HapticWhirl, a Flywheel-Gimbal Handheld Haptic Controller for Exploring Multimodal Haptic Feedback.

Most haptic actuators available on the market today can generate only a single modality of stimuli. This ultimately limits the capacity of a kinaesthetic haptic controller to deliver more expressive feedback, requiring a haptic controller to integrate multiple actuators to generate complex haptic stimuli, with a corresponding complexity of construction and control. To address this, we designed a haptic controller to deliver several modalities of kinaesthetic haptic feedback using a single actuator: a flywheel, the orientation of which is controlled by two gimbals capable of rotating over 360 degrees, in combination with a flywheel brake. This enables the controller to generate multiple haptic feedback modalities, such as torque feedback, impact simulation, low-frequency high-amplitude vibrations, inertial effects (the sensation of momentum), and complex haptic output effects such as the experience of vortex-like forces (whirl effects). By combining these diverse haptic effects, the controller enriches the haptic dimension of VR environments. This paper presents the device's design, implementation, and characterization, and proposes potential applications for future work.

A qualitative model for evaluating and improving nursing governance in medium- and long-term intermediate care.

AIM: To evaluate nursing governance in intermediate care in Catalonia Spain and propose improvements. BACKGROUND: Drawing on two existing models, the Magnet model and the corporate governance model, we propose that good nursing governance requires nursing leaders to apply the following dimensions: transformational leadership, transformational culture, commitment and sustainability, authority, scientific evidence, transparency and communication, and teamwork. METHOD: A qualitative, exploratory study conducted in two phases. First, we asked nursing leaders in intermediate care to describe their opinions and experiences in each of the dimensions. Next, we observed governance practices at two intermediate care centres and conducted interviews with their nursing leaders. Content analysis was used. RESULTS: Our participants' behaviour corresponded closely to the model in the dimensions of transformational culture and commitment and sustainability but failed to meet the model in the dimensions of scientific evidence and transparency and communication. CONCLUSIONS: Participants had a leadership style focused on transforming their surroundings. According to the model, the leaders in our sample should draw more on scientific evidence and improve their internal communication about outcomes. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Establishing committees of nurses to address areas in which governance does not adhere to the model would create sustainable benefits for patients and nurses in intermediate care.

An ethnographic study of human dignity in nursing practice.

BACKGROUND: The ethical values of nursing are crucial to the provision of humane care. Human dignity is a core value that must be preserved in order to deliver such care. No studies to date have compared the perceptions of nurses and/or patients regarding the components of dignified care embedded in actual clinical practice. PURPOSE: To explore the delivery of dignified care by professional nurses. This was an ethnographic qualitative study combining inductive and deductive methods to identify emergent themes. A multicenter study carried out in the internal medicine units of four hospitals in Barcelona (Spain). Convenience sampling was used to recruit nurses from the four units. SETTING AND SAMPLE: Multicenter study carried out in the internal medicine units of four hospitals in Barcelona (Spain). Convenience sampling was used to recruit nurses from the four units. METHOD: We conducted 158 hours of participant observation of 27 nurses. Semi-structured individual interviews were undertaken with 20 of these nurses, with data saturation being reached. Data were collected between September 2014 and May 2016 and were analysed using ATLAS.ti 7.2 for Windows. RESULTS: Two themes emerged from the analysis: Delivering dignified care and Factors influencing the delivery of dignified care. The nurses regarded human dignity as one of the key values of their profession. However, there was a discrepancy between their perceptions of the care they offered and what they actually did, due mainly to a lack of awareness about their own practice. Respect, confidentiality, privacy and communication were identified as the key elements underpinning dignified care. Institutional policies were seen as the major obstacle to the delivery of humane care, the key issues being frequent shift rotations, a high patient-nurse ratio and excessive paperwork. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study underline the importance of delivering dignified care and the need to ensure that nurses' attitudes and behaviours are consistent with this goal. The ethnographic approach, combining participant observation with individual interviews, revealed discrepancies between nurses' perceptions of the care they offered, or should offer, and what they actually did. This suggests a need for professional forums in which nurses can become more aware of their own clinical practice.

