Volume 4, Issue 1

The use and evaluation of an innovative Web-based technology and its suitability for promoting realism when interacting in clinical nursing situations are described. Also discussed are the development, implementation and evaluation of online role-play simulation. Student and faculty-centered insights are shared about the simulation and the technology supporting it. This Web-based learning experience validated literature review findings and offered new understanding about extended learning, projected realism, diversity, seriousness, non-verbal prompting, and evaluation. This simulation used the Fablusi™ platform in which students experienced the outcomes of their decisions and actions. This Web-based technology can be adapted for different student groups to enhance learning.

Humor has been recognized by nurse researchers as a therapeutic intervention known to have positive psychological and physiological outcomes for patients. There is, however, no research that examines how nurses learn about humor. The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine nursing faculty members' teaching practices about humor education in the classroom and in clinical settings. Nursing faculty members from four nursing programs, two in the United States, one in Northern Ireland, and one in Taiwan, were surveyed about the inclusion of humor in the nursing curriculum. Findings revealed that substantially more humor education was included in clinical settings in the USA and Northern Ireland than in the classroom. In Taiwan, however, humor education was included more in the classroom than in clinical settings. Older and more experienced nurses with higher levels of education reported using less humor in teaching practices.

A collaborative population-based project for bowel cancer prevention provided an ideal opportunity to involve nursing students in applying theory to practice. In this article, described is how the engagement of students and subsequent application of a population health template contributed to a community-based bowel cancer education and screening campaign. The campaign was a valuable teaching-learning experience for students and contributed to the goal of reducing and reporting on the number of bowel cancer deaths in the local area. Project evaluation data provide insight into student learning outcomes and reveal ways to strengthen the population health initiative for future years. Originally, a scholarly pursuit of discovery and application developed in response to growing rates of bowel cancer and advances in effective screening programs, the project has evolved into the domain of teaching and learning. This evolution has benefited students, project organizers and community members.

Preparation for clinical practice is arguably a vital component of undergraduate nursing education with clinical laboratories widely adopted as a strategy to support student development of clinical skills. However, there is little empirical evidence about the role laboratories play in students' learning or how they assist in linking theory to practice. This study aimed to explore the current clinical laboratory practices in Schools of Nursing in regional Victoria, Australia through site visits, interviews and review of curricula. Findings revealed that approaches to laboratory learning are based on traditions rather than evidence, and have evolved in response to fiscal and environmental challenges. The predominance of teacher talk in the laboratory, has lead to acute care over other areas of practice. This study indicates a need for rigorous investigation of pedagogies that can support nursing students in preparation for clinical practice. It remains unclear if laboratory learning experiences assist students in the translation of theoretical knowledge to practice.

Carper's (1978) seminal work has been used in nursing education for many years as a method for introducing students to the multitude of ways of knowing that support nursing practice. This manuscript focuses on the aesthetic pattern of knowing and the ongoing debate in nursing literature surrounding aesthetics, evidence and nursing practice. Writers will describe and critique a strategy used to introduce first year undergraduate nursing students to this pattern of knowing. The implications of the critique of the project and the ongoing debate in relation to Carper's (1978) work, evidenced based practice and nursing praxis are discussed.

Most nurse educators fulfill dual roles of clinical practitioner and teacher and thus have to achieve a balance between these two challenging sets of competencies. The authors discuss the obligation and expectation that nurse educators are concurrently experts in clinical practice and education. Is this dual competence a feasible and sustainable goal? To begin to explore this issue, the meanings of 'expert practice' and 'practice competence,' derived from the nursing education literature, are reviewed. Current professional practice competency requirements related to the nurse educator role are discussed. Questions are raised regarding support for and barriers to achieving these competencies. The potential challenges and rewards of this endeavour are presented and illustrated by two nurse educators who share their stories of achieving a balance in teaching and clinical practice competence. Finally, implications for nurse educators and directions for future research into this issue are proposed.

New focus on the internationalization of universities occurred in the late 20th century and higher education in nursing has been quick to embrace the opportunities. In this manuscript, writers provide a brief overview of the nursing and more general literature from the late 20th century relating to key dimensions of internationalization, as well as present data from a survey conducted in 1995-96 of the international activities and dimensions at Canadian faculties/schools of nursing. While it is clear that nurses in Canadian universities were engaged in significant international endeavours in the 20th century, the literature and our experience suggest that the extent of such activity has increased substantially in recent years. Discussion centres on examination of how knowledge generated in the 20th century can inform current internationalization initiatives and on identification of key questions that merit consideration as we move forward in the 21st century.

