The Syllabus: A Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Nursing Education.

BACKGROUND: Preparing a diverse nursing workforce skilled at caring for diverse populations is essential for achieving health equity in our society. Academic organizations, schools of nursing, and faculty are responsible for creating diverse, equitable, and inclusive (DEI) learning environments. The obligation for DEI initiatives in nursing education is guided by professional position statements and accreditation criteria. METHOD: The course syllabus is an inclusive strategy for setting the classroom tone at the start of the semester. Faculty can leverage the syllabus to provide explicit rhetoric for a diversity-centered educational climate. RESULTS: This article provides a sample DEI syllabus statement developed by the authors using existing organizational policy terminologies and which was reviewed by a DEI team including the nursing dean, DEI champions, and the university legal department. CONCLUSION: A carefully crafted syllabus statement is a purposeful acknowledgement of DEI as a core value in nursing education and may positively affect students' impression of a course. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(9):634-637.].

Exploring factors affecting the facilitation of nursing students to learn paediatric pain management in Rwanda: A descriptive qualitative study.

Nurse educators and nurse preceptors play a fundamental role in facilitating nursing students' acquisition and utilization of professional competencies. Previous studies about key elements for teaching and learning about pain in nursing education programs include students' personal characteristics and previous experiences; educators' knowledge, skills, and beliefs; learners' exposure to leaders in pain education; and curricular pain content and delivery approaches. These studies were mainly carried out in developed countries, with a context of educational and health care systems different from those of developing countries. The current study explores academics', clinical nurse preceptors', and nursing students' perceptions about factors influencing the facilitation of nursing students' competency for paediatric pain management in Rwanda. A qualitative descriptive exploratory design was used in this study that utilized in-depth interviews with six nurse educators and eight nurse preceptors, and focus group discussions with nineteen senior year nursing students. The study setting included five sites: two academic institutions and three clinical settings. Narratives from participants were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. The analysis yielded six themes describing factors that affected the facilitation of students' learning about paediatric pain management. The themes included student motivation, facilitators' attributes, collaboration between academics and clinicians, nurses' limited autonomy for decision-making regarding PPM practices, shortage of human and material resources, and educational qualification. Knowing these factors is essential as it provides an opportunity to design targeted interventions aimed to enhance the capacity of nurse educators and clinical nurse preceptors involved in teaching nursing students about paediatric pain management.

Perceptions of student accoucheurs regarding gender inequality in midwifery training at Free State maternal healthcare institutions.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, gender inequality has been a dominating factor in the training of student accoucheurs in most maternal healthcare institutions. This poses challenges for the maternal healthcare institutions where student accoucheurs are placed for clinical practice as most women become reluctant or refuse to accept their services. Gender inequality has a negative impact on the training of student accoucheurs as most of them become demotivated which could lead to a high attrition rate. OBJECTIVES: This study explored and described the perceptions of student accoucheurs regarding gender inequality in midwifery training at the Free State maternal healthcare institutions. METHOD: An explorative and descriptive qualitative research design was undertaken. There were 40 student accoucheurs that formed 10 focus group discussions. Each focus group discussion had four participants. Tesch's eight-steps of data analysis was used to analyse data. RESULTS: Three major themes emerged during data analysis: meeting the training requirements in midwifery, women's autonomy in a choice of healthcare provider versus student accoucheurs' autonomy to be trained in midwifery and staff establishment to render maternal healthcare. CONCLUSION: The participants perceived prejudice, rejection and resistance by women in maternity units as a contributing factor to gender inequality, which has a negative impact on their training in midwifery. The study recommends that health directorates, nurse managers and training institutions should consider revising maternal healthcare policies regarding the recruitment and placement of willing accoucheurs in maternity units in order to address gender inequality.

The quest for workload equity in nurse faculty teaching.

BACKGROUND: While nurse faculty may believe that they teach more than faculty in other academic departments, their perceptions are difficult to corroborate when workload policies are not transparent at institutions. PURPOSE: This descriptive study was designed to examine inequities in teaching workloads between nurse faculty and their academic colleagues from the perspectives of Deans and Directors of Nursing Programs. METHODS: A web-based, investigator-developed survey was emailed to Nurse Unit Leaders in spring, 2019. The final sample included 224 respondents. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. FINDINGS: Nurse Unit Leaders perceived that nurse faculty teach larger classes and more courses than their academic peers. Survey respondents attributed these and other variations at their institutions to the complexity of teaching responsibilities in nursing units and the limited understanding of these responsibilities by university administrators. DISCUSSION: Ensuring equitable teaching workloads requires transparent policies and an organizational culture committed to faculty governance.

Factors Affecting Nurses' Impact on Social Justice in the Health System.

