Publications by authors named "Cynthia A Blum"

The purpose of this pilot interventional study was to examine relationships between adjunctive podcast viewing and nursing students' critical thinking (CT) abilities. Participants were last semester/preceptorship nursing students. The intervention group was given unrestricted access to a CT podcast.

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After their initial training, preceptors report a lack of ongoing support specifically in dealing with preceptor-identified areas of unsafe practice: the inability to demonstrate knowledge and skills, attitude problems, unprofessional behavior, and poor communication skills. The purpose of this staff development study was to test the use of educational technology in the form of podcasts, demonstrating how a preceptor could constructively approach difficult situations using caring behaviors to engage novice nurses and to examine the relationship between preceptor support and role commitment. A correlational research design was used to examine the effects of the podcasts, continuously available through common web sites.

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Self-care is imperative to personal health, sustenance to continue to care for others, and professional growth. This article briefly reviews stressors common to students and nurses and the importance of practicing self-care to combat stress and promote health in practice. Florida Atlantic University offers a course for all levels of undergraduate nursing students called Caring for Self.

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This study determined the effect of a computer-based educational program in preparing nurses to complete an assessment for veno-thrombotic risk on all patients admitted to a community hospital. The educational program included information on appropriate prophylaxis for patients at risk for veno-thrombolytic events (VTEs). Nurses were encouraged to work with physicians and pharmacists to obtain the appropriate VTE prophylaxis for all patients based on risk.

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While preceptors are a vital link in student nurse practice education, ongoing support beyond an initial orientation is often lacking. It has been reported in the literature that preceptors experience stress related to difficulties in handling preceptee situations. They are frustrated by negative experiences centered on preceptor-identified hallmarks of unsafe practice including the inability to demonstrate knowledge and skills; attitude problems; unprofessional behavior; and poor communication skills.

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Advances in nursing simulation technology raise the question "Are educators feeling pressure to accommodate the learning styles of the techno-age studentry?" This integrative review evaluates the current quantitative evidence from preintervention-postintervention and control-experimental research studies related to the use of simulation in prelicensure nursing education directed at enhancing safety in nursing practice. A thorough review of the available literature using truncated search terms in several databases yielded 258 scholarly, peer-reviewed articles, of which 18 articles directly addressed the posed research question related to simulation and safety. Replete with student reports of simulation as an enjoyable learning activity, the literature does not yet support simulation over other approaches to the teaching-learning of safety competencies in nursing.

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School nurses may be the first health professionals to assess the onset of facial paralysis/muscle weakness in school-age children. The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the Gordon Facial Muscle Weakness Assessment Tool (GFMWT) developed by Gordon. Data were collected in two phases.

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Development of safe nursing practice in entry-level nursing students requires special consideration from nurse educators. The paucity of data supporting high-fidelity patient simulation effectiveness in this population informed the development of a quasi-experimental, quantitative study of the relationship between simulation and student self-confidence and clinical competence. Moreover, the study reports a novel approach to measuring self-confidence and competence of entry-level nursing students.

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Nurse educators make decisions that affect students in profound ways. This decision-making process may follow an intuitive-humanistic decision-making model. The author most connected with developing the intuitive model and the distinction between theoretical knowledge and experiential knowledge in the discipline of nursing is Patricia Benner (Thompson, 1999).

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Students have an opportunity to understand the full experience of being homeless using simulated community nursing situations with a high-fidelity simulator. The Community Nursing Practice Model provides a context for using this innovative teaching strategy to enable students to respond holistically to the needs of the homeless.

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To reflect contemporary nursing care, the practicing nurse is in an ideal position to shape the clinical experience for student nurses. Although nurse preceptors are frequently used to assist in practice education of nursing students, their contribution to the creation of these programs has not been explored. The author discusses the results of a participatory action research study with the aim of creating a preceptor-guided practice education model for use throughout an undergraduate bachelor of science in nursing curriculum.

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In the immediate hours after a person takes his or her last breath, the nurse has always been present. In the hospital or at home, under hospice care or without warning, the nurse is frequently the last to hold the hand of those transitioning from life to death. The nurse, in assuring the patient and family a peaceful transition, finds her role to include caring for the body with reverence to the religious and cultural concerns that the patient holds sacred.

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