Kyeong Yae Sohng

The professional self concept of Korean hospital nurses

From a background of strong North American influence in a country with deeply embedded customs, a collaborative study was initiated to examine and communicate to the international nursing community some of the characteristics and features of Korean nurses. Seven hundred Korean hospital nurses were administered an instrument aimed at examining their professional self concept, their self esteem and related demographic variables. Older, married graduates and those with more than 12 years nursing experience reported a higher professional self concept than their younger, unmarried, diploma and less experienced colleagues. Of concern was the small number (6%) of graduates who were over 35 years of age and who had worked for over 12 years. Useful information for clinicians, educators and nurse administrators is provided and useful data for future research to compare nursing samples, is offered. The instruments used in the study proved reliable and useful as a measure for examining the self-esteem and professional self concept of nurses.

Gluteal Subcutaneous Fat Thickness Measured by Computed Tomography as an Estimate of Proper Gluteal Intramuscular Injections in Korean Adults

PURPOSE To study the thickness of gluteal subcutaneous fat (SCF) and propose an adequate length for needle for gluteal intramuscular injections based on computed tomography (CT) measurements. METHODS The thickness of gluteal SCF were measured and studied for 568 patients who visited a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea between January 2007 and February 2009 for routine health screening and who had abdominopelvic CT. RESULTS The average thickness of gluteal SCF was 15.92+/-4.08 mm in males and 24.90+/-5.47 mm in females. The thickness of gluteal SCF differed significantly according to gender. The gluteal SCF thickness was greater than 20.4 mm for 54 (12.3%) of the 440 male patients and 99 (77.3%) of the 128 female patients. CONCLUSION The most common syringe needle used for gluteal intramuscular injections in Korea is a 23 G, 25.4 mm-needle. The SCF thickness must be less than 20.4 mm in order to reach the dorsogluteal muscles to a depth of at least 5 mm if this 25.4 mm needle is used. In many patients, especially in female patients, the 25.4 mm needles will result in improper intramuscular injections with the injection being into the SCF. Therefore an appropriate needle should be selected by considering the gender and SCF thickness of patients receiving gluteal intramuscular injections.