Current Issue : January-March Volume : 2026 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 5 Articles
Background: The transition from student to professional nurse is often overwhelming for newly qualified registered nurses, especially in rural and resource-limited settings. Systemic barriers such as staff shortages, limited resources, and lack of mentorship hinder their ability to gain effective clinical experiences. This gap threatens both the professional development of newly qualified registered nurses and the quality of patient care, justifying the need for this study. Aim: This study aimed to explore how the shortage of resources and functional infrastructure affects the clinical experiences of newly qualified registered nurses. Methods: A descriptive qualitative design was employed, grounded in an interpretivist paradigm. Data were collected through three semi-structured focus group interviews with a purposive sample of 25 NQRNs. A rigorous thematic analysis, following the Braun and Clarke framework, was used to identify, analyze, and report patterns within the data. Results: The analysis revealed a complex interplay of six interconnected themes that define the NQRNs’ experiences: (1) an institutional void of clinical support and mentorship; (2) systemic failures in management and leadership; (3) crippling resource constraints and infrastructure decay; (4) pervasive emotional and psychological distress; (5) a trajectory towards professional burnout; and (6) profound job dissatisfaction and disillusionment. These barriers were found to collectively undermine clinical confidence, compromise patient safety, and threaten nurse retention. Conclusions: NQRNs in the Chris Hani District are navigating a “perfect storm” of systemic failures that hinder their professional development and personal well-being. The findings highlight an urgent need for multi-level interventions, including the implementation of standardized mentorship programs, leadership development for nurse managers, strategic investment in rural health infrastructure, and the establishment of formal mental health support systems. Addressing these foundational issues is paramount to building a resilient nursing workforce and ensuring equitable healthcare delivery....
Background/Objectives: Psoriasis is an immune-mediated disease influenced by genetic predisposition, environmental triggers, and metabolic comorbidities. Biologic therapies have markedly improved disease control; however, variability in patient response remains insufficiently understood. The aim of the study is to evaluate whether CARD14 mutations and the season of treatment initiation influence the efficacy of biologic therapy in psoriasis. We also examined the potential interactions between CARD14 status, seasonality, drug class, and nutrition status on short-term clinical outcomes. Methods: This retrospective study included 72 patients receiving biologic therapy within the Polish NHF B.47 program. Clinical endpoints (PASI, BSA, DLQI) were assessed at baseline and after 1, 4, 7, and 10 months. CARD14 genotyping was performed using Sanger sequencing. Patients were stratified according to mutation status, season of therapy initiation (warm vs. cold), drug class, and BMI category. Statistical analyses included t-tests, chi-square, ANOVA, and MANOVA. Results: The CARD14 rs34367357 mutation was associated with earlier disease onset (15.6 vs. 22.7 years, p = 0.0134) and higher DLQI baseline (p = 0.0265) but did not significantly impact treatment response. Therapy initiated during the warm season (April– September) led to greater PASI improvement (p < 0.0001). Obesity was associated with reduced response (p = 0.02385). Drug class and interaction effects were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that seasonal timing, nutritional status, and genetic background may modulate the efficacy of biologic therapies in psoriasis. Although not statistically conclusive, the potential interaction between CARD14 rs34367357 and seasonality warrants further investigation....
Introduction: Intensive care education confronts the student to a complex reality: in patients hemodynamically unstable and device-dependent to keep them alive, is there when the mediator (clinical mentor), as referred by Vygotsky, guides the student through their experience. Objective: To identify the satisfaction about clinical mentorship of critical care specialty, perceived by nursing students related to their mentor’s profile. Method: Quantitative research with a transverse-analytical design. Eighty-four students and fifteen mentors participated, the data collection instrument was the “Development of a tool to evaluate the quality of mentoring for nurses”, with a Cronbach α of 0.96 reliability. Results: Global satisfaction mean of 129 ± 0.57 from a maximun possible of 170, and 57% representing a high grade of satisfaction. According to sex the Pearson correlation coefficient (t = −2.413, df = 68, m = 124, p = 0.019), in Females (n) = 53, 124 ± 22 and in Males (n) = 31, 138 ± 19.49.). Conclusion: The hypothesis: the higher the clinical mentor’s profile, the higher satisfaction of clinical mentorship by nursing students, was not confirmed, since there was no significant evidence nor difference in clinical mentor’s profile during the evaluation. Even results on perception were high, this could be influenced by the amount of students with no labor experience entering the program, such that it limits a deep analysis, critical judgement, and academic questioning to the expert; then, quality of clinical mentorship allows the forming of expert, decisive, and decisions’ maker specialists based on evidence. Finally, in exploring the index mentor-student it is proposed its standardization in all campuses were the Sole Program for Nursing Specialty (PUEE) is imparted....
This study aimed to clarify the reflective practice process through which clinical nurse educators grasp the changing individual situations of patients and novice nurses and determine appropriate educational methods. Using Schön’s reflective practitioner model as the theoretical framework, we adopted a qualitative descriptive research design. Multiple semi-structured interviews were conducted with a nurse who had been responsible for education for at least two years, and thematic analysis was applied to the verbatim transcripts. Four sequential phases of reflection—pre-practice planning, real-time judgment, post-practice reinterpretation, and reconfiguration of future teaching—were identified. The findings highlight not only how educators make educational judgments in relation to the conditions of patients and novice nurses but also how they themselves transform through reflective learning. By visualizing the dynamic relationships between “supportive observation,” “advising,” and “reflecting,” this study contributes to a deeper qualitative understanding of educational practice in novice nurse training....
Background: Pain is one of the most common presenting complaints in Australian emergency departments (EDs). National guidelines recommend that patients with pain should receive analgesia within 30 minutes of presentation. However, inconsistent pain score documentation and underutilisation of nurse-initiated analgesia (NIA) protocols remain barriers to timely pain management. Aims: This audit aimed to assess the time taken for analgesia (TTA) to be initiated in patients presenting with pain to this hospital’s ED. Secondary aims included assessing pain score documentation, evaluating NIA use and identifying factors associated with delays in analgesia. Methods: A retrospective clinical audit was conducted over a consecutive 7-day period in April 2025. Data from 280 eligible patients were extracted from electronic medical records. Variables included demographics, presenting complaint, triage category, documented pain score, TTA, prescriber of first analgesia and analgesia type. Descriptive, comparative and subgroup analyses were performed. Results: Of 280 patients, 146 (52%) received analgesia, with a median TTA of 61.5 minutes. Only 24% (n = 67) of patients had a documented pain score. Patients with a documented pain score had a shorter median TTA (49 minutes) compared to those without (70 minutes). NIA was utilised in 31.5% of patients who received analgesia and was associated with a shorter median TTA (40 minutes) compared to doctor-prescribed analgesia (83.5 minutes). Conclusion: This audit highlights significant variability in pain assessment and management at this ED. Pain score documentation and NIA use were associated with reduced TTA. Future quality improvement initiatives should include staff education, mandatory pain scoring, NIA implementation and optimising analgesia regimens....
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