The role of Doctor of Nursing Practice programs' mission, vision, and values statements in the development of students' professional identity: A qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: The effectiveness of university and program mission, vision, and values statements in shaping Doctor in Nursing Practice (DNP) programs' curricula and their students' professional identity is insufficiently understood. DESIGN: This qualitative research project explored how these statements inform DNP program curricula and contribute to the development of the professional identity of students SETTING: Three DNP programs in the U.S. American Midwest participated in this research. PARTICIPANTS: Participants included students, alumni, and faculty from these three programs. METHODS: 33 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The transcriptions were analyzed, using the Grounded Theory approach, and the results were interpreted in light of the statements of participating programs. RESULTS: While a wide range of themes related to interviewees' professional identity was identified, it became apparent that students' professional identity is centered on (1) being citizens engaged in social, democratic, and political processes, (2) building caring relationships and communities, and (3) addressing health inequities. Such priorities are explicitly aligned with the statements of participating programs. CONCLUSIONS: The results (1) highlight the potential of statements to foster students' development of a professional identity as DNPs and (2) underscore that this identity is aligned with nursing programs' specific mission and values.

Fostering collaborative learning and leadership through near-peer mentorship among undergraduate nursing students.

BACKGROUND: Innovative teaching strategies in nursing education are essential with increasing enrollment. Collaborative learning and leadership (CLL) activities encourage near-peer learning through mentorship between senior-level and novice students while supporting teaching ratios in lab and clinical. In this study, senior nursing students' perceptions and performance during CLL activities were explored. METHODS: Final-semester senior students participated in CLL activities and were evaluated on their leadership and engagement. Grading rubric results were summarized using descriptive statistics. Thematic analysis of students' post-CLL reflections supported common themes. RESULTS: Students' average scores (97.53%) confirm students were prepared and engaged in CLL activities. Senior students enjoyed "building confidence" through these activities, with a consistent theme of "becoming a leader," noted in reflections. CONCLUSION: Near-peer learning activities assisted senior students in development of leadership and communication skills, preparing them for nursing practice. Recommendations include developing instructions for varied CLL activities and exploring faculty perspectives regarding this experience.

Writing Across the Curriculum: Reliability Testing of a Standardized Rubric.

BACKGROUND: Rubrics positively affect student academic performance; however, accuracy and consistency of the rubric and its use is imperative. The researchers in this study developed a standardized rubric for use across an undergraduate nursing curriculum, then evaluated the interrater reliability and general usability of the tool. METHOD: Faculty raters graded papers using the standardized rubric, submitted their independent scoring for interrater reliability analyses, then participated in a focus group discussion regarding rubric use experience. RESULTS: Quantitative analysis of the data showed a high interrater reliability (α = .998). Content analysis of transcription revealed several positive themes: Consistency, Emphasis on Writing Ability, and Ability to Use the Rubric as a Teaching Tool. Areas for improvement included use of value words and difficulty with point allocation. CONCLUSION: Investigators recommend effective faculty orientation for rubric use and future work in developing a rubric to assess reflective writing. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(6):366-370.].

Enhancing a public health nursing shelter program.

The Shelter Nurse Program offers important nursing care and resources that help meet the health needs of the homeless population and improve the health of homeless individuals and families. However, formalized program goals and objectives, along with an evaluation plan that demonstrates population outcomes, had never been developed even as the program has evolved over time. Thus, the agency sought our assistance as public health nursing consultants to enhance the overall program to improve the health of the homeless population. To accomplish this, we worked with the agency and the shelter nurses throughout each step of the process to assess the needs of the program, develop appropriate goals and objectives, and develop an effective outcome evaluation plan for the existing Shelter Nurse Program. Lessons learned included the value and applicability of the selected program development model, the importance of agency ownership and active participation by front-line workers, and the value of educating the workers and introducing resources throughout the process.

Evaluation of embedded audio feedback on writing assignments.

The purpose of this pilot study was to compare embedded audio feedback (EAF), which faculty provided using the iPad(®) application iAnnotate(®) PDF to insert audio comments and written feedback (WF), inserted electronically on student papers in a series of writing assignments. Goals included determining whether EAF provides more useful guidance to students than WF and whether EAF promotes connectedness among students and faculty. An additional goal was to ascertain the efficiency and acceptance of EAF as a grading tool by nursing faculty. The pilot study was a quasi-experimental, cross-over, posttest-only design. The project was completed in an Informatics in Health Care course. Faculty alternated the two feedback methods on four papers written by each student. Results of surveys and focus groups revealed that students and faculty had mixed feelings about this technology. Student preferences were equally divided between EAF and WF, with 35% for each, and 28% were undecided.