Human Patient Simulators (HPS), electronically controlled mannequins as patient models, are increasingly being used in nursing education. However, no studies have validated the influence of systematic practice with HPS on clinical performance of nursing students. This pilot study attempted to identify the nursing clinical practice parameters influenced by HPS by evaluating the clinical performance of 12 senior second degree BSN students in five categories: safety, basic assessment skills, prioritization, problem-focused assessment, ensuing interventions, delegation and communication in a complex two-patient, simulated assignment. Students who practiced with the HPS in addition to their usual clinical training had significantly higher scores than the control group (usual clinical training alone) on Patient Identification (a subcategory of the safety category; p = 0.001), and on Assessing Vital Signs (a subcategory of the basic assessment category; p = 0.009). The control and intervention groups' performances were similar in every other category. Replication of this pilot with a larger sample is recommended.

Student clinical practice is a significant and essential part of nursing education. Accordingly, clinical placements need to be positive and valuable. The purpose of this study was to describe newly-graduated nurses' perceptions of their student clinical intersession placements and how these placements impacted their functioning as graduate nurses. Inductive semantic analysis of the data revealed four themes: developing nursing skills and knowledge; preparing for future employment; experiencing supportive relationships; and experiencing realities of work-life. Educators must ensure that clinical placements are in an environment that is conducive to learning and promotes the personal and professional development of nursing students. Positive clinical experiences are more likely related to how valued and supported students feel than the physical aspects of a placement; thus, it is imperative educators assess and focus on providing placements that offer a supportive learning environment.

The purpose of this study was to explore American student perceptions of caring for Korean patients during a 2 week exchange program. Perceptions of Korea/Koreans focused on five areas: respect, hospitality and gift giving, ability to speak English, hierarchal relationships, and being protective. Their perceptions of personal change focused in four areas: valuing personal cultural experiences, increasing cultural awareness and compassion, seeing people from other ethnic groups as individuals and developing interest in oriental medicine. Four areas of importance identified when caring for Korean patients included showing respect, importance of family, food, and care for post-partum mothers. Differences were experienced between an individualistic, low-context society (United States) and a collectivistic, high context society (Korea) where the influence of Confucianism is pervasive.

To begin to address the problem of psychomotor skills deficiencies observed in many new graduate nurses, a skills laboratory course was developed using a web-enhanced approach. In this quasi-experimental study, the control group attended weekly lectures, observed skill demonstrations by faculty, practiced skills, and were evaluated on skill performance. The experimental group learned course content using a web-enhanced approach. This allowed students to learn course material outside of class at times convenient for them, thus they had more time during class to perfect psychomotor skills. The experimental group performed better on the final cognitive examination. Students in the traditional sections were more satisfied with the course, however. It was concluded that a web-enhanced approach for teaching psychomotor skills can provide a valid alternative to traditional skills laboratory formats.

Student evaluations of teaching provide administrators an overall picture of the effectiveness of personnel and contribute data for promotion and merit decisions. These evaluations must be assessed for their relevance, validity, and reliability. This paper describes the development process and psychometric testing for clinical (n = 149) and didactic (n = 148) student evaluation of teaching forms for undergraduate and graduate courses in one college of nursing. Validity and reliability results were quite strong for the instruments, both of which evidenced a one-factor solution with factor loadings ranging from .68-.88 and Cronbach's alphas of .96 (Classroom) and .95 (Clinical). The clinical and classroom evaluation tools are relatively short, decreasing the burden on students who need to complete the instruments for multiple instructors in any one semester. Initial testing of the psychometric properties of the tools supports their continued use in colleges of nursing.

Described in this study are the experiences of six clinical nurses in Ireland who have transitioned to the role of nurse lecturer. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from these novice nurse lecturers. Data were analyzed manually and thematically, generating five emerging themes: feelings experienced during the transition; educational preparation for the role; actual and potential support structures available; hindering factors of the role; and the overall transition experience. Negative feelings and experiences encountered were found to decrease as participants accepted their role change, gained experience in their new role, and became more familiar with their work environment.

