Implementation and testing of the OPT Model as a teaching strategy in an undergraduate psychiatric nursing course.

Teaching undergraduate nursing students to think critically and reason clinically is a challenge for nurse educators, yet these skills are essential for the professional nurse. The Outcome-Present State-Test (OPT) Model of Reflective Clinical Reasoning (Pesut & Herman, 1999) provides a framework for teaching clinical reasoning skills to nursing students. This article describes how the model can be used in clinical teaching of undergraduate students in psychiatric and mental health settings and presents some findings from an evaluation of the model.

Evaluation of the Outcome-Present State Test Model as a way to teach clinical reasoning.

The Outcome-Present State Test (OPT) Model of Clinical Reasoning is a nursing process model designed to help students develop clinical reasoning skills. Although many nurse educators are using the OPT model as a teaching strategy, few are formally evaluating its use as a method. We used the OPT model as a teaching tool in an undergraduate psychiatric and mental health clinical nursing course and evaluated how quickly students became adept at using it.

Outcomes of an intervention to reduce uncertainty among African American women with diabetes.

Poor adjustment to diabetes in older African American women may result from uncertainty, stemming from a lack of information about self-care activities, a complexity of self-care activities, comorbid conditions, and a lack of resources. This study evaluated a telephone intervention to reduce uncertainty (through problem-solving strategies, information, cognitive reframing, and improved patient-provider communication)--namely, to measure its effects on diabetes self-care and psychosocial adjustment. Sixty-eight older African American women were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group.

Relationship skills building with older adults.

Relationship skills building is the focus of an innovative clinical experience with older adults for junior level nursing students in a psychiatric mental health course. The clinical experience is designed to help students apply, integrate, and validate previously learned therapeutic communication skills and experience discovery of self and others. This article describes a clinical experience that introduces students to older adults, who will make up the majority of health care recipients in the students' future careers, and helps students explore the nurse's role in mental health care for older adults.

Interdisciplinary collaboration: the need to revisit.

Given the complexity of the health care system and the prevalence of acute and chronic mental illnesses, multi-system interventions from an interdisciplinary team of health care providers are necessary to address the needs of individuals in psychiatric and mental health treatment venues. Despite claims that interdisciplinary practice is the norm, in reality it is difficult to accomplish (Martin-Rodriguez, Beaulieu, D'Amour, & Ferrada-Videla, 2005). Students must be taught the principles and elements of this way of providing care in order to succeed.

Visual tracking strategies to move scholarship forward.

Moving from the doctoral student role to the faculty member role is a challenging transition. Strategies that motivate and help keep scholarship moving forward can be invaluable in helping make the transition successful. The authors discuss 2 visual tracking strategies to promote the forward movement of scholarship.

Assessing older persons' readiness to move to independent congregate living.

Older adults are increasingly choosing to relocate to congregate-type independent living communities. Relocation to an independent living community is a late-life transition that is considered a stressful life event. Although relocation to an independent living community offers potential benefits, many older persons have difficulties during this transition, including poor adjustment, loneliness, and depression.

Development and psychometric testing of the relocation self-efficacy scale.

Background: With greater numbers of older adults relocating to independent living communities (ILCs), there is an increasing need to determine whether factors such as self-efficacy can facilitate relocation adjustment. However, no relocation self-efficacy instrument is available.

Objectives: To develop and test an instrument measuring older adults' self-efficacy to relocate to an ILC.

The relationships among health functioning indicators and depression in older adults with diabetes.

A common health problem among the elderly with diabetes is the onset of depressive symptoms that can adversely affect self-care and control of diabetes. The study examined the relationships of gender, race, comorbid conditions, symptom distress, and functional status with depression in a sample (N = 55) of older adults with diabetes. Most participants were female and black; mean age was 73 years.

Women's well-being after relocation to independent living communities.

Late-life relocation to independent living communities is increasing, especially among women. This study described the impact of relocation on the health and well-being of 31 older women who moved from a private residence to an independent living community. Schumacher and Meleis' (1994) nursing model of transition guided the study.

Integration of gerontology content in nongeriatric undergraduate nursing courses.

During the last several years, a school of nursing in the southeastern United States has made concerted efforts to integrate geriatric content into every undergraduate course except obstetrics. Even the pediatric nursing course has infused content about grandparents, both as care providers for children and as extended family members. Faculty expertise and passion for teaching geriatric best practices stimulated innovative and creative student experiences without overwhelming curricular revision.

Clinical supervision of nurses working with patients with borderline personality disorder.

Some nurses describe individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) as among the most challenging and difficult patients encountered in their practice. As a result, the argument has been made for nursing staff to receive clinical supervision to enhance therapeutic effectiveness and treatment outcomes for individuals with BPD. Formal clinical supervision can focus on the stresses of working in a demanding environment within the work place and enable nurses to accept accountability for their own practice and development (Pesut & Herman, 1999).

Importance of physical activity, nutrition, and social support for optimal aging.

Purpose/objectives: The purpose of this article was to provide the clinical nurse specialist (CNS), practicing in settings across the healthcare delivery continuum, with information about physical activity, nutrition, and social support that is essential for optimal aging.

Background/rationale: Lifestyle choices older adults make concerning physical activity, diet, and social support greatly impact how well they age, their quality of life, and their well-being.

Description Of The Project: This article focuses on 3 key factors essential to successful aging: physical activity, nutrition, and social support.

Media as a teaching tool in psychiatric nursing education.

The authors describe a course in psychiatric nursing where media in the form of literature, film, and music were used as teaching strategies. The purpose was to enhance students' sensitivity to the personal experiences of psychiatric patients while also broadening students' understanding of mental illness and the institutions developed to treat it. Students' critical reading, thinking, and analytic skills were cultivated, along with introspection and self-reflection.

Older women's response to residential relocation: description of transition styles.

Older women relocating to institutional facilities are at risk for negative outcomes such as poorer health, decreased self-esteem, increased sense of social isolation and loneliness, loss of social support, and depression. However, little is known about relocation to congregate living facilities (CLF), the relocation transition process, or factors that contribute to outcomes. The perspectives of 31 women on their relocation experiences to CLF were elicited using a naturalistic approach.