THE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING

VOLUME 26 NUMBER 4

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Guest Editotial

Gerardine (Ged) Kearney

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Living the experience of breast cancer treatment: The younger women‘s perspective
The objective of this study was to explore the experience of breast cancer for young women under fifty years of age and describe their personal experience of coping with breast cancer treatment.

Key words: young women, breast cancer, qualitative

Elisabeth Coyne, RN, RM, BN, M Nursing (Hons with Distinction), Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University Logan Campus, Queensland, Australia. [email protected]
Sally Borbasi, RN, PhD, Professor of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University Logan Campus, Queensland, Australia. [email protected]

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Verbal, physical and sexual abuse among children working on the street
The purpose of this study was to explore the verbal, physical and sexual abuse experienced by children working on the street in Ankara, Turkey to determine the type of abuse occurred, the reactions to being abused, sources of abuse and coping methods against abuse.

Key words: children working on the street, abuse types, nurse

Sevilay Senol Celik, PhD, RN, Associate Professor, Hacettepe University Faculty of Health Science, Nursing Department, Ankara, Turkey. [email protected]
Media Subasi Baybuga, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor, Mugla University School of Health Science, Mugla, Turkey. [email protected]

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Staff perspectives of a cardiology short stay unit
The of objective of this studay was to evaluate staff perceptions about working environment, efficiency and the clinical safety of a cardiovascular intervention short stay unit (SSU) during the first year of operation.

Key words: short stay unit, procedure, discharge, cardiology, clinical safety

Seshasayee Narasimhan, MRCP (UK), Advanced Trainee, Cardiovascular Medicine, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, Australia.
[email protected]
Katrina McKay, RN, Postgraduate (Master of Health Science) Student, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
John Attia, PhD, FRCP (C), FRACP, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia.

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Spirituality and spiritual engagement as perceived by palliative care clients and caregivers
The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experience of spirituality and spiritual engagement as perceived by palliative care clients and their caregivers.

Key words: spirituality, engagement, hermeneutic phenomenology, end of life issues, palliative care, nursing

Ms Joy Penman, MN, MSc (Pharm), RN, PhD candidate, Lecturer, Nursing and Rural Health Unit, Centre of Regional Engagement, University of South Australia, Whyalla Campus, Nicolson Avenue, Whyalla Norrie, Whyalla, South Australia.
[email protected]
Associate Professor Mary Oliver, RN, PhD, Associate Dean Teaching and Learning, Centre of Regional Engagement, University of South Australia, Whyalla Campus, Nicolson Avenue, Whyalla Norrie, Whyalla, South Australia. [email protected]
Dr Ann Harrington, RN, PhD, Senior lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia.
[email protected]

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Predictors of nurses’ commitment to health care organisations
The purpose of this study was to determine the multiple correlations between the four predictors (job satisfaction, perceived organisational support, transformational leadership behaviour and level of education) on the degree of organisational commitment among nurses in South Florida’s long-term care facilities.

Key words: organisational commitment, job satisfaction, perceived organisational support, transformational leadership and level of education

Mahmoud Al-Hussami, RN, DHSc, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Clinical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, University of Jordan, Amman 11942 Jordan. [email protected]

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The relationship between clinical outcomes and quality of life for residents of aged care facilities
It is widely assumed improving care in residential facilities will improve quality of life (QoL), but little research has explored this relationship. The Clinical Care Indicators (CCI) Tool was developed to fill an existing gap in quality assessment within Australian residential aged care facilities and it was used to explore potential links between clinical outcomes and QoL.

Key words: quality of care, aged care, residential facilities, quality assessment, quality of life

Professor Mary Courtney, PhD, RN, Acting Executive Dean, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
Maria O’Reilly, MOccThy, PhD Candidate/ Senior Research Assistant, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), Queensland University of Technology, Australia. [email protected]
Professor Helen Edwards, PhD, RN, Head, School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
Stacey Hassall, MOrgPsych, Formerly of Blue Care, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

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Basic life support knowledge of undergraduate nursing and chiropractic students
The aim of this study was to examine retention of CPR/BLS knowledge of third year nursing and fourth year chiropractic students following instruction and assessment of CPR/BLS skills and knowledge as part of their undergraduate degree program.

