Identifying Patients At Risk for Melanoma in an Aesthetic Practice.

In the United States, melanoma skin cancer deaths are expected to rise by 4.4% in 2023, reaching 7990. Early detection through visual screening can save lives, but the US Preventive Services Task Force cites insufficient evidence to recommend universal skin screening for all adults. For this reason, the risk for melanoma may be overlooked outside of dermatology settings, leading to delayed diagnoses and poor survival rates. Our project aimed to address this issue by increasing the identification of at-risk individuals visiting a medical aesthetic practice in the Midwest. The literature regarding melanoma risk stratification outside of dermatology settings is deficient. A search yielding 336 articles produced 8 articles for review. Five suggested melanoma risk screenings in general practice are feasible and/or can lead to early detection. Using the Plan-Do-Study-Act model, we executed our project from February through April 2023. Patients visiting the medical aesthetic practice completed a Self-Assessment Melanoma Risk Score questionnaire. We assessed the completed questionnaires and offered visual cancer screenings or dermatology referrals to patients identified as at-risk. A total of 211 patients participated, and 26% (n = 55) were identified as at-risk. This intervention improved the quality of care by identifying patients at risk for melanoma. Future steps include adapting the Self-Assessment of Melanoma Risk Score questionnaire to a new electronic medical record system, incorporating the questionnaire as part of the initial intake and annual patient documentation, and improving patient education and follow-up.

Roadmap for integrating the AACN essentials with perioperative nursing.

Faculty members teaching in pre-licensure nursing programs are entrusted with revising nursing education to meet the American Association of Colleges of Nursing's The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. Colleges of nursing faculty experience difficulty establishing enough clinical sites as healthcare facilities continue to overcome staffing challenges since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perioperative nursing is an underutilized area despite the potential for students to attain valuable nursing competencies and experiences in perioperative areas. An opportunity exists for faculty, regardless of having perioperative nursing experience or not, to use perioperative environments for clinical experiences in didactic and simulation courses. Our aim is to provide a roadmap for nursing faculty to include perioperative nursing in the pre-licensure nursing curriculum. Perioperative education exemplars aligned with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing's The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education domains are included for adoption in any college of nursing.

Sharing Perioperative Nursing Expertise Through Publication: A Guide for the Novice Author.

Perioperative nurses can share their expertise by writing for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Writing can help perioperative nurses grow their professional careers and advance the science of the perioperative nursing specialty. Despite the value and importance of publishing, perioperative nurses may lack confidence and fear rejection and negative feedback; increasing their knowledge and understanding of the authoring and publishing processes can assuage these fears. This education article describes concepts associated with scholarly publishing for authors and offers strategies to encourage perioperative nurses to share their practice experiences or research via peer-reviewed journals. Key steps associated with the writing and publication process are described. The article also explains the editorial and peer-review processes and provides supportive strategies for authors when a manuscript is not accepted initially.

CE: Our Journey to Pass a Surgical Plume Evacuation Law.

ABSTRACT: Surgical plume is produced when heat-generating instruments are used to cut, cauterize, or vaporize tissue during surgery. Surgical plume can rapidly diffuse, and without the use of plume evacuators to ensure it is captured, filtered, and removed, health care workers and patients are at risk for inhalation exposure to airborne contaminants, including smoke and biological hazards. The use of surgical plume evacuators in health care facilities is inconsistent across the United States. This article describes the experience of two nurses who led a grassroots coalition to pass a surgical plume evacuation law in Illinois. It also outlines strategies they used in the legislative process that nurses can apply to their own efforts to advocate for health policy change at the state level.

How to Write Powerful Letters of Recommendation.

Nurses at all levels may be asked to write a letter of recommendation to support colleagues' and students' career and academic advancement. This article outlines key steps and considerations in the letter-writing process.

Envisioning the new AACN essentials in a competency-based DNP strategic and financial business planning course.

Faculty members teaching in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs are charged with undergoing curriculum restructure that is aligned with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) newly released Essentials. The purpose of this article is to share an existing course structure that was designed to teach students the business acumen in a strategic and financial business planning course and present a strategy for nursing faculty to consider when applying the Essentials to new or existing courses. This article includes a brief review of the literature, a discussion of a strategic and financial business planning course, and application of the Essentials for graduate nursing programs. Based on findings from the literature, and reported student outcomes, a strategic and financial program planning course is an effective way to meet the new Essentials for graduate nursing students that are competency-based, while providing valuable business acumen learning experiences.

