Journal of advanced nursing
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Catching the wave: understanding the concept of critical thinking¶As a practice-orientated profession, nursing is clearly guided by theoretical concepts. Concept clarification attempts to show speakers and readers how they can liberate themselves from the judgement limitations imposed by rigid, unexamined beliefs, by exposing differences in the interpretation of language and how that interpretation creates meaning. Critical thinking is one way nurses apply the process of inquiry. ⋯ The purpose of this analysis is to illuminate the meaning and clarify the intent of critical thinking application to nursing practice. The paper begins by briefly outlining the historical aspects of critical social theory, suggesting that the foundational tenets of critical theory have influenced the development of critical thinking. The paper also critically compares the language used to describe critical thinking and that language that has traditionally defined nursing.
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Abuse of women in domestic relationships has become an epidemic. Research studies have documented that abuse does not end when a woman with children leaves the abuser but, in fact, the danger increases. A father's legal right to custody of and access to his children and the children's bond with their father prevent a woman from truly breaking free of her abuser. ⋯ Data analysis revealed that all of the women were living in great fear for their safety and that of their children. The ongoing danger and stress of living with the restrictions of the law took its toll on the women and ultimately affected their physical health and psychological well-being. The women described their experiences as having four components: (1) safety--living with ongoing danger; (2) stress--living with the restrictions of the law and the legal system; (3) coping--social support systems; and (4) to heal and move forward in life.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Daily pain assessment: value for nurses and patients.
Current guidelines for pain management recommend systematic assessment of pain. A few standardized tools exist for the daily assessment of pain intensity, for example the numeric rating scale or visual analogue scale, yet these instruments are rarely used by nurses. In the study reported in this paper, a numeric rating scale accompanied by an educational programme for nurses, was implemented in three hospitals. ⋯ The results show that nurses' compliance with daily pain assessment is high (73.9%) and that daily pain assessment is feasible and valued by nurses; however, differences between the three hospitals and two specialties (medical vs. surgical wards) were found. Although patients have difficulty with expressing their pain by use of a number, almost all patients are able to give a pain score and a majority is positive about daily pain assessment. From this study it can be concluded that daily pain assessment is practical and appreciated by nurses as well as patients, but attuning the implementation protocol to the needs of the specific setting is necessary.
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Carper's patterns of knowing expose the relevance and importance of different knowledge to the enterprise of nursing. She noted that the aesthetic pattern enables nurses to know unique perceptive experiences. Poetry captures particular perceptive experiences and reconstructs them into universal wholes. ⋯ A poem, written to express one author's unique nursing experience, is used to explore the knowledge gained through the process of writing poetry. Writing poetry can help nurses connect with and maintain their personal and professional history. Moreover, writing poetry increases our awareness of the sensibilities of nursing practice and the meanings that these sensibilities add to the depth and design of the discipline.
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This study describes the congruence of the perceptions of 180 patient-nurse dyads concerning patients' fears related to coronary arteriography (CA). The perceptions were measured with a purpose-designed instrument which listed 26 objects of fear. t-Tests and chi-square tests were used to compare the responses and the associations with demographic data. The results pointed to inconsistencies between patients' and nurses' perceptions. ⋯ Nurses' perceptions of the intensity of individual patients' fears were incongruent so that before CA there was a tendency to overestimate the intensity of fears and after CA to underestimate it. The results suggest that nurses need to pay more attention to the assessment of individual patients' fears and to avoid stereotypical views of patient fears. The use of an assessment instrument is recommended as one way of enhancing the quality of care.