The Progression of Inclusive Language that Enhances Belonging.

Inclusive language has become a theoretical approach in attempts to ensure that language is not only clear but void of cultural nuances. Depending on the source or the discipline, the definition may vary, but the essence is similar. Inclusive language demonstrates a sense of respect and value for all people while simultaneously acknowledging the diverse culture in which we abide.

Improving Practice in a Head and Neck Oncology Clinic Using the PRO-CTCAE Tool.

Background: Patients with head and neck cancer undergoing treatment report many side effects. Using patient-reported outcomes can assist with care management.

Objectives: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement the patient-reported outcome version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) measurement system, reduce patient hydration visits, and measure provider satisfaction with the PRO-CTCAE survey.

Umbilical Line Securement Bundle to Reduce Line Loss in the Neonate.

Background: Umbilical line migration not only increases the risks of complications but also results in malposition and, ultimately, loss of the umbilical line.

Purpose: To evaluate the use of an umbilical line securement bundle to reduce unintended line discontinuation after line adjustment in the neonate at a single 40-bed Level IV neonatal intensive care unit.

Methods: A pre-post design of 75 neonates, preimplementation (n = 50) and postimplementation (n = 25), was analyzed using data collection from the electronic health record.

Improving Weight Bias Awareness Among Providers in the Sexual and Reproductive Health care Setting.

Introduction: Provider bias against patients of higher weights can contribute to poor health outcomes and decreased quality of care and patient experience. Addressing weight stigma in sexual and reproductive health settings is important, as these encounters can often be patients' only health care touchpoint. Health care providers must be educated about the harms of weight stigma, ways to recognize and confront their biases, and how to advocate for patients of all sizes.

Advancing Health Equity Through Artificial Intelligence: An Educational Framework for Preparing Nurses in Clinical Practice and Research.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into health care offers the potential to enhance patient care, improve diagnostic precision, and broaden access to health-care services. Nurses, positioned at the forefront of patient care, play a pivotal role in utilizing AI to foster a more efficient and equitable health-care system. However, to fulfil this role, nurses will require education that prepares them with the necessary skills and knowledge for the effective and ethical application of AI.

Overcoming Marginalization by Creating a Sense of Belonging.

Marginalization encompasses structural, interpersonal, and intergroup dynamics that perpetuate inequality and exclusion. This manuscript advocates that the solution to marginalization lies in fostering a sense of belonging. Belonging is a fundamental human need, critical for mental well-being, academic success, and personal growth.

Color Does Matter: Nursing Assessment of Varying Skin Tones/Pigmentation.

Background: The observation of color is an integral part of the nursing assessment. However, the current understanding of individual skin qualities and pigmentation has not yet been integrated thoroughly into foundational assessment courses, clinical education, simulation, and textbooks.

Evidence Acquisition: Literature is scarce regarding racial groups, skin color, and physical assessment for patients across the lifespan, but even more so for the neonatal population.

Empowered Approaches to Critical/Challenging Encounters: Promoting PEACE in a School of Nursing.

The Promoting Empowered Approaches for Critical/Challenging Encounters (PEACE) program, developed at Duke University School of Nursing, is designed to navigate communication when there has been an exchange between community members, either with actions, words, or behaviors, that does not align with the school's core values. The goal of this program is to provide resources that promote conflict resolution through conversation, as well as managing conflict at the organizational level.

Implicit Racial Bias Attitudes and Mitigation in Neonatal Nurse Practitioners: A Quality Improvement Project.

Purpose: to assess the impact of education using the implicit bias recognition and management (IBRM) teaching approach.

Design: longitudinal quasi-experimental design. Surveys at baseline, immediate postimplementation, and 4-week postimplementation using the modified version of the Attitudes Toward Implicit Bias Instrument (ATIBI).

Increasing Diversity in the Advanced Practice Nursing Workforce Through Partnerships With Historically Black Colleges.

Background: Health inequities have enhanced efforts to diversify the nursing workforce. Despite recruitment strategies, the percentage of Black nurse practitioners (NPs) lags in comparison with the populous.

Problem: Barriers to improving workforce diversity can be traced to academic nursing's lack of diversity in faculty, under-resourced education opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds, and historical hurdles.

Creating a racial justice plan in a school of nursing: A journey of discovery and learning.

While there are many individuals and instances which illustrate the injustices experienced by people of color at the hands of police in the United States, the video which documented the murder of George Floyd by a law enforcement officer graphically illustrated our long and sad history of racial injustices. This and other events in 2020 forced our society to look at racism and systemic injustices that are embedded so deeply within our policies and practices that differentially advantage or disadvantage certain faculty, students and staff within higher education. This paper will describe the infrastructure and processes used to examine and address individual and systemic racism and white supremacy-based practices and policies at a School of Nursing.

