Knowledge, attitudes, and practice of the Pap smear test in female college students attending a global university in the United States.

BACKGROUND: According to the World Health Organization, every minute, one woman is diagnosed with cervical cancer, and every 2 minutes, one woman dies of cervical cancer globally (World Health Organization, 2022). The biggest tragedy is 99% of cervical cancer is caused by a preventable sexually transmitted infection known as human papilloma virus (World Health Organization, 2022). LOCAL PROBLEM: Many US universities indicate approximately 30% of their admissions are international students. The lack of Pap smear screening in this population has not been clearly identified by college health care providers. METHODS: Fifty-one participants from a university located in the northeastern United States completed an online survey between September and October 2018. The survey was designed to identify disparities between United States residents and internationally admitted female students in their knowledge, attitudes, and practice of the Pap smear test. INTERVENTIONS: One hundred percent of US students had heard of the Pap smear test as compared with 72.7% of international students ( p = .008); 86.8% of US students considered a Pap smear as opposed to 45.5% of international students ( p = .002), and 65.8% of US students previously had a Pap smear test as opposed to 18.8% of international students ( p = .007). RESULTS: Results revealed statistically significant differences between US and internationally admitted female college students in knowledge, attitudes, and practice of the Pap smear test. CONCLUSIONS: This project helps to bring awareness to college health clinicians the need for cervical cancer education and Pap smear screening for our college age international female population.

Rethinking DNP education: Just another mountain to climb.

ABSTRACT: The World Health Organization designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife in celebration of the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. This article considers the future of nurse practitioner education in light of nursing history. First, a brief overview describes the progression of nursing education since the founding of the Nightingale School in 1860. Then, current challenges in NP education are discussed. Potential solutions to these issues are presented.

A Survey of Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses' and Holistic Nurses' Perceptions of Spirituality and Spiritual Care.

The provision of spiritual care is referred to in professional practice guidelines and mandated in nurses' ethical codes. Still, a gap exists regarding essential training in spiritual conversation and assessment, leaving some health care providers feeling uncomfortable when assessing spiritual support needs. The purpose of this study was to assess hospice and palliative nurses' and holistic nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. It was assumed that the standards of care for hospice and palliative nurses and holistic nurses stipulate that spiritualty is addressed within the framework of their specialties and provide education for spiritual care, thus making these nurses proficient in providing spiritual care. This exploratory, descriptive study utilized a web-based survey to measure perception of spirituality and spiritual care giving using a modified Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale. A convenience sample was recruited from members of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association and the American Holistic Nurses Association (n = 250). Descriptive statistics summarized data as well as qualitative analysis of written narratives. Content analysis of open-ended survey questions was used to identify themes until saturation. This study found that given adequate resources and education, nurses can be positioned to address the spiritual needs of patients and provide appropriate care. This study adds to an emerging body of evidence suggesting that training in spiritual care should be an important component of the foundational nursing curriculum.

A snapshot of clinical educational experiences for advanced practice nurses worldwide.

Using a convenience sampling, nurse educators representing 10 countries were surveyed to describe required clinical education for advanced practice beyond basic traditional nursing education. This article explores the many factors currently influencing the structure and diversity of these clinical experiences worldwide.

Preparing for the transition from clinical practice to academia.

Although education is an essential component of good nursing practice, clinical practice proficiency does not equate to competence in academia. Expert clinicians are not automatically expert educators. However, more and more academic institutions are relying on full-time clinicians to assume academic teaching positions. The decision to transition from clinical practice to academia requires careful consideration of numerous personal and professional issues. The purpose of this brief overview is to offer insight and guidance for nursing professionals embarking on this journey.

Core curriculum and competencies: A multisite analysis of postgraduate training programs for primary care nurse practitioners.

