Registered nurses' judgments of the classification and risk level of patient care errors.

As frontline clinicians, nurses play a critical role in mitigating patient harm, recovery from health care errors, and overall improvement of patient safety. This cross-sectional study asked nurse respondents to make judgments about the classification and severity of errors in 4 clinical vignettes. Our results showed that agreement about error classification and associated risk among registered nurses is less than optimal. Further research is needed to advance our understanding of how nurses working in complex patient care situations can improve their ability to recognize subtle cues to facilitate early recognition of potential errors.

Using learning outcomes to inform teaching practices in human patient simulation.

This evaluation research focused on methods for improving simulation instruction by determining if students' knowledge about simulation subject matter improved and was retained following a simulation experience. Using a pretest/posttest approach, NCLEX-style questions pertaining to the simulation subject matter content were administered to nursing students from two prelicensure nursing courses immediately preceding the simulation, immediately following the simulation, and then again at their final examinations. These findings have helped faculty determine when their simulation instruction is effective and have provided a guide for revising their simulation teaching. While this pretest/posttest method offers insight into student learning outcomes, it perhaps more importantly creates a systematic approach for evaluating simulation instruction.

The case for group planning in human patient simulation.

This evaluation research focused on ways to improve the simulation learning experiences of prelicensure nursing students participating in a high-acuity nursing course. Based on the findings of a paper-and-pen midterm formative evaluation, focus groups were held to learn more about student attitudes regarding their simulation experience.Two themes emerged: (1) students felt unfairly "singled out" during simulation and perceived that their apprehension interfered with their learning, and (2) collaborative learning could be a potential strategy for dealing with feeling singled out. In response to these concerns, faculty included a group-planning experience for each remaining simulation. Students immediately reported that their anxiety lessened and that they learned more from their simulation experiences. In their final evaluations, students identified group-planning sessions as the most helpful component of the simulation experience. These findings suggest that group care planning may be an important simulation design component.

Building a virtual community for nursing education: the town of Mirror Lake.

RNs take pride in delivering high-quality individualized care to their patients. However, how do nursing students learn the principles of professional nursing or develop the competencies necessary to individualize patient care? At the Ohio State University College of Nursing, we embarked on deploying a virtual community of patients to enhance our students' learning experience. Our community, the town of Mirror Lake, contains 165 people and 62 households, with an apartment complex, a medical center, and a retirement center with assisted and skilled nursing care. This community serves as the main source of patients for Mirror Lake Medical Center, our virtual hospital. We think we can teach many key principles of sound nursing care using this virtual community of patients. This article presents the rationale behind the decision to take on this endeavor, as well as the processes used for development of our community.

Computer literacy study: report of qualitative findings.

Computer literacy and information literacy are critical to the future of nursing. The very nature of health care is being transformed in response to environmental drivers such as the demands for cost-effective delivery of high quality services and enhanced patient safety. Facilitating the quality transformation depends on strategic changes such as implementing evidence-based practice (), promoting outcome research (), initiating interdisciplinary care coordination [Zwarenstein, M., Bryant, W. (2004). Interventions to promote collaboration between nurses and doctors. The Cochrane Library(I)], and implementing electronic health records (). Information management serves as a central premise of each of these strategies and is an essential tool to facilitate change. This report of the analysis of qualitative data from a national online survey of baccalaureate nursing education programs describes the current level of integration of the computer literacy and information literacy skills and competencies of nursing faculty, clinicians, and students in the United States. The outcomes of the study are important to guide curriculum development in meeting the changing health care environmental demands for quality, cost-effectiveness, and safety.

The Unitec/Waitemata Simulation Learning Lab: A partnership to prepare New Zealand's next generation of nurses.

There is a growing concern in New Zealand about the need to better prepare clinicians for the real world of nursing practice. The increased use of human patient simulations is one approach to addressing this concern by offering a well-organized and standardised way to provide content and encourage critical thinking in a safe practice environment. Unitec New Zealand has embraced the use of simulations in their undergraduate nursing curriculum and has partnered with Waitemata District Health Board (WDHB) to develop a state of the art interdisciplinary simulation lab. The simulation lab has been designed using wired and wireless technologies to accommodate various clinical and informatics practice scenarios. Supervision of students uses mounted cameras, and video-conference technology. The Unitec/Waitemata Simulation Learning Lab has the potential to enhance the education of nursing students by offering them a safe place to gain valuable experience with patient car delivery and informatics tools. This paper is designed to summarize the planning process used to develop this partnership, describe the vision of the centre and note the progress to date.

