Journal of advanced nursing
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Considerable attention has focused on describing ethical issues that critical care nurses face in their practice: however, less attention has been directed at describing the process of ethical decision-making. Systematic research linking aspects of ethical-decision making and stress is lacking. ⋯ Sixty-one critical care nurses completed the Nurse's Ethical Decision Making--ICU Questionnaire and the Health Professions Stress Inventory. Findings revealed that nurses who selected the patient advocacy model had significantly higher nurse autonomy scores, that perceived anxiety had a negative association with nurse autonomy, and that workplace restrictions and stress were related.
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The McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) is a well recognized measuring instrument for pain in English-speaking countries. Several efforts have been made to develop equivalent pain-measuring instruments in other languages. However, the method of translating the English words contained in the MPQ into another language implies that questions about validity may be posed. ⋯ Examination of content validity of the adapted MPQ and the translated version of the MPQ is examined by comparing the words in those questionnaires with words collected among Norwegians in the process of developing the NPQ. The findings support the content validity of the adapted MPQ. The NMPQ, however, should be further refined to better fit the semantics of pain in Norway.
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This paper reports the results of a descriptive study of elderly subjects undergoing orthopaedic hip surgery under two qualitatively different events; planned surgery for hip replacement and unplanned emergency surgery following hip fracture. Its purpose was to describe sleep satisfaction, pain perceptions and psychological concerns of subjects undergoing similar procedures but having differential contexts for their experience and different outcomes. Delirium is a common phenomenon following orthopaedic hip surgery. ⋯ Pain was greater for unplanned surgery subjects and in particular for unplanned surgery subjects who succumbed to delirium. Sleep satisfaction was markedly poorer among subjects who experienced delirium. The findings are discussed with respect to nursing practice priorities and attitudes toward pain management.
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The emergency nurse practitioner (ENP) is a rapidly developing role within emergency health care provision in the United Kingdom (UK). This paper explores some of the available literature concerning the development of the role in the context of major accident and emergency departments. The professional and legal implications of this shift in role boundaries are discussed. ⋯ The relative plethora of rigorous evaluation studies of ENP role effectiveness in North America, is contrasted with the current paucity of empirical data available in the UK. A number of methodological issues concerning the evaluation of ENP services are identified. The need for research in this area, alongside a programme of continuing local audit to guide and inform evidence-based practice, is emphasized.
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The researchers wanted to obtain insight into the cooperation between physicians and nurses with regard to active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (EAS). In study I a stratified random sample of 203 clinical specialists, 152 general practitioners (GPs) and 50 nursing home physicians (NHPs) participated. In study II a random sample of 521 GPs was drawn from the province of North Holland and a random sample of 521 GPs was drawn from the rest of the Netherlands. ⋯ In 5% of cases, the NHPs and the specialists did not consult with nurses concerning these aspects. The GPs and NHPs indicated in 4% and 3% of the cases, respectively, that nurses administered the lethal drug(s) to the patients; the corresponding figure for the specialists was 21%. Almost all GPs and NHPs and about three-quarters of the specialists thought that nurses should never be allowed to administer EAS.