Continence care education: views of students and registered nurses.

BACKGROUND: this article reports on a study of continence education and training for students and qualified nurses. AIMS: to understand how nurses and nursing students gain their knowledge in continence education and training, to examine nurses' understanding of bladder and bowel care and to discover to what degree nurses are confident in their knowledge of bladder and bowel care. METHODS: this was a qualitative enquiry and a case study methodology was used to frame the research. The data were captured through a questionnaire and group discussions. FINDINGS: continence education comprised support through self-learning, classroom instruction, skills laboratory sessions and on the wards. Feedback from participants indicated that, although continence education enhanced learning, they thought continence education sessions were either too short or did not go into enough detail. Two key factors that limited learning in the workplace were time and work priorities. CONCLUSION: it is recommended that a combination of learning strategies is useful and valuable in developing the nurse's skills and knowledge of continence care, if time and funding are available.

Role of protein kinase C inhibition in the development of diabetic microvascular complications.

Diabetes mellitus affects millions of people in the USA and throughout the world. The global epidemic may be attributed to both the increasing age of the population and the increasing rates of obesity. Diabetes is associated with chronic microvascular (diabetic neuropathy, retinopathy and nephropathy) and macrovascular complications (heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease). Patients with diabetes benefit from a comprehensive approach to prevent complications, including weight loss, smoking cessation, antiplatelet agents, and glycemic and blood pressure control. However, all of these are difficult for patients to achieve and maintain on a daily basis and there is still a risk of developing vascular complications. Specific therapies for diabetic complications targeting molecules that are activated by hyperglycemia are emerging. The aim of this review is to highlight the role of protein kinase Cß in the development of diabetic microvascular complications while briefly describing clinical experience with the protein kinase Cß inhibitor ruboxistaurin.