PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to evaluate nursing students' perceptions of their educational environment in a private college. Perceptions were compared between genders and 2 bachelor's programs. METHODS: A total of 219 students participated in this study, drawn from the Generic Bachelor of Science in Nursing (GBSN) and the Post-Registered Nurse Bachelor of Science in Nursing (PRBSN) programs of the Shifa College of Nursing, Islamabad, Pakistan. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure was utilized for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate total scores, as well as means and standard deviations, and the t-test was applied for comparisons according to program and gender. RESULTS: The overall total mean score (119 of 200) is suggestive of more positive than negative perceptions of the educational environment. The mean score of 13 of 28 on the social self-perception subscale suggests that the social environment was felt to be ‘not a nice place. The t-test revealed more positive perceptions among students enrolled in the PRBSN program (P<0.0001) than among those enrolled in the GBSN program and more positive perceptions among female students than among male students (P<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Commonalities and differences were found in the perceptions of the nursing students. Both positive and negative perceptions were reported; the overall sense of a positive environment was present, but the social component requires immediate attention, along with other unsatisfactory components. Establishing a supportive environment conducive to competence-based learning would play an important role in bringing desirable changes to the educational environment.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Data Collection ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Learning ; Male ; Nursing* ; Pakistan* ; Self Concept ; Social Environment ; Social Perception ; Students, Nursing

Background/aims: Crohn's disease (CD) results in significant morbidity, mortality, and healthcare burden. This study evaluated the temporal trends of CD hospitalizations with a fistula over the last decade to understand the outcomes of severe CD. Methods: National Inpatient Sample database from 2009 to 2019 was used to identify CD hospitalizations with a fistula. The outcomes of interest included temporal trend analysis of length of stay (LOS), mean inpatient cost (MIC), and mortality. Results: There was an increase in the total number of fistulizing CD hospitalizations from 5,386 in 2009 to 12,900 in 2019 (p<0.01). The mean age decreased from 44.9±0.6 to 41.8±0.4 years for the study period (p<0.01). Caucasians were the predominant ethnicity, followed by Africans, Hispanics, and others (p<0.001). The mean LOS for fistulizing CD hospitalizations decreased significantly from 11.57±0.09 days in 2009 to 7.20±0.05 days in 2019 (p<0.001). There was a significant decrease in inpatient mortality from 1.72% in 2009 to 0.73% in 2019 (p<0.01). The MIC did not have a significant trend. There was a decreasing trend toward partial/total colectomies, rectosigmoid, and small bowel surgeries from 2009 to 2019 (p<0.001). Conclusions There has been a rise in CD hospitalizations with fistulizing disease in the last decade. Despite this, the mortality and inpatient LOS have been decreasing significantly. In addition, the increase in CD hospitalizations with fistulizing disease has had no significant effect on hospital costs.

This report describes an approach to recover SARS-CoV-2 RNA from rapid antigen test kit (RTK-antigen) cassettes for whole-genome sequencing (WGS). RNA samples were recovered from 33 RTK-antigen cassettes for WGS, with 18 samples achieving more than 80% genome coverage. This work provides a proof-of-concept that positive RTK-antigen cassettes can be safely transported, stored and subjected to WGS, enabling swift identification of circulating variants.