PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to explore and describe hospice palliative nurses' experience of caring for terminal cancer patients. METHODS: Eleven hospice palliative nurses participated in the study. Data were collected through individual in-depth unstructured interviews with participants from November, 2012 to October, 2013. Theoretical sampling was used to the point of theoretical saturation. Data were analyzed using Corbin and Strauss' 'Grounded Theory Method.' RESULTS: From open coding, 25 sub-categories and 12 categories were identified. Analysis revealed that the core category was 'becoming stepping-stones between life and death enduring burdens', consisting of three phases: the phase of withdrawal, the phase of exertion, and the phase of maturity. Through this process, participants utilized various action/interactional strategies such as 'maintaining a distance', 'sharing intimate daily life', 'being a mediator for a peaceful death', 'grieving and remembering'. The consequences of these strategies were a transcendental perspective towards life and ambivalent feelings toward hospice nursing. CONCLUSION: In-depth understanding of the hospice palliative nurses' experience of caring for terminal cancer patients will guide nurse managers and policy makers to promote effective nursing strategies to better support hospice palliative nurses.
Administrative Personnel ; Clinical Coding ; Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing ; Hospices* ; Humans ; Nurse Administrators ; Nursing ; Patient Care ; Qualitative Research ; Terminal Care

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing nursing students’ caring efficiency. Methods: This study included 212 nursing students from three University nursing departments in Busan metropolitan city. Data were collected from September 1 to September 29, 2021, using self-report questionnaires. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted with SPSS version 24.0. Results: Positive psychological capital and interpersonal competence on the relationship and character of nursing students were positively correlated with caring efficiency. The variables affecting the caring efficiency of the subjects were character (β=.60, p<.001), amount of participation in a character development program (5 times or more) (β=.16, p=.023), levels of stress (moderate β=.13, p=.037; low β=.15, p=.015), motivation to apply to a nursing program (β=.12, p=.024), and volunteer experience (β=.11, p=.038). The total explanatory power of the variables was 50.0% (F=14.69, p<.001). Conclusion Character was one of the biggest influential factors on caring efficiency. In order to improve nursing students' caring efficiency, above all, it is necessary to make efforts to raise the level of individual character.

Purpose: This systematic review aims to provide an overview of research related to grit among nursing college students in South Korea. Methods: A literature search was done using RISS, KISS, and KCI to identify studies written in Korean from 2010 to 2023. Results: A total of 210 articles were searched, and a final 26 articles were selected in the analysis based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Three researchers independently coded the characteristics and key content of each paper, including research objectives, methodology, study participants, grit measurement methods, and the relationship between grit and other variables. Subsequently, these coded findings were used to collectively analyze and derive overarching themes through discussion. The analysis results indicated that grit was influenced by factors such as academic major satisfaction, academic performance, and resilience. Grit was found to be a psychological factor affecting nursing students, influencing both major-related competencies and career-related factors. Conclusion The findings of this review contribute to a deeper understanding of grit within the specific demographic of nursing college students in South Korea and may inform future research and educational practices. In addition, this systematic review provides a comprehensive understanding of the literature on grit among nursing college students in South Korea and serves as a valuable resource for future research and educational interventions in this context.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify factors with nursing students's confidence in performing fundamental nursing skills. The focus was on professionalism and self-efficacy METHOD: For the sample 258 fourth graders of nursing students were recruited in two universities located in Gyeongnam or Ulsan. Data were analyzed using t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and hierarchical multiple regression. RESULTS: The mean score for confidence in performing fundamental nursing skills was 3.71±0.58. Nursing professionalism and self-efficacy were positively correlated with confidence in performing fundamental nursing skills. Analysis using multiple regression showed that 27% of factors predicting confidence in performance of fundamentals of nursing practice (F=16.43, p<.001) included nursing professionalism (β=.37, p<.001), self-expression (β=.15, p=.009), and self-efficacy (β=.14, p=.029). CONCLUSION: Findings show that nursing professionalism is one of the major factors influencing confidence in performing fundamental nursing skills. In order to improve the confidence in performing fundamental nursing skills, it is necessary to establish effective educational strategies that firmly enhance nursing professionalism and improve self-efficacy in nursing students.
Clinical Competence ; Humans ; Methods ; Nursing ; Professionalism ; Students, Nursing ; Ulsan

