Introduction:Compliance with professional ethics is an integral part of the nursing profession and patient care. Nursing ethics codes are a guide for nurses to increase the quality of their ethical responsibilities. On the other hand, spiritual intelligence is an important factor in the efficiency and success of therapeutic team. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between spiritual intelligence and professional ethics codes by nurses. Methods and Materials:In this descriptive correlational study, 164 nurses working in Shahid Sadoughi Hospital in Yazd were randomly assigned through stratified random sampling. The data were collected using the Professional Ethics and Spiritual Intelligence Questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation), and non-inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient, independent t-test and ANOVA). Results:The overall score of spiritual intelligence was 70.86 ± 12.01 at the desirable level, and the overall score of the ethical codes was 10.64 ± 84.90 at the average level. The prioritization of professional ethics codes was as follows: commitment to justice 89.8 ± 12.81, respect for colleagues 13.55 ± 89.06 and commitment to preserving nursing dignity was 88.08 ± 15.29. Also, there was a significant correlation between spiritual intelligence and professional ethics codes (P = 0.001). Conclusion:Given the significant relationship between spiritual intelligence and observance of professional ethics codes, it can be concluded that strengthening religious beliefs of nurses and holding workshops in the field of spirituality can strengthen spiritual intelligence and adherence to professional ethics codes.

Objective:Over the past three decades, more than 100 instruments have been developed that measure the quality of life. In order to ensure accuracy and authenticity of the measurements, it is essential to utilize the instruments that have proper psychometric properties. Therefore, this critical review study aimed at comparing the instruments that measured the life quality of cancer patients in Iranian studies. Methods:In this study, Persian articles published in Iranian databases (IranMedex, Irandoc Magiran, SID) from 2006 to 2016 were searched, using the following keywords: nursing, cancer, tools, scale, and quality of life. A total number of 159 articles were obtained, of which 33 articles complied with the inclusion criteria of this study and thereby were reviewed. Results:Sixty nine percent of the articles explored the life quality of adult females with breast cancer, and the most-commonly used instrument was a quality-of-Life instrument for use in international clinical trials in oncology belonging to the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. More than half of the studies referred solely to Iranian studies to address psychometric properties. Though, no method was introduced in order to address the validity and reliability of instruments in the articles under consideration. Conclusion:According to the findings, the studies which explored the validity and reliability of instruments concerning the life quality of cancer patients were scarce. Therefore, the researchers should pay further attention to the validity and reliability of instruments for selection of an appropriate instrument in this area of research. Also, the researchers are encouraged to further study the psychometric properties of relevant instruments so that optimal generalizability and authenticity of their findings can be attained.

Introduction: Nurses are always involved with caring for elderly patients. They need to increase their knowledge and skills in the field of aging to provide effective care to elderly patients. Moreover, attitudes of nurses affect the quality of care for elderly people. Some interventions such as education are effective tools for improving nurses' knowledge and attitudes to better understand the problems of the elderly. The present study aims at determining the effect of teaching fundamentals of geriatric life on nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward aging.   Methods: This was a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest with control group study. It was performed on 91 nurses working in Meybod (44 nurses) and Ardakan Hospitals (47 nurses). Training sessions on fundamentals of geriatric life were conducted for the experimental group. The training program consisted of five training sessions in the field of geriatrics . Data collection instruments included: Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz, and Kogan's Attitude Toward Older People Scale, which were completed three times before, immediately after, and two months after the intervention for both groups.   Results: There was no significant difference in knowledge between the two groups before the intervention (p = 0.792). Yet, the knowledge score immediately and two months after the intervention showed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups (p < 0.01). The mean score of attitude before intervention was no significant difference between groups (p = 0.069). However, there was a significant difference in attitude score immediately and two months after the intervention between the experimental and control groups (p < 0.01).   Conclusion: Teaching fundamentals of geriatric nursing to nurses improved their knowledge and attitudes toward the problems and needs of the elderls. Using retraining courses in the field of aging is recommended for nurses.

Introduction: Medication error is one of the most common errors in the medical context which has a great importance in the ICUs due to the patients’ inability and vulnerability in participating in the medication therapy. The aim of this study was to determine frequency, types, and reasons of medication errors in the ICUs. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study, which was conducted on 105 nurses working in the ICUs located in hospitals of Yazd City in 2017 on the basis of census sampling method. The data were collected by means of the demographic and occupational questionnaire and the medication errors questionnaire whose content validity and reliability (Alpha Cronbach's coefficient) have been approved The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-square statistical test through SPSS software V.16. Results: The findings revealed that %66.7 of the nurses had medication errors. %40.6 of the nurses had made medication error only once, and 58.7% of the errors occurred during the night shift. As to the injectable medications, administrating nonprescription medications, making mistakes in dosage calculation, and giving medication after discontinuation were reported with higher frequencies. Regarding the injectable medications, paying no attention to interactions of concomitant drugs, making calculation mistakes, and administrating nonprescription medications were more frequent. Also, the nurses’ fatigue was reported as the first main cause of medication errors in this study. Conclusion: Given the high frequency of medication errors) 66.7% in the last six months( particularly during the night shift as well as the nurses’ fatigue as the most important cause of the error incidences, it appears important that healthcare authorities and nursing managers take account of the approaches that enhance the nurses’ working conditions.