Multimethod teaching strategies to integrate selected QSEN competencies in a Doctor of Nursing Practice distance education program.

The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) initiative identified 6 competencies for the education of nurses (patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics) and the related knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) for each competency. The initial QSEN focus was on competency development during prelicensure nursing education, with subsequent attention on adapting the KSAs for graduate programs that prepare advanced practice nurses for clinical roles. Description of successful QSEN competency integration in Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs is limited. Although the ultimate goal is executing DNP programs where quality and safety is thoroughly integrated throughout the curricula, the focus of this article is on multimethod teaching strategies to integrate selected QSEN KSAs into an existing online post-master's DNP quality and safety course.

Information literacy and library attitudes of occupational therapy students.

Information literacy, often described as a person's ability to effectively find and evaluate answers to questions using a variety of information resources, is of particular importance to health care workers. This paper presents the results of an information literacy survey presented to occupational therapy (OT) students at Thomas Jefferson University during a series of required class activities. Also described are the authors' activities with the faculty and courses at Jefferson. The survey was made available to first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year occupational therapy students along with nursing students and pharmacy students. The survey is designed to identify research habits, skills, and preferences. Results confirm some commonly held perceptions about searching skills of young adults and an interesting dichotomy in students' learning habits. The paper concludes with a discussion of recommendations to OT faculty and librarians on how to improve information literacy education. The survey can be obtained by contacting the authors.

Developing and sustaining a web-based library newsletter.

The JEFFLINE Forum, Scott Library's attempt to revive the traditional library newsletter by employing the technical advantages and increasing presence of the Web, debuted in October 1999. The fifth anniversary of the Forum was a good time to look back at its evolution and to examine some of the challenges inherent in developing and sustaining a library newsletter. By identifying the most successful strategies, and reflecting on the lessons learned along way, the authors hope to continue the evolution of the Forum and help to ensure the viability of the library newsletter.

Development and evaluation of an interactive multimedia clinical skills teaching program designed for the pediatric clerkship.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We evaluated the physical-examination section of a multimedia program developed to teach infant history and physical-examination skills. METHODS: A total of 71 students participated: one group viewed only the physical-examination section (PX), one the history section (HX), one none of the program (CX). We assessed physical-examination skills by direct observation of medical students performing an abdominal exam and scored using a checklist at baseline, immediately after intervention, and at the end of the pediatric clerkship. We analyzed results using analysis of variance with repeated measures. RESULTS: Baseline scores were PX = 2.5, HX = 2.8. The PX group scored significantly higher immediately postintervention at 6.8 compared to the HX group (3.1). At the end of the clerkship, significant differences between the groups remained. Final group mean scores were PX = 5.5, HX = 4.4, and CX = 2.7. CONCLUSION: The program improved examination skills with attenuation over 6 weeks.

An operational measure of physician lifelong learning: its development, components and preliminary psychometric data.

Despite the emphasis placed on physicians' lifelong learning, no psychometrically sound instrument has been developed to provide an operational measure of the concept and its components among physicians. The authors designed this study to develop a tool for measuring physician lifelong learning, to identify its underlying components and to assess its psychometric properties. A 37-item questionnaire was developed, based on a review of literature and the results of two pilot studies. Psychometric analyses of the responses of 160 physicians identified 19 items that were included in the Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning. Factor analysis of the 19 items showed five meaningful factors that were consistent with the definition and major features of lifelong learning. They were 'need recognition', 'research endeavor', 'self-initiation', 'technical skills' and 'personal motivation'. The method of contrasted groups provided evidence in support of the validity of the five factors. The factors' reliability was assessed by coefficient alpha. It is concluded that lifelong learning is a multifaceted concept, and its operational measure is feasible for evaluating different educational programs and for studying group differences among physicians.