The processes that the mothers of stillborn babies experience represent transformations that involve engagement with cultural expectations for woman. The authors suggest that these cultural impacts should be incorporated into nursing assessment and treatment practices.

Culturally bound taboos against talking about death, participating in death-related events, and expressing grief in public affect the adaptation and grieving processes of Taiwanese women who have had a stillbirth. Nurses should, therefore, make an effort to listen to the perspectives of such patients in order to assist them with coming to terms with their loss. As part of their education, nurses require information on cultural beliefs so that they can provide appropriate care to grieving mothers.

The SARS outbreak adversely affected seizure control because of AED withdrawal. Patients with polytherapy, non-seizure free and symptomatic etiologies were more susceptible to recurrence of seizures after AED withdrawal.

Using reanalyzed data from ethnographic research performed in Taiwan during the 1990s, the authors inspect Taiwanese cultural patterns as they affect adaptation to loss in the form of death. The data include participant observations and the narratives of 52 widows and 30 of their children. An analysis of interview transcripts suggests that the most common form of return to a harmony house among the participants was achieving a sense of reconnection with the deceased. According to the narratives, the Taiwanese concept of reconnection entails (a) maintaining the status quo, (b) restoring images of the deceased in family affairs, and (c) communicating with the dead. Each theme represents the efforts of bereaved families to retain a sense of wholeness (a central Chinese goal) and to preserve symbolic images of fathers and husbands. The authors suggest that reconnection is a culturally specific and accepted means of resolving grief among Taiwanese.

The moral distress model was used in this study to facilitate the development of future nursing theories. On the basis of our findings, we suggested that nursing students be encouraged to use case studies to establish proper moral values, improve moral cognition and judgment capabilities, and promote moral actions to better handle the regular pressures of moral distress in future clinical or workplace settings. Moreover, a better understanding of moral distress may help retain staff nurses.

Aims and objectives.  To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the transition process of new nurses in Taiwan. Background.  The transition period for new nurses can be a daunting and traumatic experience. The large number of newly graduated Taiwanese nurses who resign from their jobs within three months indicates that this process can be complicated. However, the problems associated with the experiences of new nurses have not yet been recognised. Design.  We adopted a phenomenological design using focus group interviews. Methods.  Sixteen new nurses (less than one year working experience) participated in eight weekly group interviews lasting two hours each to grasp their experience of ‘being new’. Interview data were analysed according to Sloan’s (2002) three moments, and the whole process of analysis followed the suggestions of Agar (1986), which was performed in a close collaboration between researchers until the consensus about the findings could be reached. Results.  The overarching pattern of the transition process of new nurses becoming experienced members of the clinical nursing team was revealed as a journey of ‘struggling to be an insider’. This phenomenon was characterised by four themes, including (1) ‘being new as being weak’, (2) ‘masking myself’, (3) ‘internalising the unreasonable’ and (4) ‘transforming myself to get a position’. Conclusions.  While Western culture view abusive indoctrination of new nurses as toxic behaviour, under the Chinese traditions of yield, tolerance and self‐oppression, following the power hierarchy and seeking harmony, the transition of new nurses is interpreted differently. Relevance to clinical practice.  Recognition of the journey of ‘struggling to be an insider’ helps nurse administrators to (1) gain a better understanding of what new nurses encounter in their transition process, (2) help new nurses without harm, (3) improve in‐service training programmes and (4) retain future nurses.

: Suicidal ideation prevention programs should be targeted to female adolescents. School-based efforts that provide adolescents with self-esteem enhancement, emotional regulation skills training, positive peer norms for life, coping skills for managing stress and depression, and antibullying programs might help reduce the suicidal ideation of adolescents.

Health professionals should discuss with bereaved parents what rituals they would like to perform and then respect their decisions. A continuum of care and support that exists from the prenatal diagnosis through the stillbirth and beyond is recommended for parents and families during this difficult time.