Launching the Reduction of Peripartum Racial/Ethnic Disparities Bundle: A Quality Improvement Project.

Introduction: Health care organizations have a responsibility to reduce racial and ethnic perinatal health disparities. In the United States, Black women experience the worst perinatal outcomes. The process for successfully addressing this problem in clinical practice remains unclear.

Revolutionizing the Nursing Curriculum.

There have long been challenges associated with integrating knowledge about diversity, disparities, and determinants into nursing curricula. Villarruel, Bigelow, and Alvarez describe these concepts as the three Ds about issues of disconnects and discrimination. These disconnects are evidenced by years of communicating the desire to reduce or eliminate disparities, without improvement in the education of future nurse professionals to prepare them to help achieve this goal.

Entrenched White Supremacy in Nursing Education Administrative Structures.

The National League for Nursing, the American Nurses Association, and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing each have published directives or position statements that support initiatives that would diversify faculty in nursing education; some initiatives very specifically address increasing diversity within nursing faculty leadership ranks. Despite support for these initiatives, there is a lack of faculty members of color in higher-level leadership positions in nursing academia. This article explores two questions that unfold contributing factors.

40% Glucose Gel for the Treatment of Asymptomatic Neonatal Hypoglycemia.

Background: The Mother Infant Care Center at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital (FBCH) recently revised its asymptotic neonatal hypoglycemia (ANH) protocol and adopted 40% glucose gel into its treatment pathway. The previous protocol used infant formula as the primary intervention.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of 40% glucose gel on exclusive human milk diet rates, time on protocol, level II Special Care Nursery (SCN) admission rates, length of stay (LOS), and total hospital costs for newborns with ANH at FBCH.

Neonatal Thermoregulation: A Golden Hour Protocol Update.

Background: Premature infants are poor regulators of body temperature and are subjected to environmental factors that can lead to rapid heat loss, leaving them vulnerable to an increased risk of morbidity and mortality from hypothermia. Thermoregulation protocols have proven to increase survival in preterm infants.

Purpose: To evaluate a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle on a previously implemented Golden Hour protocol at a military medical care facility for infants born at less than 32 weeks of gestation and weighing less than1500 g.

Looking backwards to move forward: Using a social mission lens in nursing education.

The ideals of health equity continue to be constrained by the conditions in which people live, learn and work. But to what extents are nursing schools strengthening the preparedness of nurses to extend their reach and help individuals and communities achieve their highest level of health? A culture of health and health equity is built on a framework of social mission. The authors believe that social mission is not new to the nursing profession.

NICU Fathers: Improving the Quality of Paternal Support in the NICU.

Background: Parental support in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is critical; yet, the nursing staff may struggle to provide optimal support to NICU fathers. Generally, fathers are not viewed as equally competent caregivers when compared with mothers, and fathers often impart these beliefs on themselves. Increasing the nursing staff's knowledge and understanding of paternal support can change attitudes and foster positive behavior changes, enhancing the perception of support received by NICU fathers.

Creating a culture that values diversity and inclusion: An action-oriented framework for schools of nursing.

An organizational culture that values diversity and inclusion is essential for the achievement of high-quality nursing education, yet little literature exists to guide schools of nursing (SON) in accomplishing this goal. All SONs, regardless of size, need a framework that provides specific steps for developing and nurturing a culture that values diversity and inclusion. Using our SON as an exemplar, the goal of this article was to (a) review the barriers we faced when building a diverse and inclusive environment, (b) share our school's strategic plan designed to promote diversity and inclusion, and (c) highlight successful strategies as part of the development and ongoing implementation of our school's strategic plan.

Rewriting the Microaggression Narrative: Enhancing Nursing Students' Ability to Respond.

Background: It is recognized that expanding the number of racial/ethnic minority nurses is key to addressing the challenges of health disparities. However, some schools of nursing have not typically experienced diversity.

Problem: Diverse nursing students experience increasingly high rates of exposure to microaggression, discrimination, and bias in the clinical and classroom settings.

Golden Hour Protocol for Preterm Infants: A Quality Improvement Project.

Background: Preterm infants are a vulnerable patient population, especially during the first hours of life. Hypothermia, hypoglycemia, and early-onset sepsis are common problems related to prematurity. Implementation of a Golden Hour protocol has been shown to improve outcomes for preterm infants.

Substance Use Education in Schools of Nursing: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

The authors systematically reviewed the nursing literature for articles describing substance use disorders (SUDs) education in schools of nursing. Five literature databases were searched, producing 3107 retrieved articles, of which 12 were included in this review. A Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument score was calculated for each study.