Remote interviews in nurse practitioner programs: Addressing bias.

A diverse nursing workforce is key to addressing health disparities and moving the United States towards health equity. Building and sustaining a diverse nursing work force requires close attention to admissions, including interviews. Bias in nursing school interviews has been documented, particularly impacting applicants from historically excluded groups (especially racial and ethnic minorities). With the pivot to remote interviews due to Covid 19, faculty and schools now need to consider bias in remote interviews. This article describes the implementation and outcomes of a faculty training to identify and mitigate bias in remote interviews.

Shifting the Paradigm: Antiracist Education for Advanced Practice Nursing Providers.

Introduction: Racism in the United States adversely impacts health outcomes. Achieving health equity will require an explicitly antiracist approach to the education of health care providers (HCPs). This article examines a required course that focuses on teaching advanced practice nursing students about the structural foundations of racism. This approach shifts significantly away from teaching race-based medicine (which assumes a biological basis for disparities) and the social determinants of health (which often blames individuals for disparities). Methods: A mixed methods evaluation was conducted to understand the change in learners' understanding of (1) structural racism and (2) the role that HCPs can play in addressing structural racism. Anonymous surveys asked the following: (1) What are three examples of structural racism in the context of health care? and (2) What is the HCP's role in addressing structural racism? Results: Statistically significant increases were observed. The percentage of students who could provide at least one example of structural racism increased from 41% to 70%. Significant increases were also found in students' abilities to identify structural and institutional antiracist interventions. Discussion: This project yields important data that can inform educational efforts focused on structural racism. The results strongly suggest that the course resulted in a change in student understanding of racism in health care and strategies to address it. Health Equity Implications: The development of a required course for advanced practice nurses focused on structural racism, including attention to social and institutional interventions, can significantly shift HCP understanding and is one strategy to move us toward health equity.

From Human Papillomavirus to COVID-19: Adolescent Autonomy and Minor Consent for Vaccines.

Adolescent minors in every state can give their own consent for some health care. Although parent consent is generally required for vaccination, there are exceptions in some states. Completion rates are low for recommended adolescent vaccines; allowing adolescents to consent may improve coverage, although more study is needed on barriers to vaccine completion and the feasibility of changes in consent laws. The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of vaccines and related challenges. This policy brief reviews laws governing adolescent consent for health care, including vaccines, and recommends advocacy to support increased adolescent access to vaccines and improved public health.

Mentoring and Support for Underrepresented Nursing Faculty: An Integrative Research Review.

BACKGROUND: Nursing faculty members may need several mentors to succeed in scholarly productivity, career development, work-life balance, and socialization in the academy. Underrepresented (UR) faculty report additional challenges to success. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to search the literature for best practices in mentoring UR faculty. METHODS: An integrative review was conducted to identify best and evidence-based practices for mentoring UR faculty, including gender, sexual minority, race, ethnicity, and geographic remoteness (rural). Fifteen articles were rated on evidence and methodological quality. RESULTS: Successful mentorship programs include honest communication, including all stakeholders in forming a mentoring program, goals and activities that come from the mentees, and guaranteed resources. CONCLUSIONS: Underrepresented nursing faculty may benefit from formal mentoring programs, but more research is needed.

The 21st Century Cures Act and Challenges to Adolescent Confidentiality.

Confidentiality is an important part of adolescent health care, providing a safe arena for young people to address sensitive health concerns and develop independent relationships with their providers. State and federal laws support a range of adolescent confidentiality protections. However, the full implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act, with the release of all medical records to patients and caregivers, may endanger this expectation of privacy. This policy brief reviews implications of the open notes requirement of the Cures Act, suggests strategies to improve care for adolescent patients, and recommends advocacy to improve the 2020 Final Rule implementation.

Transitioning from clinician to nurse practitioner clinical faculty: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Schools of nursing are challenged with recruiting and retaining nurse practitioner (NP) clinical faculty in a job market where the few qualified candidates have competing professional opportunities. The role transition from clinician to clinical faculty is stressful, and many faculty have unmet needs for support. OBJECTIVES: This article will identify strategies universities can implement to increase retention in the faculty role by facilitating the transition from clinician to NP clinical faculty. DATA SOURCES: Articles were identified from the following databases: PubMed, Embase, PsychInfo, CINAHL Plus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library. CONCLUSIONS: The transition from clinician to the NP role can be very difficult. New faculty experience culture shock and concerns about maintenance of clinical practice. Orientation, peer support, and mentoring can mitigate the challenges and support the transition. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Schools of nursing can facilitate the transition from clinician to NP clinical faculty by developing an onboarding program that integrates mentoring, orientation, and ongoing support.

Taking charge of the challenge: factors to consider in taking your first nurse practitioner job.

PURPOSE: To describe factors that ensure a smooth transition from nurse practitioner (NP) student to independent NP during the first year of practice. DATA SOURCES: Two contrasting case examples, the authors' experiences, and selected professional literature. CONCLUSIONS: Key points to consider upon searching or taking a first NP job include patient, colleague, and clinic factors. Patient factors include mix of patient presentations, complexity of patient presentations, insurance status, and population. Colleague factors include mentorship, charting, mix of providers, and availability of providers. Perhaps most importantly, clinic factors include productivity expectations, practice mission, charting systems, on-call requirements, supervision of other staff, and teaching status. Together, these factors can largely determine whether an NP's days are satisfying or frustrating in a new job. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The transition from NP student to independent NP can be daunting. Although nursing schools and practice sites have responsibilities to ensure the transition is smooth, the new NP is ultimately responsible for the transition.