The perception and association between depression and academic stress among female undergraduate nursing students: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Academic demands and stressors put nursing students at increasing risk of depression. The aims of the study examine the perceived level of depression and academic stress and investigate the association between these variables among nursing students in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used in this study. Data was collected using depression subscale from DASS-21 scale and the Academic Stress Inventory scale. Results: A total of 237 students participated in the study. Nursing students perceived normal to mild levels of depression. Students perceived moderate levels of academic stress in all subscales, except for time management and test stress which were high. All academic stress subscales had a positive statistically significant correlation with depression. The regression model explains 49.0% of the variance in the depression scale and indicated that the main significant predictor of depression is studying in group stress, followed by self-inflected stress, study year, and sleep problem. The mean score of depression for first year students was significantly different than students in other study years. Discussion: Nurse educators should facilitate group formation and teach students about time-management, problem-solving, negotiation, and coping strategies to deal with academic expectations and demanding situations. Understanding the causes, limiting the exposure to negative influences, and seeking support as needed are important. To enhance the quality of sleep, students should maintain a consistent sleep schedule, while avoiding stimulating activities before bedtime. Future research should focus on a longitudinal study and other variables such as quality of life, satisfaction with the quality of teaching, and support from others.

How does day-to-day stress appraisal relate to coping among office workers in academia? An ecological momentary assessment study.

Existing literature indicates that academic staff experience increasing levels of work stress. This study investigated associations between day-to-day threat and challenge appraisal and day-to-day problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and seeking social support among academic office workers. This study is based on an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) design with a 15-working day data collection period utilising our self-developed STRAW smartphone application. A total of 55 office workers from academic institutions in Belgium (n = 29) and Slovenia (n = 26) were included and 3665 item measurements were analysed. Participants were asked approximately every 90 min about their appraisal of stressful events (experienced during the working day) and their coping styles. For data analysis, we used an unstructured covariance matrix in our linear mixed models. Challenge appraisal predicted problem-focused coping and threat appraisal predicted emotion-focused coping. Our findings suggest an association between threat appraisal as well as challenge appraisal and seeking social support. Younger and female workers chose social support more often as a coping style. While working from home, participants were less likely to seek social support. The findings of our EMA study confirm previous research on the relationship between stress appraisal and coping with stress. Participants reported seeking social support less while working from home compared to working at the office, making the work location an aspect that deserves further research.

How Can Learner-Oriented Scaffolding Strategies Be Implemented in Coach Education? A Case Study.

Purpose: Although emerging research has explored the development of coach education curricula, coach learning and how a deep learning approach can be made accessible to aspiring coaches, the study of coach educators' scaffolding of micro-pedagogies in action remains a missing link in the field. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore scaffolding strategies adopted by an experienced coach educator to encourage aspiring coaches to adopt an active approach to learning. Method: A case-study was conducted for a full semester of twelve practical lessons in the unit "Sports Methodology I-Volleyball" of a renowned sport sciences coach education program. Multiple data collection sources included participant observation, video and audio recordings, individual interviews with the coach educator and focus group interviews with the aspiring coaches. A thematic analysis was performed, and trustworthiness criteria included data triangulation, crosschecking, and collaborative interpretational analysis. Results: The strategies adopted by the coach educator progressively unfolded throughout three main stages: (i) laying the foundations of a learner-oriented approach; (ii) enhancing personally meaningful learning experiences; and (iii) mediating peer-coaching activities. An intricate interplay was unraveled between the nature and reduction of the support given and the increased responsibility transferred to the aspiring coaches for their active participation in learning experiences. Conclusions: The learner-oriented scaffolding processes employed by the coach educator sought to promote enhanced understanding of game-play problem-solving and the aspiring coaches' development of a deeper sense of what is required to become a coach through engagement in coaching technical activities and peer-coaching interventions.

The importance of addressing racial microaggression in nursing education.

The Pandemic laid bare how embedded racism is within our structures, institutions and societal systems. We are bearing witness to long standing issues now manifesting as deep inequities that have been overlooked. In both academic and clinical instruction and settings there is a need for a culture shift to empower recipients of racialized aggression and enable allies, active bystanders and leaders to respond in ways that promote values that extend our shared humanity. Using research, experience and observations the authors provide best practices for responding to and dismantling microaggressions. In addition, they discuss the impact of microaggression within nursing education and clinical settings. These include recommendations for student recipients, applicable to classroom and clinical settings, and intervention proposals for allies, active bystanders and leaders.

Effective Veterinary Clinical Teaching in a Variety of Teaching Settings.

This review explores different modalities for clinical teaching of veterinary learners globally. Effective clinical teaching aims to prepare graduates for a successful career in clinical practice. Unfortunately, there is scant literature concerning clinical teaching in veterinary medicine. Our intent for this review is to stimulate and/or facilitate discussion and/or research in this important area. We discuss the different forms that veterinary clinical teaching can take, depending on their setting, which can be university-based clinical activities, work-based in commercial clinical practices, or in a traditional academic setting with little to no real-time exposure to clients and patients. We suggest that each of these modalities has a place in clinical teaching of veterinary learners at any point in the curriculum but that a mix of these approaches will likely provide an improved experience for the learner. Further, we discuss strategies to improve clinical teaching in these different settings. Potential strategies related to the teaching skills of clinical instructors could include training in delivery of clinical teaching in a variety of learning settings, and instructors' official recognition, including opportunities for career progression. Potential strategies to improve clinical teaching in different teaching settings would vary with the learning settings. For example, in traditional academic settings, case-based learning with incorporation of simulation models is one proposed strategy. The involvement of learners in 'teach-others' is a strategy for both traditional academic and clinical settings. Finally, clearly addressing Day One competencies is required in any clinical teaching setting.

Prevalence of cognitive enhancer use among New Zealand tertiary students.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Cognitive enhancers (CE) such as methylphenidate, amphetamines and modafinil are becoming more commonly used in non-medical situations. This study explored the prevalence and motivations for CE use in a New Zealand university. DESIGN AND METHODS: Students from the Schools of Pharmacy, Nursing, Medicine, Law and Accounting at a university in New Zealand were invited to complete a paper-based questionnaire that elicited their views on the prevalence, reasons for use and attitudes towards use of CEs. Questionnaires were distributed at the end of a third-year lecture (August-October 2012). Reasons for use and attitudes towards use was measured using a 7-point Likert scale from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (7). Descriptive and prevalence statistics were calculated. Inferential statistics were generated to explore the overall associations between CE use and how the respondents had first learnt about CEs, and to investigate reasons for CE use. RESULTS: The response fraction was 88.6 % (442/499) and the prevalence of CE use was 6.6% (95% confidence interval 4.5-9.0). Commonly cited reasons for use were to get high [M = 4.43, standard deviation (SD) 2.36], experimentation (M = 4.17, SD 2.36), increase alertness (M = 3.55, SD 2.48), to help concentrate (M = 3.48, SD 2.42), to help stay awake (M = 3.20, SD 2.33), to help study (M = 3.10, SD 2.47) and to concentrate better while studying (M = 3.00, SD 2.43). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Use of CEs was uncommon in contrast to the prevalence reported in the USA. The reasons for use also varied depending on which CE was used. Students who use CEs have differing attitudes towards their acceptability, which warrants further research about how these attitudes influence their use and attitudes towards academic performance. [Ram S(S), Hussainy S, Henning M, Jensen M, Russell B. Prevalence of cognitive enhancer use among New Zealand tertiary students. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:245-351].