PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify effects of a refresher program for inactive nurses on nursing professionalism and nursing clinical self-efficacy. METHODS: A pre-experimental design with one group pretest-posttest was used. The refresher program consisted of 150 hours and was provided to inactive nurses who were recruited from a refresher program at S institute. Eighty inactive nurses participated in the study. Data were collected between June and November 2009. To evaluate the effectiveness of the refresher program, researchers explored participants' nursing professionalism and nursing clinical self-efficacy through self-evaluation questionnaire before and after the refresher program. RESULTS: The refresher program was effective in increasing nursing clinical self-efficacy for inactive nurses (p<.001). However, no significant increase was found in nursing professionalism after completing the program. CONCLUSION: The refresher program had a positive impact on increasing the nursing clinical self-efficacy for inactive nurses.
Diagnostic Self Evaluation ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: This study was designed to analyze the results of echocardiographic findings in children with heart murmur detected at mass health screening in Kyeong-Nam province. METHODS: Between 1996 and 2001, children with heart murmur underwent the echocardiographic examination at Gyoeongsang National University Hospital. RESULTS: The number of children examined was 129 in 1996, 26 in 1997, 44 in 1998, 61 in 1999, 60 in 2000, and 49 in 2001. By the echocardiographic examination, innocent murmur was the most commonly diagnosed(31-65%) and ventricular septal defect(VSD) was the most common cardiac defect. Between 1996 and 1998, complex cyanotic heart diseases were more frequent. The number of patients undergoing surgical treatment was 9 in 1996, 10 in 1997, 7 in 1998, 5 in 1999, 2 in 2000, and 2 in 2001. CONCLUSION: By the echocardiographic examination, functional murmur was the most commonly diagnosed and VSD was the most common cardiac defect. Currently, heart defects detected tend to be more simple and the surgical treatment needed seems to decrease in number.
Child* ; Echocardiography* ; Heart Diseases ; Heart Murmurs* ; Heart* ; Humans ; Mass Screening*

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of tailored case management using a gatekeeper on depression and life satisfaction in the single-household elderly population. METHODS: The design of Quasi experiment was applied to compare the variables before and after the management. Ninety-seven people who had depression categorized by the Korean Geriatric Depression Scale. RESULTS: Depression (t=11.22, p<.001) and life satisfaction (t=-5.36, p<.001) were improved after management in comparison to the results of pre-tests, and the differences were statistically significant. The difference in the pre-test and post-test scores of the support system (chi2=13.89, p<.001) were significant, while the differences in the perception of depression (chi2=.02, p=.891) and coping methods (chi2=.34, p=.558) were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Tailored case management using a gatekeeper is effective to reduce the degree of depression and improve life satisfaction in the single-household elderly population having depression. This study offers a model of individualized as well as systemic mental health care for the community of single-house hold elderly people as an effective means for prevention of and early intervention in depression.
Aged ; Case Management ; Depression ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Gatekeeping ; Humans ; Mental Health

PURPOSE: Patient-centred care can increase patient satisfaction and lead to better clinical outcomes for them, such as improved physical status and higher health-related quality of life. However, doctors' and patients' views on patient-centred attitude might differ and could be affected by culture and the community environment. To clarify the differences in primary care patients' and senior medical students' perceptions of medical students' patient-centred attitude. METHODS: A total of 1,025 subjects-827 patients from primary care institutions and 198 fourth-year medical students from a medical college in South Korea-completed the Patient Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS). The students completed the self-reported questionnaire at the end of their clinical clerkship. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and one-way analysis of variances were conducted in SPSS version 21.0. RESULTS: Firstly, sharing subscale scores were higher among patients than among medical students (students, 3.61 vs. patients, 3.76; p<0.001), but secondly, caring subscale scores were higher among medical students (students, 4.18 vs. patients, 3.82; p<0.001). Thirdly, PPOS total scores were higher among medical students (students, 3.90 vs. patients, 3.79; p=0.001). Finally, male students had the lowest sharing scores (F=6.811, p<0.001) and female students showed the highest PPOS total scores (F=5.805, p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Significant differences between medical students' and patients' perceptions of medical students' patient-centred attitudes suggest the necessity of educational efforts to overcome the gap between the groups.
Clinical Clerkship ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Patient Satisfaction ; Physician-Patient Relations ; Primary Health Care ; Quality of Life ; Students, Medical

No abstract available.
Humans ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae* ; Mycoplasma* ; Pneumonia* ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma*

