1.Task performance, task importance, and educational needs for novice-level nursing tasks as perceived by neonatal intensive care unit nurses with various levels of experience in South Korea: a cross-sectional study
Child Health Nursing Research 2026;32(1):80-92
Purpose:
This study aimed to identify differences in perceived task performance, task importance, and educational needs for novice-level tasks among neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses with varying levels of clinical experience and to provide foundational data for developing systematic educational programs to strengthen the competencies of novice nurses.
Methods:
Participants were recruited from the NICUs of three hospitals—one university-affiliated hospital and two general hospitals located in B Metropolitan City, South Korea. Using convenience sampling, 116 staff nurses with at least 3 months of NICU experience were surveyed between March and November 2025. For comparative analysis, participants were divided into three career groups based on their NICU experience: <3 years, 3–9 years, and ≥9 years. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and the Scheffé test with IBM SPSS ver. 25.0, and importance–performance analysis (IPA) was conducted to prioritize educational needs.
Results:
Across all career groups, the “direct nursing performance” domain showed the highest task performance. Novice nurses with <3 years of experience reported significantly higher performance in central line care and transfusion management than those with ≥9 years of experience. The IPA identified central line management, and transfusion management as priority areas for improvement, while vital sign monitoring, respiratory surveillance and discharge education for parents were common educational needs regardless of experience level.
Conclusion
Educational programs for novice NICU nurses should focus on strengthening patient safety–related competencies and should be progressively structured with simulation and case-based learning to enhance clinical performance.
2.Unenhanced Breast MRI With Diffusion-Weighted Imaging for Breast Cancer Detection: Effects of Training on Performance and Agreement of Subspecialty Radiologists
Yeon Soo KIM ; Su Hyun LEE ; Soo-Yeon KIM ; Eun Sil KIM ; Ah Reum PARK ; Jung Min CHANG ; Vivian Youngjean PARK ; Jung Hyun YOON ; Bong Joo KANG ; Bo La YUN ; Tae Hee KIM ; Eun Sook KO ; A Jung CHU ; Jin You KIM ; Inyoung YOUN ; Eun Young CHAE ; Woo Jung CHOI ; Hee Jeong KIM ; Soo Hee KANG ; Su Min HA ; Woo Kyung MOON
Korean Journal of Radiology 2024;25(1):11-23
Objective:
To investigate whether reader training improves the performance and agreement of radiologists in interpreting unenhanced breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI).
Materials and Methods:
A study of 96 breasts (35 cancers, 24 benign, and 37 negative) in 48 asymptomatic women was performed between June 2019 and October 2020. High-resolution DWI with b-values of 0, 800, and 1200 sec/mm 2 was performed using a 3.0-T system. Sixteen breast radiologists independently reviewed the DWI, apparent diffusion coefficient maps, and T1-weighted MRI scans and recorded the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) category for each breast. After a 2-h training session and a 5-month washout period, they re-evaluated the BI-RADS categories. A BI-RADS category of 4 (lesions with at least two suspicious criteria) or 5 (more than two suspicious criteria) was considered positive.The per-breast diagnostic performance of each reader was compared between the first and second reviews. Inter-reader agreement was evaluated using a multi-rater κ analysis and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).
Results:
Before training, the mean sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the 16 readers were 70.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 59.4–79.9), 90.8% (95% CI: 85.6–94.2), and 83.5% (95% CI: 78.6–87.4), respectively. After training, significant improvements in specificity (95.2%; 95% CI: 90.8–97.5; P = 0.001) and accuracy (85.9%; 95% CI: 80.9–89.8; P = 0.01) were observed, but no difference in sensitivity (69.8%; 95% CI: 58.1–79.4; P = 0.58) was observed. Regarding inter-reader agreement, the κ values were 0.57 (95% CI: 0.52–0.63) before training and 0.68 (95% CI: 0.62–0.74) after training, with a difference of 0.11 (95% CI: 0.02–0.18; P = 0.01). The ICC was 0.73 (95% CI: 0.69–0.74) before training and 0.79 (95% CI: 0.76–0.80) after training (P = 0.002).
Conclusion
Brief reader training improved the performance and agreement of interpretations by breast radiologists using unenhanced MRI with DWI.
3.Midterm Clinical Outcomes of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Aortic Dissection with Malperfusion Syndrome
La Eun KIM ; Jong Ha PARK ; Han Cheol LEE ; Mi Ju BAE ; Ji Hoon YOU
Vascular Specialist International 2024;40(2):17-
Purpose:
There is limited data on the midterm results of endovascular treatment for acute type B aortic dissection (TBAD) with malperfusion syndrome (MS), particularly in Asia. This study aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of endovascular treatment of acute TBAD with MS.
Materials and Methods:
We retrospectively analyzed 27 patients who underwent endovascular treatment for acute TBAD with MS.
Results:
Among the 27 patients with TBAD and MS, malperfusion was observed in the isolated renal (44.4%), visceral (7.4%) and iliofemoral (25.9%) arteries, as well as their combinations (22.2%). The patients underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) only (25.9%), selective stenting only in arteries affected by malperfusion (22.2%), or combined treatment with TEVAR and selective stenting (51.9%). Primary technical success was achieved in all the patients. No inhospital mortality or early death within 30 days after operation occurred. The rates of stroke, limb ischemia, acute kidney injury, and reintervention at 30 days were 7.4%, 3.7%, 25.9%, and 3.7%, respectively. The mean follow-up period was 4.3±3.1 years. During the follow-up, the rates of death, stroke, maintenance hemodialysis, aneurysmal change, and reintervention were 0%, 3.7%, 7.4%, 7.4%, and 7.4%, respectively. Two patients required reintervention due to limb ischemia and aneurysmal changes in the distal portion of the stent graft. Computed tomography scans revealed a significant increase in aortic diameters in patients who underwent selective stenting compared to those who underwent TEVAR over a 3-year period, with changes in aortic area measuring 878.9 mm2 vs. 188.4 mm2 at the middle of the lesion (P=0.037), 303.7 mm2 vs. 22.8 mm2 at the level of the celiac trunk (P=0.025), and 442.9 mm2 vs. 37.3 mm2 at the level of the renal artery (P=0.019).
Conclusion
The endovascular treatment of acute TBAD with MS demonstrated a high primary technical success rate and promising short- and midterm clinical outcomes.

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