Pressure Injury Link to Entropy of Abdominal Temperature.

This study examined the association between pressure injuries and complexity of abdominal temperature measured in residents of a nursing facility. The temperature served as a proxy measure for skin thermoregulation. Refined multiscale sample entropy and bubble entropy were used to measure the irregularity of the temperature time series measured over two days at 1-min intervals. Robust summary measures were derived for the multiscale entropies and used in predictive models for pressure injuries that were built with adaptive lasso regression and neural networks. Both types of entropies were lower in the group of participants with pressure injuries (n=11) relative to the group of non-injured participants (n=15). This was generally true at the longer temporal scales, with the effect peaking at scale τ=22 min for sample entropy and τ=23 min for bubble entropy. Predictive models for pressure injury on the basis of refined multiscale sample entropy and bubble entropy yielded 96% accuracy, outperforming predictions based on any single measure of entropy. Combining entropy measures with a widely used risk assessment score led to the best prediction accuracy. Complexity of the abdominal temperature series could therefore serve as an indicator of risk of pressure injury.

Use of Long-Term Care Facilities for Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Students.

BACKGROUND: Family and adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner (NP) students must obtain patient clinical hours caring for older adults. Primary care occurs in a variety of settings, including long-term care (LTC) facilities. Anecdotal reports indicate that faculty in some primary NP academic programs do not recognize the robust primary care opportunities that exist in LTC settings. METHOD: This article describes a professional nursing organization's process of researching the appropriateness of designating LTC clinical hours as allowable primary care clinical experiences for NP students. RESULTS: The NP serves as an integral member of the LTC team, providing the same elements of primary care provided in traditional ambulatory care settings. CONCLUSION: Older adults receiving primary care in LTC settings have a variety of health care needs, including assessment and management of acute and chronic conditions. A position statement was developed for primary care NP students and endorsed by 22 professional organizations and NP programs. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(2):99-102.].

Does continuing education in gerontology lead to changes in nursing practice?

Continuing education (CE) is intended to enable nurses to pursue their professional development, be lifelong learners, and function in their roles safely and proficiently. The challenge for those providing CE programs for practicing nurses has been to establish the importance of these programs for improving nursing practice and patient outcomes. It is difficult to determine whether nurses who attend these courses implement what they have learned because evaluation methods are varied, are limited to isolated programs, and have focused on teaching strategies. This article describes two models of CE programs in gerontological nursing for practicing RNs, both of which use interactive and collaborative teaching strategies to teach best practices in geriatric nursing, as well as changes in nursing practice resulting from education.

Active Learning in Nursing Education (ALINE).

ALINE is a pedagogical model developed to aid nursing faculty transition from passive to active learning. Based on the constructionist theory, ALINE serves as a tool for organizing curriculum for online and classroom-based interaction and positioning the student as the active player and the instructor as the facilitator of nursing competency.

Pharyngitis: soothing the sore throat.

Sore throat is a common presentation in primary care. Accurate identification of cause is important for appropriate treatment. Clinical scoring systems and diagnostic tests are recommended to identify group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus, which warrants guideline-driven therapy. The article explores causes, diagnosis, management, and possible complications of pharyngitis.

Tinnitus evaluation in primary care.

Tinnitus is a common, yet poorly understood problem. This symptom has many causes, both benign as well as serious. Patients can experience significant changes in quality-of-life related to symptom severity and duration. This article explores causes of tinnitus, evaluation in a primary care setting, and management strategies.

Gerontologic nurse practitioner preceptor guide.

Geriatric nurse practitioners (GNPs) often serve as clinical preceptors for nurse practitioner students. The Nursing Interest Group of the John A. Hartford Foundation's Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training Program recognized a need for a condensed guide that clarifies the role of a GNP preceptor. This guide uses information from the literature to clarify the role of the preceptor, offer suggestions for clinical teaching, provide guidance to determine expectations for student performance, and delineate the progression of a nurse practitioner student. This article reviews the contents of the guide and offers suggestions for its use in clinical practice.