Assessment of Nurse Educator Leadership: Instrument Development and Psychometric Analysis.

AIM: Study purposes were to 1) establish the relevance and clarity of a new instrument, the Leadership in Nursing Education (LNE©) for nurse educators, and 2) provide evidence to support the reliability and validity of the LNE. BACKGROUND: The future of nursing education is dependent upon the leadership of nurse faculty. Competency development requires self-assessment to engage in meaningful pathways for leadership development. METHOD: A Delphi study was conducted with 50 nurse faculty leaders to determine the content validity of the LNE. The final instrument was then sent to nurse faculty across the United States to assess its psychometric properties. RESULTS: The LNE was determined to be a reliable instrument for the population tested. Three distinct subscales emerged from the exploratory factor analysis: strategic, relational, and authentic. CONCLUSION: The LNE fills a gap in nurse educator leadership assessment and provides evidence to support the instrument's reliability and validity.

Cognitive and Noncognitive Factors Influencing Nursing Students' Academic Success: Structural Equation Model Analysis.

AIM: The study aim was to identify and explore relationships among cognitive and noncognitive factors that may contribute to prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students' academic success across their program of study. BACKGROUND: Nurse educators are challenged to improve students' academic success. With limited evidence, cognitive and noncognitive factors have been identified in the literature as potential factors that influence academic success and may support students' readiness for practice as new graduate nurses. METHOD: Data sets from 1,937 BSN students at multiple campuses were analyzed using an exploratory design and structural equation modeling. CONCLUSION: Six factors were conceptualized as contributing equally to the initial cognitive model. The final noncognitive model, with deletion of two factors, yielded the best fit for the four-factor model. Cognitive and noncognitive factors were not significantly correlated. This study provides a beginning understanding of cognitive and noncognitive factors associated with academic success that may support readiness for practice.

Association of the nurse work environment with nurse incivility in hospitals.

AIM: To determine whether nurse coworker incivility is associated with the nurse work environment, defined as organisational characteristics that promote nurse autonomy. BACKGROUND: Workplace incivility can negatively affect nurses, hospitals and patients. Plentiful evidence documents that nurses working in better nurse work environments have improved job and health outcomes. There is minimal knowledge about how nurse coworker incivility relates to the United States nurse work environment. METHODS: Quantitative, cross-sectional. Data were collected through online surveys of registered nurses in a southwestern United States health system. The survey content included the National Quality Forum-endorsed Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index and the Workplace Incivility Scale. Data analyses were descriptive and correlational. RESULTS: Mean levels of incivility were low in this sample of 233 staff nurses. Incivility occurred 'sporadically' (mean = 0.58; range 0.00-5.29). The nurse work environment was rated highly (mean = 3.10; range of 1.00-4.00). The nurse work environment was significantly inversely associated with coworker incivility. The nurse manager qualities were the principal factor of the nurse work environment associated with incivility. CONCLUSIONS: Supportive nurse managers reduce coworker incivility. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse managers can shape nurse work environments to prevent nurse incivility.

Perceptions matter: faculty caring, campus racial climate and academic performance.

AIM: Examine the influence of students' perception of faculty caring on academic performance and the moderating role of students' perceptions of campus racial climate. BACKGROUND: There is limited knowledge on how students' perceptions of faculty caring, campus racial climate and academic performance are linked. Understanding this nexus is crucial to improving nursing education. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional data obtained from seven undergraduate nursing programs in Texas, USA. METHOD: Data were from 385 students enrolled in Medical-Surgical 1 over three semesters (March 2010-December 2010). Six sets of factor analytic scores derived from 31 original perceptions of faculty caring items served as predictors; one set of scores derived from seven original perceptions of campus racial climate items served as moderating variable in a regression model. Numeric grade was the outcome variable. RESULTS/FINDINGS: Perception of faculty having a positive outlook/compassion had an enhancing effect on performance. As students' perceptions of campus racial climate became increasingly discriminating, the positive association between perceptions of faculty's trust in students' judgment and academic performance became increasingly strong. CONCLUSION: Results highlight ways by which students' perception of micro-level social reality (dyadic interaction) might interact with their perception of meso-level social reality (social environment) to influence their academic performance.

Scientific misconduct: also an issue in nursing science?

