[The life of elderly women living alone].

PURPOSE: This study aimed to uncover the fundamental nature of living alone in female elderly. METHODS: The phenomenological research approach developed by van Manen was adopted. RESULTS: The theme was 'taking a firm stand alone on the edges of life'. The composition elements of living alone experienced by elderly women were as follows: 1) Corporeality: participants perceived their bodies by their health status. Unhealthy participants were suffering with diseases and dependant on other persons, while healthy participants were free from family responsibility and kept on moving. 2) Spatiality: participants felt both freedom and loneliness while they stayed home. 3) Relationality: participants felt pity and yearning for their bereaved husband and sometimes talked to his picture. According to their children's filial piety, participants were pleased or displeased. However, they incessantly devoted themselves to their children. 4) Temporality: participants considered the rest of their life as extra-time which was proceeding to death, and tried to keep themselves busy before they died. CONCLUSION: A nurse should understand the multifarious aspects of elderly women's life, and then intervene to consolidate their strengths for self-supporting the final years of life.

[The male nurses' experiences of adaptation in clinical setting].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identified the male nurses' encounter in adapting themselves in the hospital settings dominated by the female nurses in number. METHOD: Data were collected through the in-depth interview of 16 male nurses and analysed through the grounded theory methodology. RESULT: The behaviors of male nurses for job-adaptation can be summarized as a series of struggles to consolidate their own ground. They have made tremendous efforts to hold their own ground in the nursing profession composed of a large numbers of female nurses, while they have experienced many difficulties and problems as minorities. They have struggled to adapt themselves professionally through efforts such as; challenging the social and professional barriers, identifying the job identity, empowering themselves through self-development and dedication, expanding their influence among colleagues. In spite of these efforts, they had the perception that nursing is not a lifelong occupation for them. Thus, they had tendency to find outlets of change to occupations. CONCLUSION: A specific strategy is needed to provide an environment that is helpful for males in integrating into and adapting to the nursing profession.