Innovative Classroom Upgrade: Simulating an Intensive Care Unit Environment in an Undergraduate Academic Classroom.

ABSTRACT: There are limited opportunities for undergraduate nursing students to take part in hands-on critical care. A course was developed to expose students to the critically ill patient in the intensive care unit environment and introduce skills that students may not have the opportunity to engage in during their clinical hours. Led by two faculty currently practicing in critical care, this course used multiple learning modalities, including high-fidelity simulation; didactic teaching; online discussion; and narrative, reflective writing, to teach critical care concepts and entry-level skills.

Mixed-Methods Study of the Experience of Pregnancy During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the experiences of women who were pregnant during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, March 2020 to May 2020, and how they coped with stress. DESIGN: A convergent mixed-methods design. SETTING: Online survey that launched in April 2020. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 185 pregnant women. METHODS: For the quantitative strand, we measured adaptation to coping with stress using the Brief Resilient Coping Scale. For the qualitative strand, we asked participants to describe the experience of being pregnant during the pandemic. RESULTS: The mean score on the Brief Resilient Coping Scale was 14.7, which indicated a medium-level resilient coper. Using Krippendorff's content analysis, we identified four themes: Robbed of Enjoying the Expected Pregnancy Experiences, Anxiety and Fear in the Face of a Pandemic Pregnancy, Heightened Source of Worry With Birth on the Horizon, and Choosing Hope. CONCLUSION: To meet the needs of pregnant women, perinatal nurses and other maternity care providers must understand the experience of pregnancy during times of upheaval, such as the onset of a global pandemic. Health care providers and nurses can help ensure ideal outcomes for pregnant women by recognizing the loss of the expected pregnancy experience, providing support through creative social outlets, and fostering hopeful optimism.

Experiences of Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: The first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 was a global event for which nurses had limited time to prepare before receiving an influx of high-acuity patients and navigating new plans of care. OBJECTIVES: To understand nurses' lived experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak and to examine their resiliency. METHODS: A convergent mixed methods design was applied in this study. For the quantitative portion, resiliency was measured by using the Brief Resilience Coping Scale. Colaizzi's phenomenological method was used for qualitative analysis. RESULTS: A total of 43 nurses participated in the study. The mean score on the Brief Resilience Coping Scale was 14.4. From 21 robust narratives, Colaizzi's qualitative method yielded 5 themes to describe the experience of being a nurse during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the lived experience provides a unique lens through which to view nursing during a global pandemic, and it serves as a starting point to ensure future safeguards are in place to protect nurses' well-being.

Self-Achievement Through Creativity in Critical Care.

Art in nursing is present in various forms and there is ample literature exploring creativity, including journaling for clinicians, intensive care unit diaries for patients and providers, and music therapy for patients. Illness narratives, depictions of the sick, or the effects of disease are commonly represented in media. This article highlights how creativity and various mediums of artistic expressions may can be used as a self-care practice and aid in boosting empathy in health care providers. Theories on empathy are presented as well as selected representations of nursing as creative expressions and the importance of promoting creativity and empathy.

Igniting Change: Supporting the Well-Being of Academicians Who Practice and Teach Critical Care.

Academicians who maintain a critical care clinical practice encounter numerous stressors, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which can influence well-being. This article provides historical perspectives on the stressors inherent in working in the critical care environment as well as the stressors of working in the academic environment. It proposes the application of the synergy model as a framework to help improve the well-being of academicians who practice and teach critical care. The most valuable strategy to improve professional well-being is for organizations to take a systems approach. The article focuses on approaches that are potentially within each individual's control.

A Cross-sectional Study on Evidence-Based Nursing Practice in the Contemporary Hospital Setting: Implications for Nurses in Professional Development.

Evidence indicates that nurses inconsistently engage in evidence-based practice (EBP). This cross-sectional study of 402 nurses at a medical-surgical hospital identifies strategies for augmenting EBP. Nurses' EBP beliefs scores were higher than their EBP implementation scores. Those with baccalaureate/postgraduate degrees had higher EBP beliefs and implementation scores than those with associate degrees or diplomas. Bedside or direct care nurses were less likely to have baccalaureate/higher degrees and had lower EBP beliefs and implementation scores than did those nurses not serving in direct care roles.