Experiential learning in nursing programs includes role-play, simulation, and live clinical experiences. Anxiety levels can heighten during experiential learning as students attempt to gain psychomotor skills and transfer knowledge into critical thinking. Nursing students may experience anxiety that can interfere with learning and critical thinking. However, the presence of student anxiety can be used to initiate a purposeful caring transaction between nursing faculty and student. The caring transaction is a way for faculty to model both caring and presence, create experiential learning of caring by students, and lead students to initiate self-care interventions to manage anxiety through the nursing program and beyond. Multiple learning outcomes can be achieved as the students integrate faculty-modeled concepts of caring and presence into simulated or real clinical situations, reduce or manage their anxiety, and improve their clinical judgment and critical thinking skills.

Hypomagnesaemic tetany was induced in non-lactating and lactating ewes by feeding them semi-synthetic low magnesium diets containing additional potassium chloride and citric acid. Aqueous and vitreous humour were sampled from one eye at the time of death (fresh) and from the second eye after the head had been stored at ambient temperature for 24 hours (24.hour). There were significant relationships between the concentrations of magnesium in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma and its concentrations in fresh aqueous humour and fresh vitreous humour. Magnesium concentrations of <0.33 mmol/litre in fresh aqueous humour and <0.50 mmol/litre in 24.hour aqueous humour were associated with severe hypomagnesaemia and tetany. However, the concentration of magnesium in aqueous humour is relatively unstable and, unless the time of death was known accurately, its interpretation would be difficult. Magnesium concentrations of <0.60 mmol/litre in fresh vitreous humour and <0.65 mmol/litre in 24-hour vitreous humour were associated with severe hypomagnesaemia and tetany in adult sheep. The concentration of magnesium in vitreous humour was relatively stable for up to 48 hours postmortem.

Severe hypomagnesaemia and tetany were induced in 10 lactating cows by feeding them semi-synthetic low magnesium diets and the animals were used to study the stability of postmortem markers of hypomagnesaemic tetany. There were significant relationships between the concentrations of magnesium in either cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or plasma and either aqueous or vitreous humour. The onset of hypomagnesamic tetany was also associated with low magnesium concentrations in plasma, CSF and aqueous and vitreous humour. Magnesium concentrations less than 0.25 mmol/litre in fresh aqueous humour may be indicative of severe hypomagnesaemia and possible tetany in lactating cows, but the concentration of magnesium in aqueous humour was unstable postmortem. The concentration of magnesium in vitreous humour was relatively stable and a concentration of less than 0.55 mmol/litre could be used as a diagnostic marker of tetany in cattle for up to at least 48 hours postmortem, at ambient temperatures typical of Northern Ireland.

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