The quality of clinician and student quality improvement reports: An analysis of 8 years of submissions.

INTRODUCTION: Many papers reporting on QI projects are not publishable for a variety of reasons. We compared manuscripts submitted as QI reports between June 2014 and June 2016 (prior to publication of the revised Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE 2.0) with papers submitted to the American Journal of Nursing between July 2016 and December 2022). The aim was to evaluate any changes in the quality of manuscripts and identify problems that led to rejection; we also compared the quality of students with non-student submissions. METHODS: We conducted a non-randomized descriptive study to evaluate 349 papers submitted as QI project reports between June 2014 and December 2022 using screening templates based on the SQUIRE 2.0 checklist and findings of the INANE Working Group on Student Papers. RESULTS: Manuscripts designated as QI reports accepted for publication increased from 4% during 2014-2016 (T1) to 14% during 2016-2022 (T2); one student submission was accepted. There was a slight decrease in submissions designated as QI that were not QI: 36% of student submissions during T1 and 31% of student submissions during T2. Among clinician submissions, 44% in T1 designated as QI reports were not QI versus 31% submitted during T2. There was a decrease in student submissions that followed the SQUIRE guidelines (36% during T1 to 24% during T2). CONCLUSIONS: Findings demonstrate that by following the SQUIRE 2.0 guidelines, authors submit more complete manuscripts with fewer missing components. However, there are still misconceptions about what constitutes QI versus research and how to report QI initiatives. After comparing the findings from both periods, it is noteworthy that there is essentially the same level of inaccuracy and lack of acceptable manuscripts. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Sharing findings from QI activities through presentations and publications is a vital way of helping spread the learnings from these projects and improve health care for a wider audience. Clinicians, academicians, and students must understand the elements of the SQUIRE guidelines and ensure that this framework is used for both designing and submitting QI projects for publication.

Executive Summary: Transforming Moral Distress into Moral Resilience in Nursing.

To examine practices for addressing moral distress, a collaborative project was developed by the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, the American Journal of Nursing, and the Journal of Christian Nursing, along with the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and the American Nurses Association. Its purpose was to identify strategies that individuals and systems can use to mitigate the detrimental effects of moral distress and foster moral resilience. On August 11 and 12, 2016, an invitational symposium, State of the Science: Transforming Moral Distress into Moral Resilience in Nursing, was held at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore, Maryland. Forty-five nurse clinicians, researchers, ethicists, organization representatives, and other stakeholders took part. The result of the symposium was group consensus on recommendations for addressing moral distress and building moral resilience in four areas: practice, education, research, and policy. Participants and the organizations represented were energized and committed to moving this agenda forward. The full report is available online at http://journals.lww.com/ajnonline/Pages/Moral-Distress-Supplement.aspx.

Honorary and ghost authorship in nursing publications.

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to (a) assess the prevalence of articles with honorary authors and ghost authors in 10 leading peer-reviewed nursing journals between 2010 to 2012; (b) compare the results to prevalence reported by authors of articles published in high-impact medical journals; and (c) assess the experiences of editors in the International Academy of Nursing Editors with honorary and guest authorship. METHODS: Corresponding authors of articles published in 10 nursing journals between 2010 and 2012 were invited to complete an online survey about the contributions of coauthors to see if the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors () criteria for authorship were met. Additionally, members of the International Academy of Nursing Editors were invited to complete an online survey about their experiences in identifying honorary or ghost authors in articles submitted for publication. FINDINGS: The prevalence of articles published in 10 nursing journals with honorary authors was 42%, and the prevalence of ghost authorship was 27.6%. This is a greater prevalence than what has been reported among medical journals. Qualitative data yielded five themes: lack of awareness around the rules for authorship; acknowledged need for debate, discussion, and promotion of ethical practice; knowingly tolerating, and sometimes deliberately promoting, transgressions in practice; power relations and expectations; and avoiding scrutiny. Among the 60 respondents to the editor survey, 22 (36.7%) reported identifying honorary authors and 13 (21.7%) reported ghost authors among papers submitted to their publications. CONCLUSIONS: Inappropriate authorship is a significant problem among scholarly nursing publications. RELEVANCE: If nursing scholarship is to maintain integrity and be considered trustworthy, and if publications are to be a factor in professional advancement, editors, nursing leaders, and faculty need to disseminate and adhere to ethical authorship practices.

The Top Nursing News Story of 2022: Acute Care Workforce Under Stress.

Weak institutional support hampers nursing's recovery from COVID.

Beyond Onboarding: Retaining Staff by Supporting Professional Growth.

Onboarding new nurses is but one role of nurse professional development practitioners during this nursing shortage; those in staff development need to develop strategies that will help retain experienced nurses. This article reviews recent reports on acute care staffing and focuses on nurse involvement in quality improvement initiatives and reporting as a means for engaging experienced staff.

Activism Is an Essential Nursing Role.

ABSTRACT: Nursing has a long history of activism, yet nurses are often heard to express their dislike of "politics" and their desire to stay away from the tense and contentious situations associated with political activism. Nurses, however, have a fundamental duty to advocate on behalf of their patients and communities. In this article, the authors discuss the rationale for and roots of political activism in nursing, the values that shape it, and the importance of nursing's stance on policies related to the health and well-being of those they serve. The authors also present exemplars of political activism and approaches nurses can use to address the pressing health care challenges of our time.

Making It Through March.

After a bleak winter, the hopefulness of spring is just around the corner.

End Notes.

An editor-in-chief steps down, with gratitude.

2021: A Year of Hope and Heartbreak.

Optimism that the pandemic would be over was short lived.

History Is What We Make It.

And we need to make it one we're proud of.

Building Trust.

Nurses can help change the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020: A Year of Let Down and Loss.

Looking forward to a fresh start.

A Most Welcome Spring.

The end of this year's winter brings much-needed hope.

On the Road Again to Nursing's Future.

But how do we get there from here?

Getting on Board with Vaccinations.

Nurses need to support the evidence, not the myths.

Nursing Is No Day at the Beach.

But more than ever, nurses need one.

The Nursing Crisis in Acute Care.

Who will ensure safe care if nurses leave hospitals?

Finding Joy in the Dark.

But it will be short lived if nurses aren't protected against increasing violence.

Moving Forward Together.

Advances against COVID-19 offer hope, but work remains before we can fully move on.