The Effects of Clinical Exposure on Examination Performance of Nursing Students.

Background: Timing of didactic theoretical content with clinical experiences can be challenging due to limited clinical placements and insufficient experienced faculty. However, appropriate and timely clinical experiences for nursing students are essential for developing knowledge and skills. This project evaluated the effects of the timing of clinical experiences on examination performance.

The indelible role of the interpretive researcher's fore-structure in traversing the hermeneutic circle.

Phenomenological researchers are obliged to grasp the epistemological and ontological differences between the Husserlian and Heideggerian branches of phenomenology to avoid misappropriating phenomenological terms or mischaracterizing study design. To that end, we spell out the key differences between both phenomenological traditions as background for describing the indelible role that the researcher's background assumptions, or fore-structure, play in interpretive studies. We draw on our four studies to illustrate how we traversed the hermeneutic circle to disclose, challenge, and refine the personal, cultural, clinical, and scientific assumptions hidden in our fore-structures.

Anxiety and Answer-Changing Behavior in Nursing Students.

Background: Anxiety in college students, including nursing students, has increased significantly and has been implicated as a cause of lower academic achievement and answer-changing behavior. This study investigated the relationship between student anxiety and answer-changing behaviors.

Method: One hundred thirty-one nursing students from a large midwestern baccalaureate nursing program were enrolled in a quasiexperimental prospective research study.

Assessment of Answer-Changing Behavior of Nursing Students and Faculty Recommendations.

Background: Existing literature identifies a general positive benefit to students' examination scores when students change their answer on examinations. Current shifts toward computerized examinations and in test anxiety warrant a literature update on test-taking behaviors.

Purpose: This study assessed answer changing on multiple-choice examinations and investigated faculty recommendations related to answer changing.

Factors Affecting Uncertainty in Women with High-Risk Pregnancies.

Objective: To evaluate the state of the science on uncertainty in high-risk pregnancy and identify factors that influence uncertainty in women diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy.

Data Sources: Primary research articles from CINAHL, Ovid, MEDLINE, Scopus, and PsycINFO written in English, without date restrictions.

Study Selection: Nineteen articles were identified, including 14 qualitative studies and 5 quantitative studies.

Crossing the "line": College students and academic integrity in nursing.

Background: Researchers have shown a relationship between academic integrity in the classroom and acts of dishonest behavior in the clinical setting which is concerning for nursing faculty and the health care field.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the attitudes toward academic integrity and the frequency of behaviors related to academic dishonesty in nursing and non-nursing students at a religiously affiliated institution.

Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used to collect data regarding the knowledge, behavior, perceptions, and attitudes related to academic integrity via an online survey.

Nursing Examinations: Promotion of Integrity and Prevention of Cheating.

Academic integrity is a concern in higher education. The authors describe the findings of a nursing faculty task force developed with the goal of reducing incidents of cheating on classroom examinations in a school of nursing. Following a review of the literature, a modified Delphi technique was used to prioritize the suggested strategies into recommendations for faculty to follow.

Psychosocial Outcomes of Participating in Pediatric Diabetes Camp.

Objective: There are approximately 18,400 youth who are newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in the United States each year. Because of the potential for hypoglycemia, frequent need to monitor blood glucose, and other medical care associated with T1DM, children may not be able to participate in the typical summer camp experience. The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the impact of camp on the child's attitude toward their illness, (2) to evaluate the child's confidence in self-care management of their diabetes, (3) to assess the child's perception and satisfaction with the camp experience, and (4) to evaluate the perception of camp experience by the parents.