BACKGROUND: A large proportion of nursing students experience challenges related to internet addiction and cyberchondria, the intensification of health anxiety through excessive online health-related searching. Poor slee...BACKGROUND: A large proportion of nursing students experience challenges related to internet addiction and cyberchondria, the intensification of health anxiety through excessive online health-related searching. Poor sleep quality may exacerbate the relationship between cyberchondria severity and internet addiction. PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the associations between internet addiction, sleep quality, and cyberchondria severity in nursing students. METHODS: A web-based, cross-sectional, and correlational research design was used. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Cyberchondria Severity Scale, Internet Addiction Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Analyses were conducted using jamovi 2.3.28 software. Harman's single-factor test, descriptive analyses, correlation analyses, and mediation analyses were applied. RESULTS: Sleep quality was good in 41.7% of the 360 participants and poor in 58.3%. The level of internet addiction and the severity of cyberchondria varied according to good and poor sleep quality (Mann-Whitney U = -2.78, P = 0.06 and t = -3.10, P = 0.002, respectively). Mediation analysis showed that sleep disturbance mediated the statistical association between internet addiction and cyberchondria severity (β = 0.02, P = 0.046). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that sleep disturbance may contribute to both increased cyberchondria severity and heightened internet addiction among nursing students, underscoring the importance of addressing sleep quality in this population.
Nurses practicing in extreme environments, from disaster zones and conflict settings to maritime and alpine environments and to underserved rural areas, must navigate complex clinical demands with limited resources. Trad...Nurses practicing in extreme environments, from disaster zones and conflict settings to maritime and alpine environments and to underserved rural areas, must navigate complex clinical demands with limited resources. Traditional needs-based assessments, while essential for emergency triage, often overlook existing community strengths that can support recovery. Assets-based assessment offers a complementary framework rooted in resilience, trauma-informed care, and strengths-based nursing, emphasizing what individuals and communities can do rather than what they lack. This article explores the theoretical foundations, practical applications, and contextual considerations of assets-based assessment by nurses working in extreme environments and seeks to shift the prevailing narrative in crisis nursing from deficit-focused care toward strength-oriented, culturally responsive, and empowering models of practice.
This case report follows M.K., a 31-year-old man with spastic paraplegia who sustained a second-degree skin burn after his mobile phone charger cord was trapped beneath his back while hospitalized. This led to complicati...This case report follows M.K., a 31-year-old man with spastic paraplegia who sustained a second-degree skin burn after his mobile phone charger cord was trapped beneath his back while hospitalized. This led to complications that necessitated three hospitalizations, multiple surgical interventions, and treatment for a hospital-acquired infection caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria. Nearly every patient brings a mobile phone (and, often, a charger) into the hospital, and the use of these and other electronic devices carries risks. Although numerous media and medical publications have reported serious and even fatal injuries caused by mobile phones and their chargers in domestic settings, reports of such incidents in hospitals remain scarce. This case study discusses the authors' experience in addressing various patient safety and risk management issues associated with patients' use of mobile phone chargers in a general hospital setting.