The emotion: A crucial component in the care of critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: The acquisition of experience is a major concern for nurses in intensive care units. Although the emotional component of the clinical practice of these nurses has been widely studied, greater examination is required to determine how this component influences their learning and practical experience. OBJECTIVE: To discover the relationships between emotion, memory and learning and the impacts on nursing clinical practice. RESEARCH DESIGN: This is a qualitative phenomenological study. The data were collected from open, in-depth interviews. A total of 22 intensive care unit nurses participated in this research between January 2012 and December 2014. Ethical considerations: The School of Nursing Ethics Committee approved the study, which complied with ethical principles and required informed consent. FINDINGS: We found a clear relationship between emotion, memory and the acquisition of experience. This relationship grouped three dimensions: (1) satisfaction, to relieve the patient's pain or discomfort, give confidence and a sense of security to the patient, enable the presence of family members into the intensive care unit and provide family members with a realistic view of the patient's situation; (2) error experience, which nurses feel when a patient dies, when they fail to accompany a patient in his or her decision to abandon the struggle to live or when they fail to lend support to the patient's family; and (3) the feel bad-feel good paradox, which occurs when a mistake in the patient's care or handling of his or her family is repaired. CONCLUSION: Emotion is a capacity that impacts on nurses' experience and influences improvements in clinical practice. Recalling stories of satisfaction helps to reinforce good practice, while recalling stories of errors helps to identify difficulties in the profession and recognise new forms of action. The articulation of emotional competencies may support the development of nursing ethics in the intensive care unit to protect and defend their patients and improve their relationships with families in order to maximise the potential for patient care.

[Participative action research; self-care education for the mature adult, a dialogic and empowered process]. / Investigación acción participativa; la educación para el autocuidado del adulto maduro, un proceso dialógico y emancipador.

OBJECTIVE: Explore and transform dialogic-reflexive learning processes oriented to self-care, capacitation, empowerment and health promotion for "mature-adult" collective. DESIGN: Participative action research on a qualitative and sociocritic approach. Data generation methods are SITE: Field work focuses on the development of the educational program "Care is in your hands" that takes place in two villages (Primary Care. Comarca Araba). PARTICIPANTS: Through a theoretical sampling involved people who are in a "mature-adult" life stage and three nurses with extensive experience in development health education programs. METHODS: Participant observation where health education sessions are recorded in video and group reflection on action. To triangulate the data, have been made in-depth interviews with 4 participants. Carried out a content and discourse analysis. RESULTS: Participant and nurses' Previous Frameworks, and these last ones' discourses as well, reveal a current technical rationality (unidirectional, informative,.) yet in practice that perpetuates the role of passive recipient of care. Educational keys constructed from a viewpoint of Dialogic Learning emerge as elements that facilitate overcoming these previous frames limitations. Finally, Reflective Learning launched, has provided advance in professional knowledge and improve health education. CONCLUSIONS: Dialogical learning emerges as key to the training and empowerment, where we have seen how practical-reflexive, and not technical, rationality is meanly useful confronting ambiguous and complex situations of self-care practice and education.

A new view of an unusual pacemaker complication: role of three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography.

Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) produced by endocavitary leads (EL) from permanent pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators is a well-known complication of this procedure. The EL may damage or interfere with tricuspid valve function causing mechanical interference of the valve leaflets leading to incomplete valve closure. It is important to recognize this mechanical complication because it could be corrected by repositioning the lead. In this case report we demonstrate how three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography permits to obtaining an en face view, which allows simultaneous visualization of the 3 moving leaflets during the cardiac cycle, their attachment to the tricuspid annulus and the pattern of leaflet coaptation. Thus, we propose three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography as the tool of choice to evaluate TR related to EL, to evaluate the necessity of repositioning the lead if severe regurgitation or tricuspid valve malfunction are demonstrated.

