Social Determinants of Health: Understanding the Basics and Their Impact on Chronic Kidney Disease.

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are non-medical factors, such as socioeconomic status, education, neighborhood/physical environment, social network, employment, and access to health care, which can shape individuals' health and affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes. These social determinants of health and their associated health disparities and inequities are powerful predictors of mortality and morbidity. Chronic kidney disease disproportionally affects populations with relatively poor social determinants of health. Knowledge of social determinants, applying what one knows, and addressing the social, economic, and physical barriers to health can help improve individual and population health, reduce health disparities, and advance health equity.

Evolving Licensure Examination: Assessing Student Confidence and Accuracy With Next Generation NCLEX.

BACKGROUND: The Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) includes new item types. Little is known about nursing students' confidence and accuracy in answering these questions. METHOD: A descriptive comparative study examined prelicensure nursing students' confidence and accuracy in answering NGN-style items versus multiple-choice questions (MCQs) of the same content via a 12-item quiz. RESULTS: Less than one third of students (n = 194; 32.1%) reported feeling confident in answering NGN questions. Students' confidence levels had no relationship on scores with NGN items. When comparing NGN-style items to MCQs, students' (n = 221) scores on NGN-style items were lower with bowtie or a select-all-that-apply questions but higher with highlight table or matrix multiple-choice questions. CONCLUSION: Students' lack of confidence with certain item types suggests faculty should incorporate these item types into classroom activities or course assignments. NGN test-taking strategies also should be incorporated and frequently reinforced throughout the curriculum. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(4):252-255.].

Demographics of the older adult and chronic kidney disease: a literature review.

Older adults (65 years of age and older) comprised 4.1% of the population in 1900 (3.1 million), rose to 13.0% in 2010 (40.3 million), and are projected to reach 16.1% in 2020 (54.8 million). With each decade, there has been a steady increase, including older adults, in the population with chronic kidney disease. This article provides a review of the literature related to the demographics of the older adult population and older adults with chronic kidney disease. It also explores life expectancy, health promotion, and the economic impact of chronic kidney disease and its co-morbidities.

The emotional impact of malpractice.

Nurses rarely think they will be named as defendants in malpractice suits, and when they are named, they almost never envision the emotional impact that will occur regardless of the outcome of the suit. This article explores the lived experience of a nurse named as a defendant in a malpractice lawsuit and the use of strategies for emotional and professional survival.

Legal nurse consultant: a role for nephrology nurses.

Historically, nephrology nurses have assumed various roles in the workplace, including staff nurse, educator, advanced practice nurse, and transplant coordinator. However, there is an emerging role that may be new and different to some nephrology nurses: the legal nurse consultant. With an increase in the number of lawsuits, it is imperative to have experienced and knowledgeable nephrology nurses working with attorneys on cases that involve our unique specialty. This article will define legal nurse consulting, differentiate the various types of consultants, and explain the roles and responsibilities of the legal nurse consultant.

Understanding malpractice: a guide for nephrology nurses.

Malpractice and disciplinary actions against nurses, physicians, and other healthcare providers demonstrate a gradual escalation in the number of cases involving both non-specialized registered nurses and advanced practice nurses. In advocating for the nephrology nursing community, nurses must understand the process and impact of malpractice. This education begins with a familiarization of legal terms, demystifying the steps of litigation, and exploring the emotional aftermath of a lawsuit.

Generational (age) differences in nursing students' preferences for teaching methods.

A generational age transformation is occurring in nursing classrooms across the United States. Nurse educators need to prepare for the different values and expectations of students from Generation X and the newly emerging Generation Y in the educational environment. This quantitative, descriptive research begins to examine the preferences and expectations of these generations regarding teaching methods.

Recruitment, retention and matriculation of ethnic minority nursing students: a University of Mississippi School of Nursing approach.

According to Bednash (2000), the future of health care pivots on an adequate supply of appropriately educated and skilled professional registered nurses. Recognizing the long history of and the struggles by African-American (AA) nurses for education and equality in the nursing profession, it is essential that more African-American students be recruited, retained, and matriculated into the profession of nursing. African-American nurses have always contributed to the care of the poor and the sick and played a decisive role in the improvement of the health of their communities. The Bureau of Health Professions Division of nursing (March 2000) reported that 86.6 percent of the registered nurse population were white while 12.3 percent represented racial and ethnic minority groups. Given the current racial/ethnic background of the registered nurse population in the United States, there is an obvious disparity in the representation of minorities in the nursing profession, in spite of the increasing number of minorities represented in the general population. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to document strategies that are used to actively recruit, retain, and graduate ethnic minority students from the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) School of Nursing (SON).