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Biomedical subjects

M Clinton

Publications and source records attributed to M Clinton.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

On reflection in action: unaddressed issues in refocusing the debate on reflective practice.

Reflective practice is now widely debated as a means of improving nursing practice. However, assumptions about reflective practice are rarely clarified and seldom subjected to critique. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to take up Clarke, James & Kelly's suggestion that limits to the scope and depth of reflection be considered. This is achieved by reflecting on what these authors claim it means to reflect in action. Four arguments are presented: (i) that nurses cannot be conscious of all aspects of nursing practice because there are aspects of practice that cannot be represented in consiousness, (ii) that those aspects of practice that can be represented in consciousness can be so only imperfectly, (iii) that all such representations are not reflexive, and (iv) that any representation in the form of an internal dialogue that could be regarded as reflection is overdetermined. Implications for reflexivity are then considered.

Consciousness↗
PubMed1998

Exploring empathy as a variable in the evaluation of professional development programs for palliative care nurses.

Research indicates that empathy, a quality regarded as fundamentally important to nursing practice, is a teachable skill. Because empathic nurse-patient relationships are particularly important in the care of the terminally ill, this has direct relevance to the professional development of palliative care nurses. This article discusses the place of empathy as a criterion variable in the evaluation of a professional development program for palliative care nurses introduced at the Centre for Mental Health Nursing Research at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. A modified version of the Staff-Patient Interaction Response Scale (SPIRS) was used as a pre- and postintervention measure to assess the expressed empathy of the participating nurses. The modifications to SPIR and its coding system to make it suitable for palliative care nursing, and the mechanisms for improving and evaluating the reliability of this instrument will be discussed. The full description of this particular modification of SPIRS for palliative care research is provided as an example of how this instrument could be used in projects for which nurses undertake the difficult task of providing compassionate care to the terminally ill.

Australia↗
PubMed1998

Elimination of false positives generated through PCR re-amplification of differential display cDNA.

Differential display (DD) is a powerful molecular tool that allows the identification and subsequent isolation of transcripts differentially expressed between biological samples, for example, between undifferentiated and differentiated cells, between different tissues or in one tissue at different stages of development. However, significantly high rates of apparent false positives have been reported using this technique. We suggest that the vast majority of false positives do not represent the originally selected transcript, but instead result from the re-amplification of cDNA species that co-migrate with the cDNA of interest in DD gels. Here we describe the use of a procedure to resolve co-migrating cDNAs and to purify the candidate of interest before cloning. The use of this modified technique resolves downstream problems encountered during DD experiments.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Suicide on the Internet: a focus for nursing intervention?

The Internet is a means for people who do not know each other to share information to their mutual benefit or harm. Whereas electronic communication without censorship has its benefits, the net has not escaped the attention of people contemplating suicide. If mental health nurses are to assist vulnerable people who surf the net in search of encouragement to complete suicide, they need to know about Internet resources on suicide and to understand how suicide fatalities influence the behaviours of vulnerable people who express suicidal ideation in cyberspace. The importance of suicide modelling, ambivalence, group death wishes, suicide notes and related research is considered. Mental health nurses are invited to consider the implications for suicide prevention.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

The problem of arriving at a phenomenological description of memory loss.

This paper discusses a methodological difficulty that arose when uncovering the conscious experience of being nurtured as an in-patient with depression on a psychiatric ward. It considers the problem of arriving at a phenomenological description of memory loss in a patient who had undergone electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The paper begins by describing the prevalence of depression and its significance for nurses working in in-patient settings. Examples of empirical research into memory loss in depression are used to show what researchers must set aside if they are to arrive at a phenomenological description of memory loss. The choice of a phenomenological approach to the wider study from which the methodological problem discussed here arose is then justified. The phenomena of memory is introduced to show the methodological significance of attempting to arrive at a phenomenological description of the statement made by one of the participants, a woman being treated as an in-patient for major depression. A possible description of the phenomena of memory loss based on the existential phenomenology of Sartre is offered to call into question the ability of researchers to bracket their assumptions. The significance for nurses of the wider study from which our example is taken is then described. Finally it is argued that despite the methodological difficulty described, a phenomenological perspective based on the philosophy of Husserl can point nurses in the direction of meeting the human needs of their patients.

Amnesia↗
PubMed1997

Evaluation of group processes in the professional development of mental health nurses.

The purpose of this paper is to report on group process data for 41 registered nurses endorsed as psychiatric nurses. Profile analysis was used to evaluate the flatness of ratings of group interaction by two groups of participants. Accelerated professional development participants had non-flat rating profiles for their ratings of how far group sessions helped them to clarify or validate issues, focused on the 'reasons for' and consequences of session content, achieved resolution of different points of view, or promoted consensus and group cohesiveness. The peer consultation participants had a non-flat rating profile for overall group supportiveness, demonstrating that the participants felt less supported over time.

Education, Nursing, Continuing↗