The Jonas Scholars Program-Evaluation of a decade-long program to advance doctoral-prepared nurses.

BACKGROUND: The Jonas Scholars Program of Jonas Nursing & Veterans Healthcare aims to advance the pipeline of doctoral-prepared, research-focused, and practice-focused faculty via student financial support and leadership training. PURPOSE: Program evaluation of the Jonas Scholars Program. We describe the reach of the program over time, scholar characteristics, and report on graduated scholars that are currently employed in faculty and clinical positions. METHOD: Retrospective analysis of administrative records from the Jonas Scholars Program spanning 2008 to 2016. FINDINGS: The Jonas Scholars Program has grown substantially since its inception. From 2008 to 2016, a total of 1,032 doctoral students at 174 universities across the United States have received financial support through the program. Scholars have a mean age of 38 and nearly two-thirds are enrolled in a research-focused PhD program. Most graduated scholars for which data are available are primarily faculty in nursing schools 185 (30.7%), providing direct patient care 171 (28.4%), or conducting research 118 (19.8%). DISCUSSION: The Jonas Scholars Program supports the pipeline of a younger generation of doctoral-prepared nurses that are faculty in schools of nursing, providing direct patient care and conducting research.

Growth and specialization of gerontological nursing.

The development and growth of advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), specifically those with specialization in geriatrics, has had significant impact on the care of older adults. The purpose of this article is to address the historical growth of gerontological nursing, the advanced practice roles created, and the impact that they have had in meeting the health-care needs of the older adult.

Low-cost thoracentesis simulation for nurse practitioner students.

The fast-paced hospital setting is not routinely a conducive environment for practicing procedural skills. Simulation learning can provide an opportunity for learners to achieve accuracy, confidence, and competence when performing the thoracentesis procedure. The cost associated with many commercial-brand manikins and the additional supplies needed to teach thoracentesis is expensive. However, thoracentesis is a skill many nurse practitioners (NPs) need to learn. The use of a whole, unstuffed turkey purchased at a supermarket to simulate a thoracentesis is a way in which NP students can safely practice this skill. Nurse practitioner students perform assessment skills on another student, whereas students perform the thoracentesis procedure on this turkey carcass. Nurse educators can teach NP students to safely, accurately, and efficiently perform a thoracentesis procedure using a low-cost simulator. Nurse educators can teach NP students how to perform a thoracentesis using a turkey carcass at a relatively low cost with a high yield.

Establishing nurse practitioner clinical practicums: Addressing fiscal realities.

As demand expands for nurse practitioner clinical practicum sites, the supply of preceptors is decreasing. The traditional model of in-kind clinical training is losing its foothold for a variety of reasons. A looming question is how quickly a "pay to precept" norm will grow and what will be the costs. The pay for precepting movement is discussed including current trends, costs, and emerging compensation models. To adapt to this trend, alternative ways of drawing the precepting value proposition are suggested, particularly decreasing preceptor and site demands while increasing students' readiness to enter clinical practicum and tapping into faculty expertise to add value to the partnership. The authors provide suggestions on building a strategy for rethinking the structure of student precepting arrangements and compensation models.

Cost-Effective Virtual Clinical Site Visits for Nurse Practitioner Students.

BACKGROUND: Clinical site visits (CSVs) are critical to assess the progress of nurse practitioner (NP) students. To overcome the challenges of effectively assessing long-distance students while maintaining a reasonable faculty workload, faculty implemented a project using FaceTime® to conduct online CSVs to assess NP student progress. FaceTime is a videoconferencing program available on Apple® devices. METHOD: Site visits were conducted by school of nursing faculty with real-time observation of the NP student-patient encounter. Afterward, faculty then completed the student, site, and preceptor evaluations. Faculty, preceptors, and students were surveyed regarding ease of use and acceptability of the iPad® visits. RESULTS: FaceTime CSVs provided faculty with the information needed to fill out the required evaluation forms of the student, preceptor, and site, and the iPad visits were easy to use and acceptable to all stakeholders. CONCLUSION: Using FaceTime for CSVs saved faculty travel time and used fewer program resources. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(5):308-311.].

Re-Envisioning a DNP Program for Quality and Sustainability.

When the University of Washington, School of Nursing determined that its post-BSN-DNP degree program, with multiple specialty tracks and programs of study, was not sustainable, the curriculum was re-envisioned. The revised program is consistent with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice and the national Licensure Accreditation, Certification, and Education (LACE) model. The re-envisioned program was conceptualized as a single degree in which students preparing for any specialty would have the same number of required credits with the majority of courses (DNP core) required for all students. Two major pathways, 1) advanced practice registered nursing and 2) advanced systems and population health were identified. The model allows for specialties to be added or discontinued without major disruption to the core curriculum. The consolidated curriculum reduced instructional costs to the school by approximately 26% and reduced and made more equitable the tuition costs for the majority of students. The revised consolidated program is innovative, maintains quality, attracts students, and aligns with resources. This article discusses how we achieved revision and consolidation of a post-BSN DNP program with multiple specialty tracks that is innovative, high quality, sustainable, and replicable by other schools of nursing.

