The effect of Therapeutic Touch on pre exam anxiety in Kerman University of Medical Sciences Students

Anxiety is vague and excruciating distress which is usually experienced in some extent by students before taking exams. Reduction of this status by use of safe methods such as complementary medicine can lead to intensification of self confidence and improvement of learner’s educational function. Objectives: This single group clinical trial study was done on students of Kerman Medical University to determine the effect of therapeutic touch on the anxiety level of them before taking test. First، to assertion the sample size a pilot study was done and the sample size determines to be 37 participants. In the data collection phase، the standard Beck Scale Anxiety questionnaire was used. On the beginning، learner’s anxiety level was assessed at the night before the testing session. Then after doing the therapeutic touch، by use of the same questionnaire their anxiety level was scored. The scores gained by questionnaire before and after the therapeutic touch were average and this data were analyzed by، One Way ANOVA، and pair T-test. Demographic information such as age، type of course، pre-knowledge of therapeutic touch ، prior usage of therapeutic touch ، and acceptance of therapeutic touch as a method had no significant relationship with anxiety reduction after the intervention. After intervention 29.7% students feel weightless and 24.3% of them feel relax. But meanwhile، there was a significant difference between the intervention and average anxiety level (p value<0.001). In attention to significant relationship between average anxiety numbers before and after the intervention، probably therapeutic touch can be reducing anxiety level of participants. Keywords: Test Anxiety, Therapeutic touch, Exam, Complementary Medicine, Student

The Effect of the therapeutic touch on preoperative anxiety in women with elective surgeries

Introduction: In spite of the fact that people are increasingly interested in complementary medicine and therapeutic touch، we still need further investigation to prove the advantages and mechanism of their effect on patients. Objectives: This single blind-randomized two-group clinical trial carried out to determine the effect of the therapeutic touch on preoperative anxiety. Method: This study was performed in Shahid Mohammadi hospital in Bandar abbas city in 2004. 46 subjects consist of the women 18-70 years aged، were selected based on the repeated measure Mixed Design and were divided into two groups، (experimental and control). The patients’ anxiety was assessed at night before the operation، before and after the introducing of the real therapeutic touch in experimental group and unreal therapeutic touch in control group، using interview and Beck Anxiety Questionnaire. Then data were analyzed using SPSS 11. 5 and the repeated measure Mixed Design. The average differences of scores of both groups before and after the interference of therapeutic touch were compared. The factor of time and the type of interference had interaction with each other. Therefore، the results were interpreted، using only independent t-test. Results: Significant reduction of anxiety (p v<0. 001) was observed in experimental group compared to control one. It means that in experimental group، anxiety level reduced more than control group. Conclusion: Therapeutic touch can affect on decrease of preoperative anxiety. Hence we recommended introducing a course in therapeutic touch for the nursing students so that they can use it in their nursing practice Keywords: Anxiety, Therapeutic Touch, Complementary Medicin

Moral competency: meta-competence of nursing care

Introduction: To follow the progress of technology and increasing domain of nurses’ duties, ethical challenges can be observed more than ever. Therefore, the growing and dynamic system of nursing requires nurses with professional and ethical competence who can provide optimal care. The aim of the present study was to define and explain dimensions of moral competency among the clinical nurses of Iran. Methods: This qualitative content analysis study was carried out in the years 2014 and 2015 in Iran. Data were collected through in-depth semistructured interviews and field notes. The resulting data were analyzed by Graneheim and Lundman’s method of conventional content analysis. The participants were 12 clinical nurses who were selected using purposive convenient sampling and continued interviews until data saturation. Results: Themes obtained in the present study were posited in three main categories of “moral character,” with subcategories of altruism, search for meaning, be pioneering, perfectionism, self-control, honesty, and forgiveness; “moral care” with subcategories of dignified care, safe care, fair care, and holistic care; and “moral decision-making” with subcategories of moral sensitivity, moral thinking, moral reasoning, and moral courage. Conclusions: Findings of the present study suggest that nurses’ moral competency is an adorable character with a wide range that includes moral virtues and character, moral decision-making, and ultimately providing moral care; therefore, moral competency is a meta-competence in the field of nursing. Because there are many competencies in different fields

Applications of green synthesized Ag, ZnO and Ag/ZnO nanoparticles for making clinical antimicrobial wound-healing bandages

Abstract An expeditious, environmentally-friendly and affordable synthesis of silver (Ag) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles was attained using Prosophis fracta and coffee; ensuing Ag and ZnO nanoparticles were physicochemically characterized by UV–visible spectroscopic, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The green synthesized Ag and ZnO nanoparticles comprise of an average size of about 16 and 26 nm, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of these Ag and ZnO nanoparticles and mixture thereof, Ag/ZnO, were determined on Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa cultures. Cotton wound bandages were impregnated with nanoparticles of Ag and ZnO and mixed Ag/ZnO nanoparticles in the neighborhood of calculated MIC and their antimicrobial activity was studied in vitro; both types of nanoparticles showed a high antibacterial activity of bandages. Antimicrobial effect of bandages impregnated with liquid solution of Ag nanoparticles was more than that observed for ZnO and mixed Ag/ZnO nanoparticles; however, this difference was not very significant. These antibacterial bandages can potentially be used for treating and covering infection-sensitive wounds namely diabetic or burns wounds