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Biomedical subjects

M Kramer

Publications and source records attributed to M Kramer.

421 records · Page 24Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Role transformation of special care unit nurses: a comparative study.

To investigate whether special care unit nurses have characteristics different from nurses who work in nonintensive care settings and whether SCU nurses make more effective role transformations than non-SCU nurses, this posthoc descriptive study utilized data from 213 new graduate nurses in their first jobs in eight medical centers across the United States. The 213 nurses were a subsample of 307 new graduate nurses in a parent study that tested effect of a bicultural orientation program in role transformation. The nurses in the subsample worked in one of four nursing areas: medical--surgical, medical--surgical specialty, parent--child, and SCU. They were pretested at six weeks of employment regarding their: professional, bureaucratic, and service role conceptions; total role deprivation; professional, bureaucratic, and bicultural role behavior; self-esteem; and degree of self-actualization. SCU nurses had significantly higher self-actualization scores initially than medical--surgical nurses. Posttesting at nine months of employment included all of the above variables plus measures of empathy and change-agent activity. Performance ratings and resignations were examined at one year of employment. Analyses of variance of the difference scores and posttest-only scores showed no significant differences by type of unit except for self-actualization. To examine the relationship between the degree of specialization and the variables under study, units were rank ordered according to degree of specialization. Nurses working on units which required the most specialization had significantly higher increases in bicultural scores and self-esteem and trends toward higher increases in bureaucratic role conception and higher performance ratings. However, SCU nurses also had the most decrease in professional role conception scores, least increase in self-actualization scores, least amount of empathy with co-workers, and least amount of effective change-agent activity--all undesirable occurrences.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Somnofluoroscopy.

In the past 30 years, numerous studies have increased our knowledge of the physical process of sleep. One sleep disorder, sleep apnea, has been studied and found to be a serious and life-threatening condition. Diagnosis of sleep disorders is very difficult and requires the use of sophisticated equipment, highly trained personnel, and a unique environment. To confirm the most dangerous form of sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, fluoroscopic evaluation of the upper airway during sleep was performed. This fluoroscopic evaluation of the upper airway during sleep has been termed "somnofluoroscopy."

Fluoroscopy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The 1994 Clinical Research Award. A prospective clinical study of the polysomnographic stages of sleep after burn injury.

Although subjective evidence suggests that patients with burns are deprived of sleep, previous clinical studies have been limited to observational data and have not to date included electroencephalographic or polysomnographic recordings. The purpose of this study was to characterize the sleep pattern of patients suffering from thermal injury. Biweekly 24-hour polysomnographic measurements (electromyography, electrooculography, and electroencephalography) were performed with 12 leads. This measuring permitted continuous recording of intrinsic electrical activity in skeletal muscles via chin electrodes, eye movement via outer canthal electrodes, and brain wave activity with the other bipolar electrodes. Determinations were obtained on 11 patients with thermal injuries for a total of 43 24-hour periods. The patients had a mean age of 8.31 +/- 1.5 years (range 1.4 to 16 years), a mean total body surface area burn of 55.1% +/- 16.5% (range 17.5% to 90.5%), and a mean full-thickness burn of 48.5% +/- 8.1% (range 10.5% to 90.5%). Although mean total sleep time was seemingly adequate (625.1 +/- 31.6 min/patient/24 hrs), large aberrations in sleep stage distribution were noted. Significant decreases in stage 3 + 4 and in rapid eye movement (deep sleep) and increases in stages 1 and 2 (light sleep) were noted, suggesting a cycling back to stages 1 or 2 after disruption of sleep. Overall, in 43 runs 40% of the subjects were completely lacking stage 3 + 4, and 19% were missing rapid eye movement during an entire 24-hour run.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Smoking and diseases of the oral cavity].

The paper gives a review on the etiology of oral cancer, discusses some of the mechanisms by which tobacco may bring about changes in oral tissues, and describe ways in which the dentist can help with the problem of tobacco use. Risk of developing oral cancer increases with the amount and length of cigarette-smoking and alcohol consumption. Hungry is ranked with the highest cigarette-consumption as third among 111 countries world-wide. Investigations of the authors on the pathogenesis of leukoplakia by tobacco, demonstrated increased tissue levels of inflammatory mediators, and stimulated keratinocyte proliferation. Finally, the dentist has an important role to play in society as an advocate for reducing tobacco use.

Humans↗