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The transfer of nursing education into the tertiary section in Australia aimed to address a number of issues for nursing, the most significant of which was to enhance the status of the profession. A side effect of the establishment of university-based nursing programs is the increased flexibility that makes studies in nursing an option for students who may otherwise not have had this opportunity. Such accessibility is not without problems as many students enter tertiary nursing programs after a prolonged period of absence from a scholarly environment. Those who do enrol directly from other forms of study are often overwhelmed by the specific requirements of nursing programs. In order to promote student succession and reduce attrition, universities have established a number of mechanisms to support students as they transition to the tertiary environment. This article reports on a survey of 112 nursing students enrolled in their first year of study at a regional university in Australia. Findings are presented under the major areas of questions, these being, "issues faced in adapting to the role of a university student in the first year of study, services or support mechanisms accessed to assist in transition to the role of university student, and services lacking that would have assisted in the transition to the role of university student." These findings are then discussed in the context of existing knowledge of the first-year experience of university students.

Background: Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome differentiation is one of the fundamental principles that guide the practice of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM). CHM has been widely used among breast cancer patients. Contemporary literature varies in syndrome diagnosis, and there is a need to standardize syndrome differentiation according to the different stages of breast cancer treatment. This multicenter clinical study aims to identify the CM syndromes and the clinical signs and symptoms in women with early breast cancer. Methods: Participants who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were interviewed during the five treatment stages: preoperative, postoperative, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and endocrine therapy. Patient demographic data and CM syndrome (as recorded by the treating CM clinicians in medical records) were gathered. Signs and symptoms were analyzed using descriptive statistics to derive the standardized CM syndromes using hierarchical cluster analysis. Results: The analysis included 964 interviews with 620 participants enrolled between April 29, 2020 and May 30, 2021 from eight participating hospitals in China. The two most frequent syndromes recorded in medical records were dual deficiency of qi and blood, and dual deficiency of qi and yin during all but the preoperative stage. The symptoms of lassitude, lack of strength, and insomnia were common in all but the preoperative stage. Cluster analysis identified two clusters in the preoperative stage that most closely resembled the syndrome diagnoses of liver stagnation with congealing phlegm, and dual deficiency of the liver and kidney. Two clusters--dual deficiency of qi and blood, and dual deficiency of qi and yin--were common to multiple treatment stages. The syndrome cluster of spleen and stomach disharmony existed in both the postoperative and chemotherapy stages. Cluster analysis of the radiation therapy stage identified the unique syndrome of yin deficiency with fire toxin, while the endocrine therapy included the syndromes of liver depression and kidney deficiency. Conclusions: This multicenter clinical study showed consistency between results from cluster analysis and the most common syndromes recorded in the medical records. Findings from this clinical study will be further validated in a Delphi study to standardize CM syndromes for various stages of breast cancer treatment. Clinical Trial Registration: www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx, identifier ChiCTR2000032497. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Conducting clinical trials of Chinese medicines (CM) in hospitals presents challenges for researchers. The success of hospital-based CM clinical trials may be influenced by the protocol design, including the maintenance of CM theory in compliance with scientific rigour and hospital guidelines and justified treatment approaches with results that can translate into clinical practice. Other influences include personnel and resources such as a dedicated team open to CM with an established research culture and the ability to maximise participant recruitment. This article identifies the key challenges and limitations of conducting CM clinical trials in Australian hospitals.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture compared to placebo acupuncture for women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) in a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: A search was conducted in seven English-language biomedical databases from their inception to 3 April 2019 to identify studies evaluating acupuncture as an adjunct to IVF treatment. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared acupuncture with placebo acupuncture using a non-invasive placebo acupuncture device in women undergoing a fresh or frozen IVF cycle were eligible, as were studies that tested placebo acupuncture as the intervention. Outcomes were clinical pregnancy rate, ongoing pregnancy rate, miscarriage rate, live birth rate and adverse events. Results: Eight RCTs involving 3607 women were included. Studies were judged to be low risk for most of the risk of bias domains. Acupuncture around the time of embryo transfer was not significantly different to placebo acupuncture in terms of the clinical pregnancy rate (6 RCTs, 2473 women, risk ratio (RR) = 0.99 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.88, 1.11), I2 = 51%, moderate certainty evidence), ongoing pregnancy rate (4 RCTs, 1459 women, RR = 0.88 (95% CI = 0.75, 1.02), I2 = 50%, moderate certainty evidence), miscarriage rate (4 RCTs, 502 women, RR = 1.23 (95% CI = 0.89, 1.71), I2 = 30%, high certainty evidence) or live birth rate (4 RCTs, 1835 women, RR = 0.87 (95% CI = 0.75, 1.01), I2 = 0%, high certainty evidence). Outcomes with placebo acupuncture were not significantly different to usual care. Adverse events relating to acupuncture, such as discomfort and bruising, were mild to moderate. Conclusion: Acupuncture administered around the time of embryo transfer did not have a statistically significant effect on IVF outcomes compared with placebo acupuncture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psoriasis vulgaris and chronic urticaria are common skin conditions with a significant health burden. Achieving long-term control remains a challenge, and some patients choose Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) to meet this need. Little is known about the motivators and experiences of using CHM for these skin conditions. Objectives: To determine the motivators for choosing CHM, and experience of using CHM for psoriasis vulgaris and chronic urticaria. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with participants who had previously used CHM for these conditions. Interviews were transcribed for data analysis. Results: Twenty participants completed the interviews in Guangzhou (n = 16), China, and Melbourne (n = 4), Australia. Motivators included wanting an alternative to conventional medicine, beliefs about CHM and previous experience. Participants expected that CHM would be safer and could prevent relapse; this expectation was met for some participants. Preparing CHM decoctions was onerous, and CHM granules were more convenient. Conclusion: Beliefs, previous experience of using CHM, desire to prevent relapse, and safety are important motivators for choosing CHM in people with psoriasis vulgaris and chronic urticaria. Further clinical evidence is required to enable patients to make informed clinical decisions. Patient preferences should be considered in the context of available evidence when prescribing CHM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]