OBJECTIVE To compare the ability of a headache nurse specialist and consultant neurologists in diagnosing tension-type headache and migraine. METHODS An experienced neurology ward sister was trained in the differential diagnosis of headache disorders. Over six months, patients with non-acute headache disorders and role players trained to present with benign or sinister headaches were seen by ...

PURPOSE To assess what patients want and get from a primary care epilepsy specialist nurse service, and whether this matches their expectations and self-defined needs. METHODS A qualitative study nested within a controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a primary care epilepsy specialist nurse service in Bristol, UK. Twelve patients who had had at least one seizure in the previous yea...

Can a specialist-nurse intervention reduce mortality and morbidity in patients hospitalized with chronic heart failure? D e s i g n Randomized (allocation concealed*), blinded {outcome assessors} †,* controlled trial with follow-up at 1 year. An acute medical admissions unit at a teaching hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom. P a t i e n t s 165 patients (mean age 75 y, 58% men) who we...

There is a decrease in the number of new midwives, resulting from the shutdown of midwifery education program in hospitals due to a decrease in birthrate in the Republic of Korea. To solve this problem, the current medical laws on midwifery education system in Korea should be revised; nurse-midwifery specialist programs must be established in educational institutes with nursing programs. To sup...

Jacky Edwards is a Burns Clinical Nurse Specialist at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester This article looks at the development of a nurse-led burns clinic. Changes in the NHS, such as reduced doctors’ hours, have meant that nurse-led clinics have risen ever higher on the political agenda. The increased quality of care and the professional development of the practitioners themselves, demonstrate t...

There has been scant research into the prevention of parastomal hernia formation following stoma surgery, which is a common and distressing event. This study shows that the introduction of a prevention programme for a period of one year post surgery significantly reduces the incidence of hernia development. The programme is simple and involves education, abdominal exercises and advice on the us...

AIMS This article reports a randomized controlled trial of lay-facilitated angina management (registered trial acronym: LAMP). BACKGROUND Previously, a nurse-facilitated angina programme was shown to reduce angina while increasing physical activity, however most people with angina do not receive a cardiac rehabilitation or self-management programme. Lay people are increasingly being trained t...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of health care clinicians working in multidisciplinary teams that include specialist heart failure nurses when caring for the management of heart failure patients. METHODS We used a qualitative in-depth interview study nested in a broader ethnographic study of unplanned admissions in heart failure patients (HoldF...

Managed care is a process of health-care management that integrates financing, cost-containment strategies, and business principles with the delivery of health care. Managed care's rapid transformation of specialty practices, such as oncology, is redirecting classic nursing functions toward market initiatives that value the design of care/case management systems and the implementation of multid...