This study aimed to analyze the experiences of new nurses during their first year of hospital employment to gather data for the development of an evidence-based new nurse residency program focused on adaptability. Methods: This study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Korea between March and August 2021 with 80 new nurses who wrote in critical reflective journals during their first year of work. NetMiner 4.5.0 was used to conduct a text network analysis of the critical reflective journals to uncover core keywords and topics across three periods. Results: In the journals, over time, degree centrality emerged as “study” and “patient understanding” for 1 to 3 months, “insufficient” and “stress” for 4 to 6 months, and “handover” and “preparation” for 7 to 12 months. Major sub-themes at 1 to 3 months were: “rounds,” “intravenous-cannulation,” “medical device,” and “patient understanding”; at 4 to 6 months they were “admission,” “discharge,” “oxygen therapy,” and “disease”; and at 7 to 12 months they were “burden,” “independence,” and “solution.” Conclusion:These results provide valuable insights into the challenges and experiences encountered by new nurses during different stages of their field adaptation process. This information may highlight the best nurse leadership methods for improving institutional education and supporting new nurses’ transitions to the hospital work environment.

Purpose: This study aimed to update the previously published nursing practice guideline for prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Methods: The guideline was updated according to the manuals developed by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), and a Handbook for Clinical Practice Guideline Developer Version 10. Results: The updated nursing practice guideline for prevention of VTE was consisted of 16 domains, 46 subdomains, and 216 recommendations. The recommendations in each domain were: 4 general issues, 8 assessment of risk and bleeding factors, 5 interventions for prevention of VTE, 18 mechanical interventions, 36 pharmacological interventions, 36 VTE prevention starategies for medical patients, 25 for cancer patients, 13 for pregnancy, 8 for surgical patients, 7 for thoractic and cardiac surgery, 16 for orthopedic surgery, 10 for cranial and spinal surgery, 5 for vascular surgery, 13 for other surgery, 3 educations and information, and 2 documentation and report. For these recommendations, the level of evidence was 32.1% for level I, 51.8% for level II, and 16.1% for level III according to the infectious diseases society of America (IDSA) rating system. A total of 112 new recommendations were developed and 49 previous recommendations were deleted. Conclusion The updated nursing practice guideline for prevention of VTE is expected to serve as an evidence-based practice guideline for prevention of VTE in South Korea. It is recommended that this guideline will disseminate to clinical nursing settings nationwide to improve the effectiveness of prevention of VTE practice.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effect of educational nurse practitioners at comprehensive nursing care service units by comparing the educational satisfaction of general nurses and the occupational stress of preceptor nurses before and after education by educational nurse practitioners. Methods: Participants were 71 general nurses and 71 preceptor nurses working at comprehensive nursing care service units of G University hospital in I City. The level of educational satisfaction of general nurses and occupational stress of preceptor nurses were measured and compared. The differences in educational satisfaction and occupational stress before and after the education program were verified by paired t-test and one-way ANOVA using SPSS/WIN 27.0 statistical program. Differences before and after the education program according to the general characteristics were analyzed with repeated measure analysis of variance after Sapiro-Wilks normality test, and post-hoc analysis was conducted using Scheffé test. Results: It was inferred that there was a significant difference (t=-9.32, p <.001) in the educational satisfaction of general nurses, with an average of 3.72±0.77 before the education and 4.47±0.60 after the education. However, there was no significant difference in occupational stress in the preceptor nurses. Conclusion It could be concluded that introduction of educational nurse practitioners at comprehensive nursing care service units has a positive effect on the educational satisfaction of general nurses. This result will serve as basic data to implement educational nurse practitioners for general nurses in all medical institutions as well as comprehensive nursing care service units.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effect of educational nurse practitioners at comprehensive nursing care service units by comparing the educational satisfaction of general nurses and the occupational stress of preceptor nurses before and after education by educational nurse practitioners. Methods: Participants were 71 general nurses and 71 preceptor nurses working at comprehensive nursing care service units of G University hospital in I City. The level of educational satisfaction of general nurses and occupational stress of preceptor nurses were measured and compared. The differences in educational satisfaction and occupational stress before and after the education program were verified by paired t-test and one-way ANOVA using SPSS/WIN 27.0 statistical program. Differences before and after the education program according to the general characteristics were analyzed with repeated measure analysis of variance after Sapiro-Wilks normality test, and post-hoc analysis was conducted using Scheffé test. Results: It was inferred that there was a significant difference (t=-9.32, p <.001) in the educational satisfaction of general nurses, with an average of 3.72±0.77 before the education and 4.47±0.60 after the education. However, there was no significant difference in occupational stress in the preceptor nurses. Conclusion It could be concluded that introduction of educational nurse practitioners at comprehensive nursing care service units has a positive effect on the educational satisfaction of general nurses. This result will serve as basic data to implement educational nurse practitioners for general nurses in all medical institutions as well as comprehensive nursing care service units.

