Lauren Arnold

High School Students' Perceptions of Nursing as a Career: A Pilot Study

A pilot survey of 300 high school junior students was implemented to elicit their perceptions of nursing and to explore the relationship between the experience of having a nursing role model and the decision to consider nursing as a career. The results indicated that the majority of students in the sample were aware of the caring and helping aspects of nursing, but there seemed to be a lack of knowledge about expanded roles and opportunities for advancement. High school students had significantly different mean opinion scores according to their sex (F = 17.03, p less than 0001) and the decision to consider nursing as a career (F = 10.00, p less than 002). There appeared to be a significant relationship between the experience of having a nurse role model and consideration of nursing as a career option (chi 2 = 8.23, p less than .0041). These findings have important implications for recruitment of young people into the nursing profession.

Taxonomic classification of transitional follow-up care nursing interventions with low birthweight infants.

AS NEW MODELS of nursing care have merged, the need to understand the scope and content of nursing practice has increased. The domain of transitional follow-up nursing, an innovative model, was described by classification of nursing interventions according to the Taxonomy of Ambulatory Care Nursing. Content analysis of records of interventions employed by nurse specialists in the transitional follow-up care of very low birthweight infants yielded results that confirm the appropriateness of the Taxonomy of Ambulatory Care Nursing as a descriptor of transitional follow-up care.

The perinatal evaluation center: a nurse practitioner service delivery model.

Efforts to reduce overall health care costs, improve efficiency and enhance patient and provider satisfaction have stimulated the design and evaluation of new models of practice. The Perinatal Evaluation Center, a nurse practitioner-staffed service providing triage and evaluation for obstetrical patients, was developed to address the competing demands of health care redesign. The service has yielded improved outcomes in measures of efficiency and satisfaction.

Incidence and pattern of jaundice in healthy breast-fed infants during the first month of life

The incidence and pattern of jaundice in 155 normal, full-term, breast-fed, white infants was examined. Infants were screened for jaundice on Days 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 following birth using transcutaneous bilirubinometry (TcB). By Day 3, 49.7% of the infants were classified as jaundiced (> 10 mg/dl). Infants with low TcB indices on Days 2, 3, and 5 never developed jaundice as indicated by elevated TcB indices on Days 7, 9, 11, and 13. Hence, it may be possible to target infants at risk for severe jaundice prior to discharge. The observed rate of 10.3% for breast-milk jaundice (jaundice present at Day 13) is significantly higher than the highest reported rate of 2.4% (z = 6.43, p < .01). Furthermore, the pattern of jaundice in these infants does not appear to have two peaks, indicating that it is not possible to distinguish between exaggerated physiologic jaundice and breast-milk jaundice using TcB.

The State of Perinatal Nursing: Current and Future Profiles as Described by Perinatal Nursing Service Directors

The health care industry is in the throes of remarkably penetrating and destabilizing change, the effects of which have been felt earliest by perinatal service directors. In anticipation of future trends marked by rampant change, a survey of perinatal service directors and vice presidents was conducted to elicit their opinions about the current and future states of perinatal health care. Findings supported the notions that change is a constant, that clinical and service excellence is a mandate, and that collaboration is key. Future success will require many old behaviors and systems to be replaced. Leadership to guide us to the future has never been more important.

Transcutaneous Bilirubinometer: An Instrument for Clinical Research

The transcutaneous bilirubinometer can be an effective instrument for clinical research. With neonatal jaundice occurring in approximately 50–75% of newborns, nurse researchers investigating many important issues surrounding this commonly occurring condition will find the bilirubinometer useful in screening for jaundice, testing effectiveness of various therapeutic modalities, and evaluating clinical progress. This article presents a review of the literature reporting reliability and validity of meter findings and makes recommendations for meter use.

Transforming a Health Care System by Transforming Professional Practice: A Conversation with Gail Wolf, RN, DNS, FAAN

Lauren Shields Arnold, PhD, RN Health Care and Life Sciences Consulting CAP Gemini Enest & Young, LLC Philadelphia, Pennsylvania At the dawn of a new century we find ourselves challenged as never before to define new models of care that will address the ever more complex health care needs of individuals and society. And no less challenging is the requirement that these new models of care dynamically respond to the aggressive demands of market forces. Nursing now finds itself at the fulcrum of the health care industry. It is central to the many components of industry sectors, from hospitals to home care, from primary care to population-based disease management, from health systems to pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Without a strong nursing product, few of the health industry’s components are possible. Yet even knowing this, many nursing leaders struggle to position the nursing service organizations for which they have responsibility, thereby failing to garner adequate resources and organizational investment to build a strong nursing product. The tension between cost and caring drives many nursing organizations to the