Addiction Nursing Competencies: A Comprehensive Toolkit for the Addictions Nurse.

With the increased role of nurses in caring for patients with substance addiction, there was a clear need to develop the Addiction Nursing Competencies to guide and support the nursing workforce. A literature search revealed a lack of formal instruments to assess and guide nurses in caring for persons with substance use disorders. The Addiction Nursing Competencies were created using existing nursing education frameworks and addiction nurse care manager clinical guidelines.

Cultural competence among nurses and its influencing factors: A cross-sectional study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of cultural competence and its influencing factors among Chinese nurses by using a cross-sectional design. Participants were recruited from four tertiary hospitals in Jiangsu, China, and 325 nurses completed the Cultural Competence Inventory for Nurses in China. Data were analyzed using stepwise multiple regression to identify factors influencing cultural competence. The results showed that Chinese nurses self-rated cultural competence at a moderate level (mean value of 101.7 out of 145), which indicates that cultural training is necessary to improve their cultural competence. Nurses who were younger and had fewer years of working experience, had lower educational backgrounds, seldom learned about different cultures via mass media, and rarely resided in or visited places with different cultures tended to have lower cultural competence levels, and should be provided more opportunities for cultural training. By considering demographic characteristics that influence cultural competence among Chinese nurses, educators can specifically design cultural training content at an appropriate level, targeting trainees' needs and thereby enhance training effectiveness.

Reforming nursing registration: Lessons from pandemics.

A nimble and flexible regulatory response regarding the nursing workforce is essential to a fully integrated public health approach to national crises and pandemics. The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn many comparisons to the 1918 Flu Pandemic. Some of them are well-reasoned and grounded in evidence. Other are not. This study provides a historically contextualized analysis of how the 1918 flu pandemic helped shape Pennsylvania nursing's current regulatory apparatus. We conclude that the state-based solutions that nursing registration represents are inadequate to deal with pandemics and crises with national, if not global, reach. We need to move immediately toward the national COMPACT system, while mindful of how regulatory processes and procedures can reinforce structural inequities.

Improving the Competency of Nurses.

To decrease infusion pump administration errors, time-consuming training is often initiated. The aims of this study were twofold: to develop minimum competency requirements for programming and operation of infusion pumps and to develop and validate a test for nurses based on those requirements. The test was completed by 226 nurses between May and December 2017. This study demonstrates that testing is a promising method to assess the competency of nurses in using medical devices. Moreover, test acceptability among nurses is high. Using competency requirements to develop a test offers the potential to tailor training needs and reduce training time.

Prehospital care nurses' self reported competence: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The Swedish ambulance service has undergone major changes in recent decades due to advancements being made in medical and technical resources, professional competence, and patient care. Registered and specialist nurses share the same role, accountabilities, and responsibilities in the ambulance service, and their professional competence has not yet been evaluated. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to investigate and compare self-reported professional competence among nurses working in the ambulance service and to explore associations between potentially predictive background factors and self-reported professional competence. METHOD: A cross-sectional study with a digital questionnaire was used for collecting data from 34 registered nurses and 71 specialist nurses. The Ambulance Nurse Competence Scale and the Research Utilization Questionnaire were used for data collection. RESULTS: Significant differences were found among the nursing categories in terms of age, gender, education, and work experience. Prehospital emergency nurses reported the highest professional competence. Nurses with a master's degree did not report significantly higher professional competence than nurses with a bachelor's degree. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicated that there are differences in the professional competence of registered nurses and specialist nurses. Length of work experience in the ambulance service is an important factor associated with higher professional competence.

Implementation of the policy protocol for management of surgical and non-surgical wounds in selected public health facilities in Ghana: An analytic case study.

BACKGROUND: It is estimated that millions of patients are affected by healthcare associated infections (HAIs) each year. In Ghana, high prevalence of HAIs in relation to non-surgical (also called contaminated wounds) and surgical wounds (also called sterile wounds) is largely attributed to poor adherence to policy protocols for wound management by frontline clinical staff especially nurses. OBJECTIVE: Investigate the extent to which nursing staff adhere to the policy protocol for management of non-surgical and surgical wounds in selected public health facilities in Ghana. METHODOLOGY: This is an analytic case study among nursing staff (n = 140) in three government facilities in the Volta region of Ghana. Subjective and objective performance scores of staff on adherence proxies were compared using the Wilcoxon Signed-rank test, and univariate ordered logistic regression analysis used to predict staff likelihood of adherence to policy protocols on non-surgical and surgical wound management. FINDINGS: Overall, staff self-rated themselves higher on subjective performance proxies relative to their objective scores (p<0.05). Staff with more years of work experience did not translate into a higher likelihood of adhering to standard protocol on wound management (Coef. = -0.49, CI = -0.93-0.05, p = 0.036). Being a senior nursing officer relative to lower nursing ranks increased staff likelihood of complying particularly with standard policy protocol for management of non-surgical wounds (Coef. 5.27, CI = 0.59 9.95, p = 0.027). CONCLUSION: There is the need for accelerated in-service training for staff on standard protocols for wound management coupled with supportive supervisions. Staff adherence to standard quality care protocols should be a pre-requisite for licensing of health facilities by regulatory bodies like Health Facilities Regulatory Agency and National Health Insurance Authority.

