The State of Health and Intentions for Action to Advance Mental Health and Well-being for the Nursing Workforce.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to explore the health of nurse leaders and assess intentions to integrate workplace mental health/wellness practices. BACKGROUND: National efforts address high rates of poor mental health and lifestyle behaviors among nurses. Few studies describe the extent to which nurse leaders in academic and clinical environments can influence a strategic mission for health/well-being among the nursing workforce. METHODS: Two hundred seventeen email invitations were distributed to nurse leaders from 5 Kentucky nursing organizations to complete a 1-time 46-item online survey assessing individual health behaviors and intentions to build a culture of workplace health/well-being. RESULTS: Most respondents reported positive physical health (86%), positive mental health/intentions for action to change behaviors (80%), improved self-care practices (86%), integration of self-care practices in the workplace (79%), and commitment to integrate suicide prevention training (55%). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, nurse leaders reported positive healthy behaviors. The finding that the highest intentions were reported to integrate, sustain, and/or advance lifestyle behaviors for self-care practices as well as to integrate practices for mental health and well-being in the work environment is encouraging. Enhanced strategies and efforts are needed to prioritize workplace cultures of wellness to benefit nurses and further promote well-being among nurse leaders.

Sustained impact of an academic-practice partnership.

Academic-practice partnerships foster innovation and transition to nursing practice in healthcare systems. The purpose of this paper is to describe the impact of a public-private academic-practice partnership for Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) education designed to transform a large healthcare system's nursing workforce and model of care. The conceptual framework is organized around Rogers's (2003) principles of diffusion of innovation in organizations. A logic model illuminates how inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes resulted in sustained impact for graduates, the college and the healthcare organization. Partnership outcomes include education of baccalaureate and master's-prepared employed nurses (n = 95) in a DNP program for advanced practice nursing (APN) roles in the healthcare system; dissemination of scholarship; and revision of the healthcare system's research approval process. Sustained impact includes advancement of DNP-prepared graduates to complex leadership and practice roles; development of new programs and advanced practice roles based on scholarly project findings; expansion of population-specific patient programs; and extension of continuum- and access-to-care models in the healthcare organization. Recommendations include continuing development of academic-practice partnerships for transition to practice and advancement of roles and levels of champions to achieve sustained impact of academic-practice partnerships in healthcare organizations.

An innovative teaching model in an academic-practice partnership for a Doctor of Nursing Practice program.

Teaching innovations in Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs are essential for preparing practitioners for role responsibilities. The purpose of this paper is to describe a teaching model implemented in a public-private academic-practice partnership in which DNP-prepared healthcare organization nursing leaders joined with college of nursing faculty to teach didactic courses in the DNP program. The conceptual framework for this model is organized around Boyer's (1990) principles of the scholarship of teaching, integration, and application, and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing definition of scholarship (2018). A logic model evaluation plan of the teaching model includes a description of inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes. Outcomes include the attainment of short term goals related to student satisfaction and DNP program completion; faculty and peer satisfaction; and administrator perspectives. Future evaluation will include assessment of long-term impact of the teaching model. The teaching model can be replicated in preparing cohorts of students for advanced practice nursing and cultivating the scholarship of teaching, integration and application.

Optimizing impact through the Tiered Doctor of Nursing Practice Project Model.

Colleges of Nursing (CONs) and health care organizations (HCOs) are increasingly embracing academic-practice partnerships (AcaPP). An HCO's workforce development plan prompted an AcaPP agreement with a CON for the purpose of increasing the number of doctor of nursing practice (DNP) advanced practice nurses in the HCO. Over a period of 6 years, 4 consecutive cohorts of approximately 100 HCO baccalaureate prepared nurses were enrolled in the CON DNP program. The AcaPP environment facilitates large-scale DNP projects among successive cohorts of students. The purpose of this article is to describe the innovative Tiered DNP Project Model, defined as the process by which current students build on and expand select DNP projects implemented by students in initial cohorts. The tiered approach to the DNP project is facilitated by an advising model that occurs in the context of mutually agreed-upon goals and compatible with the HCO strategic plan and CON DNP program objectives. In the Tiered DNP Project Model, select studies are chosen for continuation by DNP students in subsequent cohorts based on nursing leadership guidance of alignment with HCO strategic goals. The model has resulted in driving improvements in HCO patient and systems outcomes, promoted practice scholarship, and contributed to the quality of the CON DNP program.

DNP Practice Improvement Initiative: Staff Nurse Competency Evaluation.

This article describes a practice improvement initiative (PII) demonstrating the impact of doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) skills beyond direct patient care. The Donna Wright Competency Assessment Model, AACN DNP Essentials, and National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties nurse practitioner competencies framed the PII. The DNP graduates planned, implemented, and evaluated an assessment of 1,055 staff nurses on shift hand-off, physical assessment, and hand hygiene. Results indicated that 95% of the staff nurses scored 100% on competency assessment. The PII model was adopted for future competency evaluation.