In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a heme precursor, on inflammatory and oxidative stress activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.7 macrophages by estimating nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), cytokines, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). We also evaluated the molecular mechanisms through analysis of the expression of their regulatory genes, and further evaluated the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant efficacy of ALA against LPS in the zebrafish model. Our results indicated that ALA treatment significantly attenuated the LPS-induced release of pro-inflammatory mediators including NO and PGE2, which was associated with decreased inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression. ALA also inhibited the LPS-induced expression of pro- inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6, reducing their extracellular secretion. Additionally, ALA abolished ROS generation, improved the mitochondrial mass, and enhanced the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and the activation of nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. However, zinc protoporphyrin, a specific inhibitor of HO-1, reversed the ALA-mediated inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines production and activation of mitochondrial function in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Furthermore, ALA significantly abolished the expression of LPS-induced pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines, and showed strong protective effects against NO and ROS production in zebrafish larvae. In conclusion, our findings suggest that ALA exerts LPS-induced anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects by upregulating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway, and that ALA can be a potential functional agent to prevent inflammatory and oxidative damage.

Following reports of patients with unexplained pneumonia at the end of December 2019 in Wuhan, China, the causative agent was identified as coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), and the 2019 novel coronavirus disease was named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization. Putative patients with COVID-19 have been identified in South Korea, and attempts have been made to isolate the pathogen from these patients.

Purpose: Hysteroscopy can be used both to diagnose and to treat intrauterine pathologies. It is well known that hysteroscopy helps to improve reproductive outcomes by treating intrauterine pathologies. However, it is uncertain whether hysteroscopy is helpful in the absence of intrauterine pathologies. This study aimed to confirm whether hysteroscopy improves the reproductive outcomes of infertile women without intrauterine pathologies. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of 11 studies retrieved from Ovid-MEDLINE, Ovid-Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Two independent investigators extracted the data and used risk-of-bias tools (RoB 2.0 and ROBINS-I) to assess their quality. Results: Diagnostic hysteroscopy prior to in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was associated with a higher clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) and live birth rate (LBR) than non-hysteroscopy in patients with recurrent implantation failure (RIF) (odds ratio, 1.79 and 1.46; 95% confidence interval, 1.40–2.30 and 1.08–1.97 for CPR and LBR, respectively) while hysteroscopy prior to first IVF was ineffective. The overall meta-analysis of LBR showed statistically significant findings for RIF, but a subgroup analysis showed effects only in prospective cohorts (odds ratio, 1.40 and 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.86–1.56 and 1.04–2.07 for randomized controlled trials and prospective cohorts, respectively). Therefore, the LBR should be interpreted carefully and further research is needed. Conclusion Although further research is warranted, hysteroscopy may be considered as a diagnostic and treatment option for infertile women who have experienced RIF regardless of intrauterine pathologies. This finding enables nurses to educate and support infertile women with RIF prior to IVF/ICSI.