A New Framework for Practice-Academic Partnerships During the Pandemic-and into the Future.

ABSTRACT: During the COVID-19 pandemic, many health care facilities closed their doors to nursing students, depriving them of the experience of caring for patients, a foundation of nursing education. The purpose of this article is to report on how the National Council of State Boards of Nursing convened nurse leaders from around the country to explore this problem and develop possible solutions.Coming together virtually, these leaders recommended a national model, the practice-academic partnership, to provide nursing students with in-person clinical experiences during the pandemic. This model is unique in its recognition of the important role of nursing regulatory bodies in these partnerships. The practice-academic partnership model creates clinical education opportunities for students during a public health crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, the model could be applied to meet the chronic challenges nursing education programs have often faced in securing clinical sites, even in the absence of a global or national public health emergency. We provide the context in which the practice-academic partnership model was developed, along with keys to its successful implementation and suggestions for its evaluation. We also discuss the implications of using this model once the pandemic ends.

The life after gastric surgery index: conceptual basis and initial psychometric assessment.

Understanding the influence of symptoms on an individual's life is important when providing nursing care. Currently, however, there are few clinically useful tools for assessing symptoms in individuals who have had surgery for gastric cancer. The Life After Gastric Surgery Index was developed to address this need by providing a multidimensional measure of symptom experience (frequency, severity, and bothersomeness) of 18 common symptoms patients may experience after gastroesophageal surgery for cancer. Initial psychometric assessment of the Life After Gastric Surgery Index has demonstrated acceptable internal consistency reliability and strong face, content, and criterion-related validity on two small samples. This paper reviews the conceptual basis of the Life After Gastric Surgery Index, the results of its initial psychometric assessments, and the implications this measure has for clinical practice and research.

Quality of life and symptoms after surgery for gastroesophageal cancer: a pilot study.

Oncologic outcomes of gastroesophageal surgery may be similar, but little is known about the impact on patients' postoperative symptom experience and quality of life (QOL). The purpose of this pilot study was to describe overall QOL and symptom experience of individuals who underwent either total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy or esophagogastrectomy for adenocarcinoma of the gastroesophageal junction. The Gastroenterology Quality of Life Index (GQLI) and the Life After Gastric Surgery (LAGS), developed by the investigators for measuring symptom frequency, were used to measure variables of interest. The sample (n = 27) had a relatively high QOL, but experienced difficulties with eating patterns, physical functioning, socialization, and happiness. There were significant differences between the two procedures related to QOL and symptom frequency in that individuals who had the total gastrectomy fared somewhat better. Further, patients who had esophagogastrectomy had greater symptom frequency and significantly poorer QOL. Although initially compelling, these data warrant further investigation into the QOL and symptom impact in a more diverse population of patients with cancer of the stomach or esophagus. These results, however, suggest several areas where nursing interventions could help these patients.