Length of Clinical Shift on Quality of Care, Learning Outcomes, and Satisfaction in Prelicensure Nursing Programs: Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND: Some schools and nursing care organizations have implemented 12-hour shifts for students' clinical experiences. PURPOSE: The aim of this review was to identify how student 12-hour shifts compared to shifts of less than 12 hours influence patient safety, care quality, learning outcomes, and student, faculty, and staff satisfaction. METHODS: Searches for academic literature using electronic databases resulted in 13 primary research articles covering the period between 1982 and 2018. RESULTS: During longer clinical shifts, no change in patient safety events occurred. Students and clinical staff perceived care quality was maintained or influenced positively. Faculty were undecided or minimally did not believe care quality improved. While students perceived meeting learning outcomes, faculty perceptions were divided. Students were satisfied with longer shifts; however, the satisfaction of faculty and clinical staff was mixed. CONCLUSIONS: Within realms of patient safety, care quality, learning outcomes, and student, faculty, and clinical staff satisfaction, research has been insufficient and inconclusive regarding 12-hour student shifts.

Developing and testing inhibitors of curiosity in the workplace with the Curiosity Code Index (CCI).

A new tool was created to assess the factors that inhibit curiosity in working adults. The Curiosity Code Index (CCI) measures four factors that inhibit curiosity: fear, assumptions, technology, and environment. The validity of the CCI was evaluated using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The factor analysis with Varimax Rotation indicated a Cronbach α of .85 for fear, .68 for assumptions, .86 for technology, and .75 for environment. Although there are other tools that measure whether individuals are curious or open to experience, there are no tools that measure these four factors that inhibit curiosity. The results indicate that the CCI is a valid tool.

Family Journaling to Reduce Stress Manifestations in Patients and Families After Critical Illness.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have clearly provided evidence evaluating the effectiveness of family-written journals in reducing stress after critical illness. OBJECTIVE: Study whether critical care unit (CCU) patients and their families who participated in journaling compared to those who did not, experience lower stress manifestations after discharge. METHODS: Non-randomized controlled trial conducted with CCU patients who required mechanical ventilation for more than 24 hours and a CCU stay more than 72 hours, along with one of their family members. RESULTS: At 1 and 4 months following CCU discharge, patients with family members who journaled reported fewer stress symptoms when compared to patients who did not have journals (mean Posttraumatic Stress Syndrome 14 [PTSS-14] scores 31.8 vs. 38.1 and 32.2 vs. 34.7, respectively). Family members who journaled, compared to those who did not, reported fewer stress manifestations at 1 month however not at 4 months (mean PTSS-14 scores 26.9 vs. 43.7 and 28.0 vs. 24.4, respectively). There was no significant difference in CCU memories between patient groups at 1 and 4 months. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Research is needed with larger samples however this study supports journaling as a low-cost, nurse-driven, stress reduction intervention for both patients recovering from critical illness and their family members who visit them.