Venomous Snakebites: Treatment Considerations and the Emergency Department Nurse Practitioners'/Providers' Priorities of Care.

In the United States, 7,000-8,000 people are bitten by a venomous snake each year, out of which approximately 5 die. Although common practice is to treat any and all victims of envenomation with repeated doses of antivenom, this approach is not without its risks. The gold standard for treating venomous snakebites with severe symptoms is antivenom. Although a standardized approach to treating envenomation is needed, it cannot be developed without first delineating current practices. This article discusses the ways in which advanced practice emergency nurses should manage bites from a variety of venomous snakes. It is divided into 4 main sections: (1) the types of venomous snakes found in the United States, their habitat, and the effects of their venom; (2) priorities of care in treating venomous snakebites; (3) preparation and administration of antivenom; and (4) other considerations for the advanced practice emergency department nurse.

Job Satisfaction Among Home Healthcare Nurses.

Understanding the experiences of home healthcare nurses and exploring the factors that influence job satisfaction is important in reducing costly staff turnover. The purpose of the qualitative case study was to describe experiences related to job satisfaction among home healthcare nurses. Herzberg's Two Factor theory was used to frame the study. Twelve home healthcare nurses from an agency in South Texas volunteered to participate in in-depth interviews. Four themes emerged from the data: 1) patients contribute to job satisfaction, 2) autonomy promotes job satisfaction, 3) occupational stressors negatively influenced job satisfaction, and 4) leadership impacts job satisfaction. Home healthcare leadership should take safety concerns seriously and explore innovative ways to promote communication between field nurses and physicians. Further research is needed with a larger and more diverse sample of home healthcare nurses in order to be able to generalize findings.

A phenomenological study of millennial students and traditional pedagogies.

BACKGROUND: The Millennial generation comprises the majority of learners in the traditional university setting. Nurse educators identify problems developing teaching strategies in education that undergraduate Millennial nursing students find engaging and meaningful. The purpose of this study was to identify the perception of Millennial students participating in traditional pedagogies and its significant implications for nursing education. METHOD: This interpretive phenomenological study recorded the lived experiences of Millennial nursing students' experiences in traditional classrooms. One on one interviews with 13 Millennial students were conducted. Data collection and analysis aligned with van Manen's method. RESULTS: There are five themes that emerged from the data: physically present, mentally dislocated; unspoken peer pressure; wanting more from the professors; surface learning; and lack of trust. The essence focuses around the central theme of belonging, while students identified the most significant challenge in a classroom was disengaging professors. CONCLUSION: Recommendations for faculty to engage nursing students through a method of shared responsibility of educational approach are given. Blended teaching pedagogies that offer traditional and active methods are recommended.

Knowledge and perceptions of HIV/AIDS among Cameroonian nursing students.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic impacts people throughout the world and is complicated by fear, prejudice, and stigma. Nurses play a major role in the health care delivery systems, yet in many parts of the world with high HIV sero-prevalence rates, nurses lack sufficient training and education to provide care to patients with HIV/AIDS. In an effort to build capacity and improve knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding care of patients with HIV/AIDS, a 4-day workshop was provided by American nursing students for Cameroonian nursing students. The training program included HIV epidemiology, disease management, and natural course of the disease, testing, legal and ethical issues, and infection control practices. Pre- and post-test scores were calculated using a series of surveys that measured HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs. Results indicated that these measures of HIV-related perceptions improved due to the train-the-trainer workshop.

A workshop report on promoting HIV/AIDS understanding through a capacity building train-the-trainer educational intervention.

Nursing educators are frequently confronted with challenges that bring about innovation and transition to new ways of transferring knowledge in their home environments. These challenges are magnified when approached from an international perspective. Optimal implementation of knowledge transfer incorporates choosing models that promote local initiatives in line with increasingly decentralized educational structures. These decentralized models are a means to foster ongoing participation for both educators and students in their own professional development. Innovative education stems from creativity in approaching the need with formats and activities to meet a specific challenge. This experimental study builds upon previous study by the authors which was conducted in March, 2009, based upon the qualitative open focus forum at each of the five nursing programs. Overwhelmingly, the Cameroonian nursing students expressed a keen desire to study the HIV infected pregnant woman and the feeding options of the newborn. The study team developed the train-the-trainer program which was delivered at the University of Buea in the Southwest region of Cameroon in March, 2011. TTT is particularly effective for reaching large audiences and also permits a degree of sustainability such that the Cameroonian students will be trainers for subsequent cohorts of their peers. This study continues to strengthen the collaborative endeavors between the two nursing schools; the University of Buea (UB) and Goldfarb School of Nursing (GSON) at Barnes Jewish College in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. The final aim of the intervention was the initiation of collaborative relationships between the faculty members of the two educational organizations.

International collaboration to enhance the fight against HIV/AIDS: report of a consultative meeting between the University of Buea in Cameroon and the Goldfarb School of Nursing in the USA.

HIV/AIDS is a major public health pandemic affecting the development, survival and life of young people both in Cameroon and the USA. Youths are more adaptive to change and less hindered by prejudice than adults. Student-to-student peer mentoring is a non-formal way for students to learn new life skills and different cross-cultural values. We report on a two-day consultative meeting in 2010 on developing international collaboration for the fight against HIV/AIDS between Cameroonian and USA nursing students. We used adult learning approaches consisting of presentations, discussions, questions and answer sessions, role plays and demonstrations. Deliberations and resolutions from the consultative meeting enabled the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buea to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Goldfarb School of Nursing in the USA on HIV/AIDS international collaboration paving the way forward for more developmental health projects in this domain.