The results indicate that Nordic walking was more effective than normal walking in improving upper extremity strength.

This methodological study was done to develop a Nursing Competency Measurement Scale based on the clinical ladders of nurses working in wards. Methods: Thirty clinical experts and 501 ward nurses evaluated the content validity of the scale. A survey using the Nursing Competency Measurement Scale was conducted with 114 nurses to evaluate reliability and applicability of the instrument. Data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 21.0. Results: A review of the literature identified 13 components of nursing competencies and 30 core nursing competencies based on each of the 4 grade clinical ladders. Cronbach's coefficient for the total was .92. Cronbach ⍺ 's reliabilities of each clinical ⍺ ladder grade were .83 for GradeⅠ, .84 for Grade Ⅱ, .81 for Grade Ⅲ, and .84 for Grade Ⅳ. The Content Validity Index (CVI) of the scale with 120 individual items was 0.976~1.000 for GradeⅠscale, 0.986~1.000 for Grade Ⅱ scale, 0.984~1.000 for Grade scale, and 0.992~1.000 for Grade scale. The expert group nurses Ⅲ Ⅳ ' average degree of nursing competence measured using the scale was 3.38~3.75 out of 4.0. Conclusion: Through this process, 120 final questions were confirmed to represent items of the Nursing Competency Measurement Scale based on clinical grade.

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연구의 필요성비판적Purpose: To develop a Critical Thinking Skill Test for Nursing Students. Methods: The construct concepts were drawn from a literature review and in-depth interviews with hospital nurses and surveys were conducted among students (n= 607) from nursing colleges. The data were collected from September 13 to November 23, 2012 and analyzed using the SAS program, 9.2 version. The KR 20 coefficient for reliability, difficulty index, discrimination index, item-total correlation and known group technique for validity were performed. Results: Four domains and 27 skills were identified and 35 multiple choice items were developed. Thirty multiple choice items which had scores higher than .80 on the content validity index were selected for the pre test. From the analysis of the pre test data, a modified 30 items were selected for the main test. In the main test, the KR 20 coefficient was .70 and Corrected Item-Total Correlations range was .11-.38. There was a statistically significant difference between two academic systems (p= .001). Conclusion: The developed instrument is the first critical thinking skill test reflecting nursing perspectives in hospital settings and is expected to be utilized as a tool which contributes to improvement of the critical thinking ability of nursing students.

This study was conducted to develop a case management program using the critical pathway (CP) as an intervention method for patients with an inguinal hernia for a herniorrhaphy, and to determine the effects of the CP on the period of hospitalization, medical costs, the rates of postoperative complaints, patient satisfaction and the nurses' job satisfaction. One hundred patients (60 in the experimental group, 40 in the control group) who were admitted to a general hospital in Seoul for inguinal herniorrhaphy were enrolled in this study. The results showed that the period of hospitalization and the postoperative hospital stay were significantly reduced in the CP group. In addition, the total medical cost, was lowered significantly by use of the CP for patients undergoing an inguinal herniorrhaphy. The rates of postoperative complaints, patients' satisfaction and the information on the treatment were enhanced after implementing the CP. These results suggests that the CP may be a useful tool for enhancing the health care outcome by decreasing the period of hospitalization, overall medical costs and by improving the quality of care, all of which can benefit the patients, the patients' family, caregivers and the hospital.