US nurse practitioner voluntary turnover: Development of a framework for analysis.

BACKGROUND: There is growing interest in nurse practitioner (NP) turnover with some reports indicating it is as high as 15% annually. However, there is a lack of generalizability and other conceptual weaknesses in the literature. These weaknesses support the development of a framework to operationalize NP turnover for administrators to develop workplace initiatives to reduce turnover. PURPOSE: To describe the demographic and job characteristics of four NP voluntary turnover groups (i.e., dynamic leavers, static leavers, dynamic stayers, and static stayers) representing voluntary turnover intention and actual turnover among US NPs. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional, descriptive secondary analysis of NPs ( N = 86,632) from the 2018 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN) was used to delineate and describe four NP voluntary turnover groups. RESULTS: Nurse practitioners who left nursing (static leavers) were older and had the most work experience. Nurse practitioners who changed jobs and stayed in nursing (dynamic leavers) were younger, less experienced, and reported the least job satisfaction. Nurse practitioners who remained in their positions (stayers) regardless of whether they reported turnover intentions or not earned the most and reported the most job satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Four NP voluntary turnover groups were defined and described to distinguish voluntary turnover intentions from actual turnover. IMPLICATIONS: Characterizing NP voluntary turnover can help administrators mitigate losses and project organizational needs associated with NP turnover. A framework developed from the 2018 NSSRN can be used to research and develop key initiatives to strengthen the NP workforce.

Montessori education's impact on academic and nonacademic outcomes: A systematic review.

Background: Montessori education is the oldest and most widely implemented alternative education in the world, yet its effectiveness has not been clearly established. Objectives: The primary objective of this review was to examine the effectiveness of Montessori education in improving academic and nonacademic outcomes compared to traditional education. The secondary objectives were to determine the degree to which grade level, Montessori setting (public Montessori vs. private Montessori), random assignment, treatment duration, and length of follow-up measurements moderate the magnitude of Montessori effects. Search Methods: We searched for relevant studies in 19 academic databases, in a variety of sources known to publish gray literature, in Montessori-related journals, and in the references of studies retrieved through these searches. Our search included studies published during or before February 2020. The initial search was performed in March 2014 with a follow-up search in February 2020. Selection Criteria: We included articles that compared Montessori education to traditional education, contributed at least one effect size to an academic or nonacademic outcome, provided sufficient data to compute an effect size and its variance, and showed sufficient evidence of baseline equivalency-through random assignment or statistical adjustment-of Montessori and traditional education groups. Data Collection and Analysis: To synthesize the data, we used a cluster-robust variance estimation procedure, which takes into account statistical dependencies in the data. Otherwise, we used standard methodological procedures as specified in the Campbell Collaboration reporting and conduct standards. Main Results: Initial searches yielded 2012 articles, of which 173 were considered in detail to determine whether they met inclusion/exclusion criteria. Of these, 141 were excluded and 32 were included. These 32 studies yielded 204 effect sizes (113 academic and 91 nonacademic) across 132,249 data points. In the 32 studies that met minimum standards for inclusion, including evidence of baseline equivalence, there was evidence that Montessori education outperformed traditional education on a wide variety of academic and nonacademic outcomes. For academic outcomes, Hedges' g effect sizes, where positive values favor Montessori, ranged from 0.26 for general academic ability (with high quality evidence) to 0.06 for social studies. The quality of evidence for language (g = 0.17) and mathematics (g = 0.22) was also high. The effect size for a composite of all academic outcomes was 0.24. Science was the only academic outcome that was deemed to have low quality of evidence according to the GRADE approach. Effect sizes for nonacademic outcomes ranged from 0.41 for students' inner experience of school to 0.23 for social skills. Both of these outcomes were deemed as having low quality of evidence. Executive function (g = 0.36) and creativity (g = 0.26) had moderate quality of evidence. The effect size for a composite of all nonacademic outcomes was 0.33. Moderator analyses of the composite academic and nonacademic outcomes showed that Montessori education resulted in larger effect sizes for randomized studies compared to nonrandomized studies, for preschool and elementary settings compared to middle school or high school settings, and for private Montessori compared to public Montessori. Moderator analyses for treatment duration and duration from intervention to follow-up data collection were inconclusive. There was some evidence for a lack of small sample-size studies in favor of traditional education, which could be an indicator of publication bias. However, a sensitivity analysis indicated that the findings in favor of Montessori education were nonetheless robust. Authors' Conclusions: Montessori education has a meaningful and positive impact on child outcomes, both academic and nonacademic, relative to outcomes seen when using traditional educational methods.

Content analysis of dissertations for examination of priority areas of nursing science.

BACKGROUND: Based on current and future research priorities to inform Ph.D. education, emerging and priority areas were developed through the Idea Festival Advisory Committee of the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the bibliographic, methodologic, study topic characteristics, and emerging and priority areas of two randomly selected samples of nursing doctoral dissertations from the Proquest Digital Dissertations and Theses database between January 2017 and September 2018. METHODS: Using human- (N = 101) and computer-coding (N = 242), we analyzed text data using descriptive statistics and data visualization. FINDINGS: Health behavior (32.7%) and quantitative sciences (17.8%) were the most common emerging and priority areas, and translation science and -omics/microbiome were absent. Health, practice, education, and leadership were four study topic themes. DISCUSSION: This approach may serve as a metric for the state of Ph.D. nursing education. A replication study is recommended in three to five years.

Developing the Learning Door: a case study in youth participatory program planning.

This article presents the results of a case study in youth participatory program planning conducted in the context of a nonformal technology-education program in eastern Finland. The purpose of the program was to have youth, university, and business stakeholders work together to create the Learning Door, a door that would meet the needs of older people and people with disabilities. The participatory program planning process that was used involved clarifying the mission, roles, and modes of collaboration as well as creating stakeholder matrices, logic models, program plans, and implementation plans. It was found that the observed program planning process was similar to the intended planning process and that the process was well received by the planning participants. The lessons learned include clarifying the nature of collaboration before the program gets underway, reviewing program planning steps often, and making clear distinctions between logic models and implementations plans.