Student Perception of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Curricular Threads on Nursing Practice.

BACKGROUND: Compassionate, inclusive, and equitable nursing care begins with integrating concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and social determinants of health (SDOH) into curricula. PROBLEM: Little is known about RN to BSN students' perception of applying these concepts in practice. The purpose of this pilot project was to assess RN to BSN students' perceptions of DEI-SDOH curricular threads in their nursing practice. APPROACH: Students were surveyed to assess their perceptions about the impact DEI-SDOH curricular content had on their ability to assess and address DEI-SDOH in practice, level of confidence in talking about DEI-SDOH, addressing breaches in DEI, and the influence of DEI-SDOH in nursing. OUTCOMES: Respondents indicated DEI-SDOH curricula promoted self-examination, critical examination of health care systems, and increased DEI-SDOH competence. CONCLUSION: DEI-SDOH curricula build upon professional experiences, strengthen assessment and application competence, and equip nurses with confidence to address DEI-SDOH as an effective strategy to reduce health disparities.

Improving Pharmacology Standardized Test and Final Examination Scores Through Team-Based Learning.

BACKGROUND: Team-based learning (TBL) is a collaborative teaching and learning strategy emphasizing student engagement and application of knowledge. PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to compare the differences in scores on pharmacology course final and standardized criterion-referenced examinations between students taught in a traditional lecture-based approach and those taught under the TBL approach. METHODS: Using a before-and-after design, 338 prelicensure students were taught pharmacology using either a traditional lecture-based approach or a TBL approach. RESULTS: Significant differences on course final and standardized examination scores were found between the groups, with students taught using TBL scoring higher than students in the traditional lecture-based group. CONCLUSIONS: Team-based learning had a positive impact on learning outcomes. Moreover, TBL may be a more efficient approach to teaching, as students in the TBL group had only 3 credit hours of content versus students in the traditional lecture-based group, who had 4 credit hours.

Current State of International Clinical Experiences in US Prelicensure Nursing Programs.

AIM: The study purpose was to describe current international clinical experience (ICE) practices in RN prelicensure programs in the United States. BACKGROUND: There is interest in ICE to fulfill the goal of preparing global citizens; however, lack of evidence on developing, implementing, and evaluating best practices for ICE limits the enactment of this approach. METHOD: An electronic survey was completed by 900 deans and/or directors of diploma, associate, bachelor's, accelerated bachelor's, and master's-entry RN prelicensure programs. RESULTS: Respondents (n = 241, 27 percent) indicated their programs included ICE. Across programs, ICE occurred most often in community health courses. The predominant reason for offering ICE was alignment with the institutional mission and vision. CONCLUSION: Wide variability exists in methods used to implement ICE for credit toward the nursing major. There is a need to continue to assess and disseminate best practices in implementing ICE to accomplish the goal of global health engagement.

Flipping around the classroom: Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing students' satisfaction and achievement.

BACKGROUND: The flipped classroom approach is based on shared responsibility for learning by students and teachers, and empowers students to take an active role in the learning process. While utilization of this approach has resulted in higher exam scores compared to traditional approaches in prior studies, the flipped classroom has not included learners in Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) programs. OBJECTIVE: To examine differences on exam scores and satisfaction of teaching between a 3-week flipped and traditional classroom approach. DESIGN: Mixed methods, crossover repeated measures design. SETTINGS: Private school of nursing located in the eastern United States. PARTICIPANTS: 76 ABSN students. METHODS: Two separate sections of a Pharmacology course received either 3-weeks of flipped or traditional classroom during Period 1, then switched approaches during Period 2. Two exam scores measuring knowledge and a questionnaire assessing satisfaction of teaching were collected. Focus groups were conducted to learn about students' experience in the flipped classroom. Descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and stepwise linear mixed model were used to analyze quantitative data. Focus group data were transcribed, coded, and categorized in themes. RESULTS: Students in the flipped classroom achieved significantly higher scores on the first Pharmacology exam than students in the traditional classroom, but there was no significant difference on the second exam. Three themes emerged from focus groups on student perception of integrating the flipped approach: don't fix what isn't broken; treat me as an adult; and remember the work is overwhelming. CONCLUSIONS: Both traditional and flipped classroom approaches successfully prepared students for the Pharmacology exams. While results support the use of the flipped approach, judicious use of this instructional pedagogy with dense or difficult content, particularly in accelerated programs, is recommended. Instructors should also provide students with enough information and rationale for using the flipped classroom approach.

Motivated Strategies for Learning in Accelerated Second-Degree Nursing Students.

Students in a second-degree accelerated BSN program experience a rigorous curriculum and fast-paced introduction to the nursing profession. This study examined the relationships among self-esteem, motivation, learning strategies, demographic characteristics, and academic achievement. The results indicated that all of the students had good self-esteem; some demographic characteristics influenced the type of motivation and learning strategies they endorsed but did not influence their current academic performance.

Bringing technology to the bedside: using smartphones to improve interprofessional communication.

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the impact of using Smartphones at the bedside on the quality of interprofessional communication and measure the response time between nurses and physicians compared with the usual paging device. Smartphones were provided to nurses and physicians on a 26-bed medical unit during a 2-month study period. Data were collected using Nurse-Physician Communication Questionnaires and Time and Motion data collection tools. Baseline data gathered from a convenience sample of general medicine nurses (n=61) and physicians (n=44) indicated that both nurses and physicians were dissatisfied with the current one-way paging devices and were frequently interrupted during patient care (P=.000). Postimplementation data suggested that the use of Smartphones significantly reduced patient interruptions (P=.021), allowed nurses to stay with patients (P=.002), and reduced wait times for a returned call (P=.001). Nurse travel time to answer a telephone call and time spent on hold by nurses and physicians also decreased by 100% from a range of 8 to 79 minutes down to 0 minutes. Staff reported improvement in quality of communication, and significant workflow efficiency was noted. Further research on the impact on patient safety and satisfaction is needed and other nursing units should consider implementing Smartphones within their medical centers.