Working Nursing Students Willing to Seek Psychological Services.

Work-related psychological stress may result in reduced coping abilities. Working nursing students can develop work-related psychological stress. This study's purpose was to describe first-year working rural nursing students with work-related psychological stress and their perception of stigma to psychological services and perceived willingness and openness to seek such services. Results showed over 55% of students reported work-related stress and a willingness to seek psychological services. Students in a licensed practical nursing program showed less stigma to seeking psychological services (F (2, 23) = 10.09, p = 0.001) as compared to higher degree seeking students in associate and bachelor nursing programs. Stigma appeared not to be a factor in rural nursing students seeking psychological services. In conclusion, working nursing students are willing to seek psychological services regardless of stigma.

Interrelationships Among Resilience, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, Depression, and Academic Outcomes in Student Military Veterans.

Resilience, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are important factors to consider as student military Veterans work to reintegrate into society. The impact of these factors on academic success is not fully understood, but is important for rehabilitation professionals, student advisors, and counselors. The current study examined the impact of resilience, depression, PTSD, and TBI on student Veteran academic outcomes, and whether the amount of student Veterans' military experience moderated the effect of these factors on academic performance. Seventy-seven student Veterans completed measures that assessed resilience, grade point average, academic disruptions, and symptoms of depression, PTSD, and TBI. Path analysis was used to determine the manner in which the variables influenced academic performance. Results indicate that student Veterans should not be viewed as a homogeneous group and their needs differ based on level of military experience. Academic disruption among less experienced Veterans was most associated with symptoms of depression, whereas academic disruption among more experienced Veterans was most associated with symptoms of TBI. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 57(2), 35-43.].

Primary Care Advanced Practice RNs' Knowledge of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Screening.

Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may seek treatment for their symptoms within the primary care setting. Research suggests PTSD often goes undiagnosed in primary care. Primary care providers (PCPs) might have deficiencies in their knowledge of PTSD screening and screening practices. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used to examine primary care advanced practice RNs' (APRN) knowledge of PTSD screening and screening practices, along with subjective norms, attitudes, and self-efficacy regarding PTSD screening. Deficiencies in knowledge of PTSD screening and screening practices were identified. Discrepancies were found between reported subjective norms and screening practices, and most participants reported low self-efficacy and stated screening was not important. Numerous barriers to screening were identified. Additional education and training may be needed to improve primary care APRNs' PTSD screening knowledge and screening practices. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 55(9), 23-32.].

A Formative Program Evaluation of Electronic Clinical Tracking System Documentation to Meet National Core Competencies.

Electronic clinical tracking systems are used in many educational institutions of higher learning to document advanced practice registered nursing students' clinical experiences. Students' clinical experiences are constructed according to the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties core competencies. These competencies form a basis for evaluation of advanced practice registered nursing programs. However, no previous studies have evaluated the use of electronic clinical tracking systems to validate students' clinical experiences in meeting national core competencies. Medatrax, an electronic clinical tracking system, is evaluated using a formative program evaluation approach to determine if students' clinical documentations meet Family/Across the Lifespan Nurse Practitioner Competencies in a midsouthern family nurse practitioner program. This formative program evaluation supports the use of an electronic clinical tracking system in facilitating accreditation and program outcome goals. The significance of this study is that it provides novel evidence to support the use of an electronic clinical tracking system to assist a midsouthern school of nursing in meeting national core competencies.

Evidence-based use of electronic clinical tracking systems in advanced practice registered nurse education: an integrative review.