Nursing strike, America, 2019: Concept analysis to guide practice.

BACKGROUND: In 2018 a nursing 'sympathy strike' occurred. Although unionized nurses were directed to participate, many expressed questions about what a strike or sympathy strike was. Literature revealed no seminal article to define the term. A concept analysis for the nursing workforce was created. METHOD: The Hybrid Method of Concept Analysis, (theoretical literature analysis, qualitative stakeholder interviews; applicability) was used. 33 articles and 7 books were reviewed. Nine interviews took place. RESULTS: The literature and interviews agreed on the definition, antecedents, and consequences of a nursing strike. Strikes in the United States were defined as "a last resort effort, after significant bargaining on the issue between nurses and management has not allowed for agreement, where a work stoppage occurs and nurses leave the bedside." Interviews alone introduced the concept of duty to patients. A model case, contrary case and borderline case are offered. CONCLUSION: This study contains recommendations for practice.

Methods of nursing certification in North America-A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Definitions of nursing certification are lacking in the research literature and research on certification in nursing is remarkably limited. METHODS: A six-stage scoping review framework was used to identify the nature, extent, and range of certification within the nursing literature. FINDINGS: Thirty-six articles were included in this scoping review. Most originated in the United States (89%), were classified as research articles (56%), and used a quantitative approach (90%). The majority focused on initial certification (50%), and written examination was the most prevalent approach to certification (39%). Missing and incomplete data were prevalent. DISCUSSION: The overall lack of nursing certification origin, focus, methodological rigor, and clear certification mastery criteria have hindered meaningful study of the relationship between nursing certification and patient outcomes. Common data elements, reporting standards, and observational studies linking common data elements and patient outcomes could guide future research and improve the transparency of certification processes and reporting.

Improving statin prescription through the involvement of nurses in the provision of ASCVD score: a quality improvement initiative in primary care.

OBJECTIVES: This study compares two methods of providing CVD risk score on the percentage of appropriate statin therapy for primary prevention of CVD in family medicine clinics, according to the American Heart Association guidelines. METHODS: Participants were non-diabetic patients aged 40 to 75 with a recently ordered low-density lipoprotein (LDL) level, not on statin therapy and free of CVD. The first intervention is passive with a display of the score on the EMR in the vital signs section and lasted for three months. The second intervention is collaborative where the nurses calculate the risk score and displayed it to the physician along with therapy recommendations. Electronic health records were reviewed to randomly select medical charts of eligible patients. RESULTS: 162 charts were randomly selected out of 547 eligible charts and included in the analysis, including 60 charts for the baseline group. Among moderate-risk patients, the percentage of appropriate statin initiation was 0% at baseline and after intervention 1; yet it increased to (33.3% [7.5-70.1, 95% CI]) after intervention 2. Among high risk patients, percentage of appropriate statin initiation was 9.1% [0.1-41.3, 95% CI], 11.1% [1.4, 34.7, 95% CI] and 28.6% [8.4, 58.1, 95% CI] during baseline, intervention 1 and intervention 2, respectively. CONCLUSION: The provision of the CVD risk score alone as clinical decision support is not enough to improve statin initiation for primary prevention. The nurse collaboration can improve guideline-concordant statin initiation.

Data and Information Literacy: A Fundamental Nursing Competency.

Nurses in the 21st-century are expected to be data and information literate and proficient in data management. Nurses graduating from baccalaureate programs must be able to use computers and information systems and apply data and evidence to inform practice. Those competencies are also essential for the entire nursing workforce. That puts the onus on school nurses, school nurse supervisors, school districts, and state affiliates to take responsibility for comprehensive data and information literacy professional development. Fortunately, the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) has anticipated the needs of the membership. NASN included data and information capacity building as a part of The National School Health Data Set: Every Student Counts!, a national standardized data set and data collection initiative.