Biomedical subjects

A Hordern

Publications and source records attributed to A Hordern.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

The Breast Cancer Distance Education Program: development and evaluation of a course for specialist breast care nurses.

The Breast Cancer Distance Education Program is the first tertiary-based education program for specialist breast care nurses in Australia. The program covers current treatment options, psychosocial issues, and professional development issues relating to breast cancer nursing. For the first two student intakes (n = 53), precourse, postcourse, and 3-month follow-up surveys were conducted to assess the perceived value of the course, identify any limitations, and note changes in practice that arose. Before taking the course, most of the students had experience in breast cancer nursing, but lacked confidence and hoped to learn more about responding effectively to psychosocial issues through communication, counseling, and provision of support to patients and their carers. After taking the course, the students were very positive about the course content, resources, and teaching support. They reported learning new skills for addressing psychosocial issues and symptom management arising from a diagnosis of breast cancer, stating a desire to implement these new skills. Comparison between results from the three surveys indicated that students' confidence in providing breast cancer support increased significantly in most areas of practice, and was maintained at 3-month follow-up survey. Results suggest that students met the course objectives successfully, and in most cases subsequently translated their knowledge into improved practice.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

The emerging role of the breast care nurse in Australia.

It is well documented that educated breast care nurses can provide essential support and information to empower a woman with breast cancer to participate in treatment decisions and take more control over her health and life. An evaluation of Breast Cancer Support Services, a dynamic unit within the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria, Australia, conducted in 1994, recommended that breast cancer support service nurses should increase their knowledge of breast cancer treatment and management throughout the whole continuum from diagnosis to death. Greater knowledge would enhance the nurse's role as a vital member of a multidisciplinary team and a resource to women experiencing breast cancer at any stage in their journey. Acting on these recommendations, the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria, in conjunction with La Trobe University, designed and developed the first national, tertiary-level training program for breast care nurses. The Breast Cancer Distance Education program, which has graduates from all states in Australia, has been accredited by the Royal College of Nursing and positively evaluated by the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer. The evaluation found that students rated the course highly, and many planned to change their nursing practice as a result of taking the course. Accredited breast care nurses are taught to use accurate and up-to-date information in combination with advanced communication skills. They do not hesitate to confer with other members of the multidisciplinary team to ensure that women with breast cancer receive the individualized support and continuity of care they deserve.

Accreditation↗

PubMed2000

Intimacy and sexuality for the woman with breast cancer.

Human sexuality is more than sexual function. It is an ever-changing lived experience affecting the manner in which we view ourselves and our bodies. Most health professionals fail to address sexuality in the clinical setting and feel more comfortable focusing on treatment outcomes, such as the management of treatment side effects, than in addressing issues related to sexual behavior. Perhaps this is because many health professionals are uncomfortable about initiating a topic regarding a person's sexuality, or because they are unsure of their knowledge relating to changes in a person's sexuality after the management of cancer. Cultural issues in our society, such as the myth that older women with breast cancer are no longer interested in sexuality and intimacy, and the presumption that issues of survival overshadow sexuality, provide barriers to open communication about sexuality in women with breast cancer. Sexuality in the patient with breast cancer needs to be addressed by the nurse irrespective of the woman's age, partnership, and disease status. Knowledge related to changes in a woman's sexuality and intimacy after the management of breast cancer are explored, and strategies are provided for the nurse to use in communicating openly about sexuality in the clinical setting.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1979

A world of cities: dream or nightmare?

With the progress of civilization cities, many of which originally developed in Mesopotamia and Egypt, spread northwards into Europe to proliferate there and, later, in the New World. The industrial Revolution, a predominantly British phenomenon, was the original stimulus to Western urbanization, a process that continues to this day. City living has many advantages, but also many drawbacks including increased mortality and urban stress; psychiatry has had to concern itself with many of its difficulties. Rural-urban migration is also currently taking place in Asia, Latin America and Africa; in these continents the problems of urbanization, exacerbated by indigenous factors, have proved to be considerable. Some remedies for overurbanization are considered, as is also city development in the future.

Ethnicity↗

PubMed1978

'Men must work and...'.

Women have been deeply involved in the social changes that have taken place in Western society during the last 30 years; the most significant transformers have been 'the pill' and television. As a result of an accelerated emancipation, women have become more assertive; pari passu men have become less dominant, more children have been deprived and the elderly have been increasingly extruded. Mature women have been adversely affected by the loss of charisma of fertility and motherhood, by changes in female reproductive physiology, by the uncertainty of marriage and its alternatives, by increased work and by the emphasis now placed on youth and sexuality. These stresses have been accompanied by a rise among women of 'male' behavior and 'male' diseases, as well as by an increase in self-poisoning, completed suicide and the 'female' disease of depression.

Child Care↗

PubMed1974