Nursing faculty development program for digital teaching competence.

BACKGROUND: Nursing faculties need to develop digital competencies to effectively use information, communication, and technology-based nursing education. PURPOSE: The study aimed to develop and apply a theory-guided faculty development program on digital teaching competencies. METHODS: A faculty development program was developed. Between March and April 2020, three five-hour web workshops participated by ninety-three faculty members were held. The program was assessed via mixed methods, combining satisfaction surveys post-workshop with content analysis of open-ended questionnaires to gauge participant evaluation of program content and learning experience. RESULTS: Participants were highly satisfied with the program contents and their opportunity for integrating digital technology into education and improving faculty proficiency in digital teaching technology. CONCLUSIONS: The program provides faculties with the self-confidence and essential skills to teach students using information, communication, and technology-based nursing education by enhancing their digital teaching competencies. It is critical to integrate both digital proficiency and nursing practice education.

Shared Governance Through Bylaws: Transformation Within a College of Nursing.

BACKGROUND: Enhancing faculty voice and promoting shared governance within academia has long been called for but has not been well-reported. A college of nursing in the midwestern United States identified shortcomings in its organizational structure including lack of faculty voice, communication barriers, lack of faculty participation in decision making, and academic programs operating independently. METHOD: A workgroup was formed to transform the bylaws to promote shared governance, including faculty voice, equality, and engagement. RESULTS: The bylaws were revised and presented to faculty for discussion, further revisions, and vote. The revised bylaws were approved and implemented in August 2021. CONCLUSION: Through transformation of the bylaws, the college's 12-committee structure was reconceptualized to five standing committees and 13 subcommittees. Clear communication lines and cross-committee collaboration was established to break down the former academic program silos. Faculty with primary teaching assignments are equally represented throughout the structure with voice, vote, and responsibility. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(5):277-281.].

Pursuing Success in a Hybrid PhD Nursing Program.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about hybrid PhD nursing students' experiences. METHOD: The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the experiences of PhD nursing students in a hybrid program using a convergent mixed methods design. Recent nursing PhD alumni (n = 18), and current PhD students (n = 4) were recruited at a research-intensive university in the southwestern United States. RESULTS: Four metainferences were identified: (1) the facilitator of faculty as both advisors and mentors; (2) the facilitator of peers as support, motivation, and a source of advice that preceded advisors; (3) the barrier of receiving conflicting feedback from advisory and dissertation committees; and (4) the barrier of not understanding the PhD student process. CONCLUSION: Peer support is fundamental for hybrid PhD nursing student success; conflicting feedback and not understanding the process are significant barriers. Strategies are recommended to mitigate barriers to facilitate hybrid PhD nursing students' success. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(5):328-331.].

Competency gap among graduating nursing students: what they have achieved and what is expected of them.

BACKGROUND: Nurses' professional competencies play a significant role in providing safe care to patients. Identifying the acquired and expected competencies in nursing education and the gaps between them can be a good guide for nursing education institutions to improve their educational practices. METHODS: In a descriptive-comparative study, students' perception of acquired competencies and expected competencies from the perspective of the Iranian nursing faculties were collected with two equivalent questionnaires consisting of 85 items covering 17 competencies across 5 domains. A cluster sampling technique was employed on 721 final-year nursing students and 365 Iranian nursing faculties. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent t-tests. RESULTS: The results of the study showed that the highest scores for students' acquired competencies and nursing faculties' expected competencies were work readiness and professional development, with mean of 3.54 (SD = 0.39) and 4.30 (SD = 0.45), respectively. Also, the lowest score for both groups was evidence-based nursing care with mean of 2.74 (SD = 0.55) and 3.74 (SD = 0.57), respectively. The comparison of competencies, as viewed by both groups of the students and the faculties, showed that the difference between the two groups' mean scores was significant in all 5 core-competencies and 17 sub-core competencies (P < .001). Evidence-based nursing care was the highest mean difference (mean diff = 1) and the professional nursing process with the lowest mean difference (mean diff = 0.70). CONCLUSION: The results of the study highlight concerns about the gap between expected and achieved competencies in Iran. Further research is recommended to identify the reasons for the gap between the two and to plan how to reduce it. This will require greater collaboration between healthcare institutions and nursing schools.

Norwegian nurse educators' self-rating of competencies: a nationwide cross-sectional web-survey.

BACKGROUND: Nurse educators' competencies play a crucial role in the educational quality of nurses. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate how Norwegian nurse educators self-rated their competence domains, and how these competencies were associated background variables. METHODS: The study was designed as a cross-sectional web-survey, and n=154 participated and filled out the Evaluation of Requirements of Nurse Teachers (ERNT) instrument. Educators' mean working experience was 12.9 years (SD 9.2); 86.3 % were permanently employed and 76.8 % had formal supervision training. RESULTS: The nurse educators rated their competence as good on all competence domains and single competence items, and ERNT total mean score was 4.62 (SD 0.28), with relationship with the students rated highest and personality factors rated lowest. The ERNT total mean score was significantly related to academic degree. CONCLUSIONS: Educational leaders in nursing education are recommended to establish a mentoring and supporting team for their educators.

