PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to examine the associations among moral reasoning, empathy, communication self-efficacy, and moral sensitivity and to determine predictors of nurses' moral sensitivity. METHODS: Data were collected from 194 nurses in the Republic of Korea. Structured questionnaires consisted of the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire, Defining Issues Test, Jefferson Scale of Empathy, and Counseling Self-Estimate Inventory. The collected data were analyzed using t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and hierarchical regression analysis using SPSS ver. 21. RESULTS: Nurses' moral sensitivities were significantly associated with frequency of ethical education, empathy, and communication self-efficacy. In hierarchical multiple regression models, the significant factors of nurses' moral sensitivity were age (β=.21, p=.044), the frequency of experience in ethics education (β=.18, p=.007), empathy (β=.32, p < .001), and communication self-efficacy (β=.25, p=.001), which explained 33.2% of the variance in nurses' moral sensitivity. CONCLUSION: Our study findings show that nurses' moral sensitivity could be enhanced by more frequent ethics education programs. In addition, nursing ethics education might be developed to include potential strategies to improve empathy and self-efficacy in communication for high levels of moral sensitivity in nurses.
Counseling ; Education ; Empathy ; Ethics ; Ethics, Nursing ; Moral Development ; Morals ; Republic of Korea

PURPOSE: The early surgical outcomes of endoscopic thyroidectomy in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) are comparable to those of conventional open thyroidectomy; however, there is little evidence about long-term outcomes. The aim of this study was to compare the 5-year surgical outcomes of endoscopic versus open thyroidectomy. METHODS: We reviewed 804 patients with PTC who underwent thyroidectomy between October 2008 and October 2010. Of these, 703 patients received conventional open thyroidectomy (OT group) and 101patients underwent endoscopic thyroidectomy (ET group). The clinicopathologic characteristics and surgical outcomes were compared between those treatments. RESULTS: ET was applied significantly more often in young patients and females. The lobectomy and unilateral CCND were performed more frequently in ET, and the mean tumor size was smaller. The prevalence of extrathyroidal extension, multiplicity, and lymphatic invasion was more frequent in OT. The T and TNM stage were more advanced in OT, whereas the N status was similar between treatments. The mean surgical time was significantly longer for ET, while the number of retrieved lymph nodes was greater in OT. However, the stimulated thyroglobulin levels at first RAI ablation, total amount of RAI administration and 5-year recurrence rate did not significantly differ between groups. The incidence of transient hypocalcemia was significantly higher in OT, but the incidence of permanent hypocalcemia and transient/permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve injury were similar in both groups. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic thyroidectomy might be a safe and effective procedure in well-selected PTC patients
Female ; Humans ; Hypocalcemia ; Incidence ; Lymph Nodes ; Operative Time ; Prevalence ; Recurrence ; Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Injuries ; Thyroglobulin ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms* ; Thyroidectomy*

BACKGROUND: The nationwide statistical analysis of hematologic malignancies in Korea has not been reported yet. METHODS: The Korea Central Cancer Registry and the Korean Society of Hematology jointly investigated domestic incidence rates and prevalence of hematologic malignancies occurred between 1999 and 2008, and analyzed survival rates of patients who were diagnosed between 1993 and 2008. Data of hematologic malignancies from 1993 to 2008 were obtained from the Korean National Cancer Incidence Data base. The crude incidence rates, age-specific incidence rates, age-standardized incidence rates, annual percentage change of incidence, and prevalence from 1999-2008 were calculated. Survival rates for patients diagnosed in 1993-2008 were estimated. RESULTS: In 2008, a total of 8,006 cases of hematologic malignancies were occurred, which comprised 4.5% of all malignancies. In all genders, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloid leukemia, and multiple myeloma were most frequent diseases. In terms of age, ages between 60 and 69 were most prevalent. From 1999 to 2008, the age-standardized incidence rates increased from 10.2 to 13.7, and the annual percentage change was 3.9%. The 5-year survival rate increased from 38.2% during 1993-1995 to 55.2% during 2004-2008. As of January 2009, number of patients with 10-year prevalence was 33,130, and with 5- to 10-year prevalence was 10,515. CONCLUSION: This is the first nationwide statistical report of hematologic malignancies in Korea. It could be used as the basic information to help investigate epidemiologic characteristics, evaluate progress during the past years, and establish future strategies for hematologic malignancies. Periodic statistical analysis of hematologic malignancies in Korea should be continued.
Hematologic Neoplasms ; Hematology ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Leukemia, Myeloid ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Multiple Myeloma ; Prevalence ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: It has been reported that the survival of patients with locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC) is better in East Asia countries than in developed western countries; however, the prognosis of LAGC remains poor. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of perioperative chemotherapy on the long-term survival of East Asia patients with LAGC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From October 2006 through August 2008, 43 patients with LAGC received perioperative S-1 combined with weekly docetaxel in a phase II study (neoadjuvant group). These patients were matched using propensity scores to patients who underwent surgery without neoadjuvant chemotherapy during the same period (surgery group). The surgical outcomes and long-term survivals were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: After matching, 43 and 86 patients were included in the neoadjuvant and surgery groups, respectively, and there was no significant difference in their baseline characteristics. Although the operating time was longer in the neoadjuvant group, there was no significant difference in postoperative complications between the 2 groups. The neoadjuvant group had a significantly higher 5-year overall survival (OS) rate (73.3% vs. 51.1%, P=0.005) and a trend towards higher 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) (62.8% vs. 49.9%, P=0.145). In the multivariate analysis, perioperative chemotherapy was an independent factor for OS, with a hazard ratio of 0.4 (P=0.005) and a marginal effect on the PFS (P=0.054). CONCLUSIONS: Perioperative chemotherapy was associated with better long-term survival without increasing postoperative complications in the setting of D2 surgery for patients with LAGC, suggesting that perioperative chemotherapy can be a therapeutic option in East Asia countries.
Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy* ; Far East ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Postoperative Complications ; Prognosis ; Propensity Score* ; Stomach Neoplasms*