BACKGROUND: Social inequities in health systems are threats to global health. Considering the important role of nurses in establishing social justice, identification of factors affecting nurses' participation in this area can contribute to the development of social justice. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify factors affecting nurses' participation in establishing social justice in the health system. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The study was conducted using conventional qualitative content analysis approach. Purposive sampling was used to select 14 participants in 2019. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed concurrently with data gathering. PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT: In total, six faculty members, five nursing managers, and three clinical nurses from three different universities were interviewed. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of Urmia University of Medical Sciences in Iran. FINDINGS: Four main themes were found, including inadequate professional authority, insufficient attention to social justice in the area of education, clinical concerns as barriers to professional presence in society, and reflection of personality traits in the profession. These are the main factors affecting nurses' participation in establishing social justice in the health system. DISCUSSION: Authorities need to take effective steps to establish social justice through reforming the health system's policy-making and power-acquisition domains, promoting nurses' involvement in social factors in health issues, and adding professional values as a part of nursing curriculum. The clinical practice environment can also be helpful through providing quality, safe, and cost-effective services. In addition, fair and efficient recruitment process for new nurses can contribute to the establishment of social justice in the health system. CONCLUSION: Macro-level managerial factors such as policy, education, and clinical environment, along with personal factors, play a significant role in the participation of nursing profession in establishing social justice.

Estágio curricular supervisionado de enfermagem em tempos de pandemia da COVID-19 / Nursing internship programs in the pandemic COVID-19 times / Pasantía curricular supervisada de enfermería en tiempos de pandemia de COVID-19

Objetivo: refletir sobre os atos administrativos do Ministério da Educação do Brasil relacionados ao Estágio Curricular Supervisionado na área da saúde durante a pandemia do COVID-19 e as repercussões na enfermagem. Método: estudo com abordagem teórico - reflexivo, com base na literatura sobre Estágio Curricular Supervisionado no Brasil, tendo como referencial oito portarias governamentais na área da educação que se apresentam como medidas resolutivas para o enfrentamento aos desafios do contexto da pandemia. Resultados: foram explicitadas as intencionalidades subjacentes aos atos administrativos do Ministério da Educação, as lacunas, fragilidades e desafios na realidade do Estágio Curricular frente aos cenários das práticas de ensino no contexto da pandemia e as possibilidades de atividades remotas. Considerações finais e repercussões para a prática: espera-se que as mudanças, incertezas e desafios, destacados neste estudo, despertem cautela na tomada de decisão e condução de alternativas de adequações para o Estágio Curricular Supervisionado em enfermagem no contexto de pandemia e no percurso pós-pandemia

Objective: Reflect upon the administrative acts of the Brazilian Ministry of Education concerning Internship Programs in the health field during the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequences for the nursing field. Method: this study, with a theoreticalreflective approach, was based on the literature addressing Internship Programs in Brazil, considering eight ordinances in the field of education, intended to present decisive measures to deal with the challenges imposed by the pandemic. Results: The purposes underlying the administrative acts issued by the Ministry of Education, gaps, weaknesses, and challenges imposed to Internship Programs within the settings in which these programs are implemented are discussed considering the pandemic context and the possibility of implementing remote teaching modalities. Final considerations and repercussions for the practice: The changes, uncertainties, and challenges discussed in this study are expected to encourage prudence in decision-making when considering alternatives to adapt Nursing Internship Programs during and after the pandemic

Objetivo: reflexionar sobre los actos administrativos del Ministerio de la Educación de Brasil, relacionados a la Pasantía Curricular Supervisada en el área de la salud, durante la pandemia del COVID-19 y sus repercusiones en la enfermería. Método: estudio con abordaje teórico reflexivo, con base en la literatura sobre Pasantía Curricular Supervisada en Brasil, teniendo como referencial ocho ordenanzas gubernamentales en el área de la educación que se presentan como medidas resolutivas para el enfrentamiento de los desafíos en el contexto de la pandemia. Resultados: fueron explicitadas las intencionalidades subyacentes en los actos administrativos del Ministerio de la Educación, los vacíos, fragilidades e desafíos en la realidad de la Pasantía Curricular, frente a los escenarios de las prácticas de enseñanza, en el contexto de la pandemia y las posibles actividades remotas. Consideraciones finales y repercusiones para la práctica: se espera que los cambios, incertidumbres y desafíos, destacados en este estudio, despierten la precaución debida en la toma de decisiones y conducción de alternativas de adecuaciones para la Pasantía Curricular Supervisado en enfermería en el contexto de la pandemia y en el periodo de pospandemia

Promoting and Supporting a Doctor of Nursing Practice Program of Scholarship.

