An academic-VA partnership: Student interprofessional teams integrated with VA PACT teams.

Veterans are challenged with multiple unique healthcare issues related to their military service environment. Likewise, health care providers must understand the special concerns associated with military conflict and recognize how the veteran's care can be optimized by interprofessional care delivery. Little is taught didactically or clinically that supports nursing students in addressing the unique issues of the veteran or the student's need to work collaboratively with allied health team members to enhance the veteran's care.

Onboarding new adjunct clinical nursing faculty using a quality and safety education for nurses-based orientation model.

In light of the nursing faculty shortage, many clinical nurses are transitioning to adjunct clinical faculty roles. This transition requires formal orientation programs that are based on an established framework that links academic and practice competencies. The authors propose that linking academic and practice competencies will enhance students' education and promote patient safety.

A nurse-led initiative to improve obstetricians' screening for postpartum depression.

Although up to 20 percent of women experience postpartum depression, screening is not standard practice. In a metropolitan area where only 1 of 30 obstetricians and two primary care clinics reported routine screening for postpartum depression, a nurse-led initiative to implement routine screening using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was carried out. Twenty-two obstetricians (76 percent) agreed to consistently implement screening for 3 months.

Nursing sabbatical in the acute care hospital setting: a cost-benefit analysis.

Practice-based acute care nurses experience a high incidence of burnout and dissatisfaction impacting retention and innovation and ultimately burdening the financial infrastructure of a hospital. Business, industry, and academia have successfully implemented professional sabbaticals to retain and revitalize valuable employees; however, the use is infrequent among acute care hospitals. This article expands upon the synthesis of evidence supporting nursing sabbaticals and suggests this option as a fiscally sound approach for nurses practicing in the acute care hospital setting.

Nursing sabbatical in the acute care setting: what is the evidence?

Purpose: To review and examine the literature supporting a professional sabbatical, a potentially viable and innovative change strategy that could renew, revitalize, and retain nursing staff practicing in the acute care setting.

Method: A literature search was completed using multiple search engines to procure articles that could answer the question: What is the evidence related to professional sabbaticals in nursing?

Findings: The search yielded 19 articles: one historical document, eight scholarly business articles, and 10 nursing publications. The literature review revealed most sources described sabbaticals using anecdotal data and 14 of the 19 articles were labeled as expert opinion or consensus.

Showcasing differences between quality improvement, evidence-based practice, and research.

The literature confirms that much confusion exists regarding the terms quality improvement (QI), evidence-based practice (EBP), and research. A multifaceted approach was used to provide clarity regarding these three equally important concepts. First, the authors present a synthesis of the literature that discusses differences between QI, EBP, and research.