Background: Clinical teaching is an important and
essential teaching tool in the clinical area. Clinical
teaching and learning is essential for the development
and progression of experiential nursing knowledge.
Objectives: This research study aims to identify the
perceptions and evaluations regarding clinical teaching
among Year 2 and Year 3 nursing students, and also to
find out if there are any differences in the perceptions
and evaluations of the nursing students in regards to
clinical teaching.
Methods: The formula for calculating the sample
size was adopted from Morris (2005). The sample size
obtained from the calculation with the confidence
interval of 95%, was 132 participants. The participants
were taken from a universal population of 142 diploma
nursing students: 50 Year 2 nursing students and
92 Year 3 nursing students from the International
Medical College in Selangor. The research instrument
used was the Bedside Teaching Evaluation questionnaire
that was adapted with approval by the writer from
the University of Witwatersrand Department of
Surgery (2008). A pilot study was conducted on 20
participants of Year 1 to Year 3 nursing students from the
Assunta College of Nursing, with a Cronbach’s alpha
reliability index of 0.89.
Results: The data collected were analysed using
descriptive statistics to find out the participant’s
perceptions and evaluations regards clinical teaching;
and also to compare the perceptions and evaluations
between the two groups of nursing students from Years 2
and 3. The study findings showed that 46% (n=142) of
the respondents had a good feedback on all the five (5)
items under the perceptions of clinical teaching whereas
42% (n=142) of the respondents had a moderate view
on all the five (5) items in the perceptions of clinical
teaching sessions. With regards to the evaluation of
clinical teaching sessions, 50% of the respondents had
a moderate feedback on all the three (3) items in this
section.
Conclusion: Most of the participants perceived and evaluated the clinical teaching as an important teachinglearning
strategy in enhancing clinical learning.
Background: The escalating rate of private hospital
nurses leaving their workplace raised serious concern
among the stakeholders. Past studies had found that
nursing practice environment was the key influence
on nurses’ leaving intention, but studies examining
the quality of nursing practice environment of private
hospital settings was scarce and therefore warrant
investigation to provide direction for interventions in
addressing nursing turnover.
Objectives: To determine nurses’ perceptions towards
nursing practice environment and whether there is
any significant associations with nurses’ demographic
variables.
Methods: Cross-sectional inferential survey study was
conducted at four private hospitals in the Peninsular
Malaysia using the Practice Environment Scale of
the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) and 885 nurses
participated in the study.
Results: Nurses rated their practice environment as
favourable. However, items stated in “staffing and
resource adequacy” subscale warrant serious attention
because nurses rated poorly on item related to “enough
staff to get the work done” (M = 2.37, SD = .81) and
“enough registered nurses to provide quality patient
care” (M = 2.41, SD = .82). Furthermore, t-test analyses
found that nurses with educational sponsorship bond
(p < .001), higher educational qualifications (p < .05),
and have been working in the hospital since graduation
(p < .001) were more likely to rate their practice
environment lower.
Conclusion: Hospital administrators play significant
role in sustaining and creating positive nursing practice
environment in order to ensure steady supply of nurses
to meet the challenging healthcare needs.
Background: Nurses are the “front line” staff in most
health systems and their contribution is recognised as
essential in meeting development goals and delivering
safe and effective care (ICN, 2007). Nurses are in high
demand not only in developed countries but also in
developing countries like Malaysia. However, more
than 70% of Malaysian hospitals currently do not have
adequate nursing staff. At least 174,000 nurses need to
be trained by 2020 to meet WHO’s nurse-to-patient
ratio of 1:200. The purpose of this study is to identify
the main factors that influence the nursing students’
decision to choose nursing as their career.
Method: A descriptive study guided by Self
Determination Theory was used for this study. A 29-
item questionnaire adapted from McCabe, Nowak
and Mullen (2005) was distributed to all students in a
nursing college (n=117).
