Differences in professional values between nurses and nursing students: a gender perspective.

AIM: To compare Spanish nursing students' and registered nurses' perception of professional values from the perspective of gender and professional experience. BACKGROUND: Nursing has traditionally been a female profession; however, the analysis of professional nursing values from a gender perspective has received little attention. The integration of professional values typically begins during academic life and is, thereafter, reinforced during professional activities. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 159 students (97.4% females) and 386 registered nurses (86.8% females) from primary healthcare centres, hospitals and management positions within the public health system. The validated Spanish adaptation of the Nurses Professional Values Scale was used. This instrument measures three dimensions: ethics, commitment and professional mastery. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data, together with bivariate analysis using the chi-squared test. RESULTS: Females granted more importance to professional values. Important gender differences among students were detected. Ethical values were considered to be the most important for both students and nurses, followed by professional mastery and commitment. The importance given to values progressively decreased in the groups under study: students, less-experienced nurses and expert nurses (in decreasing order). CONCLUSIONS: Significant gender differences exist with regard to professional nursing values. The values related to professional commitment and mastery should be integrated and promoted during academic education and specifically focus on male students' perceptions. As professional experience increases, the importance attributed to professional values decreases. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY: Professional nursing values should be promoted among universities, health services and professional organizations, encouraging their dissemination, implementation and evaluation.

Cultivo in vitro con colágeno y fibroblastos humanos de un equivalente de mucosa oral de espesor total / In vitro culture with collagen and human fibroblasts of a full-thickness oral mucosa equivalent

Objetivos. El presente trabajo tiene por objetivo obtener, mediantecultivo in vitro, láminas de tejido oral en las que se pueda identificar lasestructuras de una mucosa oral completa. La aplicación clínica del presenteestudio permitiría, en determinados casos, la sustitución del empleo de injertoslibres de piel o autólogos de mucosa oral por esta técnica. Material y Método.A partir de pequeñas biopsias de mucosa oral se hicieron cultivos primariosde queratinocitos. A partir de estos cultivos primarios se realizaron cultivossecundarios sobre una submucosa artificial constituida por colágeno y fibroblastoshumanos. Se analizaron histológicamente sus características in vitro, yulteriormente se procedió a la realización de injertos en ratones atímicospara conocer su comportamiento in vivo. Resultados. Los cultivos primariosfueron confluentes en un plazo mínimo de 10 días y máximo de 12 días, periodosimilar al observado para la confluencia de los cultivos secundarios. El tiempotranscurrido desde la toma de la muestra hasta la obtención de una mucosaartificial completa osciló entre los 20 y los 22 días, mostrando las característicashistológicas de una mucosa normal. Tras 17 días de injerto en ratonesinmunoincompetentes, sin ningún tipo de contingencia clínica, la caracterizaciónhistológica e inmunohistoquímica (citoqueratinas 13 y 19, colágenoIV y laminina) confirmó la similitud de la mucosa in vitro con la mucosa oralsana. Conclusión. Es posible mediante técnicas de cultivo in vitro la obtenciónde un equivalente de mucosa oral completa con colágeno y fibroblastos. Sibien esta mucosa muestra un importante grado de retracción, su manejo clínicoes muy favorable(AU)

Objectives. The objective of this study was to obtain,by in vitro culture, sheets of oral tissue in which complete oral mucosastructures can be identified. Clinical application of the findings ofthis study will allow the replacement of free skin grafts or autologousoral mucosa grafts by this technique in certain cases.Material and Method. Primary keratinocyte cultures were preparedfrom small biopsy samples of oral mucosa. Secondary cultures wereprepared from these primary cultures on an artificial submucosaconstituted by collagen and human fibroblasts. The cell cultureswere analyzed histologically in vitro and then used for graft implantsin athymic mice to study their behavior in vivo.Results. The primary cultures were confluent within a minimumperiod of 10 days and maximum of 12 days, which is similar to theperiod that the secondary cultures required to reach confluence.The time from sampling to achieving a complete artificial mucosaranged from 20 to 22 days. The artificial mucosa showed histologiccharacteristics of a normal mucosa. After 17 days of graftimplantation in immunoincompetent mice without any clinicalcontingency, histologic and immunohistochemical characterization(cytokeratins 19 and 13, collagen IV, and laminin) confirmed thesimilarity of the mucosa in vitro to healthy oral mucosa.Conclusion. A complete oral mucosa equivalent can be preparedwith collagen and fibroblasts using in vitro culture techniques.Although this mucosa shows considerable retraction, its clinicalhandling is very favorable(AU)