Within the last two decades the holistic care of patients has become increasingly important to nurse practitioners and educators. This has led to a move from a wholly biological approach to care to one that requires greater moral reasoning and value judgments by practitioners. There is a significant body of literature suggesting that values developed by students throughout their education can be affected to varying degrees by the nurse educators to whom the student is exposed. Yet, there is a dearth of research into what the values held by such nurse educators may be. A questionnaire was distributed to nurse educators from nineteen different countries at an international conference. Overall, educators reported high regard for the values of honesty and intellectualism, whilst maintaining a more cautious, although still positive, attitude toward altruism in health care.

Faculty consistently build on the basic sciences of the pre-nursing curriculum to teach nursing content. They less frequently build on a literature and arts foundation. Both medical and nursing literature contain numerous, specific examples of how literature and arts can be used in courses. This paper provides a rationale for using literature and the arts to teach nursing, an overview of use and research findings from a review of the literature, and a table illustrating how faculty select teaching strategies incorporating literature and the arts.

This paper presents concepts and strategies for using standardized patients (SP) in teaching and evaluation of nursing students. SP encounters are an alternative to clinical experiences and a standardized criterion for student performance evaluation. Careful development of encounters, selection and training of SPs, support and debriefing of all participants are essential to a positive SP encounter. SP encounters should be developed based on objectives and competency criteria and relate to actual events. Encounter scripts incorporating any "traditional" language often associated with a specific medical condition are beneficial to standardizing the process. SP preparation involves providing background on medical conditions, feedback when practicing the role-play, and validation of performance consistency. Orientation of students and faculty to the SP experience ensures that participants stay in role. SPs can also be utilized to complete written evaluation tools and provide verbal feedback to students. All participants should evaluate the encounter process for future improvement.

A five year fully online RN to BSN program was assessed by faculty and a consultant using the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Partnerships for Training (PFT) learner-centered evaluation tool. Faculty were more critical of their expertise in learner-centered online course criteria than the consultant. The consultant identified minimal use of peer support, collaborative activities, faculty preference for visual learner activities, and a tendency toward faculty ownership of learning goals and creation of activity rules and guidelines. The need to bring online discussions to a higher level of thinking was also noted. The dual evaluation perspectives helped identify strengths and weaknesses in the curriculum.

Upon completion of their education, nursing students are expected to practice safely and competently. Societal changes and revisions to nursing education have altered the way nursing students learn to competently care for patients. Increasingly, simulation experiences are used to assist students to integrate theoretical knowledge into practice. Reasons for and the variety of simulation activities used in nursing education in light of learning theory are discussed. By combining Benner's nursing skill acquisition theory with Kolb's experiential learning theory, theoretical underpinnings for examining the use of simulations in the context of nursing education are provided.

In academic writing on mentoring and preceptorship there is little consensus on the meaning or characteristics surrounding these terms. The writers of this paper contend that the correct usage of preceptorship and mentorship, which gives credence and respect to the very different concepts embedded in each, is a very important precursor to the evolution of these two concepts in nursing education, both academically and within practical application. Although language is continually changing, lack of clarity robs language of its richness and complexity and interferes with clear thinking about the issues. In professional terms, clarity demands that concepts, around which a body of knowledge is growing, be consistent in their meaning and characteristics. Such clarity between the related educational concepts of mentor(ship) and preceptor(ship) is lacking.

Although the use of art in nursing education is well highlighted, most of the literature is anecdotal or focuses on development of a reflective nursing practice with clients. In this study, art was used as a scaffold to infuse liberal nursing education by helping baccalaureate nursing students (n = 91) create a personal expression of nursing and move toward greater self-awareness. Scaffolding is a metaphor for supporting learners as they develop higher levels of thinking. Using naturalistic inquiry to analyze students' written responses in a course activity, four themes emerged from the data: art and creativity, teamwork, boundaries and horizons within self, and boundaries and horizons in the profession. Student's individual expressions of art served as the "calling forth" of processes that opened the door to each student's personal expression.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a public/community health online preceptor education program on knowledge of the preceptor role and self-efficacy to perform in the preceptor role. Forty-eight public/community health nurses from five states completed an online education program, a 32-item quiz and a preceptor self-efficacy instrument. Preceptor self-efficacy and knowledge scores improved significantly after completing the online education program compared to pretest scores. Previous experience as a preceptor, age, and place of employment, were not correlated with preceptor self-efficacy scores. Previous preceptor education and highest level of education completed were positively correlated with preceptor self-efficacy scores. Previous preceptor education was reported by 39.6% of nurses. However, there was no standard curriculum for these education programs. The results of this study support the use of online education as a method for enhancing preceptor knowledge and confidence in the preceptor role.

