Considerations and Recommendations for Travel Nursing in Obstetrics and Well Neonatal Care.

The nursing shortage and the need to maintain appropriate staffing ratios have made contract nursing a growing health care business. Contract, or travel, nurses are often employed to meet staffing ratios, which are developed to promote positive patient outcomes. Health care facilities provide care at various levels of acuity, and nurses must be appropriately trained to deliver safe, competent care in the assigned facility.

Hospice and Palliative Care for Undergraduate Nursing Education: Results from a Delphi Study.

There is an urgent need to strengthen the nursing workforce through hospice and palliative care education to support patients living with serious illness. The aim of this study was to identify skills/topics in hospice and palliative care for undergraduate nursing education. We conducted a two-round online Delphi Survey of hospice and palliative care leaders and clinicians in New York State between June and August 2022.

An interprofessional clinical experience to address social determinants of health.

The importance of effective interprofessional communication and collaboration as a strategy to improve patient outcomes has been documented in the literature. Efforts to integrate interprofessional education have been difficult to actualize due to myriad factors in academic and clinical settings. The COVID public health emergency presented an unexpected opportunity to address the needs of an underserved community through an interprofessional clinical experience between medical and APRN students.

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations as a Method of Competency Evaluation in a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program.

Background: Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are an effective method of instruction and evaluation. Their use in nurse practitioner (NP) programs as a means of evaluation warrants further exploration.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to test the applicability and feasibility of implementation of OSCEs as a means of formative evaluation in a primary care NP program and to determine student feedback about the experience.

Emergency contraceptive pill users' risk perceptions for sexually transmitted infections and future unintended pregnancy.

Background And Purpose: The availability of emergency contraception pills (ECP) over the counter (OTC) has the potential to reduce the incidence of unintended pregnancy; however, the increased risk for sexually transmitted infection (STI) acquisition, related to unprotected intercourse, has not been adequately addressed. The purpose of this study is to gain insight into risk perceptions for STIs and subsequent unintended pregnancy in women who have purchased ECP OTC.

Methods: Twenty-one women, aged 18-24, attending a private university in an urban setting, who purchased and used ECP OTC participated in 1-h, individual interviews.

Female college students' experiences with and perceptions of over-the-counter emergency contraception in the United States.

Background: Unintended pregnancy continues to be a major public health concern, particularly among women 19-24 years of age. Emergency contraception became available for purchase without a prescription in the United States in 2006; however, its use among women at risk for unintended pregnancy has not been adequately explored. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to gain insight into the perceptions and experiences of college women regarding over-the-counter emergency contraception, since its change in status.

Sexually transmitted infection risk perception among female college students.

Purpose: To describe perceived risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and sexual risk behavior among sexually active female college students.

Data Sources: An online, anonymous survey was used to collect data from 458 sexually active female students between the ages of 18-24 enrolled at a private, suburban university in the mid-Atlantic region.

Conclusion: Most women in this study did not consider themselves at risk for contracting an STI, despite low levels of condom use.

Attaining baccalaureate competencies for nursing care of older adults through curriculum innovation.

This new curriculum promotes up-to-date, evidence-based plans of care for older adults in acute care, long-term care, and community settings. Geriatric-specific content is a curricular thread and strong focus. Students have responded positively to the many opportunities they have to learn about the unique needs of older adults in multiple settings.

Integrating the institute of medicine competencies in a baccalaureate curricular revision: process and strategies.

Serious deficiencies in the quality of patient care and safety, rapid changes in the health care environment, and technological advances have collectively influenced an urgent call for health professions education reform. The Institute of Medicine (2003) has proposed a set of five core competencies that all health care professionals should possess and has recommended that these be used as an overarching vision for all health care professional education in the 21st century. These competencies have been incorporated into the newly revised American Association of Colleges of Nursing's Essentials of Baccalaureate Education document (2008).

Adjunct faculty development: reported needs and innovative solutions.

One strategy for solving the nursing shortage is to increase the enrollment in undergraduate programs in schools of nursing. However, the shortage of full time faculty may prohibit larger enrollments. Employing adjunct faculty is one way to meet the teaching demands of increasing enrollment.

Baccalaureate nursing graduates' perceptions of their clinical instructional experiences and preparation for practice.

Clinical competence is essential to fulfill the role of a registered professional nurse. In light of the changing health care environment, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the Institute of Medicine have recommended that health care professionals be proficient in specific areas. To meet the needs of today's graduates, nursing education must reexamine the academic and clinical preparation of nurses.

Curriculum reform in baccalaureate nursing education: review of the literature.

The debate surrounding the need for reform in nursing education has been heard for well over a decade. Recently, deficiencies in the quality of patient care, as well as patient safety issues, have led to calls for change in health professions education by nursing organizations and the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The rationale and scope of any proposed curricular revision or changes in teaching practices must be firmly grounded in a comprehensive review of the literature and based on current research findings.

Female college students' knowledge, perceptions, and use of emergency contraception.

Objective: To examine female college students' knowledge, perceptions, and use of emergency contraception since its availability over-the-counter.

Design: Exploratory, descriptive survey design.

Participants/setting: A convenience sample of female college students between the ages of 18 and 24 in a private suburban university in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Preceptor perceptions of new graduate nurse readiness for practice.

Preparing nursing graduates for entry into practice is a priority for academic and healthcare institutions. To effectively prepare competent entry-level practitioners, it is important to understand clinical agency expectations. Most clinical agencies utilize some form of a precepted orientation experience for new graduate nurses.

Podcasting: implementation and evaluation in an undergraduate nursing program.

Podcasting, a recently introduced technology, is being used increasingly in higher education. The authors provide an overview of the potential uses and techniques for implementing podcasting in nursing education. Their experiences with implementing podcasting in their nursing courses and the results of a survey on student feedback related to podcasting are presented.