All nurses may be obliged to care for patients at the end of life. Baccalaureate nursing education should prepare nurses to provide this care, but best practice for end of life care education has not been established. ...

In diverse populations, health inequities can exist, thereby contributing to health disparities. A lack of knowledge regarding unfamiliar cultural patterns and practices by health care providers can contribute to ...

There is a nursing faculty shortage at a Mid-Atlantic associate degree nursing program. In response, program administrators have hired adjunct faculty with bachelor of science in nursing degrees (BSNs), hired full-time ...

Human patient simulation (HPS) is a time and cost intensive teaching modality that is used widely in nursing education, and has been implemented with little evidence to support its efficacy (Jeffries & Rizzolo, 2006). Researchers note the lack of reliable tools to measure learning using this teaching modality, and consequentially there is a paucity of research linking critical thinking and simulation (Jeffries, 2007; Kneebone, 2003; Nehring, 2008). Nursing clinical decision making affects patient outcomes. Critical thinking is a key factor in clinical decision making. A review of the relevant literature is equivocal on the use of simulation in undergraduate nursing programs to increase critical thinking skills. The need for further research to develop evidence that simulation can enhance critical thinking is integral to continue and expand the use of simulation as a teaching-learning strategy in undergraduate nursing programs (Hayden, Smiley, Alexander, Kardong-Edgren, & Jeffries, 2014). The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to evaluate the effect of simulation implementation on nursing students’ critical thinking skills, as measured by Health Education Systems Incorporated (HESI) exit exam critical thinking sub-scores from cohorts of baccalaureate nursing graduates, in an undergraduate nursing education program. Benner’s (1984), model From Novice to Expert, provides a theoretical framework for identifying knowledge acquisition and level of clinical expertise based on skill competency, knowledge, and experience, and underpins this study. The findings from this study may: (a) provide insight into the relationship between simulation and critical thinking; and (b) may strengthen current nursing programs to provide meaningful learning experiences in the education of nursing students that can impact learning outcomes and can affect patient safety in the future. Nursing education programs are challenged to ensure that nursing graduates have the knowledge and higher order critical thinking skills to make accurate clinical decisions, and to provide safe, high quality, cost effective care (National Council of State Boards of Nursing [NCSBN], 2013; National League of Nursing [NLN], 2003)....

Needlestick injuries continue to occur at an alarming rate among nursing students and hospital personnel across the United States. The first exposure to these injuries occurs when the individuals are in school learning the ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the social support baccalaureate nursing students obtain and desire from staff nurses in the clinical learning environment. Relationships with perceived stress and self-esteem were also investigated. Barrera and Ainlay's (1983) framework for social support provides the conceptual base for the study. The sample population (N = 87) were selected randomly from NLN accredited schools of nursing. A descriptive correlational design was utilized to investigate relationships among the variables. Three instruments and a demographic data sheet were utilized to collect data. The instruments included the Revised Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors (RISSB) (O'Reilly-Knapp, 1992), which was used to measure perceived obtained and desired support, Pagana's Clinical Stress Questionnaire (CSQ), which measured perceived stress, and the Coopersmith Adult Self-esteem Inventory (ASEI), which measured perceptions of self-esteem. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationships among the variables of social support, stress, and self-esteem. The hypothesis investigated was: Students' perceptions of stress and self-esteem will be affected when social support perceived as obtained from staff nurses in the clinical learning environment is different from social support desired. Results of the analyses partially supported the hypothesis. A relationship was shown between desired and obtained social support difference scores and Harm subscale scores. In addition, an inverse relationship was shown between threat and self-esteem scores. The research question looked at relationships among the demographic variables and the variables of perceived social support, stress, and self-esteem. Through a series of multiple regression analyses, a correlation was found between the year in the nursing program and social support difference scores, indicating that junior students desire more support than senior students. In addition, a correlation was seen between age and Challenge subscale scores, indicating that the type of stress older students perceived more often in the clinical learning environment was a positive stress. Future research is recommended to include larger sample sizes and minorities. Social support from the perception of the staff nurse is also recommended, as is investigation into the variables in each clinical setting that may impact on the provision of social support....

Educators are continuously searching for ways to increase teaching effectiveness and improve student outcomes for nursing programs across the country. Educational research historically has focused on student engagement and ...

The ability of students, specifically in higher education environments, to persist is a critical determinant of academic success. Student success is especially precarious within programs of nursing, where curricula include ...

Nursing education is designed to assist students to become beginning practitioners and clinical experiences are essential to this process. As competition for clinical sites increases, educators need to establish best ...

Little is known about learning transfer in senior baccalaureate nursing students, therefore, the primary purpose of this research was to describe senior nursing students’ learning transfer evidence for basic disaster ...