A shorter screening tool might encourage more providers to add depression screening to routine health care visits. The GDS-5/15 is an alternative screening tool.

Pain assessment is a multifaceted process. A common assumption is that all nurses have the same baseline knowledge about pain, a potentially erroneous assumption that influences clinical practice. Nurses have varied experiences in education and pain management. This article describes a research project conducted by the hospital's clinical nurse specialist group to evaluate the effects of a nursing education program on pain assessment and pain management of hospitalized patients in an 841-bed academic medical center.

Although many rehabilitation clients have neurogenic bowels requiring special bowel protocols, a review of the literature affirmed the authors' assumptions and experiences as professional nurses that any bowel program must begin with a good nursing assessment, a clean bowel, and eight keys to success. Once these criteria are met, bowel care can be individualized to meet the needs of the specific patient. This article presents a review of the literature and provides references for nurses seeking additional information on bowel programs.

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