This overview of the research process is for nurses who have either not had a formal course of study in the area, or have not thought about the process in some time. Using a systematic method of viewing the research process should improve understanding. By knowing how question type determines design, and ultimately how results are structured, nurses will be better able to engage in the process as knowledgeable participants. Using this framework should allow those, who wish to do so, to further study the numerous variations in designs and nuances within in each level

Home to this years ASPAN conference, Albuquerque New Mexico - home to the native Indians - then Spanish and finally the Americans. A rich blend of cultures that has left stunning pueblo architecture, jewellery, pottery. For me the big thrill however was Route 66 - this classic road cuts right through Central - as I walked two blocks down this street everyday to the conference convention centre I tried to imagine what it must have been like 40 years ago with the Cadillacs and convertibles, bumper to bumper taking the famous trip from LA - Chicago or the other way. Now the street is fairly quiet and Albuquerque has grown outwards.

The 12-lead ECG provides information about the electrical activity in the heart viewed from 12 different directions and in two different planes. The standard 12 lead ECG consists of 3 bipolar leads (leads 1, 11 and 111) and 9 unipolar leads (aVR, aVL and aVF, V1-V6) giving information about the inferior wall, lateral left ventricular wall and anterior wall of the heart. It is an invaluable part of the preassessment of the patient prior to surgery and enables the surgeon and anaesthetist to risk assess the patient prior to anaesthetic and surgery.

It has been said that where one door closes, another opens. I experienced such a phenomenon in June. A humanitarian medical team mission, with which I was scheduled to participate in Romania, was unfortunately cancelled due to world events. Within days of the cancellation news the latest edition of the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing (JoPAN) arrived in my mailbox.