The Institute of Medicine and the Affordable Care Act recommend intensified development and expansion of postgraduate training programs (residencies/fellowships) for primary care providers, including nurse practitioners. There is a paucity of literature regarding this innovative training medium for nurse practitioners. The purpose of this descriptive quality improvement project was to identify and characterize the core curricular learning outcomes among primary care postgraduate training programs for nurse practitioners. Semi-structured interviews with program directors across nine sites revealed 12 principal learning outcomes that represented a shared core curriculum among programs. The core curriculum was then mapped to nurse practitioner competencies from two leading nurse professional organizations. Despite the vast differences in programs' developmental stages, findings indicated concordance among program sites and between the core curriculum and the leading professional competencies. The information presented in this article serves to enhance the work of stakeholders involved in developing and standardizing nurse practitioner postgraduate training programs in primary care.

Leadership Development Program for Nurses at a Healthcare for the Homeless Program: A Educational Intervention.

PURPOSE: This quality improvement, educational intervention project aimed to develop nurse leaders at a large urban federally funded Health Care for the Homeless Program (HCH), using the Nursing Leadership Institute Competency Model. METHODS: A leadership seminar series which addressed six leadership topics for homeless health care nurses was developed, implemented, and evaluated using a one group pre/posttest design. The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) was also administered before and after the seminar series. RESULTS: There were statistically significant increases in new skills in the areas of interpersonal skills, personal mastery, systems thinking, and finance management. LPI scores improved after completion of the leadership seminar series. CONCLUSION: Participation in the leadership seminar series improved leadership skills and competencies of nurse leaders at the HCH. The acquired new knowledge may prepare homeless health nurses for sustained leadership roles which in turn will result in better meeting the needs of organizations providing care to homeless individuals.

Buddies Not Bullies: an approach to bullying prevention education in preschool children, their families and the community.

Bullying is a traumatic event and has been observed among children as young as four years old. We have designed the Buddies Not Bullies initiative, which is a series of projects to help preschool children protect themselves from bullying. We also designed projects to educate the families of these preschool children and their community on the effects of bullying. The Buddies Not Bullies initiative promotes social-emotional development and discourages behaviours that might lead to bullying. In this article the initiatives designed to engage preschool children and raise awareness, including an interactive puppet show, are outlined. The authors also discuss how they evaluated the success of these projects and the implications for all professionals caring for young children.

Utilizing Team Debate to Increase Student Abilities for Mentoring and Critical Appraisal of Global Health Care in Doctor of Nursing Practice Programs.

UNLABELLED: Although graduates of doctor of nursing practice (DNP) programs are expected to demonstrate competence in advanced clinical scholarship, mentoring, and leadership, little is published about how team debate on a global health care topic supports DNP student learning and skill development. PURPOSE: This article reports on an illuminative evaluation of DNP student learning experiences of team debate in the context of a 2-week international school program in Ireland. METHOD: A focused illuminative evaluation approach involving a cohort of seven DNP students, who had participated in an international school team debate, was used. Data were collected using a Web-based qualitative questionnaire designed to elicit in-depth reflective accounts of DNP students' learning experiences. RESULTS: Content analysis revealed that team debate on a global health care topic enhanced learning in relation to fostering critical thinking and critical appraisal skills; encouraging teamwork; providing opportunities for mentoring, relationship building, and socialization into profession; and, from the DNP student perspective, increasing knowledge and global understanding of health care. CONCLUSION: This evaluation provides insights for nurse educators into the benefits of introducing team debate as a group activity to enhancing scholarly inquiry and mentoring skills of DNP students. Further research to evaluate team debate in other nurse education programs is needed.

Addressing Issues Impacting Advanced Nursing Practice Worldwide.

Advanced practice nursing roles are developing globally, and opportunities for advanced practice nursing are expanding worldwide due to the need for expert nursing care at an advanced level of practice. Yet it is well recognized that barriers exist with respect to APRNs being able to practice to the full extent of their education and training. Addressing barriers to APRN practice worldwide and ensuring that APRNs are able to practice to the full extent of their education and training can help to promote optimal role fulfillment as well as assessment of the impact of the APRN role.

