Physician understanding and application of surrogate decision-making laws in clinical practice.

Background: Although state surrogate laws are the most common way surrogate decision makers are identified, no studies have been conducted to determine physician understanding of these laws or how these laws are utilized during clinical practice. The purpose of this study is to better understand how surrogate decision-making laws function in practice.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 412 physicians working in Indiana hospitals was conducted between November 2014 and January 2015 to determine physicians' knowledge of Indiana's surrogate decision-making law and physicians' approaches to hypothetical cases using the law in clinical practice.

Student evaluation of a standardized comprehensive testing program.

Computer-based, standardized, comprehensive testing is becoming a popular assessment tool in nursing education.This study sought to determine student response and satisfaction regarding such testing at a large state nursing school. Surveys that reviewed the entire testing process were provided to all students taking the computerized testing.

Clinical site selection by students through use of an internet database.

Use of the Internet in nursing education has greatly expanded during the past decade and will continue to be a force in the future. The authors describe the development and maintenance of an Internet Web site created to assist in the placement of individual students on particular clinical sites for their Capstone Practicum course in a baccalaureate school of nursing. Issues related to development, maintenance, and use of the program are included.

Developing and using online courses to prepare nurses for employment in critical care.

Using online courses is one way to simplify orientation programs and leverage educator resources. Three critical care courses were created using a distributed authoring model with geographically diverse clinical experts. A companion online orientation course prepares preceptors to assist with clinical application.

What rewards do clinical preceptors in nursing think are important?

This article explores the use of preceptors for a capstone course in a baccalaureate curriculum. Nursing faculty, nursing managers, and staff educators from local hospitals developed a survey to determine the range of items that would serve as recognition or rewards for staff working in a preceptor role. The challenge was to identify rewards that are meaningful to the preceptors and financially feasible for the organization and the School of Nursing.