A short course in visual literacy can improve residents' observation and descriptive skills in cytopathology.

Visual literacy is an essential skill in Anatomical Pathology. However, there appears to be a dearth of literature that engages explicitly with how to teach or learn visual skills with respect to Anatomical Pathology residents. Using a variety of modalities, with a focus on practical arts-based methodologies, three-two hour workshops were designed to explore the complexity of precise observation and structured description. This intervention was based on the hypothesis that cytopathology and analyzing an artwork share a language and set of formal processes. Evaluation of the workshops was both quantitative and qualitative. The former assessed pre- and post-workshop descriptions of cytology images and artworks while the latter was in the form of a focus group. An actual improvement in both cytopathology and artwork description was demonstrated while the focus group discussion revealed the majority of residents considered the workshops as having a positive impact on the observation and description skills required in Anatomical Pathology. Some felt the purpose and approach of these workshops was not made explicit enough. Thematic analysis of the focus group showed robust discussion regarding who should conduct these workshops and when they should be conducted in resident training. Unanticipated benefits of the workshops such as personal creativity and pleasure formed a significant theme that requires serious consideration. Introducing visual literacy workshops into residency training appears to be valuable and improved observation and description skills in cytopathology. The focus group discussion will be used to improve on this first set of workshops.

Development of a multiplex PCR assay for fine-scale population genetic analysis of the Komodo monitor Varanus komodoensis based on 18 polymorphic microsatellite loci.

Multiplex PCR assays for the coamplification of microsatellite loci allow rapid and cost-effective genetic analyses and the production of efficient screening protocols for international breeding programs. We constructed a partial genomic library enriched for di-nucleotide repeats and characterized 14 new microsatellite loci for the Komodo monitor (or Komodo dragon, Varanus komodoensis). Using these novel microsatellites and four previously described loci, we developed multiplex PCR assays that may be loaded on a genetic analyser in three separate panels. We tested the novel set of microsatellites for polymorphism using 69 individuals from three island populations and evaluated the resolving power of the entire panel of 18 loci by conducting (i) a preliminary assignment test to determine population(s) of origin and (ii) a parentage analysis for 43 captive Komodo monitors. This panel of polymorphic loci proved useful for both purposes and thus can be exploited for fine-scale population genetic analyses and as part of international captive breeding programs directed at maintaining genetically viable ex situ populations and reintroductions.

Faculty and student cross-cultural learning through teaching health promotion in the community.

Cross-cultural learning for nursing students and faculty increased through a collaborative venture of teaching health promotion classes in a Hmong community. Through the learning process, nursing students and faculty learned about Hmong culture, and Hmong participants learned about health. The purpose of this article is to describe the process and evaluation of health promotion classes in a Hmong community.

Health-within-illness: concept development through research and practice.

This paper presents the concept of health-within-illness as an opportunity that increases meaningfulness of life through connectedness or relatedness with the environment and/or awareness of self during a state of compromised well-being. The conceptual development evolved through a research programme on women diagnosed with breast cancer and examples from the research are used to illustrate various components of the definition. Evidence from nursing literature and practicing nurses further enhances development of the health-within-illness concept. Although the health-within-illness idea was originally proposed by Moch (1989) and has been referred to in nursing literature, a conceptual definition is not available. Suggestions for further research and practice are included.

An advanced practice nurse--nurse researcher collaborative model.

The advanced practice nurse (APN)--nurse researcher collaborative model proposed in this article emerged through an APN and a nurse researcher working together on a pilot research study and a project to describe advanced nursing practice in the outpatient setting. The model demonstrates how, through the observation and discussion of practice and research, the needs of both the NR and the APN are identified. Further discussion identifies outcomes important for each professional role as well as for the discipline of nursing. Results of such collaboration include practice-relevant nursing research, research-based practice, and more reflective APNs and nurse researchers.

Linking research and practice through discussion.

