Caring behaviours and stress perception among student nurses in different nursing programmes: A cross-sectional study.

Caring is central to providing high-quality nursing. Little research exists concerning the relationship between caring behaviours and stress perception among student nurses. This study aimed to explore this relationship among student nurses in different nursing programmes. A sample of 792 student nurses from three nursing education programmes in one academic institution completed Chinese versions of the Caring Behaviors Scale and the Nurse Stress Checklist to assess participants' caring behaviour and psychosocial responses to work-related stress, respectively. We found a statistically significant negative correlation between caring behaviour and stress perception among participants. The three most frequently reported caring behaviours were related to 'knowing the patient': (a) recognising that each patient holds unique values, (b) taking a patient's chief complaints seriously, and (c) stating that the family's best interests should be respected regarding health decisions. Completion of work, time limitations, and lack of personal interactions were sources of stress. Nursing education curricula involve the fundamentals of caring and the preparation of nursing students for clinical practice. The study recommends that nursing faculty and administrators should educate students in stress management in order to foster, support, and promote caring behaviours among nursing professionals.

Developing dual role nursing staff-clinical instructor: a partnership model.

Supported by visionary leadership, a unique strategic-academic partnership model was established with grant support between the University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, and 13 Maryland hospitals to prepare hospital-based staff nurses as clinical instructors. Participating hospitals gained masters' degree-prepared nurses able to lead the achievement of clinical and organizational goals. The schools of nursing gained additional access to clinical education resources to enable increased undergraduate enrollment.

Association between ozone and emergency department visits: an ecological study.

The objective of this study was to examine the association between the levels of ozone concentration and emergency department (ED) visits for respiratory and cardiovascular conditions in Maryland in the United States by considering temporal and spatial characteristics, including socioeconomic status (SES), as a covariate. This study used multiple large datasets derived from government agencies for data of ozone, weather, census, and ED visits to represent Maryland in the summer of 2002. Block kriging was used to estimate the daily ozone and weather factors by ZIP code-day level. Results from a negative binomial regression showed that a 10-ppb increment of the 8-hr ozone level as a three-day average was associated with increased respiratory ED visits by 2.4%, after adjusting for weather factors, SES, and day of the week. For cardiovascular ED visits, an increment of 10 ppb of the 8-hr ozone level as a five-day average increased by 3.5%.

Creating a governmental policy framework for adoption of an electronic health record.

Promotion and support of electronic health records and electronic information exchange through governmental policy development requires a framework that considers cost, benefits, barriers, risks and policies at the statewide level that might accelerate or retard adoption. Recommendations to underpin governmental policy involve financial incentives, technology adoption, legal and regulatory considerations and consumer education.