Pediatric Staff Nurses' Conceptualizations of Professional Development.

PURPOSE: Despite professional developments' (PD) multiple benefits, many nurses grapple with its meaning. The purpose of this study was to comprehensively examine what PD means to nurses working in a pediatric hospital. DESIGN AND METHODS: A correlational study design was used. A 33 item survey was used to collect data. RESULTS: A total of 74 pediatric nurses completed the survey. The average age and years of experience were 33.5 and 8.3 respectively. Continuing nursing education was the highest ranked component while professional organization membership was lowest. The top ranked motivator was to increase patient care knowledge base while salary was lowest. Highest barrier to pursing PD opportunities was family commitments and lowest was PD knowledge. Younger nurses placed more importance on seeking degrees for their PD compared with older nurses. Continuing education was more important to nurses with bachelor's and master's degrees versus those with A.D.N. or diplomas. Younger nurses placed greater importance on PD to expand job opportunities than their older counterparts. CONCLUSION: Study findings suggested that most nurses' main motivation to seek PD opportunities was to provide safe, quality care. The fact that committee involvement, research, and professional organization membership were the lowest ranked components suggested that many nurses may need encouragement and education regarding how these too are important components of PD. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Findings may help nurses to further embrace this concept and grow professionally. Approaches for encouraging nurses to seek PD opportunities may need to vary depending upon the nurse's age and education level.

Strategies for Creating Multidisciplinary Community Care Teams to Address Barriers to Providing Family Based Treatment of Eating Disorders.

Eating disorders, especially anorexia nervosa, are complex and devastating illnesses. Although eating disorders have a high mortality rate and are relatively common, there are many barriers for those seeking treatment. Provider training and education, weight bias among health care providers, geographical and language barriers, and a lack of options because of insurance restrictions prevent many families from receiving appropriate care, especially in smaller or rural communities. In those areas, providers are left to piece together treatment using a small number of other providers from different disciplines who have a willingness to work with this population. Outpatient family based treatment is an evidenced-based treatment of anorexia nervosa and relies on a multidisciplinary approach to care. Community-based care teams can be an effective way to treat those with eating disorders seeking family based treatment. There are several strategies for building collaborative teams that can provide comprehensive and accessible care to those with few options. [Pediatr Ann. 2024;53(1):e22-e27.].

A Comparative Analysis of Lifetime Medical Conditions and Infectious Diseases by Sexual Identity, Attraction, and Concordance among Women: Results from a National U.S. Survey.

There have been limited studies assessing the differences in chronic health conditions between sexual minority (those who identify as lesbian or bisexual) and sexual majority (heterosexual) women. Research has primarily focused on overall physical and mental health or behavioral issues and not on specific health conditions. The addition of sexual orientation and attraction questions to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) now allows for research regarding health conditions using a national survey that identifies participant sexual orientation and attraction. This study sought to compare the prevalence/odds of having 10 medical conditions/infectious diseases among women, assessing for differences associated with sexual identity, sexual attraction, and the degree of concordance between sexual identity and attraction. Data from 67,648 adult female participants in the 2015-2017 NSDUH survey were analyzed using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models to assess for differences in prevalence/odds of seven medical conditions. Multivariable models adjusted for demographics, substance abuse/dependence, and mental illness. We found significant differences by sexual identity, but not sexual attraction or concordance. Compared with heterosexually identified women, women who identified as bisexual had significantly higher odds of having three medical conditions and two infectious diseases than heterosexual or lesbian women. The findings generally support those based on studies using more limited geographical samples. There are a number of potential associated and underlying factors that contribute to bisexual women reporting overall poorer health than heterosexual or lesbian women. The factors discussed include stigma, delays in seeking care, lack of insurance and access, and sexual minority women receiving poorer health care generally.