Spotlight on Leadership: What Nurse Leaders Need to Know About Artificial Intelligence.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not a new concept. Since the 2022 release of a popular large language model, AI has become readily accessible to the general population, brought transformational shifts in healthcare, and created significant implications for nurse leaders. Specifically, AI has major indications in the area of evidence-based practice. Historically, new evidence takes years to reach the bedside. Nurse leaders are instrumental in closing the research-to-practice gap and, in doing so, promote optimal patient safety and care delivery methods. This article provides an overview of using AI in the context of nursing leadership in healthcare settings, including appropriate case use. In addition, this article covers the ethical challenges of using AI in clinical settings.

Examining the Perceptions Among Undergraduate Nursing Students Using Virtual Reality in a Community Course: A Mixed-Methods Explanatory Study.

PURPOSE: This study investigated undergraduate nursing students' perceptions of integrating virtual reality (VR) technology into a community nursing course, specifically home and environmental patient safety assessments. DESIGN: This study used a mixed-methods approach with an explanatory design. METHODS: Participants were recruited from a community health course. The students engaged in a VR simulation involving home visits using the vizHome platform. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the System Usability Scale (SUS). Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Quantitative data were collected through Qualtrics and secure Zoom connections for the interviews. The data were analyzed with SPSS and MAXQDA. FINDINGS: The results indicated that participants perceived VR as valuable and easy to use for learning home assessment skills. The System Usability Scale (SUS) score revealed room for improvement. Technical limitations were identified as challenges that must be addressed to enhance the user experience. CONCLUSION: Participants acknowledged VR's potential to supplement traditional learning methods, providing safe and realistic exposure to diverse home environments. While VR was seen as beneficial, it was not considered a replacement for actual home visits in community nursing education. CLINICAL EVIDENCE: This study provided clinical teaching evidence on the usability and student perceptions of VR in community courses.

Teaching Prelicensure Nursing Students Reasoning in Clinical Experiences: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Clinical experiences are foundational learning components for prelicensure nursing students. Given the complexities of modern nursing practice in an aging America, clinical educators must teach nursing students to reason when engaging in patient care. Contemporary pedagogy to enhance reasoning relies on case studies and simulation. Specific and standardized methods for clinical education are largely absent in the literature. METHOD: This pilot study measured the clinical reasoning ability of nursing students using the Health Sciences Reasoning Test (HSRT). Participants completed the test before their first clinical day and again after their last clinical day. Pre- and posttest HSRT scores were analyzed by control and intervention groups as well as student levels. RESULTS: Posttest HSRT scores improved significantly in the intervention group at the end of the semester. CONCLUSION: The PREP framework is a novel approach to clinical education and improved the clinical reasoning of prelicensure nursing students. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(8):467-470.].

Modifying Outdated Blood Donation Restrictions on Men Who Have Sex with Men.

Current practices are discriminatory and no longer supported by science.

Physiologic Insulin Resensitization as a Treatment Modality for Insulin Resistance Pathophysiology.

Prevalence of type 2 diabetes increased from 2.5% of the US population in 1990 to 10.5% in 2018. This creates a major public health problem, due to increases in long-term complications of diabetes, including neuropathy, retinopathy, nephropathy, skin ulcers, amputations, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. In this review, we evaluated the scientific basis that supports the use of physiologic insulin resensitization. Insulin resistance is the primary cause of type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance leads to increasing insulin secretion, leading to beta-cell exhaustion or burnout. This triggers a cascade leading to islet cell destruction and the long-term complications of type 2 diabetes. Concurrent with insulin resistance, the regular bursts of insulin from the pancreas become irregular. This has been treated by the precise administration of insulin more physiologically. There is consistent evidence that this treatment modality can reverse the diabetes-associated complications of neuropathy, diabetic ulcers, nephropathy, and retinopathy, and that it lowers HbA1c. In conclusion, physiologic insulin resensitization has a persuasive scientific basis, significant treatment potential, and likely cost benefits.

Plasma cell granuloma of the thyroid: report of case and review of literature.

OBJECTIVE: To report the 12th case of a patient with a plasma cell granuloma of the thyroid, a rare cause of goiter and hypothyroidism. METHODS: We present a case report of a woman with a plasma cell granuloma of the thyroid. The clinical and pathologic features of the lesion are described, the differential diagnosis is discussed, and the relevant literature is reviewed. RESULTS: Plasma cell granulomas are uncommon benign lesions most typically located in the lung and only rarely identified in other organs. Only 11 cases of plasma cell granuloma of the thyroid gland have been reported previously. We describe the case of a 55-year-old woman with a long history of hypothyroidism and compressive symptoms from an enlarging neck mass. A thyroidectomy was performed. On gross examination, the thyroid had been replaced by firm, white, fibrotic tissue with a multinodular appearance. On microscopy, the infiltrate consisted predominantly of plasma cells that were polyclonal with the expression of both kappa and lambda light chains. A minor component of CD5- and CD20-positive (T and B) lymphocytes was observed. These features were important for establishing the diagnosis of a plasma cell granuloma and distinguishing the lesion from a plasmacytoma. CONCLUSION: This is the 12th reported case of plasma cell granuloma of the thyroid gland, a very rare cause of either a diffuse or a nodular goiter and hypothyroidism. The presence of a polyclonal plasma cell population with the expression of both kappa and lambda light chains helps to distinguish a plasma cell granuloma from a malignant plasmacytoma of the thyroid gland.