Educational Intervention for Nutrition Education in Patients Attending an Outpatient Wound Care Clinic: A Feasibility Study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether nurses could use a structured intervention to educate patients with wounds about foods that promote healing and whether this educational intervention could be provided in a cost-effective manner. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: The study was conducted at an outpatient wound care center located on a hospital campus in the Southern United States; 3 full-time nurses and 2 nurses employed on part-time status delivered the intervention. METHODS: A nutrition education intervention was developed through collaborative efforts of a registered dietitian and a nurse. A cross-sectional survey design was used to (1) evaluate nurses' perceptions of the intervention and (2) identify barriers to implementation of the intervention. Direct costs related to materials and nursing time required to deliver the intervention were calculated. RESULTS: Participants indicated they were competent to deliver the structured intervention, and all were willing to continue its use. Survey results indicated that nurses believed the intervention was beneficial to their patients and they indicated that patients were responsive to the intervention. The intervention was found to be low cost ($8.00 per teaching session); no barriers to implementation of the intervention were identified. CONCLUSION: The results of this exploratory study suggest that a structured nutrition education intervention can be provided by nurses in outpatient wound clinics at low cost. Further study is needed to determine the impact of this intervention on nutritional intake and wound healing.

A Pragmatic Approach to the Application of the Code of Ethics in Nursing Education.

The code of ethics for nurses was written for nurses in all settings. However, the language focuses primarily on the nurse in context of the patient relationship, which may make it difficult for nurse educators to internalize the code to inform practice. The purpose of this article is to explore the code of ethics, establish that it can be used to guide nurse educators' practice, and provide a pragmatic approach to application of the provisions.

A student home visiting program for vulnerable, community-dwelling older adults.

This article describes the experience of a baccalaureate community health nursing program during the implementation of a student home visiting program for vulnerable, community-dwelling older adults. The background, planning, implementation, and outcome of the program are described.

Journey toward integration of simulation in a baccalaureate nursing curriculum.

Simulation is increasingly being used as a teaching strategy in nursing education. The best learning outcomes occur when simulation is integrated into the curriculum rather than added to a crowded curriculum. Faculty are challenged to integrate simulation experiences into the curriculum in a way that promotes optimal achievement of student learning objectives. The purpose of this article is to describe the journey toward the integration of simulation in a baccalaureate nursing curriculum. A description of the journey from the beginning, through Health Resources and Services Administration funding, as a participating site in The NCSBN National Simulation Study, and through curricular redesign are presented in the context of faculty growth and lessons learned. The ultimate purpose is to provide guidance to faculty teaching in nursing programs that may be struggling with some of the same issues that beleaguered faculty during our journey.