An exploratory survey of public health nurses' knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of the Quad Council Competencies.

OBJECTIVE: A collaborative research team of community/public health nursing faculty and public health nurses surveyed public health nurses to explore knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of the Quad Council Competencies for Public Health Nurses (QCC-PHN). METHODS: Evaluate the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of the 2011 QCC-PHN by public health nurses. DESIGN: A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used to answer the hypothesis related to the study objective. A convenience sample of 308 public health nurses completed an online survey. MEASUREMENTS: ANOVA was used to determine the difference between the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of community/public health nurses (C/PHNs) regarding the QCC-PHN based on nursing specialty preparation, years of nursing experience, and years of C/PHN experience. RESULTS: C/PHNs are described and differences in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application are delineated. A statistically significant difference was found in knowledge and attitude based upon years of C/PHN experience. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations are proposed for increasing the QCC-PHN awareness, implementation, and evaluation to effectively enhance the practice of nursing C/PHN.

Community/public health nursing faculty's knowledge, skills and attitudes of the Quad Council Competencies for Public Health Nurses.

A multisite collaborative team of community/public health nursing (C/PHN) faculty surveyed baccalaureate nursing faculty to explore their knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of the Quad Council Competencies for Public Health Nurses (QCC-PHN). OBJECTIVES: (1) Evaluate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the 2011 QCC-PHN by academic C/PHN faculty; (2) Evaluate the application of 2011 QCC-PHN by C/PHN faculty in the clinical practicum for undergraduate baccalaureate C/PHN students; and (3) Determine if a significant difference existed in the knowledge for each domain. DESIGN: A mixed methods descriptive research design was used to answer three specific hypotheses related to the study objectives. A convenience sample of 143 faculty teaching C/PHN in baccalaureate schools of nursing completed an online survey. MEASUREMENTS: ANOVA was used to determine the difference between knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of nursing faculty regarding the QCC-PHN based on years of nursing experience, C/PHN experience, and nursing specialty preparation. Participants' qualitative comments for each domain were analyzed for themes. RESULTS: C/PHN nursing faculty are described and differences in knowledge, skills, and attitudes delineated. A statistically significant difference was found in skills based on years of experience in C/PHN and in the application of the competencies based on nursing specialty preparation. Variations in knowledge of the QCC-PHN are identified. CONCLUSIONS: Ten recommendations are proposed for key skill sets and necessary preparation for faculty to effectively teach C/PHN in baccalaureate schools of nursing.

Nurse practitioner graduates "Speak Out" about the adequacy of their educational preparation to care for older adults: A qualitative study.

PURPOSE: With a shortage of primary care providers prepared to care for an aging U.S. population, nurse practitioner (NP) programs are integrating gerontological content. This qualitative descriptive study explored NP graduate perceptions on the adequacy of their education to prepare them to care for seniors. METHODS: Twenty-three graduates of NP program options at two universities in the western U.S. participated in focus group discussions or interviews. Participants shared their perceptions of their NP educational preparation and suggestions for enhancing gerontologic curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: Four main domains emerged from analysis of qualitative data: (a) "Getting your boots on and getting into the role"; (b) "Older people are more complex than we were prepared to care for"; (c) "It is very different as a provider, but I am so glad I was a nurse with experience first"; (d) "NPs have a scope of practice, physician assistants (PAs) have a job description-but I wish we had their [procedural] preparation." IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Graduates identified a need for more educational content and clinical experiences specific to the care of older adults. Some suggested a postgraduate residency or mentoring option to assist NP role transition and progression and limit role confusion.

Class size as related to the use of technology, educational practices, and outcomes in Web-based nursing courses.

With the expanding numbers of nursing students enrolled in Web-based courses and the shortage of faculty, class sizes are increasing. This exploratory descriptive study examined class size in relation to the use of technology and to particular educational practices and outcomes. The sample consisted of undergraduate (n = 265) and graduate (n = 863) students enrolled in fully Web-based nursing courses. The Evaluating Educational Uses of Web-based Courses in Nursing survey (Billings, D., Connors, H., Skiba, D. (2001). Benchmarking best practices in Web-based nursing courses. Advances in Nursing Science, 23, 41--52) and the Social Presence Scale (Gunawardena, C. N., Zittle, F. J. (1997). Social presence as a predictor of satisfaction within a computer-mediated conferencing environment. The American Journal of Distance Education, 11, 9-26.) were used to gather data about the study variables. Class sizes were defined as very small (1 to 10 students), small (11 to 20 students), medium (21 to 30 students), large (31 to 40 students), and very large (41 students and above). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. There were significant differences by class size in students' perceptions of active participation in learning, student-faculty interaction, peer interaction, and connectedness. Some differences by class size between undergraduate and graduate students were also found, and these require further study.