Results: The five main reasons for choosing nursing
as a career were “ability to help others”, “training was
provided on the job”, “ability to work closely with
people”, “parental advice”, and “accommodation was
provided while training”. The top three main domains
that influenced the nursing students’ decision to choose
nursing as their career include “travel opportunities
of nursing”, “intrinsic attraction of nursing” and
“immediacy of support on entry to nursing”. A total of
19 (0.2%) will not choose nursing if given a chance.
The main reasons were “want to take another course”,
“no time to spend with family” and “nursing is a stressful
job”.
Conclusion: The findings of this study provided valuable
information regarding motivating factors which attract
the current generation to join nursing. It is of concern
that items representing nurses’ image were not rated
highly.
Malignant melanoma is a rare malignancy of the external auditory canal. The vast majority of them occur in the areas of the body that are exposed to the sun. Early histological examination may possibly favor better prognosis. We report a case of a 38-year-old female who presented with a small mass in right ear canal, earache and minimum discharge since 4 months. Initially scraping was done in the ENT clinic. Subsequently she had a wide excision done by the end aural approach at a different hospital. A year later the patient presented with a swelling involving the ear canal which extended to the helix and supratemporal region with the histology report as malignant melanoma. A literature review of the disease, radiological findings, immunohistochemical features and treatment options are discussed.
Background: Some argue that Malaysia’s extremely low organ donation rate is attributed to religion, specifically Islam. Testing this argument, this study asked Malaysian Muslims their views regarding various issues on organ donation and examined whether their decisions to donate organs are framed by religious beliefs.
Materials and Methods: This study investigated the perspectives of Malaysian Muslims between October and December 2013 in Kuala Lumpur. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 900 people, with 829 responses collected (92% response rate). Respondents’ verbal consent was taken before proceeding with the survey.
Results: The survey found that more than half of respondents felt that organ donation is permitted in
Islam and that it is a communal responsibility. However, the same proportions were unsure on the issues of rewards for organs or on whether Islam permits the procuring of organs from brain dead patients.
Conclusions: Malaysian Muslims are not against organ donation; however, encouraging organ donation requires the state to address public concerns on Islam’s views on this sensitive issue through effective policy tools to help address these gaps in Malaysian Muslims’ understanding of organ donation. The organ donation rate could improve by using Islamic scholars as ambassadors for an organ donation drive to convey the message of Malaysia’s urgent need for organ donation.
MeSH terms: Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Islam; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*; Malaysia; Tissue and Organ Procurement*; Religion
Background: Clinical reasoning is the name given to
the cognitive processes by which doctors evaluate and
analyse information from patients. It is a skill developed
by experiential learning and is difficult to assess
objectively. The script concordance test, an assessment
tool introduced into the health sciences about 15 years
ago, is a way of assessing clinical reasoning ability in
an objective manner and allows comparisons of the
decisions made by medical students and experts in
situations of uncertainty.
Methods: Twenty-six final year medical students from
the International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur,
were tested on their decision making skills regarding a
young febrile patient. The students evaluated different
pieces of information in five different scenarios and
made decisions on a five-point Likert scale in the
standard format of the script concordance test. Their
decisions were compared to the decisions of a panel of
experienced clinicians in Internal Medicine.
Results: The script concordance test scores for the
different scenarios were calculated with higher scores
being indicative of greater concordance between the
reasoning of students and doctors. The students showed
poor concordance with doctors in evaluating clinical
information. Overall, only 20 percent of the choices
made by students were the same as the choices made by
the majority of doctors.
Conclusion: Medical students vary in their ability to
interpret the significance of clinical information. Using
the script concordance test, this preliminary study looked
at the ability of final year medical students to interpret
information about a patient with a febrile illness. The
results showed poor concordance between students and
doctors in the way they interpreted clinical information.
The script concordance test has the potential to be a
tool for teaching and assessing clinical reasoning.
