[The study of nursing student's gratification and hilarity as a mental health index]

Introduction: Psychologists and Sociologists believe that happiness affects the psychological, social, educational and cultural dimensions of all individuals. So to pay attention to this issue as an indicator of students' mental health is very important. Therefore, assessment of nursing students' happiness is very important because they are encountered to multiple stresses and tensions. The aim of this study was to investigate the happiness status of Abhar's nursing students and also its correlation with sex, age, marriage, educational course, and the number of family members

Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted between 2007-2008 in Abhar School of nursing. In this study the Iranian version of Oxford Happiness Inventory was used to measure the students' happiness status. After providing written informed consent questionnaires were distributed among 75 samples and finally 64 students [17=male, 47=female] were measured. Then, the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and appropriate tests like independent-t and one-way ANOVA, by SPSS software version 11.5

Results: Data analysis showed that 17.5% of students had low level of happiness, 69.8% reasonable level and 12.7% were very happy. There was no significant association between the level of happiness and gender [P=0.7], marital status [P=0.4] and age [P=0.2]. But, there was significant relationship between happiness and educational terms [P=0.01]

Conclusion: Based on this study only 12.7% of students were very happy and two groups of junior and senior students were less cheerful. So, it is necessary to consider appropriate plans and interventions to improve and retain the happiness of nursing students in the acceptable levels and thus improve their mental health

[Spirituality in HIV-infected individuals: a phenomenological study]

HIV/AIDS is a well-recognized global problem in the world, including Iran. It is necessary to comprehend and understand lived experience of HIV positive patients. The present study was designed and conducted to better understand the perspectives and experiences of HIV positive patients about the role of the spirituality and religious beliefs in their lives with HIV/AIDS. This qualitative study was conducted using an interpretative phenomenological approach. In-depth, audio-taped and semistructured interviews with 19 participants were conducted to collect data. Data were transcript. Observations were also recorded in comprehensive field notes. A hermeneutic approach was used to analyze the data, according to the method developed by Diekelmann. According to the findings, participants aged between 21 and 56 years of old at the time of contamination to the HIV. Almost half [47.4%] of the participants had CD4 counts under 200 cells/mm3. Analyzes of the data revealed three main themes: [a] Redefining religious values and communicating with God; [b] Compensation; and [c] Individual development. The themes included some sub-themes. Experiencing difficult conditions in HIV positive individuals provide them with an opportunity to return to religious values, redefine themselves and give meaning to their lives, rather than fear or disappointment. Communicating with other HIV positive patients and religious experts are suggested as additional appropriate strategies

[Comparison of the effect of clinical evaluation by two methods: Portfolio and popular, on satisfaction of nurse students]

Introduction: Clinical evaluation is one of the important factors in nursing education, and there are some difficulties in evaluation of clinical skills, representing more practical and effective ways in this field is the topic of many researches. So, in this research we designed a lesson plan based on portfolio evaluation method and used it in nurse student's clinical courses. Then we compared their satisfaction from clinical evaluation with popular method

Methods: In this experimental research, students in fifth semester of nursing at Tehran University of Nursing and Midwifery are participated. These students were divided into subgroups of 7 and 8. Each of these subgroups passed the clinical probationary in cardiac unit. After explaining the research goals, these subgroups were put in two research groups randomly. In portfolio group [n=21] students evaluated by using portfolio method and portfolio evaluation tool. And in other group [n=20], popular form of clinical evaluation in university was used. Both groups answered the satisfaction questionnaire in last day. Content validity and reliability of questionnaire was tested. Data analyzed by SPSS software and with Chi square, Fisher Exact, Mann Whitney, Wilcoxon and spearman's rho tests

Results: Findings showed that students had 21.5 +/- 1.36 years of old and most of them was female and married. Satisfaction in portfolio group was meaningfully greater than popular group in three aspects: alignment of subjects in evaluation method and form with clinical course objects [P=0.04], creating interest and motivation for participation of students in learning [P=0.005], motivating students to use books and other scientific references [P=0.01]. Satisfaction of popular group from fairness of evaluation method was greater than portfolio group [P=0.017]. There were no meaningful results in other aspects

