Shifting the Mindset: Incorporating Mindfulness Practice in the Graduate Online Nursing Classroom and Beyond.

ABSTRACT: The concept of using mindfulness techniques in an online nursing education environment is an idea that has limited research. We have utilized some mindfulness exercises to facilitate course interaction and guide how faculty and students can foster an engaged, mutually beneficial environment in the classroom and beyond to leadership positions in the clinical setting. Faculty utilize these techniques to enhance teaching in the online environment. This article provides examples of how faculty can engage students in these behaviors.

Refocusing the Lens: Caring and Compassion in an Online Nursing Environment.

The concept of compassionate caring in an online nursing education environment is an idea that has limited research. The College of Nursing at Sacred Heart University has adopted a caring model and philosophy to foster an engaged, mutually beneficial environment and guide how faculty and students interact in the online environment. Examples of how faculty engage students in these behaviors are offered.

A Paradigm Shift From Brick and Mortar: Full-Time Nursing Faculty Off Campus.

The organizational structure for the Master of Science in Nursing's online program at Sacred Heart University offers a remarkably different innovative faculty model. Full-time, doctorally prepared faculty reside in several different states and teach online but are fully integrated and immersed in all aspects of the college of nursing. This untraditional model, which has proven to be successful over time using best practices for online education, is replicable and offers an innovative option for online learning.

Health professions faculty beliefs, confidence, use, and perceptions of organizational culture and readiness for EBP: A cross-sectional, descriptive survey.

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an essential skill and ethical obligation for all practicing health professions clinicians because of its strong association with improved health outcomes. Emerging evidence suggests that faculty who prepare these clinicians lack proficiency to teach EBP. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to describe; 1) health profession faculty beliefs about and confidence in their ability to teach and implement EBP, 2) use of EBP for education, 3) organizational culture and readiness for EBP; and to determine whether relationships exist among these variables. DESIGN: This study used a cross-sectional, descriptive survey design. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: College of Nursing (CON) and College of Health Professions (CHP) faculty from a university located in the Northeast, United States. Faculty were defined as anyone teaching a course for the CON or CHP during the fall of 2016. METHODS: Faculty were invited to complete an electronic survey measuring EBP beliefs, EBP use, and EBP organizational culture and readiness. The survey was comprised of three tools developed specifically for health professions educators in 2010 by Fineout-Overholt & Melnyk. RESULTS: Sixty-nine faculty returned usable surveys (25.5% response rate). Mean EBP beliefs score was 89.49 (SD = 10.94) indicating respondents had a firm belief in and confidence in their ability to implement and teach EBP. Mean EBP use was 32.02 (SD = 20.59) indicating that respondents taught and implemented EBP between 1 and 3 times in the last 8-weeks. Mean EBP culture and readiness score was 90.20 (SD = 15.23) indicating essential movement toward a sustainable culture of college-wide integration of EBP. Mean scores for beliefs/confidence were higher for full-time clinical faculty compared to other groups [F(2, 55) = 0.075, p = 0.928; ηp2 = 0.003)]. Adjunct faculty reported higher EBP behaviors expected by health profession educators in the last 8-weeks compared to other groups [F(2, 55) = 0.251, p = 0.779; ηp2. =0.009)]. Adjunct faculty had the highest mean scores on OCRSIEP-E followed by full-time clinical faculty. These group differences in OCRSIEP-E were statistically significant [F(2, 49) = 7.92, p = 0.001; ηp2 = 0.244)]. OCRSIEP-E was significantly different between full-time tenure/tenure track faculty (M = 78.0, SD = 12.58) and full-time clinical faculty (M = 91.37, SD = 14.79, p = 0.027) and between full-time tenure/tenure track faculty and adjunct faculty (M = 97.19, SD = 12.39, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Faculty adoption of EBP as a foundational pillar of teaching is essential. Research is needed to define the scope of the problem internationally. Organizations need to set standards for faculty teaching in the health professions to be EBP proficient. Programs preparing faculty to teach in nursing and other health professions must include educator EBP competencies.

Implementation of a skin cancer screening tool in a primary care setting: a pilot study.

PURPOSE: (a) To explore whether there would be an increase in nurse practitioner (NP) skin cancer screening knowledge following an educational program. (b) To determine whether NPs report enhanced physical assessment skills when applying a screening tool in clinical practice. (c) To determine whether use of a skin cancer screening tool improves NP documentation during student physical exams. DATA SOURCES: Data were gathered in phase one of the study through a pretest, educational intervention, posttest, and program evaluation. Phase two gathered data from a prestudy patient chart analysis, and a poststudy chart analysis following implementation of a skin cancer screening tool. A convenience sample of six female NPs age of 40-64 years was drawn from a single college health center in the northeast. CONCLUSIONS: There is demonstrated efficacy educating NPs in proper documentation/early detection of skin cancer among young adults in a college health, primary care setting. Findings revealed a 223.4% increase in proper documentation of skin cancer screening and skin cancer patient education. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Educating NPs in skin cancer identification, screening and use of a skin cancer screening tool is an effective way to improve quality of services provided to patients and quality of NP documentation.