Collegian
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Despite the expansion of capnography use, instruments for evaluating healthcare professionals' knowledge about capnography are missing from international literature. ⋯ NKCT is a psychometrically comprehensive instrument for evaluating nurses' knowledge about capnography, which is recommended to be re-validated beyond the anesthesiology department and be used for the assessment of educational programs on capnography.
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Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have higher rates of morbidity and mortality thanother Australians. One proposed strategy to improve this situation is to increase the participation ofAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses, inthe health workforce. Although the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students under-taking tertiary nursing courses have increased, completion rates have not kept pace. ⋯ Six threads of experience emerged: Making a difference, Valu-ing Indigeneity, Healing strength of connections, Resisting racism, Embracing support, and perseveringtowards completion. Key success factors included resilient attributes, building supportive connectionsand having positive expectations of the future, along with sustained institutional support from Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander nurse academics and clinicians. Development of tailored resilience-buildingtraining for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nursing students and appointment of Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander academics in Schools of Nursing that include such students may facilitate futuresuccessful completions in other programs.
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Models of palliative care need to address the unmet needs of children, young people and families. ⋯ Paediatric palliative care should be flexible, responsive and tailored to the needs of children and their families. Robust evaluation of models of care that incorporate these elements is required to inform optimal care.
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Comparative Study
Impact of nursing care in Australian general practice on the quality of care: A pilot of the Patient Enablement and Satisfaction Survey (PESS).
Nursing roles in general practice have undergone significant expansion, but as yet there are few tools to measure the quality of nursing care in general practice. This study piloted the Patient Enablement and Satisfaction Survey (PESS) to evaluate two aspects of quality of care in this setting. ⋯ All patients reported satisfaction with nursing care. Patients receiving chronic disease management reported high levels of enablement. This pilot indicated that the PESS can distinguish between two aspects of the quality of nursing care that may impact on patient outcomes.
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Cancer pain remains a major public health concern. Despite effective treatments being available to manage the majority of cancer pain, this debilitating symptom is frequently under treated. As cancer has becomes a chronic disease a range of health professionals, including community nurses in Australia are increasingly caring for people living with cancer related pain. Yet, little is known about community nurses capacity to assess and manage cancer pain in accordance with best available evidence. ⋯ A range of system, health professional and consumer barriers limit access to best available treatment in the community setting for people with cancer pain. A clinical pathway that gives step-by-step guidance on evidence-based practice along with an evaluation framework may be the best way of enabling community nurses to ensure their patients with cancer related pain have access to best available care.