Background: Many nurses are leaving for various
destinations and leaving intention was found to be the
immediate precursor for actual turnover, but studies
examining the different forms of leaving intention (unit,
hospital, country, and profession) and exit destinations
are scarce.
Objectives: To determine the different forms of nurses’
leaving intention (i.e., leaving the unit, hospital, country,
and profession), exit destinations and associations of
demographic variables on the different forms of leaving
intention and exit destinations.
Methods: The study design was a cross-sectional survey.
Private hospital nurses in the Peninsular Malaysia were
the study population and a total of 942 (73% response
rate) nurses participated in the study. A self-reported
questionnaire was used for data collection.
Results: The results revealed that intention of leaving
the organisation (M = 2.81, SD = 1.33) was the
highest and followed by intention of leaving the unit
(M = 2.54, SD = 1.31). In terms of exit destinations,
advancing nursing qualification (M = 2.95, SD = 1.31)
and practising nursing in another country (M = 2.55,
SD = 1.31) were the most preferred exit destinations
among the nurses.
Conclusions: Nursing managers play a significant role in
retaining nurses within the units and organisations. The
findings on nurses’ exit destinations are crucial because
they serve as the direction for nurses’ retention strategies
which include professional development opportunities
through training, education and staff mobility.
Introduction: Dietary fibre (DF) and fluid intakes
have been reported elsewhere to reduce the risk
of constipation. The association of these dietary
components on Agachand’s Constipation Score (CS)
was investigated in the present study.
Methods: A total of 202 Malaysian participants
comprising 50 adolescents (aged 12.4 ± 5.3 yrs),
50 adults (aged 46.3 ± 11.3 yrs), 52 women of childbearing
age (aged 29.1 ± 9.3 yrs) and 50 elderly persons
(aged 70.0 ± 7.4 yrs) were recruited by convenience
sampling from five venues - two communities in Cheras,
one community in Klang, the IMU campus, Bukit Jalil
and a private secondary school in Klang. All participants
were interviewed with a previously-evaluated food
frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and an Agachand’s
Constipation Score (CS) Questionnaire.
Results: Mean daily DF intakes were low across all
age groups with means ranging from 10.0 – 15.6g.
The percentage of subjects with daily DF intakes below
the “deficient” cut-off of 20g was alarmingly high;
80% in adolescents, 45% in adults, 85% in women of
child-bearing age and 70% in the elderly. About onefifth
or 20% of subjects in all age groups had CS values
≥15 which indicated a problem of constipation.
Mean daily total fluid consumption (TFC) ranged
from 2128 – 5490 ml in the four categories of subjects.
Overall, both daily DF intakes and TFC were negatively
associated with CS values. This inverse association was
significant for DF vs CS scores in adolescents (r = -0.500,
p = 0.001), adults (r = -0.351, p = 0.013), the elderly
(r = -0.392, p = 0.005) and all subjects combined
(r = -0.366, p=0.001). For TFC vs CS scores, the
inverse association was only significant for the elderly
(r = -0.312, p = 0.027) and all subjects combined
(r = -0.245, p = 0.001).
Conclusion: The results of this study support the role
of dietary fibre intake and TFC in reducing the risk of
constipation, as well as reinforcing previous data for low
DF intakes among the Malaysian population.
Background: Nurses are the highest numbered healthcare professionals who work in a knowledgedriven environment, where accurate and updated information is needed when delivering care to clients. Information literacy has therefore become one of the criteria in determining nurses’ readiness for evidencebased practice in recent years. In the actual day-to-day care practice, are nurses ready for this?
Objective: To determine the information literacy competency in readiness for evidence-based practice among clinical practicing registered nurses in a private hospital in Penang, Malaysia.
Methods: This cross sectional descriptive study was conducted in the selected private hospital. Universal sampling method was used. At the time of study, there were 443 registered nurses who met the eligibility criteria of this study. The registered nurses were asked to complete a self-reporting questionnaire about information literacy for evidence-based practice.
