Enhancing Exam Performance to Increase Retention Among Students in an Associate Degree Nursing Program.

BACKGROUND: High rates of attrition are problematic for nursing programs in meeting program graduation expectations and the nursing workforce demand. PURPOSE: In an effort to address declining program completion rates over the past 3 years and to assist with student retention, the authors explored the benefits of using The Exam Analysis (TEA) procedure with first-semester nursing students in an associate of science in nursing program. METHODS: This descriptive pilot study used TEA Worksheet and surveys to collect data with 50 first-semester students. Retention, exam performance, and student experiences were explored. RESULTS: Use of TEA procedure benefitted students, with results revealing a retention rate of 90% (n = 45) of first-semester students and a positive rate of change between the exam average score and the final exam score. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support improved retention for first-semester associate degree nursing students, better exam performance, and positive experiences with using TEA procedure.

Interprofessional Education: TeamSTEPPS® and Simulation With Respiratory Therapy and Nursing Students in Their Final Year.

TeamSTEPPS is a curriculum designed to improve team communication to reduce medical errors and improve patient safety. This exploratory study used a questionnaire to explore differences in attitudes of 130 nursing and respiratory therapy students using a TeamSTEPPS-based interprofessional education seminar and simulation. Results support that students' attitudes regarding the principles Team Structure, Leadership, Situation Monitoring, Mutual Support, and Communication improved from Time 1 (preseminar) to Time 2 (postseminar; p < .05). This improvement was sustained at Time 3 (postsimulation) in all principles except for Mutual Support. Participation in a TeamSTEPPS seminar and simulation can influence attitudes among health care professional students.

Hemodynamics and Perfusion in Premature Infants During Transfusion.

BACKGROUND: Premature infants may require packed red blood cell transfusions, but current guidelines lack empirical evidence and vary among institutions and prescribers. OBJECTIVE: To compare the physiological changes in cardiovascular hemodynamics and oxygen delivery between premature infants with anemia who receive packed red blood cell transfusions and premature infants without anemia. METHODS: The study was a prospective observational cohort investigation of 75 premature infants. Comparisons among the data were made before, during, and after transfusion in infants with anemia and over time in infants in the control group. In infants with anemia, feedings were withheld 12 hours before and after transfusions. RESULTS: Electrical cardiometry and near-infrared spectroscopy measurements in premature infants with anemia revealed changes in hemodynamic parameters not detected by standard bedside monitoring. Statistically significant changes were seen before and after transfusions in cardiac output, fractional tissue oxygen extraction, heart rate variability, heart rate complexity, and splanchnic regional tissue oxygen saturation. CONCLUSION: Bedside monitoring of cardiovascular hemodynamics and oxygen delivery during packed red blood cell transfusion may inform individualized care for the premature infant with anemia and could be useful for the development of evidence-based practice guidelines.

The effects of music listening on inconsolable crying in premature infants.

Over the decades, medical staff have developed strategies to manage crying episodes of the critically ill and convalescing premature infant. These episodes of crying occur frequently after infants are removed from ventilation, but before they are able to receive nutrition orally. Not only are these episodes stressful to infants and upsetting to parents, but they are also stressful and time consuming for the staff that take care of these patients. Although the literature supports the benefits of music therapy in regard to physiological and certain behavioral measures with premature infants, no research exists that explores the use of music therapy with inconsolability related to the "nothing by mouth" status. This study explored the effects of music therapy on the crying behaviors of critically ill infants classified as inconsolable. Twenty-four premature infants with gestational age 32-40 weeks received a developmentally appropriate music listening intervention, alternating with days on which no intervention was provided. The results revealed a significant reduction in the frequency and duration of episodes of inconsolable crying as a result of the music intervention, as well as improved physiological measures including heart rate, respiration rate, oxygen saturation, and mean arterial pressure. Findings suggest the viability of using recorded music in the absence of a music therapist or the maternal voice to console infants when standard nursing interventions are not effective.