Bringing Caring Back Into the Curriculum Through Innovative iCare Feature.

Educational efforts and innovative teaching strategies promoting the concept of caring are essential both before and after licensure. Redesigning nursing education to meet the demands of the changing health care landscape while incorporating basic principles such as "caring" into the nursing curriculum can be challenging. Using an active learning strategy, the iCare feature provides students with short, affective "how to" examples relevant to specific chapter concepts.

Use of NCLEX preparation strategies in a hospital orientation program for graduate nurses.

This article describes outcomes from the first year of a hospital orientation program for graduate nurses that was expanded to systematize and enrich preparation of graduate nurses for success on the NCLEX-RN licensure examination. The study protocol provided the Assessment Technologies Institute predictor examination to assess risk for licensure examination failure, review materials, and a meeting with an education specialist to identify and prioritize study needs. Those at highest risk for failure were also provided an in-depth written study plan and ongoing follow-up and support until the licensure examination was taken.

Assumptions and realities of the NCLEX-RN.

Every three years the National Council of State Boards of Nursing conducts a practice analysis to verify the activities that are tested on the licensure exam (NCLEX-RN). Faculty can benefit from information in the practice analysis to ensure that courses and experiences adequately prepare graduates for the NCLEX-RN. This summary of the practice analysis challenges common assumptions and provides recommendations for faculty.