Key words: Basic Life Support (BLS), Automated External Defibrillators (AED), Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), knowledge, education, training

Patricia Josipovic, RN, BN, MN, Director of Nursing, Werribee Terrace Aged Care, Victoria, Australia.
Michael Webb, B.App.Sc (Comp. Med‑Chiropractic), Senior Lecturer Division of Chiropractic, RMIT University, Victoria, Australia.
Ian Mc Grath, RN, B.AppSc, MN, Senior Lecturer Division of Nursing and Midwifery, RMIT University, Victoria, Australia. [email protected]

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Nurse practitioners in drug and alcohol: where are they?
The role of nurse practitioner encompasses advanced levels of practice with the potential to prescribe a range of medications within a recognised area of practice along with the use of appropriate ordering of pathology tests and referral practices. This paper introduces the nurse practitioner in drug and alcohol.

Key words: nurses, nurse practitioner, drug and alcohol, treatment, nurse prescribing

Stephen Ling, RN, NP, MRCNA, Drug and Alcohol Nurse Practitioner, Hunter New England Area Health Service. Conjoint Teacher, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. [email protected]

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E-portfolios: developing nurse practitioner competence and capability
This paper aims to integrate nurse practitioner literature on competence and capability with post graduate and nursing literature on e‑portfolios in order to demonstrate the potential merits of e-portfolios in nurse practitioner education for competence and capability development.

Key words: nurse practitioner education, competence, capability, e-Portfolio

Debra Anderson, RN, BA, GDNS (Ed), MNS, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Nursing, Director of Academic Programs (Postgraduate), Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Rd, Kelvin Grove QLD, Australia. [email protected]
Glenn Gardner, RN, PhD, FRCNA, Professor of Clinical Nursing, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and Queensland University of Technology, Director of the Centre for Clinical Nursing, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Rd, Kelvin Grove QLD, Australia. [email protected]
Jo Ramsbotham, RN, EM, Grad Cert (Adult Learning) MNS (Paediatric /Child Health), Lecturer, Postgraduate Subject Area Coordinator, Paediatric, Child and Youth Health Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Rd, Kelvin Grove QLD, Australia. [email protected]
Megan Tones, BPsych (Honours), Research Assistant, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Rd, Kelvin Grove QLD, Australia. [email protected]

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Couples perception regarding how lifestyle might affect fertility: results of a pilot study
There is evidence that lifestyle behaviours can adversely affect general health and reproductive performance. Despite this evidence a substantial proportion of the Australian population continue to ignore the importance of a ‘healthy lifestyle’.

Key words: lifestyle, infertile, perception, healthy child, couples

Gillian Homan, MN, BN Bed, RN, RM, Fertility Nurse Specialist. Master of Nursing, The Robinson Institute, School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health, Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medical School, University of Adelaide, South Australia. Repromed 180 Fullarton Rd Dulwich SA.
Professor Robert J Norman, MD, FRANZCOG, FRCPA, CREI, Director of the Robinson Institute, The Robinson Institute, School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health, Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medical School, University of Adelaide, South Australia.

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Comparison of the predictive validity among pressure ulcer risk assessment scales for surgical ICU patients
To compare the predictive validity of three pressure ulcer risk scales: the Braden scale; the Song and Choi scale; and the Cubbin and Jackson scale and to choose the most appropriate calculator for predicting pressure ulcer risk in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) in South Korea.

Key words: risk assessment, pressure ulcer, validity, intensive care unit

Eun-Kyung Kim, PhD, RN, Associate Professor, College of Nursing, Eulji University, Daejeon, Korea. [email protected]
Sun-Mi Lee, MSN, RN, Registered Nurse, Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Eulji University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
[email protected]
Eunpyo Lee, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Eulji University, Daejeon, Korea. [email protected]
Mi-Ran Eom, PhD, RN, Professor, College of Nursing, Eulji University, Daejeon, Korea. [email protected]

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