Investigating academic nurse researchers' knowledge, experience, and attitude toward predatory journals.

BACKGROUND: Selecting a journal with an appropriate scope and breadth, well-respected by other scholars in the field, and widely indexed and accessible to readers is an integral part of publishing. Academic publishing has recently seen a significant shift away from traditional print publications and toward open access journals and online publications. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate academic nurse researchers' knowledge, experience, and attitudes regarding predatory journals. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional quantitative study design was conducted using Predatory Journals Questionnaire to collect the data from academic nurse educators working at X and XX University. RESULTS: Almost two-thirds (68.6 %) of participants had previous knowledge of the term "predatory journal." As well as, the majority of academic educators had previous experience as they had used predatory journals before, as by being asked to publish in their journal (84.3 %) or serve on its editorial board (24.3 %), participants were more likely to receive requests to submit an article to a predatory journal (52.9 %) via email, mail, or phone. In addition, academic nurse researchers had a moderate perspective (mean = 3.87 ± 1.06; mean % score = 71.71) toward predatory journals. CONCLUSION: Publishing in a predatory journal, whether done knowingly or unknowingly, can harm authors' reputations as academics, their capacity to submit to other journals, and the quality of their work. According to the results of our study, many researchers still lacked a thorough understanding of the predatory journal publishing model, which is a phenomenon that demands an increasing amount of research, despite hearing about the phenomenon of a predatory journal and having previously attended training.

Traveling the road toward academic promotion for faculty with a DNP degree.

There is a widely recognized need for nursing faculty in the United States. To prepare a practice-ready workforce, schools of nursing are hiring faculty with Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) preparation to ensure clinical expertise is embedded into curriculum by practice experts. However, nurses transitioning from clinical nursing to faculty positions require tailored support and guidance in navigating the academic environment. Preparation for academic promotion is essential to integration into an academic setting. Support in navigating the new environment is essential for building confidence, to lay a foundation for a successful transition, and ultimately retaining these qualified educators. This article provides strategies to support nursing faculty planning to embark on an academic career track and provides guidance on how to prepare these DNP-prepared faculty for career progression and future promotion along academic ranks. These strategies include school and institutional orientation, faculty development plans, mentorship, leadership development, and performance review processes.

Faculty Development on the Use of a Clinical Judgment Model in the Pre-licensure Nursing Curriculum.

Clinical judgment is an essential component of safe nursing practice that pre-licensure nursing students should develop by graduation from accredited nursing programs. For novice nurses, the consequences of underdeveloped clinical judgment skills that do not meet the demands of clinical practice are serious. This theory-practice gap correlates with increased numbers of errors occurring during care delivery, resulting in poorer patient outcomes. From a student perspective, this problem correlates with lower first-time pass rates on the NCLEX licensing exam. For nurse educators, there are uncertainties about how to resolve this complex and costly problem, but faculty development is one evidence-based solution to explore. The purpose of this article is to describe a three-pronged quality improvement project consisting of: 1) a faculty development session to teach faculty to implement the National Council State Boards of Nursing's Clinical Judgment Model (CJM) in their courses; 2) the use of the Clinical Judgment Tool; and 3) the implementation of a faculty champion to sustain and maintain ongoing faculty momentum to foster clinical judgment. This article focuses on how faculty can develop their own CJM faculty development session and use a CJM across the course curriculum.

Transitioning from a Doctor of Nursing Practice clinical role to academic scholar.

Nursing faculty prepared with a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree have unique needs as they transition from their clinical roles into full-time academia. As expert clinicians they share a wealth of knowledge that contributes to quality improvement and implementation of evidence-based practice in healthcare. However, they may lack the preparation needed for scholarship, a requirement for promotion, as well as retention, in many academic organizations. Traditional promotional processes are more in tune with the nursing faculty who have received a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, in which scholarship and research are a core component of their education and practice. As the number of DNP-prepared faculty increases, supporting successful transition to academia including scholarly productivity is essential to retention especially as nurse faculty shortages persist. Further research and resources are needed to help prepare and support DNP-prepared faculty to develop their scholarship with an increasing need to recognize the additional means of dissemination that these clinical scholars can utilize to meet the requirements of promotion.

Improvement opportunities for the achievement of reciprocal nursing academic-practice partnerships.

American healthcare reform efforts are driving healthcare organizations to demonstrate the ability to reduce costs while improving quality and optimizing healthcare outcomes. Nurses are the largest healthcare clinicians and need proper preparatory education to enter the profession as practice-ready clinicians; however, medical errors and reduced nursing board examination success rates highlight the need for improved nurse academic preparation standards. Evidence has elucidated an expanding nursing education-practice gap problem arising from inadequate integration of academic leadership and faculty within the clinical practice arena. The nursing education-practice gap has been exacerbated by governance structures in academia that limit opportunities for nursing faculty to remain actively engaged in clinical practice settings. To improve new graduate nurse practice readiness, healthcare quality, and cost-effectiveness, academic institutions must partner with healthcare delivery organizations within mutually beneficial models. The purpose of this article is to describe the expanding nursing education-practice gap problem in relevance to American healthcare quality and reform initiatives and to propose innovative solutions assigned with evidence-based standards.

