Relationship Between Self-Directed Learning, Grit, and Compassionate Teaching in Doctoral Nursing Education.

BACKGROUND: The capacity to be self-directed, take responsibility for one's learning, and possess grit, perseverance, and passion for long-term goals is fundamental to doctoral education. Compassionate teaching (CT) strategies may help foster these traits. PURPOSE: This study explored CT strategies, self-directedness, and grit in doctoral nursing education. METHODS: A mixed-methods design examined doctor of nursing (DNP) graduates' (N = 227) perceptions of self-directedness, grit, and CT using an online survey and interviews. RESULTS: A weak direct correlation existed between CT strategies and grit. A weak-to-moderate direct significant correlation existed between CT strategies and self-directedness. Participants were moderately self-directed with postmasters-DNP graduates being more self-directed than postbaccalaureate-DNP graduates. Qualitative results validated that CT strategies include committing time to relationship building, providing timely critical feedback while being kind, and treating students fairly. CONCLUSIONS: Faculty who embrace rigor and compassion are appreciated by students and are perceived to foster self-directedness and grit.

Kintsugi: Fosters Student Nurse Externs' and New Nurse Residents' Sense of Respect, Resilience, and Rebuilding Post Pandemic.

Kintsugi serves as a powerful metaphor for nurse externs and residents to identify lessons learned from the pandemic and to refocus on the golden cracks to foster respect, resilience, and rebuilding. Kintsugi encourages nurses to embrace their challenges, find strength in their vulnerabilities, and grow from their experiences.

Alcohol use and binge drinking in baccalaureate nursing students: A descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Current literature validates that drinking is a problem on many college and university campuses. While educators are aware that drinking negatively impacts learning, it is imperative that nursing educators understand why this behavior exists and recognize strategies and opportunities to mitigate drinking for students in the nursing major. PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to understand the prevalence of and reasons for alcohol use and binge drinking in undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students in the United States and identify ways faculty may promote a healthy learning environment to decrease the incidence of alcohol use and binge drinking. METHOD: This descriptive study used a web-based survey methodology. The survey contained a demographic questionnaire, alcohol use survey, and open-ended questions to address reasons for drinking and stressors. The survey was randomly distributed to baccalaureate nursing programs throughout the United States. RESULTS: The final sample included 937 participants. Nursing students abuse alcohol for a variety of reasons including lack of understanding of binge drinking, peer pressure, dealing with mental health issues, and as a way to cope with multifaceted life stressors. Slightly over half (51%) of these participants reported drinking behavior that would be considered hazardous and 3% were in the alcohol dependent category on the alcohol use survey. CONCLUSION: These findings are consistent with social concerns about alcohol use. Nursing students yearned for help and support from faculty regarding how to handle stress and desired faculty to be role models. Faculty who form collaborative partnerships with students, foster healthy coping strategies which may promote academic success and more importantly favorable outcomes as future practicing nurses.

Health Care Professional Students' Perceptions of Teamwork and Roles After an Interprofessional Critical Care Simulation.

BACKGROUND: Educational opportunities for health care professional students to learn collaborative communication and the roles and responsibilities of other disciplines are minimal unless faculty are intentional about facilitating this interdisciplinary learning. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine how a simulation-enhanced interprofessional education (Sim-IPE) teaching strategy fostered communication and interdisciplinary awareness between students from multiple disciplines. METHOD: This pretest-posttest design surveyed undergraduate students from 5 disciplines. The Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised tool examined students' perceptions of teamwork and roles after an in-depth, multistate critical care simulation experience. RESULTS: All students' perceptions of teamwork increased after the Sim-IPE. More experience in the health care field is associated with an increased perception of teamwork and roles/responsibilities. DISCUSSION: On the basis of these findings, the critical care Sim-IPE was an effective teaching strategy to increase the perception of roles and responsibilities of interprofessional critical care team members with applicability to many other specialty topics.

Nurse Educators: Professional Quality of Life Related to Conditions of Work Effectiveness.

BACKGROUND: Professional quality of life (ProQoL) is the balance between compassion satisfaction (CS) and compassion fatigue (CF). The experience of CF results from secondary traumatic stress stemming from compassionate caregiving and burnout. PURPOSE: This study sought to identify the ProQoL of nurse educators and what conditions for work effectiveness affect this ProQoL. METHODS: An email survey link was sent to nurse educators from the northeastern region of the United States asking for participation. This included demographics, the ProQoL Version 5, and the Conditions for Work Effectiveness Questionnaire version II (CWEQ-II). RESULTS: The 211 nurse educators reported relatively high CS and relatively low burnout and secondary traumatic stress. When the measures of the CWEQ-II increased, so did their CS. In addition, as the measures of the CWEQ-II increased, their secondary traumatic stress and burnout decreased. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that conditions for work effectiveness such as access to opportunity, resources, information, support, and formal and informal power have a relationship to the nurse educator's ProQoL.

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome: A case report.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an increasingly popular treatment for drug-resistant depression that may have utility for some patients with neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) who are unresponsive to pharmacotherapy. Using a case study as an example, this article discusses the diagnosis of a patient with NMS, the use of ECT as a treatment for NMS, and the importance of nursing care for these patients.

Management of the Pregnant Patient With a Spinal Cord Injury.

