NLN Core Competencies for Nurse Educators: Are They Present in the Course Descriptions of Academic Nurse Educator Programs?

AIM: As an initial approach to determining representation of the NLN Core Competencies for Nurse Educators in Master's of Science in Nursing Education and Post-Master's Certificate programs, the study identified the presence of the competencies in course descriptions. BACKGROUND: The competencies are the gold standard to ensure academic nurse educators have the knowledge and skill to teach, assist learners, develop curricula, and implement effective evaluation methods. METHOD: A descriptive design that applied web scraping techniques was used to collect data from school web pages, including course descriptions, credit hours, practica information, distance accessibility, and Certified Nurse Educator exam preparation. RESULTS: Four competencies were well represented (≥85 percent), and four competencies were poorly represented (<50 percent) in a sample of 529 schools. CONCLUSION: Programs should review courses and course descriptions for inclusion of all competency areas that prepare nurse educators and make revisions to address poorly represented competencies.

Racial/ethnic differences in CD4 T cell count and viral load at presentation for medical care and in follow-up after HIV-1 infection.

The baseline characteristics of antiretroviral-naive patients were compared by ethnic/racial groups. First CD4 T cell counts were lower for Latino (P = 0.0004) and black patients (P = 0.10) when compared with white patients. First HIV-1-RNA levels were higher in Latino patients (P = 0.08), who were also more likely to present with major opportunistic infections (P < 0.004). Once in care, changes in CD4 T cell counts and viral loads over time did not differ significantly between groups.