Qualitative Analysis of an Integrated Curricular Strategy to Develop Health Policy Advocacy.

BACKGROUND: Baccalaureate nursing programs have primarily taught policy advocacy using knowledge related to social and health policy and political systems. Creative curricular strategies have not been widely implemented to prepare nursing students to address health policy advocacy. PURPOSE: A qualitative study explored the impact of an innovative intervention to integrate leadership competencies with population health policy advocacy in an undergraduate nursing curriculum. METHOD: The intervention consisted of a 5-part, unfolding assignment across leadership and population health courses. A phenomenological theoretical approach was used to understand and describe students' perceptions about the intervention and impact on student readiness to engage in health policy advocacy through narrative survey responses. RESULTS: Student understanding of policy processes improved postintervention. Students recognized that systems level thinking and developing policy solutions for population health issues were important attainable activities for nurses. This study demonstrates the significance of providing integrated curricula to develop student engagement in policy advocacy. CONCLUSION: Nurse educators should explore innovative policy advocacy curricula to prepare baccalaureate graduates to address health equity.

Prevalence of Impostor Phenomenon Among Final-Semester Baccalaureate Nursing Students.

BACKGROUND: Impostor phenomenon (IP) is characterized as an internal sense of intellectual fraudulence and the inability to internalize success. It was identified by Clance and Imes in 1978 in a study with high-achieving women and has since been found among other professionals. Studies regarding IP are limited in nursing and among nursing students. PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of IP among senior baccalaureate nursing (BSN) students at a public central Texas university immediately prior to graduation. METHODS: Senior BSN students were given an anonymous survey utilizing the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale. RESULTS: Of the 86 senior BSN students, 82.5% completed the anonymous survey. Among students, 45.1% experienced moderate IP, 46.5% experienced frequent IP, and 8.5% experienced intense IP. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of IP was higher than expected. This study has implications for the future of nursing, including academic retention and postgraduation performance.

The COVID-19 Lived Experience Through the Eyes of Nursing and Social Work Students.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of nursing and social work students who were taking courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Focus group discussions gave students a chance to express the pandemic's effects on their education and life. Methods: A hermeneutic phenomenological approach using Van Manen's Four Lifeworld Existentials guided this study. Using an open-ended format, interviews were conducted in 6 small groups ranging from 2 to 9 individuals, in person or via Zoom. The study was conducted from May to August 2022 in a university setting with 23 participants. Results: Ten existential themes emerged: Being Behind, Groundhog Day, Trying to Keep Up, Loss of Community, Fear of COVID, Being Alone, What is Self-Care?, Is This Career Right for Me?, What is Healthy?, and Access to Counseling. Conclusions: Participants indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted educational delivery, limiting learning opportunities and increasing feelings of isolation, stress, and anxiety. Implications for Education and the Future Workforce: Projected health-care workforce shortages may be exacerbated by students departing from the health-care professions as a result of increased burnout. Resilience training while in school is necessary to help promote coping, self-care strategies, and retention in the health-care professions.

Engaging Leadership Competencies Through Population Health Policy Advocacy: A Review of the Evidence.

The purpose of this article is to identify the gaps in prelicensure nursing curriculum regarding the teaching and learning of policy advocacy and the necessary nursing leadership competencies that are significant in addressing social determinants of health at an upstream, policy level and to discuss how current prelicensure nursing curricula integrates and applies concepts of population health, policy advocacy, and nursing leadership competencies. The authors performed a conceptual review of the literature, analyzing the current, evidence-based scholarship on the topic in an effort to categorize and describe relevant concepts and outline a relationship between them, by combining the concept terms nursing leadership, policy advocacy, population health policy, nursing education, and social determinants of health. The conceptual review identified gaps in nursing education regarding the preparation of nursing graduates for leadership engagement at the policy level, which presents opportunities for future research and exploration. This article shares the thematic gaps, major findings, and recommendations that resulted. Continued effort should be invested into the development of more robust discussions and curriculum related to population health advocacy and the impact on population health in baccalaureate nursing educational programming.

Care coordination and the essential role of the nurse.

Quality improvement and cost control rely on effective coordination of patient care. Registered nurses (RNs) across the continuum of care play an essential role in care coordination. Greater health care efficiencies can be realized through coordination of care centered on the needs and preferences of patients and their families. Professional nursing links these approaches, promoting quality, safety, and efficiency in care, resulting in improved health care outcomes that are consistent with nursing's holistic, patient-centered framework of care. This model for RN care coordination provides a guideline for nurses in direct care as well as those in highly specialized care coordination positions.

The relationship-based care model: evaluation of the impact on patient satisfaction, length of stay, and readmission rates.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of the implementation of the relationship-based care (RBC) model on patient satisfaction, length of stay, and readmission rates in hospitalized patients. BACKGROUND: RBC model promotes organizational viability in critical areas that measure success, inclusive of clinical quality, patient satisfaction, and robust financial standing. METHODS: A retrospective secondary analysis of aggregate patient satisfaction data, length of stay, and readmission rates at a rural Texas hospital was reviewed for the years 2009 and 2010. This study compared preimplementation data for year 2009 with postimplementation data for year 2010. RESULTS: Data support the positive influential impact of RBC model. A negative correlation was noted with readmission rates and a concomitant positive correlation with length of stay. Overall satisfaction with nursing did not reveal a significant correlation to the new care model. CONCLUSIONS: RBC model supports a patient-centered, collaborative care environment, maximizing potential reimbursement.