PURPOSE: To describe the process and outcomes of a researcher-initiated discussion group with nurses in clinical practice. DESIGN: Descriptive case study. The study, which began in 1991, included one group of four acute care nurses. Between 1992-1996, three other groups of nurses participated. METHODS: Nurses in practice read and discussed articles from a program of research on breast cancer during a series of group sessions. The semi-structured sessions were tape-recorded. RESULTS: Participants suggested how to make article content more understandable to clinicians; they affirmed findings relevant to practice; and identified ways to integrate research in practice. CONCLUSIONS: Discussion served as a means for the researcher and nurses to connect the research-practice gap through learning the practice perspective and the process and value of research. Discussion groups are recommended to enhance science-based clinical practice.

Healthier work environments through action research.

A team of nurses and a university-based nurse researcher describe a nursing theory-based action research plan to promote a healthier work environment. The process combines research and practice to achieve desired outcomes within an acute-care setting.

Life patterns of persons with coronary heart disease.

This study of person-environment patterns of people with coronary heart disease was undertaken as an explication of Margaret Newman's theory of health as expanding consciousness. A method of cooperative inquiry was used involving eleven clients in a cardiac rehabilitation center, a cardiovascular nursing specialist, and the investigators. The clients were asked to describe the most meaningful times in their lives. Narratives of the evolving patterns based on the clients' descriptions were confirmed or revised by the clients. Similarities among patterns were supportive of some of the previously reported behaviors associated with coronary heart disease: the need to excel, a tendency to be repressed and externally controlled. Differences between individuals were explained by their position on Arthur Young's spectrum of human development. The mutual process of pattern recognition engaged in by nursing researchers and clients is seen as a model for practice.

Health within the experience of breast cancer.

The purpose of this descriptive research was to explicate the concept of health within illness by describing women's experiences with breast cancer. The study is based on Newman's view of illness as expanding consciousness. Twenty women, ages 38-60, with previously diagnosed (within 4-18 months) breast cancer, were asked to describe their experience with breast cancer through two open-ended interviews. Data collection and analyses were based on a qualitative research methodology which incorporates aspects of existential phenomenology and phenomenological nursology with a focus on person-environment interaction patterning. Through thematic analyses and patterning of the person-environment analyses based on the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association Taxonomy I dimensions, themes consistent with health as expanding consciousness emerged.

Malaria at Johannesburg Hospital. A retrospective study.

A total of 43 patients diagnosed as having malaria were admitted to Johannesburg Hospital during 1988; 40 (94%) were infected with Plasmodium falciparum. Only 26 patients (60%) were recorded as having used prophylaxis of any kind; chloroquine alone and in combination was used as prophylaxis by 17. Patients were treated with quinine (alone or in combination) in 67% of cases. In 42% of patients chloroquine-resistant malaria was considered a possibility.

Personal knowing: evolving research and practice.

Personal knowing is essential to the development of knowledge central to the practice of nursing. Personal knowing as a process of research within practice is conceptually developed through definition, components, attributes, and examples. Although personal knowing, i.e., discovery of self-and-other arrived at through reflection, synthesis of perceptions, and connecting with what is known, has been identified as a fundamental way of knowing for nursing (Carper, 1978), the process has not previously been systematically developed or tied in with the theoretical, syntactical, and practice structures of nursing. In this article, an increased emphasis on personal knowing within the research and practice domains of nursing is proposed, and implications and questions are raised regarding implementation.

Health within illness: conceptual evolution and practice possibilities.

Health in terms of growth or change is being increasingly related to illness through health theory development and personal reports of illness. Clinicians in nursing often provide accounts of health within the experience of illness, and theorists in nursing incorporate health-within-illness ideas, but the concept has not been previously explicated for practice. Adoption of this perspective in current health care would initiate drastic changes and provide endless possibilities for a more positive, less judgmental attitude toward the experience of illness.

Towards a personal control/uncontrol balance.

Patterns of personal control are predominant in Western culture, including the health care arena. A personal control theme is evident in the language of health care, the prevalent diseases, and the intervention strategies. However, facilitating a balanced pattern of personal control and personal uncontrol in interaction with the environment is most consistent with nursing theory and practice. In this paper, personal control and personal uncontrol nursing interventions are identified and analysed. Either set of interventions may enhance the health of the person, depending upon the control/uncontrol needs of the person.