Purpose: This study presents a translation, cultural adaptation, and psychometric evaluation of two instruments of the Fertility Awareness and Attitudes Towards Parenthood (FAAP) questionnaire (Conditions and Life changes) for use in South Korea. Methods: This methodological study included 166 university students for psychometric evaluation in the sixth step. The first five steps included forward translation, backward translation, committee review, assessment of content validity, and a pre-test. In the sixth step, psychometric properties, including internal consistency, construct validity, and criterion validity, were evaluated. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to identify the structure of the tool and to assess its validity. Results: The Korean version showed acceptable internal consistency. Cronbach's ⍺ was .73 for FAAPC-conditions and .83 for FAAP-Life changes. FAAP-Conditions showed a four-factor structure (social conditions, relationship with partner, external environment, and child-rearing support) and FAAP-Life changes had a two-factor structure (reward and burden). In the confirmatory analysis, CMIN/DF, TLI, IFI, SRMR, CFI, and RMSEA were satisfactory. Conclusion This study provided preliminary evidence of the acceptability, reliability, and validity of the Korean version of the FAAP questionnaire in university students in South Korea. Nonetheless, further evaluation among Korean young adults is warranted to validate this instrument.

BACKGROUND: The useful tools for early diagnosis and diagnostic criteria need to be developed for controlling invasive aspergillosis (IA) which causes life-threatening conditions in high risk group such as immunocompromised hematology-oncology patients.METHODS: 103 cases of suspected IA on the ground of pathologic or Aspergillus Galactomannan (AG) test from March 2006 to March 2011 were reviewed. The patients with IA was classified into 4 groups 'Proven', 'Probable', ('Probable-1'), 'Possible' and 'Non' based on the criteria of European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses study Group (EORT/MSG) 2008 (and 2002).RESULTS: Of the 103 patients who underwent AG test, 16 cases were diagnosed as IA; 2 'Proven', 9 'Probable', 5 'Probable-1' and 4 'non' (false-positive). Underlying diseases were acute lymphoblastic leukemia (N=8), acute myeloid leukemia (N=5), severe aplastic anemia (N=4), neuroblastoma (N=2) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (N=1). Risk factors were severe neutropenia for 10 days (80%), prolonged use of steroid (70%), receipt of an allogeneic stem cell transplant (45%) and treatment with immunosuppressants (40%). Major involved organs of IA were lung (N=15) and sinus (N=1). Overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the AG test were 94%, 95%, 79% and 99%, respectively. The mortality of 16 patients with IA was 50%.CONCLUSION: A combined use of the AG test and modified criteria of EORT/MSG 2008 allows not only early diagnosis but also prompt classifying risk groups of IA so that proper antifungal agents were used in pediatric hematology-oncology patients.
Anemia, Aplastic ; Antifungal Agents ; Aspergillosis ; Aspergillus ; Early Diagnosis ; Hematology ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Lung ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Mannans ; Neuroblastoma ; Neutropenia ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Risk Factors ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stem Cells ; Transplants

Background: As the number of large-scale studies involving multiple organizations producing data has steadily increased, an integrated system for a common interoperable format is needed. In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a number of global efforts are underway to develop vaccines and therapeutics. We are therefore observing an explosion in the proliferation of COVID-19 data, and interoperability is highly requested in multiple institutions participating simultaneously in COVID-19 pandemic research. Results: In this study, a laboratory information management system (LIMS) approach has been adopted to systemically manage various COVID-19 non-clinical trial data, including mortality, clinical signs, body weight, body temperature, organ weights, viral titer (viral replication and viral RNA), and multiorgan histopathology, from multiple institutions based on a web interface. The main aim of the implemented system is to integrate, standardize, and organize data collected from laboratories in multiple institutes for COVID-19 non-clinical efficacy testings. Six animal biosafety level 3 institutions proved the feasibility of our system. Substantial benefits were shown by maximizing collaborative high-quality non-clinical research. Conclusions This LIMS platform can be used for future outbreaks, leading to accelerated medical product development through the systematic management of extensive data from non-clinical animal studies.