Concerns of childbearing women: a Maternal Concerns Questionnaire as an assessment tool.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if a tool measures maternal concerns in different populations of women. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of data in five master's theses using the Maternal Concerns Questionnaire. SETTING: Data were collected in postpartum units and homes. Populations were composed of rural and urban women. PARTICIPANTS: Five groups of childbearing women (N = 187) during the antepartum or postpartum periods. MAIN OUTCOMES: Subjects responded to 46 items related to concerns about themselves and their infants, partners, families, and community activities. RESULTS: The Maternal Concerns Questionnaire discriminates specific concerns between populations. CONCLUSIONS: The Maternal Concerns Questionnaire can be used in clinical practice to identify the specific concerns of mothers. The information gained can be used to individualize nursing-care plans and to measure outcomes.

National survey of nursing program options designed for the second degree student.

There is a current trend for schools of nursing to begin second degree options. Given the current economic situation, this is a win/win situation that benefits the second degree student, schools of nursing, the profession, and the community in general.

Report of an innovative research program for baccalaureate nursing students.

In summary, an innovative low-cost way to teach undergraduate students about research and to socialize students into attending research conferences has been developed. It is not perfect yet, but with time, critical students, and responsive research-productive faculty, each program should improve. It is not surprising that sophomore students do not achieve the objectives at the same level as older students. As students move closer to the "real" world of nursing practice and develop increasing sophistication about nursing in general and research in particular, they are, hopefully, more knowledgeable consumers of nursing research. What is particularly satisfying to the planners of those Research Days is that through the experience of attending Undergraduate Research Day at various points in their educational progress, students are socialized into discussing research. Additionally, they seemed to develop some degree of comfort with this aspect of their future nursing role. The RN and former student panel participants normalized research involvement for the student attendees. Panel member stories about their mistakes and successes made students realize that nursing investigations need not be the sole property of those with doctoral degrees. A serendipitous outcome of these programs was an increased awareness by students of the specific research project in which their teachers were engaged. Students informally reported a feeling of pride and reflected accomplishment. The importance of timing in offering such programs should not have been a surprise at this urban commuter university. Unwittingly, in scheduling the Friday afternoon program the planners ignored the initial consideration that the program not impose financial hardship on students.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Helping new graduates succeed at the NCLEX-RN experience: evaluation of an anxiety-reducing workshop.

A descriptive, longitudinal study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a 2-day workshop designed to reduce the anxiety levels of new graduates participating in the NCLEX-RN examination. A hospital nurse administrator, in collaboration with nurse educators, provided a multimodal in-service program. "Test wiseness," or test-taking strategies, and exercises related to physical and emotional well-being, were included for three groups of new graduates. Using Zung's Self-rating Anxiety Scale to collect data, reduction in anxiety after the workshop and at the completion of the NCLEX-RN experience was identified. All participants in the program passed the NCLEX-RN examination.