Breastfeeding knowledge of university nursing students.

Objective: To assess breastfeeding knowledge among senior nursing students and identify the types of breastfeeding knowledge the students have. We also investigated the relationship between the different types of breastfeeding knowledge.

Study Design And Methods: An exploratory descriptive design used a convenience sample of 115 students from two schools of nursing in two Midwestern universities.

Assessment and early diagnosis of dysphagia.

Dysphagia is defined as difficulty in swallowing food (semi-solid or solid), liquid, or both. Neurological, muscular, anatomical, and/or psychological factors may predispose a person to difficulty in swallowing. Difficulty in swallowing or dysphagia can lead to serious complications including aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition, and death if not diagnosed early.

A daylong clinical laboratory: from gaming to high-fidelity simulators.

Meeting required objectives in the clinical setting can be difficult because of low exposure to critical events. This has been further compounded by an increase in the number of enrolling students without a reciprocal rise in the number of field-related clinical sites. As simulation gains popularity in nursing, exploration of its use and benefits to teach nursing-related concepts is desirable.

Validation of critical thinking skills in online responses.

Although nursing accreditation bodies have recognized critical thinking as a significant outcome for graduates at the baccalaureate and master's levels, no consensus exists on its definition and measurements. In addition, schools of nursing that are completely online do not agree on how to evaluate critical thinking in online responses. This study explains the development of a 10-item tool that uses a Likert scale to evaluate critical thinking skills in students' online responses in three master's-level courses in a nursing school in the midwestern United States.