INTRODUCTION: Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) and pregnancy can present a challenging scenario for healthcare professionals. Information regarding the management of patients who become pregnant and have SCIs is limited in the nursing literature, and therefore, more case studies must be presented and research must be conducted to build evidence-based care. Physiologic changes in pregnancy can increase a patient's risk for serious complications during pregnancy and, consequently, may put the fetus at a greater risk. Neuroscience healthcare providers must take into consideration the level of the SCI and how this may impact a pregnancy. CASE STUDY: This article highlights an interdisciplinary approach by presenting a case study and provides neuroscience nurses with a foundation on which to base their practice when managing a pregnant woman with an SCI through the antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum phases of pregnancy. CONCLUSION: By understanding the physiologic changes after an SCI, patients and their healthcare teams can work together to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

How the COVID-19 pandemic can teach educators a few lessons.

ABSTRACT: In this article, a nurse educator argues that the COVID-19 pandemic provides educators with an opportunity to refocus and include some essential concepts and hard lessons learned from the pandemic into their teachings.

Extern Programs Promote Confidence and Reduce Anxiety With Clinical Decision Making in Nursing Students.

BACKGROUND: Clinical decision making (CDM), expected of professional nurses, affects patient outcomes but is arduous for nursing students to learn. Psychological barriers (low self-confidence [SC] and high anxiety with CDM) have an impact on its achievement. Externship programs help mitigate these barriers. PURPOSE: The aim was to examine the impact of summer employment (nurse extern [NE], nursing assistant, and non-health care employed) on students' confidence and anxiety with CDM. METHODS: The study used a quasi-experimental before-and-after design using the Nursing Anxiety and Self-Confidence with Clinical Decision Making scale. Associate and baccalaureate degree students (N = 134) from 2 nursing and 2 extern programs were included. RESULTS: The NEs reported significantly increased SC (F = 14.02, P < .001) and reduced anxiety (F = 8.64, P < .001). Nonsignificant improvements were noted in other groups. CONCLUSIONS: Externships appear to enhance students' SC and lessen their anxiety with CDM.

Collaborating With Hospital Chaplains to Meet the Spiritual Needs of Critical Care Patients.

There are many opportunities for critical-care nurses to collaborate with chaplains in an effort to provide spiritual care for patients and their families. By recognizing the educational requirements as well as the unique roles of board-certified chaplains (BCCs), the critical-care nurse will view them as respected members of the health care team. This collaboration positively impacts the work environment and creates a holistic space for healing for patients, as well as the health care team. As nurses, we must educate and inform novice nurses about the important role of BCCs on the interdisciplinary health care team. Critical-care nurses need to incorporate the BCCs' contributions into the patient plan of care during bedside report in a way that helps the nurse understand the connection between the patient's spiritual health and his/her experience as a patient.

The Importance of Healthy Academic Learning Environments in Nursing Education.

Work environment is frequently discussed in nursing literature, particularly within the realm of practice and patient safety. However, there is limited literature regarding the work environment in academic settings and how it affects faculty and students. There is no literature that looks at work environments in relation to human needs theory. The purpose of this article is to highlight the significance of the work environment in academic settings in terms of human needs theory and to offer suggestions for creating and maintaining a healthy academic work environment.

Fecal microbiota transplant to treat recurrent Clostridium difficile infections.

The prevalence of recurrent or refractory Clostridium difficile infection has been steadily increasing since 2000. Consequently, alternative treatments to the standard antibiotic therapies are now being considered. One alternative treatment is fecal microbiota transplant. Although fecal microbiota transplant is relatively new--and not appealing to most people--it has been around for many years and has great promise as an inexpensive, safe, and efficient treatment of refractory and recurrent C difficile infection. With a better understanding of the intricacies of the colonic microbiome and its role in colonic physiology and pathophysiology, critical care nurses will recognize that fecal microbiota transplant has the potential to become the standard of care for treatment of recurrent or refractory C difficile infection. The American College of Gastroenterology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America provide the latest treatment guidelines for care of patients with these clostridial infections.

Faculty and student perceptions about attendance policies in baccalaureate nursing programs.

AIM: To understand perceptions of faculty and students about attendance policies in baccalaureate nursing programs. BACKGROUND: Classroom attendance is an issue of debate across academic disciplines. METHOD: A mixed-methods study was conducted using qualitative data from a stratified random sample of 65 accredited baccalaureate nursing programs; 591 students and 91 faculty from 19 schools responded. RESULTS: Sixty-two percent of faculty thought students who missed class exhibited unprofessional behavior; 69 percent believed students who missed class were less successful in the clinical setting. Students (57 percent) and faculty (66 percent) believed there should be an attendance policy. Twenty-nine students reported needing a break in workload (16.8 percent) or did not find class time valuable (11.8 percent). CONCLUSION: Variability exists in student and faculty beliefs regarding attendance policies. Understanding these viewpoints and utilizing creative teaching approaches will facilitate learning and create an environment of teamwork and mutual respect.

What lies within: phenomenology and intuitive self-knowledge.

This article discusses the significance of intuitiveness as a component of phenomenological knowing and demonstrates how this way of knowing may exist independently of or coexist collaboratively with rationality and evidence-based practice. By using a holistic approach to knowing, nurses use clinical reasoning skills to prevent adverse patient outcomes from failure to diagnose problems, to establish appropriate treatments, and/or to deal with complications. As the complexity of health care escalates, health care providers must strive to think holistically to advance knowledge and contribute to their discipline. The discipline of nursing requires holistic thought and innovative interventions.