Reflections on T. Berry Brazelton, MD's influence on pediatric nursing.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to provide examples of Dr. Brazelton's important influence on pediatric nursing, and by extension, the work of child psychiatric mental health nurses, the care of children and families, and ultimately, the healthcare delivery system. SOURCES: Dr. Brazelton's professional colleagues, research, professional journals, and books. CONCLUSION: Over the past 40 years, T. Berry Brazelton has had a major impact on the development of pediatric nursing, infant mental health, and the nurse practitioner movement. He has influenced the growth and development of nursing organizations, nursing education, nursing research, nursing practice, and health policy affecting nurses.

Pediatric perioperative education current practices: a national survey of children's hospitals in the United States.

Identifying existing practices is a first step in the creation of developmentally and culturally effective teaching materials for children and families. This national survey queried two groups to explore current pediatric perioperative education practices: 81 nurses from a perioperative pediatric specialty association and 30 administrators representing leading children's hospitals within the United States. The aim was to improve perioperative care through the design of educational materials from the child's perspective.

Advanced practice nursing: a concept analysis.

A variety of terms are used to describe advanced practice nursing roles internationally. This has resulted in confusion in terminology around these roles. The aim of this concept analysis was to clarify what is meant by advanced practice nursing internationally, what attributes signify advanced practice nursing and what are its antecedents, consequences, references and related terms. Rodgers's evolutionary method of concept analysis was used. Data sources included Medline, CINAHL, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), Cochrane Library, Science Direct, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Dissertation Abstracts and DARE as well as relevant nursing texts and professional organization websites. The analysis reveals that there are many different articulations of the advanced practice nursing role outlined in the literature. This variety in terminology hinders developments in advanced practice nursing roles. Consensus on advanced practice nursing definitions, terminology, educational requirements and regulatory approaches is integral to the implementation of the advanced practice nursing role internationally.

Strengthening PNP curricula in mental/behavioral health and evidence-based practice.

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of mental health/behavioral and developmental problems in children and teens is escalating. However, many primary care providers report inadequate skills to accurately screen, identify, and manage these problems using an evidence-based approach to care. Additionally, educational programs that prepare pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) have been slow to incorporate this content into their curriculums. METHODS: The purpose of this project was to implement and evaluate a strengthened curriculum in 20 PNP programs from across the United States that focused on: (a) health promotion strategies for optimal mental/behavioral health and developmental outcomes in children, and (b) screening and evidence-based interventions for these problems. An outcomes evaluation was conducted with faculty and graduating students from the participating programs along with faculty and students from 13 PNP programs who did not participate in the project. RESULTS: Participating schools varied in the speed at which components of the strengthened curriculum were incorporated into their programs. Over the course of the project, faculty from participating programs increased their own knowledge in the targeted areas and reported that their students were better prepared to assess and manage these problems using an evidence-based approach. Although reports of screening for certain problems were higher in the graduating students from the participating schools than the non-participating schools, the overall use of screening tools by students in clinical practice was low. DISCUSSION: There is a need for educational programs to strengthen their curricula and clinical experiences to prepare students to screen for, accurately identify, prevent, and provide early evidence-based interventions for children and teens with mental health/behavioral and developmental problems. This project can serve as a national model for curriculum change.

Quality and safety in graduate nursing education: Cross-mapping QSEN graduate competencies with NONPF's NP core and practice doctorate competencies.

To ensure that nurse practitioners are prepared to deliver safe, high-quality health care, the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) publishes documents that outline the expected competencies for nurse practitioner (NP) practice (Domains and Core Competencies of Nurse Practitioner Practice and Practice Doctorate Nurse Practitioner Entry-Level Competencies). Having participated in the development of the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies for graduate education, NONPF convened a task force to compare NONPF competencies with QSEN competencies for graduate education. This paper reports the first step of that cross-mapping process, comparing NONPF competencies with the QSEN knowledge objectives. Overall findings indicate close congruence across the 2 sets of competencies; however there are areas in which gaps are noted or for which clarification is required.