The study was designed to compare the efficacy of controlled simulation mannequin (SM) assisted learning and case study presentation on knowledge and confidence of nurse practitioner (NP) students in managing a cardiac event. Twenty-three volunteer students were randomly assigned to the experimental (simulation) or control (case study presentation) group. All participants were instructed on atrial arrhythmias, were pre- and post-tested on knowledge and confidence, and completed an evaluation of the experience. There were no statistically significant differences in knowledge test scores, although the control group scored significantly higher on post- test confidence (p=.040). Both groups rated their experience as valuable. The simulation and case study presentation had similar outcomes. Additional research is needed to determine the effectiveness of this teaching modality.

There is little evidence of psychometric properties of the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) when used with Taiwan's nursing faculty. The purpose of this study was to examine psychometric properties of the Chinese LPI and provide a culturally appropriate instrument for use in Taiwan's nursing. Thirteen bachelor and nine associate degree nursing programs were eligible for participation. The Chinese LPI was used to gather nursing faculty's perceptions of leadership behaviors of nursing deans and directors. A total of 369 questionnaires were returned. Psychometric examinations used content validity, internal consistency reliability, item analysis, and construct and concurrent validities. Cronbach's alpha of the Chinese LPI total scale was .96. Three factors were extracted that explained 59.5 % of the variance. Concurrent validity was supported by the Chinese Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X). Findings for the psychometric properties and cultural appropriateness of the Chinese LPI supported its potential as an instrument for measuring nursing leadership in Taiwan.

It is well documented that homophobia exists among healthcare providers including nurses. However, little research is available on the level of homophobia among nursing students and nursing faculty. Using the Index of Attitudes Toward Homosexuals (IAH) and the Homophobic Behavior of Students Scale (HBSS) 241 nursing students and 32 faculty in a Midwest university were invited to participate. One hundred twenty six students completed the survey resulting in a 51% return rate. Fifteen faculty completed the survey. Results reveal that there is a low level of homophobia among students and faculty at this university. Religion and LGBT acquaintances or family members accounted for most of the variance within the homophobia scores. While scores reflect low levels of homophobia, it is the belief of these researchers that they actually may reflect ambivalent or heterosexist attitudes toward LGBT people which may impact healthcare delivered by these future nurses.

The limited supply of BSN nurses hinders efforts to increase patient care quality and address health disparities. In largely rural and economically disadvantaged areas, associate degree prepared nurses provide the majority of nursing services. To address a statewide need, a BSN Program and 3 ADN Programs formed a partnership to take BSN education to rural and medically underserved areas. This article describes the program planning, implementation, and evaluation using an adapted assessment framework with partnership principles as its foundation. Interactive television, internet education components, local clinical experiences, and distant nursing faculty liaisons were used. The nursing course sequence was completed by 101 of 102 students. Hall's Professionalism Scale, the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, and the California Critical Thinking Skills Test measured the increases found in professional socialization and critical thinking. Use of the adapted theoretical framework represented a strategic approach to developing a distance delivered nursing education program.

Nursing schools in the United States have not been teaching evidence-based practices for safe patient handling, putting their graduates at risk for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The specific aim of this study was to translate research related to safe patient handling into the curricula of nursing schools and evaluate the impact on nurse educators and students' intentions to use safe patient handling techniques. Nurse educators at 26 nursing schools received curricular materials and training; nursing students received the evidence-based curriculum module. There were three control sites. Questionnaires were used to collect data on knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about safe patient handling for both nurse educators and students, pre- and post-training. In this study, we found that nurse educator and student knowledge improved significantly at intervention schools, as did intention to use mechanical lifting devices in the near future. We concluded that the curriculum module is ready for wide dissemination across nursing schools to reduce the risk of MSDs among nurses.