NEXus: Making Efficient Use of Limited Resources.

Faculty to teach and mentor doctoral nursing students are and will continue to be in short supply. Coupled with ever-increasing resource-constricted educational environments, doctoral programs are challenged to provide high-quality education with limited resources. The Nursing Education Exchange (NEXus) is a viable solution to help meet that challenge. This article presents an overview of the origins and evolution of NEXus, financial considerations, and basic steps for joining NEXus, along with 4 exemplars. NEXus has continued to grow since its inception in 2007. In 2015, the number of NEXus schools reached 20, with 11 schools offering both doctor of philosophy and doctor of nursing practice courses. Currently, NEXus offers over 160 courses, organized into 14 clusters such as gerontology and chronic illness. Recently, a collaboration between the National Hartford Centers of Gerontological Nursing Excellence and NEXus was formalized. This collaboration prepares faculty to address an aging population. In summary, in an era of increased demand for doctoral prepared nurses, a lack of qualified doctoral nursing faculty, and limited financial resources, the NEXus collaborative provides a model for optimal resource sharing.

Experiences of new graduate nurses working in a neonatal intensive care setting: a systematic review protocol of qualitative evidence.

REVIEW QUESTION/OBJECTIVE: The overall objective of this systematic review is to identify, critically appraise and synthesize the experiences of new graduate nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The specific review question is: what are the experiences of new graduate nurses working in a NICU setting?

Exploring factors affecting registered nurses' pursuit of postgraduate education in Australia.

The aim of this study was to explore the factors influencing registered nurses' pursuit of postgraduate education in specialty nursing practice in Australia. Despite the increased requirement for postgraduate education for advanced practice, little has been reported on the contributory factors involved in the decision to undertake further education. The Nurses' Attitudes Towards Postgraduate Education instrument was administered to 1632 registered nurses from the Nurses and Midwives e-Cohort Study across Australia, with a response rate of 35.9% (n = 568). Data reduction techniques using principal component analysis with varimax rotation were used. The analysis identified a three-factor solution for 14 items, accounting for 52.5% of the variance of the scale: "facilitators," "professional recognition," and "inhibiting factors." Facilitators of postgraduate education accounted for 28.5% of the variance, including: (i) improves knowledge; (ii) increases nurses' confidence in clinical decision-making; (iii) enhances nurses' careers; (iv) improves critical thinking; (v) improves nurses' clinical skill; and (vi) increased job satisfaction. This new instrument has potential clinical and research applications to support registered nurses' pursuit of postgraduate education.

Strategies for Pursuing a Master's Degree.

Health care has become very complex and is in a constant state of change. As a result of the evolving change and increasing complexity, a more educated nursing workforce is needed (Dracup K. Master's nursing programs. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. 2015; Institute of Medicine. The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. 2010). It is now becoming necessary for registered nurses to earn an advanced degree to work at the highest level of their practice authority (Dracup K. Master's nursing programs. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. 2015; Institute of Medicine. The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. 2010.). Preparing to reenter college may be an overwhelming prospect for some registered nurses seeking an advanced degree. However, there are some simple strategies that may help sort out the many degree options, financial obligations, decisions about brick and mortar versus online learning, commitment to degree completion, and changing career paths. This article will provide the registered nurse valuable information that will assist in the exciting process of returning to college.

A review of the organization, regulation, and financing practices of postgraduate education in clinical nursing in 12 European countries.

AIM: The aim of this study was to generate information of postgraduate education in clinical nursing in the EU member states. METHODS: Data were collected via a structured electronic questionnaire and the questionnaire was sent to the government chief nurses in 26 EU countries in May 2013. Response rate was 46% (n=12). FINDINGS: In total, 42 domains of specialization were identified. The most common domains were intensive care, mental health, operating room, emergency care, and pediatrics. Specialization programs were organized by university in two of the respondent countries, as residency program in one country, and as a mix of them in four countries. Regulation practices varied remarkably between the countries: scope of practice, subjects, entry requirements, length of education, description of the minimum competence requirements, and education standards related to the specialization programs were most often regulated by act, decree or other regulation. In some of the countries, no registration was required beyond the initial registration, whereas in some others, registration practices varied depending on the specialization program. New information was gathered on the regulation practices of postgraduate education in clinical nursing in the European Region concerning title provision, entry requirements, and financing practices. The awarded title on specialization programs depended on the level of postgraduate education, and the title might vary between the domains. General clinical experience was included in the entry requirements in seven countries. The government was mainly responsible for financing the postgraduate education in four countries, employer in three countries, and in the rest of the countries, there was a combination of different financiers. CONCLUSIONS: The importance of knowledge exchange on postgraduate education across the European countries needs to be acknowledged. Information provided by this study on international regulation practices provides useful information for the policy-makers regarding the organization of the postgraduate education in clinical nursing.