In this paper we report the role that a sense of significance plays in the experiences of older patients in urgent care settings, and explore the factors that influence these experiences. The paper draws on findings from a UK study in which 69 patients and 27 relatives from 31 English NHS Trusts were interviewed about their urgent care experiences using semi-structured qualitative interviews. Key among the findings was that older patients experienced a diminished sense of their individual significance. Some questioned the legitimacy of their presence in the urgent care setting and believed that they mattered little in relation to other patients and the other tasks which health professionals were undertaking. The three key features of this diminished sense of significance were: the primacy of technical, medical care; an imbalance of power; and the subordination of patients’ non-medical needs. These features suggest that interventions to enhance care delivery that promotes a sense of significance will need to target practitioners and the wider organisational culture.

No published studies assess the knowledge of staff nurses regarding intravenous connectors, yet connectors remain a primary cause of infection and mortality. Anonymous survey (N = 100) in acute hospitals revealed 78% of nurses were uninformed about different connector types and their different care and 43% could not name two complications of connectors. No significant relationship was found between education (r = 0.121, p < 0.05) or nursing specialty (r = -0.059, p < 0.05) and identifying types of connectors. Sixty-four per cent were involved in 5–6 hours of intravenous therapy and maintenance per 12-hour shift, hence connector care is significant. Education about connectors has implications for nursing associated with catheter-related bloodstream infections, occlusion and thrombosis. The Centers for Disease Control includes catheter-related bloodstream infections as a worldwide priority. This study identified a significant need for further nursing education and research regarding the types, maintenance and care of intravenous connectors.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of social support from co-workers on job performance among Jordanian hospital nurses. A correlational descriptive survey was used to investigate this relationship among a convenience sample of 365 Jordanian hospital nurses. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, which included the Schwirian Six Dimension Scale of Nursing Performance, the McCain and Marklin Social Integration Scale, and the demographic form. Perceived social support from co-workers enhanced the level of reported job performance (r = 0.40; p < 0.001). The analysis also showed that demographic variables and co-workers support explained 20% of the variation in job performance. Results indicated the positive effect of co-workers support on job performance.

This study aimed to elicit some of the affective attributes in nurses and midwives involved in caring for those undergoing abortion and explore how they may affect the care given. Nurses and midwives face challenges in caring for women during abortion. Recent advances have resulted in more nursing/midwifery input into abortions. Impending legislation is also likely to increase nursing involvement and yet little is known of the likely impact on those involved. Twelve nurses and midwives working in termination of pregnancy services throughout Wales were interviewed using a grounded theory approach. An early affective attribute was being non-judgemental, but the core category derived from comparative analysis revealed that nurses and midwives conceded judging the women, but then concealed their judgements. To help them conceal their judgements maxims were used such as ‘there but for the grace of God go I’. Goffman’s work on stigma was used to challenge and integrate the grounded theory into the literature. As being non-judgemental is an aspiration, acknowledging that judgement occurs may be more appropriate for clinical nurses in order for them to devise strategies to conceal judgements in a considered manner.

Structural equation modeling is a statistical technique that allows researchers to examine multiple hypotheses while simultaneously controlling for error. It can consist of a variety of observed and latent independent, mediator, and dependent variables. Owing to it being confirmatory in nature, this statistical approach can be used quite readily to test theoretical models. Likewise, it provides overall fit indices that determine whether the model tested actually fits the observed data. This article provides nurses with the basics on structural equation modeling so they can assimilate evidence from studies that use this statistical tool and be able to incorporate such findings into practice.

Learning in the clinical environment has traditionally formed an integral part of nursing education programs in Australia. In tertiary-based nursing courses today, students can spend equal or more hours learning in the clinical workplace as they do in their classroom-based studies. Developing ways to improve teaching and learning in the clinical environment can help to develop a more positive workplace culture, which in turn, has been identified as producing more effective learning outcomes for students. This quantitative study used the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) questionnaire (Chan, 2002) as a platform for data collection to investigate Avondale College’s (an Australian tertiary education institution) senior Bachelor of Nursing (BN) students’ perceptions of their clinical learning environment. It was highlighted that even though the students perceived that their clinical experiences were generally positive, they indicated that there was still room for improvement. With respect to the five domains of the clinical environment identified by the CLEI (personalisation, student involvement, teacher innovation, task orientation and individualisation), the students identified the personalisation and student involvement domains as the most important in generating appropriate clinical environments, and even though the students expected less in the areas of task orientation, teaching innovation and individualisation, these were the areas they saw a need for greatest improvement. Students also suggested that the development of a positive relationship with the clinical teaching staff was paramount in generating the ideal clinical environment. Finally, the study indicated that student satisfaction is increased when there is an ongoing student involvement, that is, in the words of Lave and Wenger (1991), when they become an integral part of the ‘community of practice’ in their clinical nursing placement.

The aim of this paper was to ascertain how valuable the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) would be in the prediction of the sexual health education behaviour of school nurses. The current government in the United Kingdom has made a commitment to reducing the high rates of teenage conceptions and sexually transmitted infections and emphasise an increased public health role for school nurses. However, there appears to be no research to suggest that school nurses are the most appropriate healthcare professionals to competently assist with sexual health education in schools. In accordance with the TRA, a questionnaire was designed to measure the intention, attitude, subjective norm and behaviour of the group being surveyed. The purpose-designed questionnaire was distributed to all school nurses in a large geographical area in the United Kingdom. All 46 participants who responded were female (as there are currently no male school nurses in the United Kingdom). No demographic data were obtained as it is believed that the components of the model incorporate all information needed. The major components of the model accounted for 43% of the variance in intention and 46% of the variance in behaviour. Results suggest that the model has good predictive utility in this area and could usefully be employed in interventions with school nurses with the aim of modifying their behaviour. This is the first time the TRA has been used in this context, and it has provided some important information regarding school nurse’s intentions to practise in sexual health.