Over the past decade, the federal government has mandated healthcare providers to incorporate electronic health records into practice by 2015. This technological update in healthcare documentation has generated a need for advanced practice RN programs to incorporate information technology into education. The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties created core competencies to guide program standards for advanced practice RN education. One core competency is Technology and Information Literacy. Educational programs are moving toward the utilization of electronic clinical tracking systems to capture students' clinical encounter data. The purpose of this integrative review was to evaluate current research on advanced practice RN students' documentation of clinical encounters utilizing electronic clinical tracking systems to meet advanced practice RN curriculum outcome goals in information technology as defined by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. The state of the science depicts student' and faculty attitudes, preferences, opinions, and data collections of students' clinical encounters. Although electronic clinical tracking systems were utilized to track students' clinical encounters, these systems have not been evaluated for meeting information technology core competency standards. Educational programs are utilizing electronic clinical tracking systems with limited evidence-based literature evaluating the ability of these systems to meet the core competencies in advanced practice RN programs.

Brief Intervention on Nurses' Knowledge and Behavior Regarding Smoking Cessation.

Nurses receive little training on smoking cessation education delivery in their nursing curricula and practice settings. A brief intervention to assess nurses' knowledge and behavior regarding smoking cessation education found increases in knowledge and intended behavior. In their practice setting, nurses maintained their knowledge long term; however, nurses did not change their behavior to match their intentions of increasing the delivery of smoking cessation education.

Factors associated with recruitment and screening in the Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS).

OBJECTIVE: To examine factors associated with eligibility and randomization and consider the efficiency of recruitment methods. METHOD: Adolescents, ages 12 to 17 years, were telephone screened (N = 2,804) followed by in-person evaluation (N = 1,088) for the Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study. Separate logistic regression models, controlling for site, examined whether sex, age, race, or source of recruitment was associated with eligibility, providing written consent, or randomization. Efficiency was calculated from the number of completed telephone screens per each enrolled participant. RESULTS: Older adolescents were less likely to be eligible at telephone screening (odds ratio [OR] 0.81). Regardless of race, eligible adolescents who were referred by a professional had higher odds of presenting in-person for consent (OR 1.56). African Americans had statistically lower odds of providing consent (OR 0.67), particularly if recruited by advertisement (OR 0.54). Females were more likely to be diagnosed with major depressive disorder (OR 1.69). No significant differences were found between randomized participants and eligible adolescents who withdrew from the study before randomization. CONCLUSIONS: These findings underscore the importance of using multiple strategies to recruit adolescents for clinical trial participation and enhancing sensitivity to cultural variations, especially when reaching out to depressed African Americans.

Frequency of use of complementary and alternative medicine in women with breast cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To estimate the frequency of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies among women diagnosed with breast cancer and to identify demographic and clinical factors associated with CAM use in these patients. DESIGN: A descriptive, cross-sectional survey. SAMPLE: A convenience sample of 105 predominantly Caucasian women (mean age = 59 years) with a diagnosis of breast cancer was recruited from the Tampa Bay area and a rural midwestern area. METHODS: Utilizing the "Use of Complementary Therapies Survey," frequency of CAM use was calculated for 33 individual therapies listed on the survey and among three survey-defined subscales of CAM therapies (i.e., diet and nutritional supplements, stress-reducing techniques, and traditional and ethnic medicines). MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Use of CAM therapies and types of treatment in women with breast cancer. FINDINGS: Among diet and nutritional supplements, 64% of all participants reported regular use of vitamins and minerals and 33% regularly used antioxidants, herbs, and health foods. Among stress-reducing techniques, 49% of all participants regularly used prayer and spiritual healing, followed by support groups (37%) and humor or laughter therapy (21%). Traditional and ethnic medicine therapies rarely were used with the exception of massage, which 27% of all participants used at least once after diagnosis. More frequent CAM use was observed among study participants who had undergone previous chemotherapy treatment and those with more than a high school education. Also, being less satisfied with their primary physician was associated with patients' more frequent CAM use. CONCLUSIONS: CAM use is increasing among women with breast cancer, and frequency of specific use according to type of CAM is higher than what has been reported in other studies. Use increased in patients who had undergone chemotherapy and in those with a high school education. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Oncology nurses are in a key position to identify what treatments patients are using and implement CAM therapies that can be helpful to relieve patient symptoms related to treatment and psychological distress.