Purpose: It is essential to ensure the readiness for practice among undergraduate nursing students since the purpose of such education is to cultivate competent nurses who deliver high-quality and safe nursing. Astin's theory of student involvement suggests that this is affected by their personal factors and learning environment. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study between November 16, 2020 and December 21, 2020 which examined personal factors and aspects of the clinical learning environment among senior nursing students (n = 838) enrolled across 54 nursing schools in Korea. The participants were asked to fill out a self-administered online survey, which assessed demographic characteristics, self-esteem, depression, work-life balance, clinical learning environment, anxiety during clinical practicum, and readiness for practice. Readiness for practice was measured using the Casey-Fink Readiness for practice survey. We used structural equational modeling to test our hypothetical model. Results: The nursing students' readiness for practice was significantly affected by their self-esteem, work-life balance satisfaction, and clinical learning environment. Anxiety during clinical practicum directly influenced their readiness for practice. Conclusion Increasing self-esteem and work-life balance satisfaction, and improving their clinical learning environment by providing sufficient educational and clinical support, could help facilitate the transition from nursing schools to real-world practice for nursing students.

Background: Avoiding causative allergens is important for controlling the clinical course of allergic diseases. Allergen sensitization is influenced by many factors including the environment and lifestyle. The socioeconomic development, climate, and lifestyle changes have increased the prevalence of allergic diseases worldwide. However, there is little information about changes in the trend of the common allergens over time. Objective: This study was aimed at identifying the trends of the common allergens in Korea over a 10-year period based on the results of the multiple allergosorbent test chemiluminescent assay (MAST-CLA). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 5,760 patients aged ≥18 years who visited the Dermatology Department at a tertiary hospital over a period of 10 years. The serum total immunoglobulin (Ig) E and specific IgE levels to 41 allergens were determined using MAST-CLA, along with the clinical diagnosis, duration of illness, white blood cell count and eosinophil percentage. Results: Dermatophagoides farinae, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, and house dust were the most prevalent allergens during the 10 years period, but the percentage of higher class responses has decreased in recent years. The number of patients sensitized to house dust (p<0.001), dogs (p=0.005), and cats (p<0.001) increased while that of patients sensitized to cockroaches (p<0.001) and storage mites (p<0.001) decreased over time. There were no significant changes in the total number of sensitizing allergens over time. Conclusion The common allergens have changed over time. Based on the findings of this study, physicians and patients should consider changing their strategies for disease prevention and management.

Purpose: This study explored how just culture, authentic leadership, safety climate, patient safety knowledge, and safety motivation all affect military nurses' reporting of patient safety events. Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional and descriptive correlational design. Data were collected from 303 nurses working across eight military hospitals under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces Medical Command in South Korea, from June 17 to July 25, 2020. The hypothesized model was then validated using structural equation modeling. Results: The participating military nurses did not show any proactive attitudes toward reporting near misses when compared with their responses to adverse or no-harm events. The final model exhibited goodness of fit. Herein, both safety climate (β = 0.35, p = .009) and patient safety knowledge (β = 0.17, p = .025) directly influence patient safety event reporting. Moreover, just culture indirectly influences patient safety event reporting (β = 0.31, p = .002). The discovered influencing factors account for 22.9% of the variance in explaining patient safety event reporting. Conclusions Our findings indicate that just culture, safety climate, and patient safety knowledge either directly or indirectly affected patient safety event reporting among military nurses. These findings then serve to provide a theoretical basis for developing more effective strategies that would then improve military nurses' patient safety behaviors.

Purpose: This study examined the influence of nurses' communication competency, critical thinking disposition, and perception of patient safety culture on patient safety competency in armed forces hospitals. Methods: A crosssectional design was employed with a convenience sample of 204 nurse officers from four armed forces hospitals in South Korea. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from August 10~23, 2019, and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple regression. All analyses were conducted using SPSS for Windows 21.0. Results: Patient safety competency scores were 4.35±0.40 for patient safety attitudes, 3.63±0.64 for patient safety knowledge, and 3.94±0.51 for patient safety skill. Communication competency, critical thinking disposition, and perception of patient safety culture were positively correlated with patient safety competency. Communication competency (β=.30, p=.002) and perception of patient safety culture (β=.24, p=.001) were identified as particularly important factors influencing patient safety competency. Conclusion This study’s results suggest that education programs to enhance communication competency and patient safety culture could increase patient safety competency among nurses in armed forces hospitals.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of nurses' emotional intelligence and communication within the organization on teamwork in Armed Forces hospitals. METHODS: This study employed a cross-sectional design with a convenience sample of 195 nurses from five Armed Forces hospitals in Korea. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from August 7 to 23, 2017 and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression. The SPSS/WIN 21.0 program was used for all analyses. RESULTS: The degree of teamwork was 5.03±0.73, with scores ranging from 1 to 7. Emotional intelligence and communication within the organization were positively correlated with teamwork. Specifically, communication within the organization (β=.60, p < .001), the intensive care unit (β=.21, p=.001), and the medical general ward (β=.17, p=.010) were identified as factors influencing teamwork. This model explained 51% of the variance in teamwork, and it was statistically significant (F=35.09, p < .001). CONCLUSION: These results imply the need to develop an approach including communication within the organization to improve teamwork among nurses in Armed Forces hospitals.
Arm ; Emotional Intelligence ; Intensive Care Units ; Korea ; Patients' Rooms

