Joining education and service in exploring discharge needs.

Continuity of care beyond the walls of the acute hospital setting has always been a major emphasis in nursing. There is concern that the care needs of older adults at the time of discharge have been increased by shortened hospital stays. Yet little is known about the specific and changing health care needs of older adults during the early days at home following discharge from acute care, particularly those who are discharged without community referrals. To learn more about the experiences of this population, the College of Nursing at the University of Southern Maine, in collaboration with the Nursing Service Department at Maine Medical Center, conducted a demonstration project. This project involved follow-up home visits to older adults who were discharged to their homes from an acute care setting.

Documenting patient education: a literature review.

Lack of time is cited as the most common reason why staff nurses neglect to document patient education. Consumer rights, standards of practice, and other laws regulating nursing practice require nurses to teach patients. Administration and staff development can enhance nurses' efforts to document more effectively. Forms and flowsheets detailing content and learner outcomes and tracking patients' progress can affect the quality of documentation. Nurses are encouraged to continue developing new forms and flowsheets and to share their products with others.

Smoking practices among nursing students: a comparison of two studies.

Findings of numerous studies that have explored the smoking practices of nurses reveal a high incidence of smoking that is incongruent with the health beliefs of the profession. Nurses who smoke are less likely to teach or positively influence patients who smoke. They may even undermine health teaching efforts of other health professionals. Studies of smoking practices of nursing students also reveal high incidences of smoking. Included among the determinants of this practice are lack of knowledge of the health effects of smoking, the academic setting, and the role that nursing education may play. In this comparison of two independent studies similar in design, smoking rates were similar to that of the female population and to registered nurses. Students who smoke either started smoking or increased their smoking in nursing school. They knew the health hazards of smoking and most had tried to quit in the past. Challenging opportunities exist for nurse educators to study and implement strategies to prevent smoking initiation and encourage cessation among future nurses.