Journal of advanced nursing
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The American Pain Society cites the failure of health care providers to routinely assess pain and pain relief as the most common reason for unrelieved pain in US hospitals. Lack of knowledge on the part of nurses about pain and its treatment is one of the major barriers to achieving comfort for those in pain. Thus, the purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the pain management knowledge of hospital-based nurses in a rural Appalachian area. ⋯ This sample of rural nurses demonstrates similar pain management knowledge compared to the reported scores of urban nurses. These results may serve as the impetus to develop strategies to decrease the barriers to effective pain management. Further education about pain management is warranted.
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This study explored members' perceptions of teamwork in two primary health care teams (PHCTs). It also examined the effect of a team-building intervention on members' perceptions centred around five topics: the PHCT, role perception, communication, leadership and conflict. The study used a qualitative approach with semistructured interviews before and after the intervention. ⋯ Issues of hierarchy in leadership and interpersonal conflicts were raised. It is concluded that the team-building intervention had some positive effects on team members' perceptions and behaviour. However, further research is needed into management structures and conflict resolution in the PHCT.
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The research was undertaken with the intention of testing six null hypotheses regarding the retention of basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills and knowledge of registered nurses. The hypotheses were formulated from the broad aims of the research, which were to investigate conclusions reached by other researchers highlighting the speed with which retention of CPR skills and knowledge deteriorates, and to investigate the need for regular updating in CPR. The research was quasi-experimental in nature. ⋯ The update in CPR knowledge also revealed an initial improvement but the decrease in retention of knowledge 10 weeks later was significant (P = 0.0000). The findings of the research reflect similar results to previous research undertaken and discussed in the literature review, suggesting that retention of skills and knowledge quickly deteriorates if not used or updated regularly. Therefore this research supports the importance of CPR refresher courses on a regular basis.