Public Understanding of the Role of Nurses During Ebola.

PURPOSE: To examine media portrayals of nurses and their roles during the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in western Africa. METHODS: The study used document analysis and in-depth content analysis to review and assess literature on the Ebola epidemic. A total of 234 potentially relevant articles were identified; 109 were excluded and 125 were included in the analysis. FINDINGS: The analysis revealed a gap in system preparedness for global health events and a lack of public awareness of the critical role of nurses. Little attention was paid to nurses and their knowledge and expertise as they worked through the Ebola event. The perception of nurses evolved over the epidemic. CONCLUSIONS: Portrayals of nurses and their work during the Ebola epidemic evolved over the epidemic, from positive to negative, and health systems were shown to be unprepared for a major epidemic. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Media coverage of major health events can demonstrate system inadequacies, but inaccurate and misleading portrayals of nurses and the nursing profession can undermine and diminish the image of the nursing profession.

People are failing! Something needs to be done: Canadian students' experience with the NCLEX-RN.

BACKGROUND: Canada's nurse regulators adopted the NCLEX as the entry-to-practice licensing exam for Canada's registered nurses effective January 2015. It is important to determine whether any issues from this change emerged for nursing students in preparing for and taking this new exam. OBJECTIVES: To explore the experiences of Canadian graduate student nurses who were the first to write the NCLEX examination for entry to practice in Canada, determine whether any issues with implementation were identified and how these could be addressed. DESIGN: A qualitative study. METHODS: Thematic analysis of semi-structured interview data obtained through interviews with 202 graduate Canadian nursing students was the methodology employed in this study. RESULTS: The predominant theme that emerged from the interview data was policy related issues that students identified with preparing for and taking the NCLEX. Sub-themes included: a) temporary test centre concerns, b) perceptions of American context and content on the exam, c) lack of French language resources and translation issues, d) the limited number of opportunities to write the exam, e) communication and engagement with regulators, f) financial costs incurred and g) reputational costs for the Canadian nursing profession. CONCLUSIONS: The experiences of study participants with NCLEX implementation in Canada were less than positive. This is of critical importance given the pass rates for first-time NCLEX writers in Canada were reported as 69.7%, substantially lower than pass rates on the previous Canadian entry-to-practice exam.