Dr Nan Ma, MB Bchir, MRCP is a specialty registrar in geriatrics and is a member of the Royal College of Physicians. She graduated medical school from Downing College, University of Cambridge in 2011, and is undertaking her training in general internal medicine and geriatrics at the Kings College Hospitals NHS Trust in London. She has also gained certification by ECFMG to allow her the opportunity to further her training within the US in the future. Nan has always had an interest in research and her current interest in bone health in the elderly population has allowed her to continue to seek opportunities and develop her skills and knowledge of research alongside her clinical work.

BackgroundrnVitamin D deficiency is a significant problem especially in the older population. Studies implicate its role in immunomodulation, cardiovascular disease, cancer and bone health. Vitamin D deficiency increases risks of falls and osteoporotic fractures impacting on quality of life. An audit of our current practice showed that a short two-week course of vitamin D replacement is convenient and effective [1]. However, in those with severely depleted vitamin D stores a longer period of intense vitamin D replacement maybe required. We re-audited our results with an increased length of treatment of three-weeks.rnrnMethodsrnElderly patients >65 years with severe vitamin D deficiency (<20nmol/L) attending Princess Royal University Hospital were prescribed a three-week course of ergocalciferol 50,000 IU/day, followed by daily maintenance dose of calcium/vitamin D (1.5mg/400IU). Baseline vitamin D and renal functions were taken and rechecked at least 4 weeks after start of treatment. Patients with stage 4 chronic kidney disease were excluded.rnrnResultsrnIn total 58 patients were included, with 34 complete sets of data, 24 were lost to follow up. The average age was 83 years with 62% females. The median pre-treatment vitamin D level was 10.5 nmol/L with eGFR 64mL/min. Following three weeks treatment all patients showed improvement in serum vitamin D level with 68% reaching normal (>80nmol/L) vitamin D levels, and the remainder 32% improving to levels within the insufficiency range (40 – 80 nmol/L), Figure 1. Importantly all patients (100%) reached vitamin D levels above deficiency (>40). The median change was 956%. No side effects or toxicity were reported. rnrnConclusionsrnAn intense three-week course of ergocalciferol appears to be a safe and effective way of replacing severe vitamin D deficiency which is in contrast to the current guidelines. A shorter duration of treatment should improve compliance and allow the benefits of treatment to be gained quicker. rn

Maryam Soleimani graduated with a master\'s degree in Family Counseling. This article has been extracted from M.S. Thesis. Dr. Ali Mohammad Nazari was her advisor. He has a Ph.D. in Family Counseling. Dr. Kiyanosh Zahrakar was her consulting advisor. He has a Ph.D. in Counseling. This article is about retirement and its psychological effects on themselves and their family. Crisis theory was utilized to focus on the difference between family and individual aspects in male employees and male retirees. Maryam is interested in research on retirement and aging. She has several studies in this field.

Each of our days is organized in relation to our job. If our working hours change, our daily schedule will change. By the retirement of all the equilibrium obtained, somewhat collapses. And it takes some time for someone to adapt to new conditions and usually there are negative consequences in the transitional period. Usually, men are more likely to experience these problems than women. Retirement does not only affect the retired person but also affects other family members. Existing research on retirement has often focused on mental health or marital satisfaction. They have not investigated the Power structure in family. In addition, these studies have reported different results. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: This research was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The subjects respond to three questionnaires of General health (GHQ_28), Power structure in family and marital conflicts. For data analysis we used from statistical indicators of mean, standard deviation and independent t-test. Crisis theory was utilized to focus on the difference Between Mental Health, power structure in family and marital conflicts between male employees and male retirees. Findings: This research showed that there are significant differences between male employees and male retirees in mental health, power structure in family and marital conflicts. Conclusion & Significance: The results of this study, shows that retiring employees reduce their general health and affect in power structure in family and marital conflicts.

Jeanne Pacheco is a doctoral student in Regis College’s Doctor of Nursing Practice’s program. She earned her Master of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts in 1992. Her doctoral project, A Scholarly Practice Project: Promoting Healthy Bereavement in Newly Widowed Older Women in Assisted Living Facilities, brings together her passion for working with an often underserved and underappreciated population and her belief in the power of education. Having spent almost three decades as a nurse and a nurse educator, Jeanne has spent her career putting her values into action. During her career as a nurse, her work has focused on in geriatrics, terminal illness, and bereavement support. This has provided her the opportunity to care for those who share their wisdom and experience with her while she offers her caring and expertise. Through these experiences, Jeanne has reflected on the importance of how to live one’s life. She has spent a good part of her career passing this on to her students. She challenges them how to feel joy in what can be a draining profession. By helping students understand that healing others provides the opportunity to understand what is important in life, Jeanne always seeks to pass along not only knowledge, but also wisdom.

Statement of the Problem: According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2012), older adults, a large portion of whom are widowed, comprise the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population today. Although most recover from grief and its associated symptoms, a substantial minority of spousally bereaved older adults struggle with adaptation to loss and experience complicated grief. For these individuals, bereavement support interventions can have a preventive effect, reducing problems such as decreased functional independence, resulting from the death of their spouse. However, despite the availability of multiple bereavement support interventions, consensus is lacking regarding the need for such interventions, as well as their efficacy. The purpose of this study was to summarize and evaluate bereavement support interventions utilized with newly widowed older women experiencing uncomplicated grief.\r\n\r\nMethodology and Theoretical Orientation: The researcher conducted an integrative literature review, summarizing and evaluating 11 publications examining the effect of bereavement support interventions for newly widowed older women experiencing uncomplicated grief. Each stage of the review was guided by Whittenmore and Knafl’s (2005) framework for conducting research reviews. This framework is derived from Cooper’s earlier (1998) framework. Included study designs, interventions, out-comes, and populations varied widely.\r\n\r\nFindings: Although all studies demonstrated improvements in grief-related outcomes, only one (Yoo & Kang, 2006) demonstrated statistical significance of all major variables between interventions and control groups, while a second (Kang & Yoo, 2007) yielded mixed results, demonstrating statistical significance of only one of the two major variables between intervention and control groups. A statistically significant intervention impact on three of five major variables, measured over time, was reported in a third study.\r\n\r\nConclusion and Significance: Findings demonstrated that while newly widowed older women experiencing uncomplicated grief may benefit from bereavement support interventions, lack of consensus regarding type of effective interventions and outcome measures continues. Recommendations for future research included: 1) evaluation of bereavement support outcomes over time, 2) replication studies comparing bereavement support outcomes in participants who seek out support versus those recruited to receive support, and 3) evaluation of bereavement support outcomes in same gender support groups versus mixed gender groups.\r\n\r\n