Implementing a Surgical Smoke Evacuation Policy and Procedure: A Quality Improvement Project.

Energy-generating surgical devices (eg, electrosurgical units, lasers) produce surgical smoke that can cause negative health effects in exposed individuals. In 2019, a review of nursing documentation at an urban teaching hospital revealed that personnel were properly evacuating surgical smoke during less than 0.5% of applicable procedures. To address the noncompliance and reduce exposure to surgical smoke, an interdisciplinary team initiated a quality improvement project to implement a surgical smoke evacuation policy for all smoke-generating procedures. The project included creation and implementation of a smoke evacuation policy, staff member education on the hazards of surgical smoke and proper evacuation device use, and acquisition of the proper smoke evacuation equipment. After instituting the policy in June 2020, results of a three-month chart audit showed that there was nursing documentation confirming personnel used energy-generating devices and the corresponding surgical smoke evacuation devices during 664 of 2,224 procedures, for a compliance rate of 30%.

What do novice faculty need to transition successfully to the nurse faculty role? An integrative review.

OBJECTIVES: The objective was to describe and illustrate what is known about the needs of novice nursing faculty as they transition into the faculty role. The worldwide nursing shortage is partly due to the lack of faculty, and one reason for that lack is the reported difficulty of transitioning into the faculty role. METHODS: An integrative review of the literature was conducted. RESULTS: Results demonstrated that new faculty are either intentionally supported in their new environment, with successful development of their skills and career, or they are unintentionally unsupported, which leaves them languishing and reduces intent to stay. CONCLUSIONS: Despite gaps in the literature and a low level of strength of evidence, the review offers implications for managing and maintaining relationships with novice faculty to facilitate their ultimate success. Institutions should aim to have in place identified elements that ensure novice faculty are intentionally supported rather than unintentionally unsupported.

Meeting the Doctor of Nursing Practice Essentials Through a Journal Club Clinical Experience.

Students implementing journal clubs can meet Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) essential skills by developing analytical methods to critically appraise the evidence. The objective of this article is to inform DNP faculty and students on the value of journal clubs in doctoral nursing education. This article includes a reflection on a DNP student's experience implementing a journal club as an exemplar. The approaches used involved a literature review on the benefits of a journal club for nurses and a reflection on the experience of implementing a journal club. The journal club experience met the guidelines for two American Association of Colleges of Nursing DNP essential skills. A journal club is an effective way to meet DNP essential skills in nursing students and is possible to implement in an online format, which is an attractive clinical option during COVID-19. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(3):123-129.].

State of the Science: A Concept Analysis of Surgical Smoke.

Surgical smoke has not been clearly defined in the literature and often is identified using surrogate terms (eg, plume). In January 2020, a literature search was performed and a principle-based concept analysis involving four general principles (epistemological, pragmatic, linguistic, and logical) was used to define surgical smoke and identify implications for perioperative personnel, patients, researchers, and policymakers. Surgical smoke is a visible plume of aerosolized combustion byproducts produced by heat-generating surgical instruments. It consists of water vapor and gaseous substances; can carry toxic chemicals, bacteria, viruses, and tumors; can obscure the surgical field; and can be inhaled. Surgical smoke has a distinctive noxious odor and can cause physical symptoms such as watery eyes and throat irritation. Perioperative leaders should promote protection from occupational harm by educating their staff members on the use of smoke evacuators to mitigate the effects of surgical smoke on perioperative patients and personnel.

Using Simulation-Based Education to Improve Team Communication During a Massive Transfusion Protocol in the OR.

Hemorrhaging during operative and other invasive procedures can result in devastating outcomes for surgical patients. An effective plan of action in the form of a massive transfusion protocol (MTP), along with teamwork and clear communication among OR personnel, is critical during a hemorrhagic crisis to improve patient outcomes. However, perioperative personnel may be unprepared to manage a hemorrhagic crisis because they lack experiential knowledge of these uncommon, high-risk scenarios. Perioperative leaders at a 500-bed acute-care hospital in the Midwest developed an educational activity involving a video-recorded simulated MTP scenario, learning modules, and debriefing sessions to educate more than 150 employees. Perioperative personnel received pre-education and watched the video-recorded MTP simulation together, and then participated in team debriefings after watching the video. Based on team debriefings and evaluation feedback, most staff members believed that the activity improved team communication.