Skills for generalist and specialist nurses working in the prevention and control of infections in Brazil. / Competências para enfermeiros generalistas e especialistas atuarem na prevenção e controle de infecções no Brasil.

OBJECTIVE: to define the competencies for the prevention and control of healthcare-related infections that should be developed by the generalist nurse and the specialist nurse in infection control in Brazil. METHOD: the Delphi technique, developed in four rounds, was used. Thirty-one nurses and eight physicians participated in the study, with expertise in infection prevention and control. Data were collected using open-ended questionnaires, whose answers were treated using the content analysis technique. Structured instruments were used to evaluate the importance of each competency using a Likert scale. Data were analyzed and presented in a descriptive way, use of median and coefficient of variation. RESULTS: the competences were organized in 4 core, 14 generic and 17 specific, with name and description of each competency. CONCLUSION: the definition of competencies for the prevention and control of healthcare-related infections is the first step to begin the rethinking of the teaching and learning process in the initial training of nurses. The data found in the present study may help to restructure education and support permanent education programs in health.

[Maps and territories: formalizing professional knowledge in the curriculum]. / De mapas y territorios. Formalización de los saberes profesionales en el curriculum.

At present time, nursing knowledge is characterized epistemologically as practical knowledge which, due to its own personal and tacit nature, can not be formalized nor transmitted, only demonstrated. This reflexive practical knowledge exists in an implicit and personal manner in professional action and it develops in a complex, uncertain reality which is saturated by values. In professional development, this practical knowledge should guide curricular planning and actions. Beyond just asking how to improve the application of academic knowledge in practice, we should search for ways so that students understand how competent nurses are capable to manage undetermined zones in their professional practice. In this report, the author introduces epistemological foundations for alternative conceptions to the dominant technological vision of the hierarchal relationship between technical knowledge and the practical educational or caretaking knowledge.

Communities of practice: influences on pedagogical reasoning and action of nursing professors.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze how the practice shared in communities of teaching practice in public and private universities influences the pedagogical reasoning and action of nursing professors based on Wenger's concepts of community, negotiation of meaning, and learning. METHODS: Case study conducted with two professors teaching nursing in a public and a private university in Brazil. Data collection included triangulation of sources and was conducted from April 2014 to July 2015. Data were organized in ATLAS.ti and analyzed using the constant comparative method, which generated three metacategories. RESULTS: In both cases the program's project is shared repertoire and grounds negotiation of meaning in the practice that takes place in the pedagogical reasoning and action phases but negotiation is different between communities and cases. Learning is either solitary or has the influence of at least one other member but does not occur on an institutional basis. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing schools could offer more than program's project to the negotiation of meaning and improve learning on practice in their communities as police of teachers education to improve pedagogical reasoning.

Reducción, reutilización y reciclaje: Una revisión crítica del conocimiento científico sobre las pérdidas y desperdicios de alimentos en Chile