PURPOSE: This study is aimed to investigate perceptions of caregivers and medical staff toward do not resuscitate (DNR) and advance directives (AD). METHODS: Participants were 141 caregivers and 272 medical staff members from five general hospitals. A questionnaire used for the study consisted of 20 items: 14 about DNR perceptions, three about AD, one each for age, gender and employment. RESULTS: Both medical staff and caregivers strongly recognized the need for DNR and AD, and the level of recognition was higher with medical staff than caregivers (DNR chi2=44.56, P=0.001; AD chi2=16.23, P=0.001). The main reason for the recognition was to alleviate sufferings of patients in the terminal phase. In most cases, DNR and AD were filled out when patients with terminal conditions were admitted, and patients made the decisions by consulting with their guardians. Medical staff better recognized the need and for growing demand for guidelines for the DNR and AD decision making process than caregivers (chi2=7.41, P=0.0025). CONCLUSION: This study showed that patients highly rely on their caregivers when making decisions for DNR and AD. Thus, it is important that patients and caregivers are provided with objective information about the decisions. Since participants' strong support for DNR and AD was mainly aimed at alleviating patients' suffering, further study is needed in the association with hospice care. Medical staff also needs to understand the different views held by caregivers and fully consider the disparity when informing patients/caregivers to make the DNR and AD decisions.
Advance Directive Adherence ; Advance Directives ; Caregivers* ; Decision Making ; Employment ; Hospice Care ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Medical Staff* ; Personnel, Hospital ; Resuscitation Orders ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Arm* ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 14*

BACKGROUND: Airway obstruction due to blood clot occurs unusually but in a variety of clinical settings. Initial efforts for removal of the endobronchial blood clot involve flexible bronchoscopic evaluation with saline lavage and suctioning and then forceps extraction. If unsuccessful, further options include rigid bronchoscopy, Fogarty catheter dislogement of the clot, and topical thrombolytic agents. The several successful uses of endobronchial streptokinase or urokinase to dissolve an endobronchial blood clot have been previously reported, but not yet in Korea. Herein we describe a 51-year old man with superior vena cava thrombosis secondary to Behcet's disease who experienced life threatening airway obstruction after hemoptysis due to a large organized blood clot in left main bronchus. Urokinase(260,000 U), injected through a fiberoptic bronchoscope, totally dissolved the clot. No complications occured.
Airway Obstruction ; Bronchi ; Bronchoscopes ; Bronchoscopy ; Catheters ; Fibrinolytic Agents ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Streptokinase ; Suction ; Superior Vena Cava Syndrome ; Surgical Instruments ; Therapeutic Irrigation ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator*

Analyses were done on one hudred and twenty caaes of bleeding gastric ulcers diagnosed by emergency endoscopy for the past five years. The reaults are as the following: Much more cases were found in male than female and the most prevalent age group was 6th decade. The body of stomach along the lesser curvature was the most common bleeding site. No age related difference was noted in bleeding sites. Most common type of ulcer was in the round and shallow form. Five of six cases with exposed vessels showed atrophic changes in surrounding mucosa. Among the probable precipitating factors, analgesica, alcohols and certicosteroids were found in such order,
Alcohols ; Emergencies ; Endoscopy ; Female ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Male ; Mucous Membrane ; Precipitating Factors ; Stomach ; Stomach Ulcer* ; Ulcer

The present study was aimed at investigating the effect of cyclosporine A (CsA) on the renal renin-angiotensin systems. In rats chronically treated with CsA, the intrarenal expression of various genes of the renin-angiotensin system was assessed by Northern blot analysis. Along with the increases in plasma and renal renin activities, chronic CsA-treatment differentially affected the renal expression of renin-angiotensin system. The treatment with CsA for one week did not significantly alter the expression of either type 1 angiotensin II receptor (AT1A) or angiotensinogen gene, but increased the renin mRNA level. The three-week-treatment caused increases in the expression not only of renin but also of AT1A and angiotensinogen genes. Supplementation with L-arginine kept the expression of renin mRNA normal in the one-week-treated, but failed to prevent the alterations of the gene expression in the three-week-treated. Feedback control among components of the renin-angiotensin system also influences angiotesinogen. In the liver, the expression of angiotensinogen mRNA was decreased by the CsA-treatment for either one- or three-weeks. In conclusion, chronic CsA-treatment is associated with a differential expression of various genes for the renin-angiotensin system. L-Arginine may be effective in maintaining the normality of renin-angiotensin system only during early period after beginning the use of CsA.
Angiotensinogen ; Animals ; Arginine ; Blotting, Northern ; Cyclosporine* ; Gene Expression ; Liver ; Plasma ; Rats ; Receptors, Angiotensin ; Renin ; Renin-Angiotensin System* ; RNA, Messenger