BACKGROUND: Burn care is a vital nursing specialty currently facing significant workforce challenges, as many burn nurses are leaving the field and attracting new talent is increasingly difficult. The underlying reasons...BACKGROUND: Burn care is a vital nursing specialty currently facing significant workforce challenges, as many burn nurses are leaving the field and attracting new talent is increasingly difficult. The underlying reasons for this trend are unclear, but limited exposure to burn care during training may be a contributing factor. PURPOSE: We aimed to develop and evaluate a burn-focused curriculum for nursing students to increase interest, knowledge, and readiness to pursue burn nursing careers. METHODS: Twenty nursing students in their final semester were randomly selected to participate in an educational intervention consisting of a one-hour, burn-focused lecture and a two-day shadowing experience at an urban burn center. Students observed burn surgeries, participated in wound care, attended multidisciplinary rounds, and visited the outpatient clinic. A multiple-choice quiz was completed before and after the lecture. Pre- and postexperience surveys assessed the nursing students' interest in burn nursing and wound care, comfort with burn care, perceived understanding of burn management, and likelihood of pursuing a career in burn nursing. Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used for analysis. RESULTS: Most students initially expressed interest in working in ICU, ED, or operating room settings, with 85% reporting no prior exposure to burn-related content. Common barriers to considering burn nursing included a lack of exposure and concerns about the emotional toll. After the intervention, students showed significant increases in interest in burn nursing (P = 0.007), comfort with burn care (P = 0.008), and perceived understanding of burn management (P < 0.001). Quiz scores significantly increased from 62% before the lecture to 86% afterward (P < 0.001), and the likelihood of pursuing a burn nursing career increased from 30% before the two-day shadowing experience to 85% afterward (P < 0.001). Interest in wound care remained unchanged (P = 0.53). CONCLUSION: Early exposure to burn care through targeted education and clinical experiences may increase nursing students' interest in and preparedness for careers in burn nursing, addressing a critical workforce gap.
Over the past decade, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become a transformative intervention for patients with aortic stenosis (AS). With a minimally invasive approach, TAVR reduces overall risks to the p...Over the past decade, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become a transformative intervention for patients with aortic stenosis (AS). With a minimally invasive approach, TAVR reduces overall risks to the patient compared to the traditional surgical aortic valve replacement. Improvements in technology, training, and access to registered TAVR-designated sites, as well as the high success rate of the procedure, have turned TAVR from a novel approach into the preferred, first-line treatment for patients with AS. The purpose of this review article is to educate RNs and advanced practice RNs (APRNs, including NPs, clinical nurse specialists, anesthetists, and midwives) on the current evidence-based approaches to evaluation, diagnosis, and management of AS before and after TAVR, as well as the evolving role of TAVR in the treatment of AS. Given that TAVR has become the mainstay of treatment for AS, there is a need for RNs and APRNs to be experts in the evidence-based practice guidelines for evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of this potentially deadly disease.
BACKGROUND: As the U.S. population becomes increasingly diverse, the persistent underrepresentation of dark skin tones in nursing educational materials constitutes a critical concern. The foundational textbooks used in p...BACKGROUND: As the U.S. population becomes increasingly diverse, the persistent underrepresentation of dark skin tones in nursing educational materials constitutes a critical concern. The foundational textbooks used in prelicensure nursing programs often fail to illustrate how clinical conditions present on darker skin, thereby undermining students' assessment and diagnostic competence and perpetuating health care disparities. PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate how prelicensure nursing textbooks visually represent clinical conditions across diverse skin tones, with a focus on the extent to which dark skin tone images are included and the implications of this for diagnostic preparedness. METHODS: This quantitative, image-based study analyzed photographic and graphic (drawn or computer-generated) images from 23 chapters in 13 widely used prelicensure nursing textbooks. Images were categorized by skin tone using the Fitzpatrick skin phototype scale and evaluated for the clear depiction of clinical conditions. Interrater reliability was assessed using Cohen κ, which yielded values between 0.78 and 1.00, indicating substantial to perfect agreement. RESULTS: Of the 1,116 images reviewed, only 7% depicted dark skin, while 76% depicted light skin. Of the 432 photographs representing clinical conditions, 10% featured dark skin. Graphic illustrations reflected even greater disparities, with only 2% showing dark skin. Conditions for which diagnosis relies heavily on visual assessment, such as cellulitis, melanoma, and allergic reactions, were rarely depicted on dark skin. Nearly half of all photographic images did not depict a discernible clinical condition. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies a pervasive visual bias in nursing textbooks that privileges light skin as the clinical norm. The underrepresentation of dark skin perpetuates structural inequities in health care education and decreases nurses' ability to recognize clinical conditions across diverse populations. Nursing curricula must be intentionally revised to include clinically accurate imagery across all skin tones. Doing so warrants priority status as part of nurses' professional and ethical commitment to health equity and patient safety.