Reducir, reutilizar y reciclar, "regla de las tres R", son estrategias que promueven una actitud responsable hacia el medioambiente y contribuyen al desarrollo sostenible. El objetivo de esta revisión fue analizar las publicaciones científicas generadas en Chile en el área de las pérdidas y desperdicios de alimentos (PDA), con enfoque en su cuantificación y basadas en "la regla de las tres R". Se realizó una búsqueda de literatura en tres bases de datos: Web of Science, Pubmed y Scopus. Los artículos originales seleccionados se clasificaron según tipo de acción, etapa de la cadena de suministro de alimentos, grupo de alimentos, cuantificación de PDA y tipo de estrategia (reducción, reutilización o reciclaje). Se encontraron 5 artículos de revisión y 31 artículos originales. La revalorización de subproductos agroindustriales fue la principal acción involucrada en los estudios de PDA (n= 22). El tipo de subproducto también fue analizado, y se encontró que los compuestos fenólicos provenientes de frutales son los más estudiados. Solo el 32% (12/31) de los artículos reportaron información sobre cuantificación de PDA. La revalorización de subproductos sumada a la recuperación de alimentos para producción de energía (n= 4) y de compostaje (n= 2) hacen que el reciclaje sea la estrategia más investigada. Estos antecedentes evidencian la necesidad de complementar la investigación nacional a nivel de acciones que apunten más hacia la reducción y reutilización de PDA y su cuantificación. Este conocimiento permitirá establecer líneas base y planes de monitoreo que contribuyan al cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible en Chile.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle "the 3Rs rule" are strategies that promote a responsible attitude towards the environment and contribute to sustainable development. The objective of this review was to analyze the scientific publications generated in Chile in the area of food loss and waste (FLW), with a focus on its quantification and based on "the 3Rs rule". A literature search was carried out in three databases: Web of Science, Pubmed, and Scopus. The selected original articles were classified according to the type of action, stage of the food supply chain, food group, FLW quantification, and type of strategy (reduction, reuse, or recycling). Five review articles and 31 original articles were found. The revalorization of agro-industrial by-products was the main initiative involved in the FLW studies (n= 22). The type of by-product was also analyzed, and it was found that the phenolic compounds from fruits are the most studied. Only 32% (12/31) of the articles reported information on FLW quantification. The revalorization of by-products added to food recovery for energy production (n= 4) and composting (n= 2) make recycling the most researched strategy. These antecedents show the need to complement the national research at the level of actions that point more towards reducing and reusing of FLW and its quantification. This knowledge will allow the establishment of baselines and monitoring plans that contribute to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Chile.

Teaching of infection control in undergraduate courses in health sciences: opinion of experts.

OBJECTIVE: To know the perception of expert professionals in infection control and prevention on the teaching of skills for the prevention and control of infections related to health care in undergraduate courses in Health Sciences. METHOD: We used the Delphi technique, developed in four sequential rounds. Thirty-one nurses and eight physicians participated in the study. Qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis; the quantitative ones, from the descriptive statistics. RESULTS: The importance of the courses has had teachers with expertise in infection control and prevention added to arguments about the development of the subject in the curricula by means of a specific subject or as a transversal theme. CONCLUSIONS: In order to cover the complexity of the elements that are interconnected for professional training, teaching must be based on pedagogical strategies that provoke reflection in students, encouraging them to develop critical thinking about their experiences.

Mortality risk prediction in infective endocarditis surgery: reliability analysis of specific scores.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed the prognostic utility of risk scores in surgery for infective endocarditis (IE) to evaluate their reliability in mortality risk prediction. METHODS: An observational retrospective study was developed to include all patients who underwent surgery for active IE from 2002 to 2016. Classical and endocarditis-specific risk scores were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 180 patients were included in the study. The 30-day mortality rate was 26.82% [95% confidence interval (CI) 20.26-33.20%]. Classical risk scores were confirmed to have a suboptimal prognostic ability. Therefore, 4 IE-specific risk scores were calculated. Discrimination was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. It was 0.76 (95% CI 0.68-0.82) for the Society of Thoracic Surgeons-IE (STS-IE) score; 0.68 (95% CI 0.58-0.76) for the De Feo-Cotrufo score; 0.73 (95% CI 0.66-0.79) for the PALSUSE score and 0.65 (95% CI 0.57-0.72) for the Costa score. The STS-IE score had higher discrimination when compared with the De Feo-Cotrufo score (P = 0.055) and the Costa score (P = 0.024); however, there was no significant difference when we compared the STS-IE score with the PALSUSE score (P = 0.58). Calibration was assessed using the Hosmer-Lemeshow test; an adequate calibration was confirmed in all 4 scores. CONCLUSIONS: Specific risk scores had better prognostic performance than classical risk scores. The STS-IE score had the highest discrimination and was adequately calibrated. The PALSUSE score also showed optimal discrimination and calibration. The De Feo-Cotrufo score had a lower discrimination in our sample; however, the De Feo-Cotrufo score is recommended in the current guidelines. The Costa score had the lowest discrimination.