Conclusion: More satisfaction in some aspects from portfolio method represents acceptance of new active methods of learning and evaluation by students. so, using portfolio as one of the best method of clinical evaluation in nursing and doing more researches advised

[Assessing food habits for cancer prevention among Tehran citizens]

Cancer is one of the three health issues of the society and the third cause of mortality in Iran. Food habits play a significant role in preventing cancer. The present study therefore, was carried out to assess food habits of Tehran citizens for cancer prevention. This study is a cross- sectional study was conducted with a sample of 2500 Tehran citizens who were recruited through systematic cluster random sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires including demographic factors and food habits. Validity and reliability of tool was gained through content validity and Alfa-Cronbach test. Data was collected in one time occasion and in person. All statistics were computed by the SPSS software using descriptive and inferential tests. The showed demonstrated that the 38.2% of Tehran citizens had their BMI at the level of being overweight and upper. The food habits for cancer prevention were relatively appropriate for most of them [61.3%], but no one was at the desired level. Concerning the study results that no one had proper food habits for cancer prevention, public education and increasing awareness of people in this regards by ministry of health, cancer institutes, mass media, educational system, ministry of labour and social affairs is strongly recommended

[Outcomes of the performance appraisal and its relation with nurses job motivation]

The main aim of performance appraisal is aid to staff development and increasing job motivation. Outcomes of performance appraisal consider as a determining indicators of the amount of success in achieving the mentioned aims. The aim of this study is to determine the employed nurses' views regarding the performance appraisal's outcomes and its relation with job motivation in medical-surgical wards of affiliated hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. This investigation is a descriptive correlational study. The sample size was 120 of employed nurses in medical-surgical units in Tehran University of Medical Science that was selected by cluster sampling. The data was collected by questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used for analysis. Perception of the most samples was almost positive [65%] about performance appraisal's outcomes. They believed that the rate of the job motivation in surveyed units was low. There was a statistical significance relationship between performance improvement as one of the outcomes of the performance appraisal and job motivation [p<0.05]. Aiding to nurses performance improvement with using of performance appraisal was the only factor that was correlate with the job motivation in comparison with the other expectances of performance appraisal

effect of lecture and e-learning methods on learning mother and child health course in nursing students

Traditional teaching methods used in medical education are not able to respond to the rapid changes and growth of information as well as continuous change in educational needs of societies. This study was performed to compare the effect of two teaching approaches, lecture and e-learning on learning outcomes of mother and child health course in nursing students of Tehran Medical University. This quasi-experimental study was performed on all third semester nursing students who had passed mother and child health course in 2006 [N = 32].It was a one group two-shot study. During the first four weeks, the students received traditional education and during the second four weeks they studied the rest of the subject matter using an on-line learning method. At the end of the course, the students' opinion toward the educational methods was asked using a questionnaire. An exam that covered the content of the 4-week block was also administered. Analysis of data was done by SPSS software using mean, standard deviation, and t-test. The learning outcomes in both groups were similar. Based on the students' opinion about two teaching methods, e-learning was more effective on "their capability to use the method" and "independence in using the method", and lecture was better than e-learning in "the effect on learning" and "motivation". E-learning can be used for teaching some nursing courses. It is recommended to use e-learning method with considering appropriate interactive and more attractive virtual environments to motivate students

[Nursing students' viewpoints about their clinical competencies and its achievement level]

Clinical competency is the habitual and judicious use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical reasoning, emotions and values in the clinical environments. Competency is a complex concept that encompasses such attributes as knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Acquirement of competency is final outcome and product of an educational system. The purpose of this study is to determine the viewpoint of nursing students about clinical competency and its level of achievement. A Descriptive-analytic design was applied for 91 undergraduate nursing students from Tehran school of nursing and midwifery. The data was collected by a questionnaire consisted of two parts: 1] demographic characteristic, 2] clinical competencies included: systematic assessment and data gathering, care planning, ethical points, professional improvement, client and family comfort, effective care management, and collaboration with health team. [p<0.05]. Among 91 students, 70 cases participated in this study .The results showed that most of the students were agree with the competencies: systematic assessment and data gathering 81.4%, care planning 78.65%, ethical points 81.4%, professional improvement 78.6%, client and family comfort 84.3%, effective care management 77.5%, and collaboration with health care team 80%. Also the most participants had amoderate view about their achievement to systematic assessment and data gathering 58.6%, care planning 52.9%, ethical points 68.6%, professional improvement 64.3%, client and family comfort 60%, effective care management 64.3%, and collaboration with health team 60%. There were not any significant correlations between demographic characteristic of participants and their view about clinical competency and its level of achievement. The results indicated that all participants had not any agreement about production of clinical competency by current nursing education program. On the other hand the achievement level of competency by nursing students was moderate and weak. This study can be useful as a guideline to determine practical solutions of changing students' view and their achievement to the clinical competency

