BackgroundThe nursing process is a tool that is recommended for use by all professional nurses working in Ghana, in order to provide nursing care. However, there is currently a limited use of this tool by nurses in Ghana. The purpose of this research study was to explore the various factors that influence the utilization of this nursing process.MethodAn exploratory descriptive qualitative-research design was employed. Ten participants were involved by using the purposive sampling method. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect the data from the research participants; and the data were analysed by using content analysis. One main theme, with five subthemes, emerged from the analysis.ResultsIt was found that there are factors, such as nurses not having a better understanding of the nursing process, whilst in school; the absence of the care plan in the ward, as well as the lack of adequate staff, with limited time being available for coping with contributed to the non-usage of the nursing process.ConclusionsWe conclude that the clinical utilization of the Nursing process at the clinical setting is influenced by lack of understanding of Nurses on the Nursing process and care plan as well as lack of adequate nurses and time. We recommend that the care-plan form be made officially a part of the admission documents. Furthermore, the nursing administration should put measures in place to provide nurses with the needed resources to implement the nursing process. Additionally, they should ensure that the care-plan forms and other resources needed by the nurses are regularly and adequately provided. Nurses should further see the nursing process as a means of providing comprehensive care to their patients and addressing their specific problems. They should therefore make time despite their busy schedules to use it in order to improve quality of care and the image of nursing in Ghana.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12912-017-0228-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

On June 15, 2020, the FDA granted accelerated approval to lurbinectedin for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Approval was granted on the basis of the clinically meaningful effects on overall response rate (ORR) and duration of response (DOR), and the safety profile observed in a multicenter, open-label, multicohort clinical trial (PM1183-B-005-14, NCT02454972), referred to as Study B-005, in patients with advanced solid tumors. The trial included a cohort of 105 patients with metastatic SCLC who had disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. The confirmed ORR determined by investigator assessment using RECIST 1.1 in the approved SCLC patient population was 35% [95% confidence interval (CI): 26–45], with a median DOR of 5.3 (95% CI: 4.1–6.4) months. The drug label includes warnings and precautions for myelosuppression, hepatotoxicity, and embryo-fetal toxicity. This is the first drug approved by the FDA in over 20 years in the second line for patients with metastatic SCLC. Importantly, this approval includes an indication for patients who have platinum-resistant disease, representing an area of particular unmet need.

Factors, which induced positive nurse-client interactions and barriers to positive nurse-client interactions from the perspective of nurses at Holy Family Hospital, were explored. In all, twelve State Registered Nurses participated in semi-structured interviews. Factors which induced positive nurse-client interaction included availability of adequate time, showing empathy, giving prompt care, considering nursing as a call (spiritual interpretation) and rendering holistic care. Factors which induced negative nurse-client interaction included differences in beliefs between the nurse and the client, perceptions of unfair treatment, payment requirement and processes, issues with clients' relatives, client issues, miscommunications and misunderstandings about treatment needs, coercion, forced dependence, human resource issues, professional nursing issues, issues with work environment, nurse issues, lack of communication and good interaction, and dropping of professional ethics. Suggestions for nursing education, practice and administration have been outlined. Among them is the need to use role-play as a major teaching method for nursing students to develop empathic behaviours so that they can put themselves in clients' situations. This understanding will allow them to practise quality nursing after completing their educational programs. There is also the need for policy makers in nursing to institute measures to hold nurses accountable if they abuse clients or clients' relatives. Lastly, as an important tool, nurses and other health care workers can make use of reflective practice to evaluate their professional interactions with clients and their relatives. This will foster positive nurse-client interaction in future.

On May 26, 2020, the FDA approved nivolumab with ipilimumab and two cycles of platinum-doublet chemotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic or recurrent non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with no EGFR or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) genomic tumor aberrations. The approval was based on results from Study CA2099LA (CheckMate 9LA), an open-label trial in which 719 patients with NSCLC were randomized to receive nivolumab with ipilimumab and two cycles of chemotherapy (n = 361) or four cycles of platinum-doublet chemotherapy (n = 358). Overall survival (OS) was improved for patients who received nivolumab with ipilimumab and chemotherapy, with a median OS of 14.1 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 13.2–16.2] compared with 10.7 months (95% CI, 9.5–12.5) for patients who received chemotherapy (HR, 0.69; 96.71% CI, 0.55–0.87; P = 0.0006). Progression-free survival and overall response rate per blinded independent central review were also statistically significant. This was the first NSCLC application reviewed under FDA's Project Orbis, in collaboration with Singapore's Health Sciences Authority, Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration, and Health Canada. The benefit–risk analysis supports FDA's approval of nivolumab with ipilimumab and chemotherapy.