse source countries. The immigrant nurses that require the Overseas Qualified Nurses Program (OQNP) or more recently introduced outcomes-based assessment (OBA) vary from one country to another, depending on the country of initial nursing registration. Numerous research studies have explored the experiences of these immigrant nurses in Australia. Still, there is a shortage of studies on the work-life learning of Nigerian educated nurses working in the Australian healthcare system. The current research focuses on the Nigerian educated nurses in Australia (NENs) given the cultural, technological, educational, social, and legal differences in the new practice environment, especially in the recently introduced National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN).</p