[Professionalization experiences of newly employed nurses in clinical settings in Iran]

Nursing professionalization is a developmental experience that evolves throughout professional nurses' careers. Nursing systems that prepare nurses include experiences that are important in the early development of nursing identity. This phenomenenon is also foundational to the assumption of various nursing roles. A phenomenological approach was used in order to explore the meanings of professionalization experiences among participants. Data were gathered through series of semi structured interviews. Benner's interpretive method was used for data analysis. From 17 famale and male beginner nurses who worked in different educational and private hospitals in Tehran points of view 5 main themes and 4 subthemes emerged which encompasses the whole experiences of participants' professioalization experiences. These themes included sufficient knowledge, well practical experiences and autonomy in practice to provide a comprehensive care. Faculty understanding of beginning nurses' definitions and experiences of nursing professionalization can provide insights that can be used to develop educational experiences that support and enhance students' professional nursing identity and ultimately affect their future practice. Faculty can also use knowledge of nurses' definitions of professionalization to enrich student learning

[Research development in Tehran Nursing and Midwifery School, 2004: an action research report]

Continuous professional development is an essential component within many health care 'Learning Organizations'. This paper describes an initiation to develop a professional practice development framework for faculties in Tehran Nursing and Midwifery School. The project was undertaken within an action research methodology with four phases .The goal of the project was to improve research, provide competition, reinforce data management, identify priority of needs in nursing and midwifery, and in so doing, enhance knowledge of the development of health information resources. A multi-method approach to data collection was undertaken to capture the change process from different stakeholders' perceptions. Triangulation of the data was undertaken. Despite organizational constraints, leadership and peer support enabled the co-researchers to identify and initiate high quality research initiatives. The change process for the co-researchers included: enlightening personal journey, exploring the research-practice gap, enhancing personal and professional knowledge, evolving cultural change and collaborative working. Descriptive analysis and evaluation method showed that the project was done effectively. A more flexible time-scale and long term funding are required to enable continuity for trust-wide projects undertaken in dynamic academic settings

[Factors defined by nurses as influential upon the development of clinical competence]

Introduction: Competence is acknowledged as a controversial issue in health care settings, which affects many different aspects of the nursing profession such as education, practice and management. Although a number of research and discussion papers have explored the issue of competence in nursing and in particular the meaning and assessment of nursing competence, to date little research has been carried out to survey the factors identified by nurses themselves as being influential upon the development of professional competence in nursing. In this regard, this study attempted to reveal factors that contribute to the formation of competence based on nurses' experience. Once these factors understood, managers and educators might be able to implement appropriated strategies to boost nursing competence development

Objective: This study was conducted to explore and identify factors described by nurses as influential on the development of professional competence in nursing

Materials and Methods: This study is a qualitative study, which was done through content analysis. The sample consisted of fifteen registered nurses who were recruited from two Tabriz university-affiliated hospitals, which were chosen by non-probable sampling and by “sampling based on objective”. Tape-recorded semi-structured interviews were used as the data collection method. ?The contents of the interviews were transcribed into statements based on chosen methodology and then analysed

Results: Six interrelated categories were identified from the collected data. These categories, which have some degrees of overlap, include: [I] experience [II] opportunities [III] environment [IV] personal characteristics [V] motivation [VI] theoretical knowledge

Conclusions: Based on the findings obtained, a wide domain of internal and external personal conditions and factors influence achieving clinical competence. An understanding of these factors gives nursing managers and educators a scientific basis for closer dealing with this debatable issue. Nurses need this knowledge to be better able to pursue effective competency development pathways and ultimately to be prepared for providing a high standard of care. Thus the findings of this study could have important implications for nursing practice, management and education