BACKGROUND: Mentoring in the context of the faculty-student relationship can be one in which each benefits. Creative approaches are warranted to help discriminate the boundaries between the student and the teacher as a mentor, which are often ill-defined and blurred given the high-stakes summative assessments of performance. METHOD: Six specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based (SMART) goals were established for a mentor and mentee relationship spanning a 2-year period based on a vision for building a program of scholarship. Weekly mentoring sessions were used to monitor progress toward goal attainment. RESULTS: While completing the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, the mentee expanded professional networks, obtained funded fellowships, expanded knowledge and skills related to the substantive area of scholarship, and disseminated that work through professional presentations and publications coauthored with the mentor. CONCLUSION: Cognizant of the boundaries between course-related products and professional presentations and publications, the goal-driven mentor-mentee relationship is transformational to both. [J Nurs Educ. 2020;59(9):526-530.].

Faculty Perceptions of the Importance of Physical Assessment Skills Taught in Prelicensure Nursing Education.

BACKGROUND: Physical assessment skills are key components of nursing practice. On average, nurses perform a head-to-toe assessment 4 times during a shift. The frequency and importance of this technique have resulted in controversy in determining the essential components of assessment to ensure readiness for practice. PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to explore the perceived importance by faculty for physical assessment skills taught in prelicensure nursing education programs. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study using a 136-item questionnaire. The sample was nursing faculty (n = 402) teaching in an accredited nursing program in the United States. RESULTS: Among the physical assessment skill categories, integumentary (4.57 ± 0.51), central nervous (4.29 ± 0.62), and cardiovascular (4.20 ± 0.51) systems had the highest mean scores for the perceived level of importance of skill categories to be taught to prelicensure nursing students. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that faculty perceive physical assessment skills associated with the integumentary, central nervous, and cardiovascular systems to be the most critical skills taught in a nursing assessment course.

The Effect of Educational Strategies Targeted for Nurses on Pain Assessment and Management in Children: An Integrative Review.

BACKGROUND: Nurses play an important role in children's pain assessment and management because they spend the majority of the time with them and provide care on a 24-hour basis. However, research studies continue to report on nurses' inadequate assessment and management of children's pain, which may be partly attributed to their insufficient education in this area. OBJECTIVES: This integrative review sought to examine the effect of strategies used in educating nurses on pediatric pain assessment and management. DESIGN: An integrative review. DATA SOURCES: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane, PubMed/ Medline and Scopus. REVIEW/ANALYSIS METHODS: Four databases were searched up to February 2018 based on a prescribed eligibility criteria. The review included 37 studies with varied methodologic quality. RESULTS: Our findings revealed that various types of educational strategies improve nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and practice of pain assessment, management, and/or documentation. CONCLUSIONS: Developing a responsive program that includes expectations of beneficiaries, integrating it into existing facility training systems and delivering it through multidisciplinary collaboration, offers the benefit of securing sustainability of the educational gains.

State of the Profession: The Landscape of Disability Justice, Health Inequities, and Access for Patients With Disabilities.

The nursing profession can both perpetuate inequities and elevate the discourse around disability. Our article uses an intersectional lens to discuss the scope, magnitude, and determinants of health inequities that people with disabilities experience and the ways in which theoretical models of disability used in nursing education can further contribute to inequities. Our article makes the case for an intersectional social justice approach to nursing education by contextualizing the current state of affairs within historical and contemporary models of disability. This has the potential to be a revolutionary leap toward promoting health equity and upholding the Code of Ethics.

"Everything Possible Is Being Done": Labour, Mobility, and the Organization of Health Services in Mid-20th Century Newfoundland.

This article is the Presidential Address to the 2018 meeting of the Canadian Society for the History of Medicine at the University of Regina. It examines the organization of the nursing service in Newfoundland during the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the recruitment and retention of nurses in cottage hospitals and nursing stations in outport communities. A number of interconnected strategies were used by the Newfoundland government to staff the nursing service, including recruiting internationally educated nurses, adjusting expectations with respect to registration standards, and using both trained and untrained workers to support nurses' labour. Although this article is intended more as a reconnaissance suggesting the possibilities of such research, it does analyze the interconnected issues of geography, funding and pay, the nursing shortage, and the renegotiation of nursing labour that characterized this period. Furthermore, although this is a case study of Newfoundland and Labrador, it is worth considering how, or whether, the linked strategies used in the province were transferable to other communities across rural, remote, or northern Canada.

Assessment of Primary Palliative Care Content Within Prelicensure Nursing Education: A Multisite Feasibility Study.

