Background. Self-reported patient experiences have had limited attention in

The research highlighted the interconnectedness of factors in the experiences of carers, reinforcing the need for holistic assessment beyond a focus on the "continence issue" alone. Nevertheless, simple interventions could make substantial differences. A framework is proposed which may guide nursing assessment.

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The nursing literature continues to give ongoing attention to university-educated nurses' preparedness for practice in the first year following graduation. This interpretive descriptive study explored the impact of a university-based clinical school of nursing experience on graduate nurses' perceptions of their preparedness for practice. Ten registered nurses who undertook their graduate year programme in the same hospital where they attended the university-based clinical school of nursing were interviewed. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed to reveal themes and categories. Thematic data analysis revealed three themes: 'being situated in a clinical school within a hospital', 'the university away from the university' and 'engagement with practice'. The outcome of the experience of being situated in a university-based clinical school of nursing contributed to the participants' sense of being prepared for practice as a graduate nurse.

A low-resource visually monitored deep inspiration breath-hold (VM-DIBH) technique was successfully implemented in our clinic to reduce cardiac dose in left-sided breast radiotherapy. In this study, we retrospectively characterized the chest wall and heart positioning accuracy of VM-DIBH using cine portal images from 42 patients. Central chest wall position from field edge and in-field maximum heart distance (MHD) were manually measured on cine images and compared to the planned positions based on the digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs). An in-house program was designed to measure left anterior descending artery (LAD) and chest wall separation on the planning DIBH CT scan with respect to breathhold level (BHL) during simulation to determine a minimum BHL for VM-DIBH eligibility. Systematic and random setup uncertainties of 3.0 mm and 2.6 mm, respectively, were found for VM-DIBH treatment from the chest wall measurements. Intrabeam breath-hold stability was found to be good, with over 96% of delivered fields within 3 mm. Average treatment MHD was significantly larger for those patients where some of the heart was planned in the field compared to patients whose heart was completely shielded in the plan (p < 0.001). No evidence for a minimum BHL was found, suggesting that all patients who can tolerate DIBH may yield a benefit from it. PACS number(s): 87.53. Jw, 87.53.Kn,

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The purpose of this study was to provide a beginning exploration of the way in which registered general nurses perceived the concept of patient advocacy. A qualitative approach was taken using the techniques of the grounded theory method. A volunteer sample of eight registered nurses working in an adult acute care ward of a major metropolitan hospital were interviewed using an semi-structured format. Areas explored during the interviews included personal definitions of patient advocacy, elements of the advocate role, and the rationale for the nurse acting as patient advocate. Data analysis commenced during the data collection phase, where initial interviews were transcribed, coded and beginning categories were identified. The findings indicate that for the participants, advocacy is based on respect for the person, and acknowledgement of human rights. The quality of the relationship between the nurse and the patient appears to be the basis for the advocate role. Three initial categories emerged that describe the major elements of the participant's conceptualization of patient advocacy. These are, informing, supporting and representing.

Nurse educators should not assume that students are less anxious about their acute care clinical placements as the semester proceeds. There is a typical correlation between increased anxiety and decreased self-efficacy which is likely to impact on student learning in the clinical setting. Significant results can be achieved with a relatively low cost and a low technology enabling intervention.