Irish journal of medical science
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This study involves two stand-alone tertiary level maternity hospitals with a combined average of 17,000 births per year, and with approximately 300 obstetric high dependency unit (OHDU) admissions annually. Many midwives feel that working in an OHDU does not constitute normal midwifery work and they have voiced concerns regarding their training in this setting. Midwives and nurses from different departments throughout the two hospitals are often asked to care for the OHDU patients. Co-location and expansion of a new OHDU, as well as a discussion around staffing, prompted this questionnaire. ⋯ A greater proportion of nurses and dual trained midwives feel confident caring for ODHU patients. This survey suggests that a mixture of specialty-trained critical care nurses and midwives is required in order to provide a full complement of HDU care to both the antenatal and postnatal women.
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Interactive case-based tutorials represent a well-established method of improving House Officer learning. There has been little research on how tutorials of this kind can be improved, and whether their use changes practice. ⋯ An interactive eLearning tutorial with real-world applications provides an effective, low-cost intervention that can improve confidence and skill in prescribing IV fluids.
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Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autoimmune disease with periodic fever attacks recurring with mutations in the MEFV gene and chronic inflammation. The new molecule which is formed as a result of the chemical changes made by oxidative free radicals in the albumin molecule during ischemic events is called ischemia modified albumin (IMA). ⋯ IMA can be used as a predictor similar to cardiovascular risk factors and it is a precious marker for inflammation. The use of IMA in these fields and the multi-centred and comparative studies about predictability of it may contribute to science.