Key considerations for moving to a nurse faculty role: A dean's perspective.

Expert nurse practitioners (NPs) grounded in clinical practice are needed to prepare the future NPs. This article discusses key considerations for moving from the role of expert clinician to nurse educator. The considerations for making the move to the educator role including reflection on rewards associated with teaching, similarities between practice and education, faculty support, and role responsibilities are presented from a dean's perspective. The typical hiring process is discussed including what questions may be asked of the faculty candidate as well as what questions should be asked by the faculty candidate.

Quality and safety in graduate nursing education: Cross-mapping QSEN graduate competencies with NONPF's NP core and practice doctorate competencies.

To ensure that nurse practitioners are prepared to deliver safe, high-quality health care, the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) publishes documents that outline the expected competencies for nurse practitioner (NP) practice (Domains and Core Competencies of Nurse Practitioner Practice and Practice Doctorate Nurse Practitioner Entry-Level Competencies). Having participated in the development of the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies for graduate education, NONPF convened a task force to compare NONPF competencies with QSEN competencies for graduate education. This paper reports the first step of that cross-mapping process, comparing NONPF competencies with the QSEN knowledge objectives. Overall findings indicate close congruence across the 2 sets of competencies; however there are areas in which gaps are noted or for which clarification is required.

Arab Americans' acculturation and tobacco smoking.

Limited information is available about Arab Americans' smoking behaviors. The aim of this study was to describe Arab Americans' smoking behaviors and any relationship between tobacco dependence and acculturation. This was a cross-sectional study. Arab American smokers and ex-smokers (N = 96) participated in the study. Nicotine dependence, acculturation, and tobacco use questionnaires were used to measure the major variables. Analyses revealed a significant positive correlation between acculturation and tobacco dependence and between tobacco exposure and tobacco dependence. Arab Americans who behaved most like their ethnic peers and spent more time with Arab Americans were more dependent on nicotine.

Smoking cessation strategy use among pregnant ex-smokers.

There is strong evidence for the beneficial health effects associated with smoking cessation during pregnancy. Although many pregnant women spontaneously quit smoking during pregnancy, postpartum relapse is high. Evidence suggests that pregnant women do not use smoking cessation strategies as identified by the 40-item Processes of Change Scale as frequently as others who quit smoking. The purpose of this study is to identify factors associated with pregnant exsmokers' use of experiential and behavioral smoking cessation strategies. A cross-sectional survey design is used for the study. From a sample of 201 primarily low-income pregnant women recruited to participate in a larger study, 58 were biologically confirmed ex-smokers. Multiple regression analysis reveals that motivation to quit smoking is the only significant factor explaining the use of experiential and behavioral smoking cessation strategies, accounting for 44% of the variance in experiential processes and 31% of the variance in behavioral processes.

Gender, smoking expectancies, and readiness to quit among urban African American smokers.

The relationship between smoking expectancies and readiness to quit as well as gender differences in expectancies and readiness to quit was examined among 484 urban African American smokers. Univariate analyses revealed that higher positive expectancies were generally associated with less readiness to quit and higher negative expectancies were associated with greater readiness to quit. A multivariable model indicated that stimulation/state enhancement, taste/sensorimotor manipulation, and weight control were most strongly related to intention to quit. Although men and women did not differ on readiness to quit, women reported higher scores on the negative affect reduction subscale than did men.

Perceptions of smoking among African American light smokers.

Despite smoking fewer cigarettes per day, African Americans extract more nicotine per cigaretts smoked, and have higher than expected tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. The present study explores perceptions about smoking and motivations for smoking cessation among African American light smokers. Four focus groups consisting of 22 adults were conducted at an inner-city community health center. Participants were recruited through flyers and referral by clinic staff. Two major themes were identified: (1) similar smoking patterns, and (2) perceived differences from heavy smokers. Many participants perceived themselves as addicted to nicotine, experienced withdrawal symptoms with past quit attempts, and are interested in smoking cessation. Perceptions about nicotine addiction, difficulty with quitting, and interest in smoking cessation suggest a need to design and test cessation interventions among this understudied population.

Promoting smoking cessation in adults.

There is a wealth of opportunities for nurses to facilitate smoking cessation with their patients. Nurses have shown to have a modest but positive effect on cessation rates when they deliver brief or intensive counseling. Because nurses work in a multitude of clinical settings, they can impact both prevention and treatment of nicotine addiction associated with cigarette use. More nurses need to be educated about their role in reducing the morbidity and mortality of tobacco-related diseases.

Participation of African Americans in a smoking cessation trial: a quantitative and qualitative study.

African Americans (AAs) have been considered a hard to reach research population. In a clinical trial of bupropion for smoking cessation, failure to return for randomization was concerning during the initial phase of recruitment. There were three study goals: to review the research on clinical trial participation barriers, to use quantitative analyses to identify differences between randomized (n = 66) and non-randomized (n = 54) participants, and to use focus groups and interviews (2 groups and 2 interviews, 17 participants) to elicit participation barriers and suggestions for participation enhancement. Randomized participants were older (44.1 vs. 37.6; p = 0.0019), predominately female (81.8% vs. 63.0%; p = 0.0201), more likely to have some college (33.3% vs. 16.7%; p = 0.0380), and less likely to be employed full time (32.4% vs. 53.7%; p = 0.0347). Randomized participants reported higher motivation to quit smoking (8.3 vs. 7.3; p = 0.0083) and higher confidence to quit (8.2 vs. 7.3; p = 0.0357). A logistic regression model specified age, gender, and motivation to quit, as predictors of randomization. Focus groups identified transportation, lack of readiness to quit, inadequate reminders, and employment conflicts as barriers to participation. Knowledge of differences between those who return for enrollment and those who do not may be used to increase AA enrollment in clinical trials.

Light smokers: issues and recommendations.

Although the overall prevalence of tobacco smoking in the United States is decreasing, the proportion of light smokers is increasing and is as high as 50% among some groups. There is growing evidence that light smokers experience significantly higher health risks compared to nonsmokers, and they are often unable to quit smoking on their own. The prevalence of light smoking differs among subpopulations in the US and is particularly common among adolescents, college students, pregnant women, and some ethnic minorities. Characteristics of light smokers in these subpopulations vary, as do the underlying reasons for smoking, barriers to cessation, and treatment issues. Unfortunately, the paucity of research to develop and test effective cessation aids is common across all groups of light smokers. Given the substantial portion of light smokers in these populations, development and dissemination of effective behavioral and pharmacological interventions for light smokers is likely to result in substantial smoking reduction rates in the general population.