PURPOSE: Scientific misconduct (SMC) is an increasing concern in nursing science. This article discusses the prevalence of SMC, risk factors and correlates of scientific misconduct in nursing science, and highlights interventional approaches to foster good scientific conduct. METHODS: Using the "Fostering Research Integrity in Europe" report of the European Science Foundation as a framework, we reviewed the literature in research integrity promotion. FINDINGS: Although little empirical data exist regarding prevalence of scientific misconduct in the field of nursing science, available evidence suggests a similar prevalence as elsewhere. In studies of prospective graduate nurses, 4% to 17% admit data falsification or fabrication, while 8.8% to 26.4% report plagiarizing material. Risk factors for SMC exist at the macro, meso, and micro levels of the research system. Intervention research on preventing scientific misconduct in nursing is limited, yet findings from the wider field of medicine and allied health professions suggest that honor codes, training programs, and clearly communicated misconduct control mechanisms and misconduct consequences improve ethical behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Scientific misconduct is a multilevel phenomenon. Interventions to decrease scientific misconduct must therefore target every level of the nursing research systems. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Scientific misconduct not only compromises scientific integrity by distorting empirical evidence, but it might endanger patients. Because nurses are involved in clinical research, raising their awareness of scientifically inappropriate behavior is essential.

The global summit on nurse faculty migration.

As global demand for health care workers burgeons, information is scant regarding the migration of faculty who will train new nurses. With dual roles as clinicians and educators, and corresponding dual sets of professional and legal obligations, nurse faculty may confront unique circumstances in migration that can impact nations' ability to secure an adequate, stable nursing workforce. In a seminal effort to address these concerns, the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International, and the International Council of Nurses invited a diverse group of international experts to a summit designed to elucidate forces that drive nurse faculty migration. The primary areas of consideration were the impact on nurse faculty migration of rapid health care workforce scale-up, international trade agreements, and workforce aging. Long-term summit goals included initiating action affecting national, regional, and global supplies of nurse educators and helping to avert catastrophic failure of health care delivery systems caused by an inadequate ability to educate next-generation nurses.

Development and testing of the Preeclampsia Prenatal Symptom-Monitoring Checklist (PPSMC).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Preeclampsia, a common disorder of unknown origin, presents with signs and symptoms that can be subtle, making assessment and intervention challenging. The purpose of this study was to refine the psychometric properties of an instrument designed to assess a comprehensive range of preeclampsia symptoms. METHODS: Testing of the Preeclampsia Prenatal Symptom-Monitoring Scale (PPSMC) was accomplished through a retrospective, correlational, and comparative study of 100 postpartum women with preeclampsia and gestational hypertension. RESULTS: The initial 17-item Cronbach's alpha was .73; reliability of the current 11-item PPSMC increased to .77. Content validity index for the PPSMC (17 items) was .88; for the PPSMC (11 items), .93. Exploratory factor analysis, known group comparisons, and predictive validity lend beginning support of the instrument's construct validity. CONCLUSION: This instrument may be useful in examining in greater detail the symptomatology of women with preeclampsia in practice and research settings.

Feasibility and efficacy of integrating resiliency training into a pilot nurse residency program.

The high stress associated with the nursing profession can negatively affect the health of nurses and the quality of patient care that they provide. This quasi-experimental study aimed to 1) assess the feasibility of integrating a Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) program within a nine-month pilot nurse residency program and 2) assess the effects of the program on participants' stress, anxiety, mindfulness, and resilience relative to a comparison group. A pre- and post-intervention survey design was used, with measurements taken at baseline and at 1, 3, 9, and 12 months after baseline. We enrolled 51 registered nurses (intervention group, n = 23; comparison group, n = 28) at a Midwestern US academic medical center. Nurses in the intervention group had a participation rate of 93%-100% with SMART program events. Despite the relatively limited adherence to the protocol by intervention group participants, significant improvements were noted for stress (P < .001), mindfulness (P < .001), and resilience (P < .001) in the intervention group compared with the comparison group. The SMART program can potentially be successfully integrated into a nurse residency program and positively impact nurse stress, mindfulness, and resilience. Further research is needed to determine the proper dose of the intervention and methods to enhance adherence.

Stress Management and Resiliency Training in a Nurse Residency Program: Findings From Participant Focus Groups.

Stress is a well-recognized phenomenon in the nursing profession, particularly for new nurses. This study (a) assessed nurse residents' experience with a stress management program and (b) informed adjustments to the program. Analysis of qualitative data revealed three themes: (a) enhanced personal and professional development, (b) sensitivity to learner needs, and (c) fostering the principles of mindfulness. A stress management program has the potential to positively enhance the new nurse's transition to work.

Conducting Replication Studies With Confidence.

Although essential to the development of a robust evidence base for nurse educators, the concepts of replication and reproducibility have received little attention in the nursing education literature. In this Methodology Corner installment, the concepts of study replication and reproducibility are explored in depth. In designing, conducting, and documenting the findings of studies in nursing education, researchers are encouraged to make design choices that improve study replicability and reproducibility of study findings. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(11):638-640.].