[Nursing treatments in Majorca]. / Los cuidados enfermeros en Mallorca.

In this article, the authors analyze the role the "Sant Vicente de Paül" Sisters of Charity had in treating the ill in Majorca during the 19th Century. The authors carried out their research on two primary resources: The Rules of Life and a record of members of the order called the Book of the Curia. The authors tried to identify the methods the sisters followed in their work inside the Rules, searching for those aspects indicating their possible influence on the health of the population to whom they served as well as searching for references to their dedication as teachers, nurses and/or managers. In the Book of the Curia, the authors analyze the social data registered for the first 320 members of the order; evaluating their age upon entrance, their length of stay in the order, their job, and the cause of their death in order to compare these according to whether a sister was a teacher or a nurse.

Formación universitaria en geriatría: encuentros y desencuentros / Universitary training in geriatrics: meetings and misunderstandings

Los profesionales que se están formando en las universidades deberán hacer frente, en los países industrializados, a una población envejecida. La universidad debe adecuar la formación a las necesidades de la sociedad en la que está inserta. Por ello nos planteamos estudiar los contenidos en geriatría y gerontología que reciben los futuros profesionales. La revisión de los planes de estudios españoles refleja una formación desigual en este campo, por lo que se sugiere un replanteamiento desde la docencia que ayude a mejorar la calidad de vida de los ancianos (AU)

[What perspective do intensive care nurses have of their relationship with the relatives of a critical patient?]. / ¿Qué perspectiva tienen las enfermeras de unidades de cuidados intensivos de su relación con los familiares del paciente crítico?

Introduction and aim. Nursing professionals in intensive care units (ICU) face situations of uncertainty and anxiety, above all in patients' relatives. In the literature, we find that the way in which the family and their needs are valued by professionals in the unit is not very systematical, even though there are instruments that have been validated for this purpose. Therefore, we decided to value what perspective ICU nurses have of the relationship they establish with patients' relatives, in order to find possible explanations for this situation. Material and methods. A qualitative study with a critical-social orientation. This was carred out in three ICUs in three state hospitals in Mallorca. Research techniques: 8 observations of the visit of relatives to the unit and 6 semi-structured interviews with nurses from the three hospitals. The transcripts of the interviews were analysed and codified in significance units. Sources and methods were triangulated.Results. Categories of the relationship process: 1) who the social actors are; 2) what the actions of the nurses with respect to the relatives are; 3) what the relationships are like between both; and 4) expectations of the nurses regarding this relationship.Conclusions. a) It is necessary to establish quality standards for attending the relatives of critical patients. b) Continuous nursing training is necessary in order to provide emotional support to families and to protect nurses from the added stress involved in providing this emotional support.

¿Qué perspectiva tienen las enfermeras de unidades de cuidados intensivos de su relación con los familiares del paciente crítico? / What perspective do intensive care nurses have of their relationship with the relatives of a critical patient?

Conclusiones. a) Se necesita establecer los estándares de calidad para la atención a las familias del paciente crítico. b) Es necesaria formación continuada de enfermería para proporcionar soporte emocional a las familias y las enfermeras deben protegerse del estrés añadido que supone proporcionar este soporte emocional (AU)