Results: The response rate was 86.2%, with a total of 382 returned questionnaires. Less than half of the participants (47%) stated that they frequently sourced information to support nursing practice. Poor research experiences among these participants were identified where 56% of the registered nurses never identified researchable problems, 59% have not evaluated a research report and 54% have never utilised research into practice. Registered nurses frequently sought information sources from colleagues or peers (65%) rather than from printed resources, where only 43% and 33% respectively make use of CINAHL and MEDLINE bibliography databases as the electronic resources for their practice.
Conclusions: Results demonstrated that information literacy among registered nurses from this hospital was lacking. Organisation efforts are needed to create awareness of information for evidence-based practice as well as to encourage more research activities and the search of bibliography database among its registered nurses.
Study site: Private hospital, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Aim: This study aims to determine the perception of adult patients towards the importance of prevention of coronary artery diseases (CAD) in order to raise awareness on the risk of CAD.
Method: 80 adults between 18-40 years old were enrolled in the out-patient department at a private hospital. The awareness and perception of the importance of preventing CAD were assessed using a questionnaire.
Result: The level of perception on the importance of prevention of CAD was quite good. 75% of the subjects (n = 60) recorded good level of perception meaning they are aware of the importance of prevention of CAD. 22.5% of the subjects (n = 18) recorded a satisfactory level of perception while only 2.5% of the subjects (n = 2) recorded a poor level of perception towards the importance of prevention of CAD. Majority of the subjects had good perception on importance of a balanced diet, exercise and active lifestyle.
Conclusion: In conclusion it can be said that although people are aware of the risk posed by CAD, recommendations such as proper health teachings and guide lines are still required to ensure that the community is able to understand the risk and take preventive measure in order to reduce the risk of obtaining the risk of heart disease.
Study site: Outpatient clinic, private hospital, Malaysia
Dengue incidence has grown dramatically in recent decades and become a global incidence especially in the
urban area. Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia reported that the number of dengue cases since January
2014 until June 2014 was 38. 411 cases which was higher compared to the number reported in year 2013 (10,
910 cases). The objective of the study was to determine the knowledge and preventive practices of dengue
among residents in Flat Pandan Indah, Ampang Selangor. A cross sectional study design with convenience
sampling method was adopted in this study. A total of 298 respondents living in Flat Pandan Indah were
recruited based on the inclusion criteria. A validated questionnaire that measures knowledge and preventive
practices of dengue was completed by respondents. More than half of the respondents had scored 61.7%
with good knowledge regarding dengue. However, 50.3% of the respondents had a limited extent of dengue
practice. Almost all of the respondents (95.6%) reported that television or radio as the main source for
information on dengue. The common preventive measures used by the respondents were cleaning the
house (n=148, 49.7%), eliminating standing water around the house (n=123, 41.3%) and covering water
containers in the home (n=120, 40.a3%). There was no correlation between dengue knowledge and
preventive practice score (p = 0.109). The study revealed that majority of the respondents had good
knowledge regarding dengue but the practices to prevent dengue are poor. Thus, health education program
focusing on dengue prevention practices should be done on the community members in the future.
MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies; Dengue; Drama; Health Education; Health Promotion; Malaysia; Surveys and Questionnaires; Television; Water; Incidence
The prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is increasing worldwide and even in Malaysia. Hence, the knowledge of adiponectin with regards to gestational diabetes mellitus is a key contributor to disparity in maternal and neonatal morbidities. This study aimed to assess nurses' knowledge of adiponectin and its association with gestational diabetes and obesity in pregnancy. A cross-sectional survey was employed. Respondents were selected by purposive sampling using a pre-tested, structured questionnaire. Ninety one nurses (100%) were aware that obesity increased adverse health outcome among pregnant women, but some confusion exits among nurses about adiponectin with regards to pregnancy. Most of the nurses lack condence in providing care to pregnant women with many (82.4%) addressed the need for education on this topic. In the one-way ANOVA analysis, nurses' knowledge score was significantly associated with education level (p<0.001) and working experience in maternity units (p<0.001). This study demonstrates gaps in the knowledge of adiponectin and its association with obesity and pregnancy. Continuous nursing education for nurses on adiponectin and obesity-related issues in early pregnancy should be strengthened to enhance knowledge and confidence in providing quality antenatal services.
