Nurse educators are finding it increasingly more challenging to prepare undergraduate students for the ever-changing and more acute clinical environment. As an answer to this dilemma, the human patient simulator can provide students with the opportunity to enhance knowledge, to facilitate skill acquisition, to decrease anxiety, and to promote clinical judgment in a safe environment. These experiences assist the novice nursing student to progress to the advanced beginner stage of practice. This article describes how faculty used the human patient simulator in creating a case scenario that enhanced critical thinking in senior nursing students.

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Sexual counseling is an integral component of the rehabilitative process for clients who have experienced a myocardial infarction (MI). This article describes myths and fears concerning the dangers of resuming sexual intercourse after a heart attack, positions for intercourse, and the effects of intercourse on arrhythmias, angina, and blood pressure. The purpose is to provide the results of empirical research to dispel myths and fears and to consider the causes of sexual dysfunction, the changes MI brings about in sexual activity for men and women, and the effects of age, exercise, and antihypertensive drugs on the resumption of sexual activity. Guidelines are provided for conducting a sexual/cardiac history as part of the counseling model with specific information for the post-MI client.

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This project examined the accuracy of medication administration by nurses at a large tertiary hospital. Registered nurses were prepared to directly observe medication administration. Observations were made of 1514 doses administered by 30 nurses on 3 units, on day and evening shifts. Few (5%) medication errors were found. The most frequent errors were wrong technique, wrong time, and omission. Results suggest examination of medication policies, assessment of medication administration competency, and targeted in-service education.