The respiratory function is relevant to the craniofacial growth and orthodontic diagnosis. The size of the pharyngeal airway was measured in lateral cephalometric view in children visited Kyung Hee University Hospital from January 2015 to August 2017. A total of 74 healthy children (36 boys and 38 girls) aged 7 - 11 years (mean, 8.5 years) with a normodivergent facial pattern were divided into three groups according to anteroposterior jaw relation measuring A point-Nasion-B point (ANB) angle. Lateral cephalometric data were used to measure the airway dimensions. The dimensions of the middle airway were significantly lower, reducing the upper airway space, in large ANB angle group than in other children, suggesting that children with large ANB angle have narrower airway space than others.
Child ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Jaw ; Malocclusion

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of nurses' emotional intelligence and communication within the organization on teamwork in Armed Forces hospitals. METHODS: This study employed a cross-sectional design with a convenience sample of 195 nurses from five Armed Forces hospitals in Korea. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from August 7 to 23, 2017 and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression. The SPSS/WIN 21.0 program was used for all analyses. RESULTS: The degree of teamwork was 5.03±0.73, with scores ranging from 1 to 7. Emotional intelligence and communication within the organization were positively correlated with teamwork. Specifically, communication within the organization (β=.60, p < .001), the intensive care unit (β=.21, p=.001), and the medical general ward (β=.17, p=.010) were identified as factors influencing teamwork. This model explained 51% of the variance in teamwork, and it was statistically significant (F=35.09, p < .001). CONCLUSION These results imply the need to develop an approach including communication within the organization to improve teamwork among nurses in Armed Forces hospitals.

Thymic cysts are uncommon benign lesions in the anterior mediastinum. We here describe a 55-year-old male with spontaneous thymic cyst hemorrhage manifesting as a rapidly enlarging mediastinal mass that was resected completely with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a spontaneous thymic cyst hemorrhage in Korea. In cases of rapidly enlarging mediastinal masses, spontaneous thymic cyst hemorrhage should be considered as a differential diagnosis.
Diagnosis, Differential ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Mediastinal Cyst* ; Mediastinum ; Middle Aged ; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted

Tracheal hemangioma is a rare benign vascular tumor in adults. We reported a case of massive hemoptysis caused by a cavernous hemangioma in a 75-year-old man. This is the first report, to our knowledge, of a tracheal cavernous hemangioma that presented with massive hemoptysis. The lesion was removed with a CO2 laser under rigid laryngoscopy. Endovascular tumors, such as tracheobronchial hemangiomas, should be considered a diagnostic option in cases of massive hemoptysis without a significant underlying lung lesion.
Adult ; Aged ; Hemangioma* ; Hemangioma, Cavernous ; Hemoptysis* ; Humans ; Laryngoscopy ; Lasers, Gas ; Lung ; Trachea

PURPOSE: The objectives of this study were to assess the influence of family presence in the PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit) on anxiety, emergency delirium, pain and length of stay in the recovery room for elderly patients undergoing surgery for which general anesthesia has been used. METHODS: The study was a nonequivalent control group pre-post test design. Eighty elderly patients over 65 years who underwent surgery under general anesthesia were recruited. Forty were assigned to the experiment group, patients together with a family member and 40 to the control group, with no family member present. Patients' anxiety, emergency delirium, pain and length of time in the recovery room were evaluated at 10 minute and 30 minute after arrival in the PACU. RESULTS: Patients with family members in the PACU showed significantly decreased levels of anxiety at 10 and 30 minutes and significantly lower levels of emergency delirium and pain at 30 minutes. However there was no difference between the 2 groups for length of time in the recovery room. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that being with family members in the PACU after surgery under general anesthesia is effective for reducing elderly patients' anxiety, delirium and pain during time in the recovery room.
Aged* ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General ; Anxiety* ; Delirium* ; Emergencies ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Postanesthesia Nursing ; Recovery Room*