ABSTRACT
Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to describe characteristics of colleges implementing the accelerated second-degree bachelor of science in nursing program in South Korea and provide insight into strategies to improve the program outcomes. @*Methods@#An on-line questionnaire developed for this study was emailed to deans of nursing colleges who were members of the Korean Association of College of Nursing. Questions included items related to nursing college, students, curriculum, and anticipated difficulty in relation to an increase of the number of second-degree students. @*Results@#Out of 117 nursing schools, 33 schools (28.2%) participated in the on-line survey. The actual number of second-degree students and their ratio (about 10%) to regular students significantly increased in 2019. Male students were enrolled nearly twice as many times as regular students. Among the anticipated difficulties, clinical practice institutions (3.94) and clinical practice instructors (3.73) showed relatively higher scores than other difficulties such as teaching (3.58) and education facilities (3.30). @*Conclusion@#In order to improve the quality of nursing education for second-degree students, more nursing faculties and innovative clinical practice support systems are needed. Future study is warranted to investigate the educational experience of second-degree students and graduates.
ABSTRACT
Background@#The aim of this study was to survey prognostic factors, particularly those focusing on epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after Gamma Knife Radiosurgery (GKRS) for metastatic brain tumors. @*Methods@#We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 98 patients with NSCLC who underwent GKRS for brain metastases from August 2010 to July 2017. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) of the intracranial disease. We analyzed variables such as age, sex, Karnofsky Performance Status, recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) class, smoking status, primary cancer pathology, EGFR mutations, and time to brain metastases as prognostic factors. @*Results@#The median overall survival (OS) of the patients was 16 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 13-21 months]. Median systemic PFS and intracranial PFS were 9 months (95% CI, 8-11 months) and 11 months (95% CI, 7-14 months), respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that the patients with EGFR mutations had longer intracranial PFS than those without EGFR mutation (median intracranial PFS: 19 vs. 10 months with p=0.01) while they had no benefits in OS and systemic PFS. Furthermore, the patients harboring adenocarcinoma had longer OS ( p<0.01) and intracranial PFS ( p<0.01) and the patients with lower RPA class had longer OS ( p=0.02) and intracranial PFS ( p=0.03). @*Conclusion@#EGFR mutations, primary cancer pathology, and RPA class may be proposed as prognostic factors for intracranial PFS in NSCLC patients after GKRS for brain metastasis in this study.
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Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to describe the profile of graduates from accelerated second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs and to analyze the relative efficiency of nursing colleges using data envelopment analysis. @*Methods@#An online survey link was emailed to the deans of nursing colleges, who were then asked to send the link to graduates of the respective colleges. The survey questionnaire included demographics, reasons for applying to the accelerated second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, employment after graduation, and nursing career satisfaction. @*Results@#Sixty-two graduates of the accelerated second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing program responded to the survey. The mean age at admission was 24.28 (± 3.01) years. Reasons for applying to the accelerated second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing program were primarily increasing job security and using it as a stepping stone to another career. Nursing career job satisfaction was 4.81 (± 1.07) and more than 82% recommended this program. The data envelopment analysis found the average efficiency score to be 0.84 (± 0.20) and 4 nursing colleges to be relatively efficient. @*Conclusion@#The accelerated second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing program can be considered to be an effective means to produce quality nurses with non-nursing bachelor degrees in a short time; however, outcomes of this program need to be systematically monitored to maintain quality level. Through this, competent nurses with knowledge of adjacent studies will be added to the nursing workforce.
ABSTRACT
Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to describe the profile of graduates from accelerated second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs and to analyze the relative efficiency of nursing colleges using data envelopment analysis. @*Methods@#An online survey link was emailed to the deans of nursing colleges, who were then asked to send the link to graduates of the respective colleges. The survey questionnaire included demographics, reasons for applying to the accelerated second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, employment after graduation, and nursing career satisfaction. @*Results@#Sixty-two graduates of the accelerated second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing program responded to the survey. The mean age at admission was 24.28 (± 3.01) years. Reasons for applying to the accelerated second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing program were primarily increasing job security and using it as a stepping stone to another career. Nursing career job satisfaction was 4.81 (± 1.07) and more than 82% recommended this program. The data envelopment analysis found the average efficiency score to be 0.84 (± 0.20) and 4 nursing colleges to be relatively efficient. @*Conclusion@#The accelerated second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing program can be considered to be an effective means to produce quality nurses with non-nursing bachelor degrees in a short time; however, outcomes of this program need to be systematically monitored to maintain quality level. Through this, competent nurses with knowledge of adjacent studies will be added to the nursing workforce.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: We evaluated outcomes of treatment in medial condyle fracture of the distal humerus in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seven patients (4 females, 3 males) who were treated at the Pusan National University Hospital and followed-up until skeletal maturity after treatment were included. The average age at the time of fracture was 4.6 years (range, 2 to 10 years). Treatment was performed from 1 day to 6 months after the fracture: 4 patients underwent a surgical treatment for 17 days, 2 months, 2 months and 6 months after fracture, respectively. All fractures were Milch type 1. Five patients had Kilfoyle type 3, and two patients had type 2 fractures. Final outcomes were evaluated by the Mayo elbow performance score and carrying angle. RESULTS: There were 3 excellent, 3 good and 1 fair result at the final follow-up. There was no elbow pain in any of the patients. One of the four patients who underwent a late surgical treatment received corrective osteotomy due to cubitus varus. All four patients had a limitation of elbow motion. The other three patients who had accurate diagnosis and treatment had a full range of motion. CONCLUSION: Diagnosis of medial condyle fracture of the distal humerus based on plain radiograph is difficult in children due to its cartilaginous structures. When a patient shows pain, tenderness and swelling on the medial side of the elbow, an additional examination with magnetic resonance imaging may be required even if no fracture line is found in the radiograph. Accurate diagnosis and early treatment is important for good results.