Experiential learning in practice: An ethnographic study among nursing students and preceptors.

This study aimed to explore the reflective dialogues and processes that take place between preceptors and their nursing students and to examine how preceptors make use of their expert knowledge in order to enhance students' experiential learning during clinical placements. Two 30-h courses on reflective teaching were conducted. The study sample included 15 preceptors and 27 undergraduate nursing students. Data were collected during the course and during clinical placements at two X hospitals. Data collection included non-participatory observation and informal conversations with preceptors, in-depth interviews and focus groups. Preceptors used a series of strategies to promote experiential learning; these included creating links with practice, the use of examples, allowing students to adopt professional roles and enhancing autonomy. The value of preceptors is their wealth of professional experience, which is key during the learning process of nursing students. Preceptors must learn to master the art of questioning and stimulating reflective dialogues, in order to stimulate students' critical thinking and encourage them to resolve common problems that arise during practice. Students demand a more active role in their own learning processes.

Trends in neurological complications of endocarditis.

Neurological complications (NCs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with infectious endocarditis (IE). The frequency of these complications has been found to remain constant since the preantibiotic era despite profound epidemiological changes and therapeutic advances. We have reviewed retrospectively all the cases of IE attended at a single institution between 1985 and 2003, aiming to study the clinical characteristics of the NCs, and to analyse possible temporal trends in their frequency. Among 550 patients with IE, 71 (13%) suffered NCs. NCs presented more frequently in native (NVE) and prosthetic (PVE) valve endocarditis (17% and 20%, respectively) than in endocarditis associated with drug addiction (IDU-NVE) or pacemeker (6% and 9%, respectively). Cerebrovascular disorders were the most frequent NCs (60% of the patients had ischemic events and 21% had haemorrhages). Meningitis and cerebral abscess occurred in 16% and 3% of patients with NCs, respectively, and diffuse encephalopathy in 13%. Staphylococus aureus infection was the only factor associated with NCs, but only in NVE. During the study period there was a trend for increasing frequency of NCs in IE patients, probably associated to several factors: a decrease in IDUNVE, an increase in more aggressive nosocomial acquired NVE, and an increase in NVE caused by S. aureus. Mortality among patients with NCs (34%) was significantly higher than in IE patients without them (11%). During the study period mortality increased in patients with NVE and NCs.

[Prognostic value of transthoracic echocardiography in hemodynamically stable patients with acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism]. / Valor pronóstico de la ecocardiografía transtorácica en pacientes estables hemodinámicamente con tromboembolia de pulmón aguda sintomática.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prognostic value of transthoracic echocardiography in hemodynamically stable patients diagnosed with acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Hemodynamically stable outpatients diagnosed with acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism at a tertiary university hospital were prospectively included in the study. All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography within 48 hours of diagnosis. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality at 1 month. RESULTS: Right ventricular dysfunction was documented by echocardiography in 86 of the 214 patients (40%) in our series. In the first month of follow-up, 7 patients died--4 with positive echocardiographic findings and 3 with negative findings (odds ratio, 2.0; 95% confidence interval, 0.4-9.3; P=.41). For the primary endpoint, the negative predictive value of transthoracic echocardiography was 98%, the positive predictive value was 5%, and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.7. The negative predictive value was 100% and the positive predictive value was 3% when we analyzed death due to pulmonary embolism only. CONCLUSIONS: In our setting, transthoracic echocardiography is not useful for prognostic stratification of hemodynamically stable patients with pulmonary embolism.