Introducing standardized terminologies to nurses: Magic wands and other strategies.

Information technology advances have created a revolution that is transforming health care delivery. Practice, documentation, and communication are becoming data-driven. As a result, vendors are rapidly developing and upgrading their computerized clinical information systems; more health care providers are purchasing and implementing these systems. Many systems include standardized terminologies intended for use by nurses. It is imperative that nurses use these terminologies accurately and consistently in order to generate high-quality clinical data. Leaders and terminology committee members employed at practice, education, and research sites need to develop educational strategies to support nurse users as part of well-organized, systematic introductory programs Program requisites include a long-term vision, teamwork, positive attitudes, and adequate resources. This paper is designed to summarize standardized terminologies, benefits and challenges for nurse users, and educational strategies to introduce the terminologies to nurses successfully. The authors will describe the planning, implementation, and evaluation-maintenance strategies they used to introduce the Omaha System to diverse groups.

The Preventing Suicide Network: Delivering online tailored resources to those who help others.

Concerned over the growing epidemic of death by suicide in the United States, the National Institute of Mental Health of the U.S. National Institutes of Health funded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects using innovative web-based approaches to provide resources to professionals and the general public about suicide prevention. The Preventing Suicide Network (PSN) was funded (SBIR Contract #N44MH22044) and developed over a three and a half year period (2001-2005) as part of this initiative. The PSN provides intermediaries (those who participate in activities to prevent suicide) with an online community dedicated to timely access to authoritative and problem-specific tailored information.

Nursing informatics knowledge and competencies: a national survey of nursing education programs in the United States.

An online survey of deans/directors of 266 baccalaureate and higher nursing programs in the U.S. was developed by informatics expert nurses. Participants (1) identified nursing informatics (NI) competencies and knowledge of undergraduate and/or graduate students in their nursing programs; (2) determined faculty preparedness to teach NI and to use informatics tools; and (3) provided perceptions of NI requirements of local practicing nurses. Frequency data and qualitative responses were analyzed. Approximately half of undergraduate nursing programs were teaching information literacy skills and required students to enter with word-processing and email skills. Least visible informatics content at all levels included the use of information system data standards, the Nursing Information and Data Set Evaluation Center criteria, the unified medical language system (UMLS), and the nurse's role in the life cycle of an information system. Almost 50% of respondents perceived faculty as "novice" and "advanced beginners" in teaching and using NI applications. Participants reported no future plans to offer NI training in their region. Findings have major implications for nurse faculty, staff developers, and program administrators who are planning continuing education opportunities and designing nursing curricula that prepare nurses for use of the electronic health record and 21st century professional practice.

Nursing information technology knowledge, skills, and preparation of student nurses, nursing faculty, and clinicians: a U.S. survey.

Because health care delivery increasingly requires timely information for effective decision making, information technology must be integrated into nursing education curricula for all future nurse clinicians and educators. This article reports findings from an online survey of deans and directors of 266 baccalaureate and higher nursing programs in the United States. Approximately half of the programs reported requiring word processing and e-mail skill competency for students entering nursing undergraduate programs. Less than one third of the programs addressed the use of standardized languages or terminologies in nursing and telehealth applications of nursing. One third of the programs cited inclusion of evidence-based practice as part of graduate curricula. Program faculty, who were rated at the "novice" or "advanced beginner" level for teaching information technology content and using information technology tools, are teaching information literacy skills. The southeastern central and Pacific regions of the United States projected the greatest future need for information technology-prepared nurses. Implications for nurse educators and program directors are discussed.

Preparing student nurses, faculty and clinicians for 21st century informatics practice: findings from a national survey of nursing education programs in the United States.

Because healthcare delivery increasingly mandates data-driven decision-making, it is imperative that informatics knowledge and skills are integrated into nursing education curricula for all future nurse clinicians and educators. A national online survey of deans/directors of 266 baccalaureate and higher nursing education programs in the U.S. identified perceived informatics competencies and knowledge of under-graduate and graduate nursing students; determined the preparedness of nurse faculty to teach and use informatics tools; and elicited perceptions of informatics requirements of local practicing nurses. Frequency data and qualitative responses were analyzed. Approximately half of the programs reported requiring word processing and email skills upon entry into the nursing major. The use of standardized languages and the nurse's role in the life cycle of an information system were the least visible informatics content at all levels. Half of program faculty, rated as "novice" or "advanced beginners", are teaching information literacy skills. Findings have major implications for nurse educators, staff developers, and program administrators who are planning faculty/staff development opportunities and designing nursing education curricula that prepare nurses for professional practice.