Keywords : Nurses, adiponectin, obesity, pregnancy, gestational diabetes
Patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases are known as
high-risk groups for developing chronic kidney disease (CKD). Adequate related knowledge among them
helps to increase their awareness towards CKD and adapt healthy attitude and practices for CKD
prevention, which will result in better health outcomes. This study aimed to identify the patients'
knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) towards the risks for CKD. This cross-sectional study used a selfadministered
survey questionnaire on 103 adult male and female patients at four general surgical and
medical wards in a teaching hospital using convenient sampling method. The data were computed using
STATA version 12. Data on KAP were obtained through the Chronic Kidney Disease Screening Index
questionnaire. The majority of respondents had poor knowledge (69.9%, n=72), but most of them had good
attitude (68.9%, n=71) and good practices (88.3%, n=91) towards the risk of CKD. Significant associations
were indicated between education level, occupation and monthly family income with knowledge (p-value <
0.05). Significant associations were also indicated between age, sex, marital status and occupation with
their attitude (p-value < 0.05). Meanwhile, marital status was found to be significantly associated with the
practices towards the risk for CKD (p-value=0.008).
Poor knowledge on the risk of getting CKD among hospitalized adults in this study implied the need for
improvement in the public understanding towards the risk for CKD.
We had successfully synthesised Mg-doped zinc oxide (MZO) and Cudoped zinc oxide (CZO) nanorod arrays (NRAs) on Al-doped ZnO (ZAO)-coated glass substrates using immersion method and investigated their structural properties. With the incorporation of the Mg dopant, the length and crystallinity of MZO NRAs is higher compared to that of the CZO NRAs. The average optical transmittance of MZO NRAs was slightly lower than that of the CZO NRAs over the visible wavelength region. With the incorporation of the Cu dopant, the morphology of the CZO sample was slightly different from that of the MZO NRAs. The CZO NRAs present granular with small sphere shape. On the other hand, the MZO NRAs exhibit a hexagonal shape structure with a flat-top facet. Rods with a diameter of 58.9-96.7 nm were uniformly grown on the ZAO-coated glass substrate. This paper presents the growth behaviors of the MZO and CZO NRAs.
The demand for sustainable fuels on one hand and the shortage of conventional energy resources on the other hand, has led to the need for the development of alternative, environmentalfriendly fuels. Hence, the objectives of the current study were to produce a liquid fuel (bio-oil) from Empty fruit bunch (EFB) and to characterizes the bio oil by fast pyrolysis method, in a batch feeding and fixed bed reactor. The Temperature was set to 500°C for all the distillation experiments and the bio oil was collected from the condenser. The total yield of bio oil based on EFB was 66wt.%. The non-condensable gases obtained from the process were CO2, CO, CH4, C2H6, C2H4, C3H8 and C3H6. The higher heating value (HHV) was 27 MJ/Kg. The physical and chemical properties of the produced oil was also determined and discussed in this paper.The moisture, volatile mater and ash were determined and found to be around 1.4391wt %, 6.0182wt% and 1.3906wt%respectively.
The outcomes of this research demonstrated that the produced bio-oil could be considered as an eco-friendly fuel. However, further modifications are required to make it more efficient for industrial-scale (mass production) of EFBproduced bio oil in the near future.