Embracing authenticity and challenging norms: Including people with an intellectual disability as lecturers in third level intellectual disability nursing programmes.

UNDERREPRESENTATION OF VOICES FROM PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY IN NURSE EDUCATION: In the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, university level programmes for intellectual disability nurses have traditionally incorporated the perspectives of people with intellectual disabilities but have been delivered by non-disabled educators. Perspectives are interpreted through the lens of the non-disabled person, with the voices of people with intellectual disabilities rarely heard. AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH: INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY AS EDUCATORS: In this article, an alternative approach is proposed that addresses this problem by including individuals with intellectual disabilities as educators within university programmes. Such inclusion will benefit students, academics, and ultimately the individuals who will receive health and social care from these nurses. Many countries have seen legislative and policy changes promoting inclusion for people with an intellectual disability. These are welcomed, but if they are to have a meaningful impact, societal attitudes and perceptions towards people with intellectual disabilities must be challenged. Drawing upon the concepts of social reconstruction and the ideologies of Paulo Freire and John Dewey, we argue that education can catalyze societal transformation. By including individuals with intellectual disabilities as educators in undergraduate programmes, such as nursing, traditional hierarchies of educators can be challenged, and students can learn from experts with lived experiences. This approach fosters critical thinking, reflection, and the development of authentic and informed healthcare professionals. The experiences of a co-author with a lived experience of intellectual disability as an educator, highlights the positive impact of such inclusion on students' perspectives, understanding, and empathy.

An intervention to address nurse educators' occupational well-being: A process evaluation.

BACKGROUND: There is a global need for more support for the occupational well-being of educators working in nurse education, where nurse educators experience challenges when managing their own occupational well-being. However, there is a lack of research studies into occupational well-being interventions. Aim To evaluate the usability and utility of the Self-Help INtervention for Educators in nurse education. DESIGN: A process evaluation was conducted after the intervention in Spring 2022. SETTINGS: Educational organisations providing national regulated practical nurse education in Finland. PARTICIPANTS: Nurse educators (n = 37), completing the 8-workweek intervention. METHODS: Data were collected with the self-reported electronic feedback questionnaire consisting of three sections: 1) 10-item System Usability Scale, 2) 7-item Utility scale developed for this study and 3) 4 open ended questions. The data were analysed statistically and with content analysis. RESULTS: The intervention was found to be usable; especially the easy learnability and usage of the digital Smart Break-SHINE program and the applicable exercises. It was estimated to be moderately useful as a well-being and break promoter at work. The utility of the intervention to promote physical activity and recovery during working hours was statistically more positive for educators with <5 years of work experience than those with over 15 years. Usability and utility barriers were found especially regarding workload issues. CONCLUSIONS: The Self-Help INtervention for Educators supports the occupational well-being of nurse educators and includes well-being actions suitable for different work surroundings (e.g., remote working) without the need for constant facilitating. The intervention was found to be most beneficial for early career nurse educators. The Self-Help INtervention for Educators needs more development to overcome the usability and utility barriers related to workload issues.

Nursing faculty members' response to bullying in the eyes of their students: A pilot study in Pangasinan.

BACKGROUND: Bullying is a pervasive issue that can occur in any setting, including among nursing students and within the nursing profession. Faculty members have a vital role in resolving bullying. OBJECTIVES: To examine the nursing faculty members' responses to incidents of bullying within two nursing institutions in Pangasinan. DESIGN: Descriptive- comparative design. SETTINGS: Two Colleges of Nursing in a city in Pangasinan, Philippines. PARTICIPANTS: Nursing students from first to fourth year BS Nursing students. METHODS: An online survey was the main tool in this study, Lynch formula was utilized to calculate the sample size. There are 458 nursing students who participated in this study. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, one-way ANOVA, and t-test were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: It was revealed that faculty members sometimes address bullying by group discussion (M = 3.26, SD = 1.27), and they almost never utilized non-intervention in bullying (M = 2.33, SD = 0.85). There is a variation in terms of group discussion with a one-way ANOVA score of F (2, 455) = 3.22, p = 0.04, when faculty members are grouped according to their degrees. Regarding the difference between the faculty members' responses to bullying when grouped according to gender, there is a significant difference between male and female for mediation (t(457) = 2.10, p = 0.04), group discussion (t(457) = 2.79, p = 0.01), victim support (t(457) = 2.54, p = 0.01), and disciplinary methods (t(457) = 2.66, p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: The study emphasizes the complex nature of tackling bullying among nursing students. It highlights the efficacy of several solutions used by faculty members, such as group discussions, mediation, victim assistance, and disciplinary measures. The findings indicate that a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics involved in addressing bullying is necessary. This understanding highlights the significance of a cooperative and compassionate strategy that includes all individuals involved in the educational setting. It is clear that a standardized approach may not be enough, and customized techniques that take into account the particular circumstances and requirements of the persons involved are essential.