This article explores the applicability of the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the Australian nurse practitioner (NP) perspective. NPs have been endorsed to practice in Australia for more than 13 years in many diverse roles requiring education beyond that of the current master’s level. However, there is little formal university training beyond this level. Current regulatory requirements, clinical practice settings, and the small number of NPs practicing do not provide the impetus to expand NP education requirements at this time.

The self-complexity model (Linville, 1987) predicts that individuals who have numerous self-aspects with little overlap among them will be buffered against the effects of stressful life events and will experience less depression. Despite some evidence to this effect, many replication attempts have failed (cf. Rafaeli-Mor & Steinberg, 2002). The present studies reexamine the self-complexity model, incorporating recent theoretical and methodological critiques of its original formulation (e.g., Brown, Hammen, Wickens, & Craske, 1995; Rafaeli-Mor, Gotlib, & Revelle, 1999). Two prospective studies provide some support for a revised self-complexity hypothesis, which examines separately the effects of differentiation (number of self-aspects) and integration (overlap among them) and considers more carefully the role of stress.

Adults’ recollections of how often they were teased as children are positively associated with their social anxiety symptoms. It has therefore been suggested that childhood teasing may play a role in the development of social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, existing studies have not determined whether adults with SAD were actually teased more as children or whether their current symptoms have distorted their memories of childhood events. This study examined reports of childhood teasing in adults with SAD before and after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). If recollections of childhood teasing are colored by SAD symptoms, then reported frequency of teasing might be more likely to decrease as symptoms improve after CBT. However, if individuals’ memories of teasing are unbiased, they should not substantially change with the reduction of symptoms after CBT. Ninety-one participants with SAD completed the Teasing Questionnaire-Revised (TQ-R) before and after 12 sessions of group CBT. CBT was effective in reducing SAD symptoms, whereas recollections of the frequency of childhood teasing did not change significantly after treatment. These results are consistent with the possibility that recollections of childhood teasing are not substantially biased by symptoms of SAD, and they lend support to previous studies which suggest that adults with SAD endured higher frequencies of teasing as children compared to controls.

Objective: Share new knowledge about workplace practices related to employer success in hiring, retaining, and promoting people with disabilities, and promote use of findings to employers and service providers.

Design: A transdisciplinary and multifaceted data gathering approach.

Results: Provides an overview of the research approach taken and the strengths regarding this approach.

Conclusions: The significance of findings for rehabilitation researchers and policy makers focused on improving employment outcomes for people with disabilities, for rehabilitation counselor educators preparing future service providers, and for practicing professionals providing services to individuals with disabilities and consultation to employers regarding disability issues, are presented.

In this chapter, we review of the field of gerontological genetics with respect to subjective and objective health, the role of stress on health, and finally frailty and longevity. For most indices of subjective and objective health, frailty, and longevity, genetic influences contribute only modestly to individual differences, wherein heritabilities are typically on the order of 35%–40%. Notable exceptions are the moderate to strong heritabilities for lipid measures and brain structure and function, with a remarkably increasing role of genetic influences for longevity with advancing age. Although candidate gene and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) studies have identified gene variants associated with many subjective and objective health traits, their effect sizes are typically relatively small, as expected for complex traits. There is some evidence for gene–environment interactions, and stress may be an important moderator of genetic variance for health. For example, carrying a risk genotype for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the angiotensin converting enzyme gene (

A myriad of factors influence the sub-optimal breastfeeding rates in the U.S. Among these factors is maternal obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m²), which has been found to negatively impact breastfeeding initiation and duration for some women. Obesity increases women’s risk for various complications throughout the perinatal period, which may impact breastfeeding and the long-term health and well-being of women and their children. However, adequate lactation support that upholds a respectful consciousness regarding the potential breastfeeding challenges of women with obesity can assist these women to successfully meet their breastfeeding goals. This review summarizes the literature on the impact of maternal BMI on breastfeeding duration, and maternal and infant risk factors that may complicate lactation for women with obesity. Recommendations for assessing and supporting the needs of mothers with obesity to best achieve their breastfeeding goals are provided.

In most Western societies, the perception of age and aging is predominantly negative, and this negativity is often integrated into older adults' self-view of age(ing). At the societal level, negative views of aging manifest themselves in the form of age stereotypes, which result in prejudice and discrimination toward older adults. At the personal level, negative views of one's own aging are related, among others, to poor health, lower well-being, and even shorter survival times. Considering these negative effects, interventions that promote positive views of aging seem warranted. This chapter discusses potential routes for changing negative (self-)views of aging and the challenges that are inherent to such efforts, such as determining and reaching the target groups for intervention programs. Strategies such as increasing the knowledge about old age, providing opportunities for children or younger adults to interact with older adults, as well as changing the portrayal of older adults in the media might be used to change societal views of aging. Because it is assumed that for some older adults age stereotypes become self-stereotypes, changing the societal view of aging might eventually also lead to a positive change in older adults' view of their own aging, and it might minimize the burden of belonging to a stigmatized group. Few strategies for changing personal views of aging (e.g., social comparison feedback) have been shown to be successful so far. Overall, more research is necessary to develop interventions which are easy to implement and universally effective.

This practice improvement project was aimed at implementing a simulation-based education program at an immediate care clinic to better prepare staff for emergency situations and to determine whether simulation-based training could positively impact the confidence of participating staff members. Six staff members participated in a 2-phase program. The first phase included an educational component with practice mock code scenarios, whereas the second phase consisted of a spontaneous mock code drill 2 weeks later. Results revealed significant differences in participants’ overall reported comfort and confidence levels (percentages) in performing during a medical emergency pre- and postprogram. In addition, when individual skills were evaluated, there was a significant increase in participants’ comfort in initiating cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), confidence in performing bag-to-mouth ventilation, and confidence in following basic life support guidelines during emergency situations. Findings suggest that a simulation-based learning program in immediate care can enhance the confidence of staff members in responding to emergent situations.

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been identified as a contributing factor to the development and maintenance of anxiety. Individuals with high AS are sensitive to bodily cues and anxiety-related thoughts and often misinterpret these stimuli as catastrophic or dangerous. Similarly, negative and positive metacognitive beliefs (i.e., beliefs about thinking) are believed to increase internal threat monitoring and the use of maladaptive coping strategies, which may increase the impact of AS on anxiety. As such, the purpose of the present study was to examine the moderating role of metacognitive beliefs on the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and anxiety. Adult participants (N = 417), recruited through an online crowdsourcing website, completed a battery of measures assessing the constructs of interest. Results from multiple linear regression indicated that the relationship between AS and anxiety became significantly stronger as negative and positive metacognitive beliefs increased, thus suggesting that negative and positive metacognitive beliefs may exacerbate the effect of AS on anxiety. The development of risk profiles that incorporate AS and negative and positive metacognitive beliefs may be beneficial for early identification of individuals at high risk for the development of anxiety.

This article describes the specific cognitive behavioral techniques that were employed to treat a client with a 20-year history of compulsive water drinking. It is suggested that working with client’s placement of attention is necessary, especially when there are no ‘thoughts’ to debate with.