Primary palliative care education should be provided within prelicensure programs to maximize nurses' preparation to care for patients with serious, life-limiting illness before entering professional practice settings. Curricula need to be assessed to identify current content integration across nursing programs. The specific aim of this feasibility study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a survey methodology to assess primary palliative care content integration within prelicensure nursing curricula in multiple programs. A secondary aim was to compare content integration across nursing programs. Faculty teaching in prelicensure courses at 3 accredited nursing programs were recruited to complete a 50-item curriculum assessment survey based on the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium Undergraduate Curriculum. Response rates were 73%, 26.7%, and 18.8%, respectively. All content areas were reported as being taught by at least 1 faculty member per institution. Lecture was the primary pedagogy to teach all End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium Undergraduate content areas, followed by clinical conference/debriefing and simulation. Content was primarily taught in Critical Care, Maternity, Adult Health, Gerontology, and Fundamentals courses. The disparate response rates suggest that survey dissemination may prove ineffective for multisite curricula evaluation. Implications for nursing education and clinical practice will be discussed.

Quality Assurance in Nursing Education: A Qualitative Study Involving Students and Newly Graduated Nurses.

Background: Assuring quality training for future nursing professionals is essential to preserving population health and socio-economic development. Quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area places students in a leading role to transform and improve higher education programs. Therefore, an innovative way of reviewing strengths and weaknesses of the nursing education program of a Spanish university has been developed. Objectives: The aim of this paper was to explore the perceptions and opinions of nursing students and newly-qualified nurses regarding the contents of the nursing curriculum in order to improve its quality. Methods: Descriptive and exploratory qualitative research was carried out involving 12 newly-qualified nurses and 12 student nurses. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were performed. Results: Based on the thematic analysis, two themes emerged: improving clinical practices and reviewing the theoretical curriculum. Conclusions: Among the improvements suggested by the participants, the most relevant ones were establishing a clear structure of learning contents in the practicum, and redistributing the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System ECTS credits in various courses of the study program. However, additional evidence is needed prior to proceeding with any changes.

Core nursing competency assessment tool for graduates of outcome-based nursing education in South Korea: A validation study.

AIM: To develop a competency assessment instrument for nurses who have completed an outcome-based educational program based on national standards and to assess the content-, construct-, and criterion-related validity of that instrument. METHODS: In the development stage, the competencies of nurses with 1-3 years' clinical experience after the completion of nursing education and training programs, based on national standards, were identified. A systematic literature review was conducted to derive the competencies in addition to the 12 national standard competencies. In the evaluation stage, the content-, construct-, and criterion-related validity of the developed tool were verified. For verification of the content validity at each stage, the participants were 10 nurse managers of general hospitals and 10 nurse professors. A factor analysis was conducted to assess the construct validity and the Cronbach's alpha coefficients and item-total correlation were used to assess the reliability of the developed scale. For the factor analysis, the participants were 141 nurses with 1-3 years' clinical experience who were recruited from four general hospitals. In order to evaluate the construct- and criterion-related validity, the correlations between a nursing performance measurement scale, a self-leadership tool, and the developed scale were examined. RESULTS: A competency assessment instrument, consisting of 19 items on a 4-point scale, was developed and validated for assessing the competencies among nurses with 1-3 years' experience. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing research, policy awareness, and leadership competencies were required by the Korean Accreditation Board of Nursing Education for nursing college graduates, but were removed due to poor content validity, indicating a need for nursing professionals to bridge the gap between educational standards in nursing colleges and clinical settings.

Peer assessment practices in nurse education: An integrative review.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this review was to explore how nurse education prepares students to participate in the peer review process and to deal with the benefits and challenges of giving and receiving peer feedback. DESIGN: Whittemore and Knafl's (2005) five-step strategy for integrated literature reviews served as a framework for this analysis. DATA SOURCES: Relevant online university databases (CINAHL, ERIC, Medline, etc.) were searched using a combination of keywords, yielding 24 studies from peer-reviewed journals between 1988 and 2018 that fit inclusion criteria after initial screening. REVIEW METHODS: Data were organized in a summary table by author, year, title, country, methodology, student level, sample size, and setting. Qualitative data analysis software facilitated identification of themes and systematic coding of content. The data were compared across the didactic, clinical, and laboratory settings and then analyzed and synthesized globally for general conclusions. RESULTS: The predominant themes that emerged were benefits and challenges of peer assessment in nurse education, strategies to prepare students to provide supportive feedback, anonymous vs. non-anonymous peer assessment practices, and recommendations for instructional strategies related to peer assessment. CONCLUSIONS: Peer assessment provides multiple sources of feedback, guides students to think critically about course content, and engages them in advanced self-assessment. However, if students are not well prepared to participate in peer assessment, it can lead to a sense of incompetence, anxiety, and a hostile learning environment. Well-designed peer assessment is an important instructional strategy to prepare future nurses to participate in peer review in professional nursing practice.