Severe aortic stenosis patients with preserved ejection fraction according to flow and gradient classification: Prevalence and outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Clinicians often encounter patients with apparently discordant echocardiographic findings, severe aortic stenosis (SAS) defined by aortic valve area (AVA) despite a low mean gradient. A new classification according to flow state and pressure gradient has been proposed. We sought to assess the prevalence, characteristics and outcomes of patients with asymptomatic SAS with preserved left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) according to flow and gradient. METHODS AND RESULTS: In total 442 patients with SAS (AVAi<0.6 cm2/m2) and LVEF ≥50% (mean age 80+11years, 54,5% female) were included. Patients were classified according to flow state (≥ or <35ml/m2) and mean pressure gradient (≥ or <40mmHg): Low Flow/Low Gradient (LF/LG): 21.3%(n=94); Normal Flow/Low Gradient (NF/LG): 32.1%(n=142); Low Flow/High Gradient (LF/HG): 6.8%(n=30); Normal Flow/High Gradient (NF/HG): 39,8%(n=176). Mean follow-up time was 20.5months (SD=10.3). Primary combined endpoint was cardiovascular mortality and hospital admission for SAS related symptom, secondary endpoint was aortic valve replacement (AVR), comparing HG group to LF/LG group. During follow-up 17 (18%) of LF/LG patients and 21 (10.2%) of HG patients met the primary endpoint. A lower free of event survival (cardiovascular mortality and hospital admission) was observed in patients with LF/LG AS (Breslow, p=0.002). Significant differences were noted between groups with a lower AVR free survival in the LF/LG group compared to HG groups (Breslow, p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms the high prevalence and worse prognosis of LF/LG SAS. Clinicians must be aware of this entity to ensure appropriate patient management.

¡De repente, profesor! Caminos que recorren los enfermeros en busca de formación docente / Suddenly, teacher! Paths taken by nurses searching for teacher training / De repente, professor! Caminhos percorridos pelos enfermeiros em busca da formação docente

ABSTRACT Objective: to know the paths taken by the nurse-teachers of the Nursing technical course in search of their training for the teaching career. Method: a qualitative and cross-sectional research study, carried out with nurses who teach at the Nursing technical course of a Technical School of the Unified Health System in Ceará. The data were collected through a focus group in October 2019, and analyzed according to Bardin's thematic content analysis, with the aid of the Qualitative Data Analysis Software. Results: the paths for nurses' teacher training permeate their motivation to enter the teaching career, whose reasons are related to the difficulty finding a job in the assistance area, invitation to teach, job opportunity or existence of some need; initial performance in teaching, which emphasizes mid-level; and by training itself, which had its need confirmed and, from the participants' perspective, met through participation in institutional qualifications and personal search for specialization courses. Conclusion: the paths taken by nurse-teachers in search of their training for the teaching career are related to the reasons why they enter teaching, with their initial performance in teaching and with teacher training itself, regarding verification of their need and ways accessed for such qualification. The nurse's prior training for the teaching practice ultimately points to professional excellence and appreciation and commitment to the Unified Health System. Thus, it becomes imperative to (re)formulate policies that consider the complexity and professionality of teaching, with a view to expert teaching training and performance.

RESUMEN Objetivo: conocer los caminos que recorren los profesores de enfermería en el curso técnico de Enfermería en busca de su formación docente. Método: investigación cualitativa, transversal, realizada con enfermeros profesores del curso técnico de Enfermería en una Escuela Técnica del Sistema Único de Salud en Ceará. Los datos se recopilaron a través de un grupo focal, en octubre de 2019, y se analizaron de acuerdo con el análisis de contenido temático de Bardin, con el soporte del Qualitative Data Analysis Software. Resultados: los caminos para la formación del docente de enfermería pasan por su motivación para la inserción en la docencia, cuyas razones se relacionan con la dificultad de ser empleado en tareas asistenciales, invitación a enseñar, oportunidad laboral o existencia de alguna necesidad; desempeño inicial en la docencia, que enfatiza la educación secundaria; y por la formación propiamente dicha, cuya necesidad fue corroborada y, a juicio de los participantes, suplida a través de la participación en las cualificaciones institucionales y la búsqueda personal de cursos de especialización. Conclusión: los caminos que recorren los profesores de enfermería en busca de su formación docente están relacionados con las razones por las que ingresan a la docencia, con el desempeño inicial en la docencia y con la propia formación docente, en cuanto a la constatación de su necesidad y las vías de acceso para dicha cualificación. La formación previa del enfermero para la práctica docente apunta, en última instancia, a la excelencia y la valoración profesional y al compromiso con el Sistema Único de Salud, por lo que es imperativo (re) formular políticas que consideren la complejidad y profesionalidad de la docencia, con miras a la obtención de formación y actuación docente especializada.

