Tom Olson

Poems, patients, and psychosocial nursing.

1. Holism can prove just as elusive in psychosocial nursing as in any other specialty area. 2. Students in an undergraduate psychosocial nursing course used poetry to express the fullness of the situations in which they found themselves. 3. The poems touched a deeper and more complete sense of humanity than had been possible in other, more traditional, assignments.

Fundamental and special: the dilemma of psychiatric-mental health nursing.

This article explores the tension between defining psychiatric-mental health nursing as fundamental to the discipline yet also special, an historic dilemma that continues to influence efforts to establish a secure place for the specialty. Analysis focuses on the formative work of three pioneers in this field, using primary and secondary documents in the archives of the Center for The Study of The History of Nursing. The findings of this research indicate that early reliance on interpersonal theory provided an uncertain basis for differentiating psychiatric-mental health nursing from other areas of nursing practice.

ASSESSMENT OF ACUTELY MENTALLY ILL PATIENTS' SATISFACTION OF CARE: THERE IS A DIFFERENCE AMONG ETHNIC GROUPS

The relationship between quality of care and patient satisfaction has been documented. The specific research aim related to this study is to determine if differences exist among Caucasians, Asians, and Pacific Islanders who are hospitalized for an acute mental illness with regard to their perceived satisfaction with the care. The results of the overall study have been reported elsewhere. The sample was composed of 138 patients, of whom 34.7% were Caucasian, 31.2% Pacific Islanders, and 34.8% Asians. Within 24 hours of discharge, patients completed the Perceptions of Care instrument. Caucasians were over-represented in our sample in comparison to their percentage in the general population of Hawaii. These patients were significantly more satisfied (p = .04) with their care than the other ethnic groups. No single variable was found to specifically indicate why they were more satisfied than Pacific Islanders and Asians.

Buddhism, Behavior Change, and OCD

For individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), the difficulty of their situation comes as no surprise. But what might be less expected is how directly their situation is spoken to in Buddhist teachings. Still, in nearly all mainstream discussions of psychiatric disorders, including OCD, the rich philosophical and spiritual dimensions of these conditions and the related treatment and care tend to be either ignored or disguised in euphemisms and vague explanations. This article sheds light on this hidden aspect of psychiatry and psychiatric nursing through a philosophical analysis of one of the most popular approaches to treating OCD, Schwartzs four-step method from Brain Lock. In so doing, the argument is made that sharing the philosophical and spiritual foundations of treatment and care promises not only to deepen the insights and skills of clinicians but also to empower clients as participants in their own journeys toward wellness and beyond.

From primetime to paradise: the lived experience of OCD in Hawaii.

The primary aim of this qualitative study was to describe the lived experiences of men and women in Hawaii who were diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and in so doing to provide an avenue for exploring health disparities involving this illness. Ten in-depth interviews revealed distinguishable similarities and differences in experiences of obsessive-compulsive disorder and suggested ways of understanding these similarities and differences. This research emphasized that in order to address disparities between the diagnosis and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, as compared to other neurobiological disorders, we must meet the critical need for education about this illness among clients, families, and clinicians.

Numbers, narratives, and nursing history

Abstract This work is intended to foster dialogue on moving beyond a nearly uniform reliance on purely qualitative accounts, in the form of narratives, to portray nursing’s past. To this end, this work demonstrates the manner in which one type of quantitative approach broadened understanding of the relative importance of educational background as a factor in completing training among women who entered an early hospital-based nursing program. Primary source data includes detailed records from a Midwestern hospital school of nursing, covering the period from 1897 to 1937. In regard to educational background, this research suggests that a high school diploma was not an asset in completing training. Concerning the larger methodological issue, it emphasizes that progress in nursing history, as in other areas of social science research, demands that we use all of our abilities for quantitative and qualitative understanding.

Ethnicity, Marginalisation and Mental Illness in Hawaii

This study examines the characteristics, treatment and care of severely and persistently mentally ill patients at Hawaiis largest public sector psychiatric facility, Hawaii State Hospital. The implications of this information are then discussed, in terms of treatment and care. Consistent with previous studies, the 88 patients included in this study were most often male, less than 40 years of age, with a high school education or less, and hospitalized under a penal code. More remarkable variations were revealed, however, when patients were grouped according to ethnicity and racial origin. For example, patients from marginalised groups had a significantly higher likelihood of violence than patients from more politically, economically and socially powerful groups in Hawaii. The findings of this research challenge health care providers in general, and nurses in particular, to combine social advocacy with clinical expertise to ensure that patients receive effective and complete treatment and care.

Balancing theory and practice in nursing education: Case study of a historic struggle☆

Abstract A struggle is ongoing in nursing education to achieve the ideal balance between time spent in theory, or classroom instruction, and time spent in practice, that is, caring for clients. The aim of the research described in this article was to better understand the roots of this struggle.

Severely and persistently mentally ill in Hawaii: profile and implications.

This study examines the characteristics, treatment, and care of severely and persistently mentally ill clients at Hawaiis largest public-sector psychiatric facility, Hawaii State Hospital. The implications of this information are discussed in terms of treatment and care. As was found in previous studies, the 88 participants included in this study were mostly male, less than 40 years of age, with a high school education or less, and hospitalized under a penal code. More remarkable variations were revealed, however, when clients were grouped according to ethnicity and racial origin. For example, clients from marginalized groups had a significantly higher likelihood of violence than clients from more politically, economically, and socially powerful groups in Hawaii. The findings of this research challenge nurses to combine social advocacy with clinical expertise to provide effective and complete treatment and care.

Recreating past separations and the employment pattern of nurses, 1900-1940.

This article explores the roots of nursings ongoing definitional struggle, during the formative period 1900 to 1940, by examining changes in the employment pattern of early nurses.