Stressors of hospice home care nurses caring for AIDS patients: a pilot study.

This exploratory study identified stressors of home care hospice nurses caring for hospice patients with AIDS. Five hospice home care nurses provided data obtained from demographic questionnaires and semistructured interviews. Results of this pilot study confirmed that experienced hospice nurses believe there is a difference between caring for AIDS hospice patients and non-AIDS hospice patients, and that nurses face increased stress when caring for AIDS hospice patients. Further research is needed to provide better care for the hospice patient with AIDS, and to acknowledge and respond to the increased demand on the nurses who care for them.

Faculty support for gay and lesbian nursing students.

Gay and lesbian nursing students seem to be invisible. Because the color of their skin does not reveal their minority status, the decision whether to "come out of the closet" is a choice that must be remade-renegotiated-every day of the students' lives. Nursing faculty can play a pivotal role in supporting these students by their attitudes and activism.

Promoting mental health. Lesbian nurse support groups.

1. Although an underground network of lesbian nurses has existed for years and they are powerful in their leadership in various specialty organizations, many lesbian nurses make themselves "known" only to a few close people. 2. The Lesbian Nurse Interest Group was formed to support lesbian nurses through difficult periods and to discuss unique areas of concern. 3. The group helps to combine all aspects of a lesbian nurse's life and to empower the members to address personal and professional issues.