The purpose of this descriptive comparative survey was to examine differences in family resiliency between hemodialysis patients and caregivers across three ethnically diverse samples that included Anglo-Americans, Mexican Americans, and South Koreans. The study was based on the Family Resiliency Model developed by McCubbin, Thompson, and McCubbin. The patients were in end-stage renal disease and were receiving hemodialysis treatments at either a freestanding hemodialysis unit or a 30-bed dialysis hospital unit. South Korean patients on hemodialysis and their caregivers perceived the stressors imposed by their illness to be significantly greater than either of the other ethnic groups, and they also scored lower on the resiliency measure than the other two groups. Findings of the study support the need to understand the dynamics of family resiliency from a cultural perspective.

Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis and their families are faced with significant challenges. The purpose of this research was to explore the nature of resiliency in the context of the family with hemodialysis. Naturalistic inquiry was used to elicit descriptions from 15 White patients on hemodialysis and their caregivers about what it was like to live withESRDand how they managed. Being on dialysis provides an understanding of the dialysis experience, strategies and resources represent the role of support systems and resources and the tactics the family uses to maintain and restore the well-being of the family unit, and having a positive life view encompasses the “bonadaptation” of the families as they were able to maintain the integrity of the family unit under extremely adverse conditions and continue “going forward.”

Traditional education has been studied over time for the purpose of documenting what constitutes good practice in teaching. Online education in nursing is still relatively new and has not endured the same scrutiny as classroom education. The authors discuss how Chickering and Gamson's Seven Principles of Good Practice for Undergraduate Education apply to online nursing education and provide practical examples of how the principles can be implemented in Web-based nursing courses.

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