RESUMO Objetivo: conhecer os caminhos percorridos pelos enfermeiros docentes do curso técnico de Enfermagem em busca da sua formação para a docência. Método: pesquisa qualitativa, transversal, realizada com enfermeiros professores do curso técnico de Enfermagem de uma Escola Técnica do Sistema Único de Saúde do Ceará. Os dados foram coletados através de grupo focal, em outubro de 2019, e analisados segundo análise de conteúdo temática de Bardin, com apoio do Qualitative Data Analysis Software. Resultados: os caminhos para a formação docente do enfermeiro perpassam pela sua motivação para inserção na docência, cujos motivos relacionam-se com a dificuldade de empregar-se na assistência, convite para lecionar, oportunidade de trabalho ou existência de alguma necessidade; atuação inicial no ensino, a qual confere ênfase ao nível médio; e pela formação propriamente, que teve sua necessidade constatada e, na visão dos participantes, suprida mediante a participação em qualificações institucionais e busca pessoal por cursos de especialização. Conclusão: os caminhos percorridos pelos enfermeiros docentes em busca da sua formação para a docência guardam relação com os motivos pelos quais ingressam no ensino, com a atuação inicial no magistério e com a própria formação docente, referente à constatação da sua necessidade e vias acessadas para tal qualificação. A formação prévia do enfermeiro para o exercício docente aponta, em última análise, para a excelência e valorização profissional e compromisso com o Sistema Único de Saúde. Assim, torna-se imperativa a (re)formulação de políticas que considerem a complexidade e profissionalidade do ensino, com vistas a uma formação e atuação docente experta.

Effect of candesartan on coronary flow reserve in patients with systemic hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Patients with hypertension have structural and functional changes in conductance and resistance vessels. In the absence of coronary stenosis the coronary microvascular function can be analysed by studying the coronary reserve. The aim of this study was to evaluate, non-invasively, the effect of candesartan on coronary microvascular function in hypertensive patients. METHODS: Twenty-two hypertensive patients (> 40 years) without clinical coronary disease (age 63.86 +/- 10.3 years; women, 59.1%) were studied. In addition to blood pressure (BP), measurement of carotid intima-medial thickness (IMT), left ventricle mass index (LVMI) and the coronary flow reserve (CFR) were evaluated with echography at the beginning, and after 3 months of treatment with 16 mg/day of candesartan. Twelve hypertensive controls (64.50 +/- 10.8 years; women, 58.4%) completed the same study without any change in treatment. RESULTS: A 15% improvement in CFR (3.10 +/- 1.02 to 3.56 +/- 1.06; P = 0.001) was observed simultaneously with the BP reduction. There was no change in CFR in the control group (2.9 +/- 1.1 to 3.01 +/- 0.9; P = 0.23). The IMT was not modified significantly at the end of the follow-up (0.86 +/- 0.1 to 0.83 +/- 0.1 mm; P = 0.103). CONCLUSION: Candesartan improves the CFR in hypertensive patients. The improvement was not related to BP control or LVMI regression. Patients with a lower CFR show a better response to candesartan. This fact can be demonstrated non-invasively with echography after 3 months of therapy.