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Biomedical subjects

L Bucher

Publications and source records attributed to L Bucher.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Using research to establish protocols for practice: a statewide study of acute care agencies.

The purpose of the study was to examine research utilization practices relative to developing and revising practice protocols in acute care agencies in Delaware. Nurse leaders in 13 acute care agencies identified resource nurses most familiar with the development and revision of agency protocols. Thirty-two resource nurses from 11 agencies, representing critical care, emergency, general medical, general surgical, obstetric, and psychiatric nursing, were interviewed. Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed. Examples of research-based protocols, defined as those supported by research citations, were obtained. The authors found that the majority of protocols submitted, although referenced, were not research-based. Most institutions used textbooks and standards to support nursing practice protocols. The authors concluded that nurses who are responsible for developing and revising agency protocols were not familiar with the use of research findings to guide the development or revision of protocols and were unsure what constituted the "use of research."

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1998

Statewide assessment of school-age children with asthma in Delaware.

In Delaware, asthma affects almost 14,000 children. The American Lung Association of Delaware and the University of Delaware surveyed school nurses to identify the needs of children with asthma and the services and accommodations available for these children. Researchers developed a survey instrument that was mailed to all Delaware schools (N = 324). The response rate was 38.6% (n = 125). According to respondents, a variety of protocols were in place regarding the administration of asthma medications. Respondents also reported that several measures had been taken to modify the school environment to improve air quality and reduce asthma triggers. Most respondents (77%) indicated they did not have asthma education programs in their schools. Findings from this study sparked development of a multidisciplinary Delaware Asthma Committee, an Asthma Education Center, and a statewide system for communicating with the parents of children with asthma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

First-time mothers' perceptions of prenatal care services.

This study sought to uncover information regarding prenatal care services as reported by primiparas. Inadequate prenatal care has been linked with the delivery of low birth weight (LBW) infants and infant mortality. This secondary analysis of a larger study (N = 426) examined the need for and availability, accessibility, and use of prenatal care services by primiparas (n = 141). Results indicated that primiparas delivering LBW infants reported less satisfaction with information on birth control and less information on infant feeding. In addition, mothers of LBW infants reported more often than mothers of normal birthweight infants that transportation and finances were barriers to prenatal care. Childbirth preparation class was the only predictor variable for birth weight in this study.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

The effects of imagery abilities and mental rehearsal on learning a nursing skill.

Nursing demands competency in numerous psychomotor skills. Using theory from Paivio (1986), Anderson (1976, 1985), and Bandura (1986), this attribute-treatment study explored the interactive effects of imagery skills and various combinations of physical and mental practice on learning a skill. The author assessed 108 nursing students for imagery abilities and randomly assigned them to a physical practice (PP), mental rehearsal (MR), or a combined mental rehearsal plus physical practice (MR + PP) group. After learning to apply and remove sterile gloves, subjects were evaluated on their performance. A 3-factor ANOVA was performed and a significant main effect for practice condition was obtained. Subjects in the MR+PP condition performed significantly better than subjects in the MR condition but not the PP condition. These findings have important implications. Incorporating the use of mental rehearsal as an adjunct to physical practice in an effort to facilitate skill acquisition was found to be beneficial.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Predicting NCLEX-RN performance: cross-validating an identified classification procedure.

This study was an attempt to cross-validate a procedure from an earlier study for predicting NCLEX-RN performance. In the original study, a discriminant function was developed on 313 baccalaureate nursing graduates (1988 through 1990), which used 15 variables to correctly categorize more than 91 per cent of them on NCLEX-RN performance. This study used 142 subjects who graduated in 1991 and 1992 to evaluate the adequacy of the classification procedure. Subjects in this more recent sample differed significantly from those in the first on several variables, including SAT scores, physiology grades, and nursing grades. Eight-four per cent of the subjects in the cross-validation sample were correctly classified using the original discriminant function. More than 62 per cent of failures and 87 per cent of passes were correctly categorized. These results suggest that it is statistically and ethically sound to use this discriminant function to identify future students in danger of NCLEX-RN failure.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluating the affective domain. Consider a Likert scale.

An affective component of learning exists in every educational program developed, yet evaluating this aspect remains a challenge for nurse educators. An attitudinal scale should be considered one means of discovering nurses' attitudes and beliefs relative to a particular learning experience. Practical guidelines for developing and improving Likert scales, as well as interpreting scores, are the focus of this article.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Near death experiences: critical care nurses' attitudes and interventions.

A patient is successfully resuscitated after a trauma or serious illness. It is increasingly common for such a patient to report having experienced a feeling of calm and peace, a feeling of being separated from the body, and/or a sense of moving through a dark tunnel ending at a bright light. Such experiences are known as near death experiences. What are critical care nurses to make of such accounts reported to them by their patients? This article explores critical care nurses' interests in, knowledge of, and attitudes towards the near death experience, and it identifies nursing interventions that critical care nurses can use during and after the patient experiences near death.

Adult↗