Mild steel is the most common metal used in industry. However, mild steel easily corrodes when exposed to environment. One way to protect mild steel from corrodes is by coating it with more noble metal like copper and its alloys. In this study, copper and Cu-Ni alloys were successfully coated on the mild steel substrate by electrodeposition technique using alkaline citrate solutions containing Cu and Ni ions precursors. The reaction and mechanisms of the electrodeposition of copper and Cu-Ni alloys on the mild steel substrate were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry methods. Surface morphology of the coatings was examined by FESEM. The elemental compositions of the coatings were confirmed by EDAX analysis. The molar ratios of Cu-Ni solutions have affected the formation of the coatings. Corrosion study shows that copper coated mild steel can improve the corrosion resistance of the mild steel in 0.5 M NaCl. Cu-Ni coating prepared from Cu60-Ni40 showed the highest corrosion resistance. The order of the corrosion resistance of the samples in 0.5 M NaCl at 25 oC is Cu60-Ni40> Cu75- Ni25> Cu90-Ni10> Cu100> mild steel.
Acetaminophen, an analgesic drug was evaluated as potential chemical marker for wastewater contamination. Water samples of various sources were analysed using online solid phase extraction liquid chromatography with diode array detector. Acetaminophen was detected in the range of 0.17-1.29 ng/mL in surface water samples contaminated with wastewater. Relatively high concentrations (16.7-74.61 ng/mL) of acetaminophen were observed in water samples from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) treatment plant monitored from March to August 2014. Positive correlation was obtained between the concentrations of acetaminophen with the students’ population based on UiTM academic calendar.
Nanocrystalline lead sulfide (PbS) thin films have been successfully grown on glass substrate using the chemical bath deposition technique. Microwave oven was used as a heating source to facilitate the growth process of the thin films. Aqueous solutions of lead nitrate Pb(NO3) and thiourea [SC(NH2)2] were used as lead and sulfur ion sources, respectively. Structural, morphological and optical analyses revealed good quality growth of nanocrystalline PbS thin films. This study introduced a facile and low cost method to prepare high quality nanocrystalline PbS thin films in a relatively short growth time for optoelectronic applications.
A differential pulse adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetric (DPAdCSV) method for the determination of lead levels in water sample by using pairs of ligands (complexing agents) / – nitrite and 1,10 phennanthroline - nitrite were investigated. Variables affecting the response such as pH, supporting electrolyte, deposition potential, deposition time, stirring speed, drop size, sweep rate, pulse amplitude and ligand concentration were studied. Under optimized conditions the relationship between peak current and lead concentration with 2,2ʹ-bipyridine - nitrite and 1,10 phennanthroline - nitrite were linear in the range of 10 - 500 ng mL-1 and 7–500 ng mL-1 with limit of detection of 0.48 ng mL-1 and 0.36 ng mL -1 respectively . The relative standard deviations (RSD) for 9 determinations of 25 ng mL−1 Pb (II) using 2,2ʹ-bipyridine - nitrite and 1,10 phennanthroline - nitrite were 1.74% and 1.84%, respectively. The values obtained for the proposed technique correlated well with those of atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) as the standard method with correlation coefficient (R2 ) of 0.9991 and 0.9986. The method was applied for the determination of lead in sea, lake and tap waters. The interferences of other metals and major salts present were negligible except iron (III) and Aluminum (III)
Superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted significant research interest because of their use for design of water-repellent and self-cleaning coatings. A superhydrophobic surface can be created by modifying a rough surface with a material of low surface energy through a sol-gel coating technique. Adjusting the amount of precursor and the low surface energy material can optimize the hydrophobicity of the coating. In this work, different ratios (4:1, 3:2, 1:1 and 2:3) of silane: alumina coatings were synthesized and applied on glass substrates through sol-gel method. Characterization of the coated samples showed that volume ratios of silane sol and alumina sol in sol-gel coating affected the superhydrophobicity of the coated glass substrate. The solution of alumina sol and silane sol with ratio 4:1 produced superhydrophobic films with contact angle for water larger than 150 and FESEM images showed very intense roughness compared to the other ratios.