AACN competency-based essentials revisit: Evidence-based validation of entrustable professional activities in Asia.

Aim: This study intended to validate the competency-based approach through an entrustable professional activity in the nursing undergraduate education arena in Taiwan.

Background: Entrustable professional activity is a recommended strategy to enhance nursing competencies and skills. It has been widely applied to nursing education in Western countries, especially graduate programs.

Effects of an unfolding case study on clinical reasoning, self-directed learning, and team collaboration of undergraduate nursing students: A mixed methods study.

Background: Clinical reasoning is an essential nursing competency that students must develop to provide safe patient care. Developing and utilizing unfolding case studies, which present constantly changing patient conditions to improve students' clinical reasoning and to foster communication and self-reflection, can help to achieve that imperative.

Objectives: To develop an unfolding case study and to test its effectiveness in improving clinical reasoning, team collaboration, and self-directed learning.

Effectiveness of differentiated instruction on learning outcomes and learning satisfaction in the evidence-based nursing course: Empirical research quantitative.

Aim: Diversified students in higher education and the complexity and difficulty of the evidence-based nursing course perceived by students challenge nursing educators. Differentiated instruction can provide students with various opportunities to learn and meet the learning needs of students with different academic abilities and strengths, which may be a solution. This study aimed to apply differentiated instruction to design the undergraduate evidence-based nursing course and evaluate the effects of differentiated instruction on students' learning outcomes and learning satisfaction.

Development of a Scale of Nurses' Competency in Anticipatory Grief Counseling for Caregivers of Patients with Terminal Cancer.

Anticipatory grief leads to a highly stressful and conflicting experience among caregivers of patients with terminal cancer. Nurses lack the competency to assess and manage the caregivers’ psychological problems, which in turn affects the caregivers’ quality of life. A scale assessing the anticipatory grief counseling competency among nurses is unavailable.

Are we of one mind about core competencies of nurse preceptors? A nominal group technique study.

Aim: This paper explored the differences in perspectives on the core competencies of nurse preceptors among postgraduate-year nurses, clinical nursing preceptors and head nurses.

Design: Cross-sectional design with nominal group technique (NGT).

Method: The sample consisted of 32 postgraduate-year nurses, 42 preceptors and 27 head nurses.

[Application and Recommendation of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) in Nursing Education].

The competency-based approach has been advocated in medical education in recent years to strengthen the professional competencies and skills of medical professionals entering their residency. Entrustable professional activity (EPA), which consists of clinical tasks, core competencies, and milestones, is a recommended competency-based training program focused on the learning process of trainees. EPA emphasizes that trainers evaluate their trainees' learning repeatedly and provide feedback so that these trainees have an opportunity to correct their behaviors.

Factors affecting nurses' willingness and competency to provide anticipatory grief counseling for family caregivers of patients with terminal cancer.

Aim And Objectives: To explore factors associated with nurses' willingness and competency to provide anticipatory grief counselling for the family caregivers of patients with terminal cancer.

Background: Family caregivers often experience anticipatory grief due to the imminence of a loved one's death. However, few studies have identified factors associated with nurses' willingness or competency to provide anticipatory grief counselling for the family caregivers of patients with terminal cancer.

Attitudes and Intentions of Adult Patients With Cancer Toward Advance Directive: Direct and Indirect Relationships.

Background: Advance directives (ADs) are used to respect the will of patients experiencing a terminal illness regarding preferred medical treatment and to protect their rights. However, the AD completion rate is low.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the factors influencing patient intentions toward AD.

Exploring core competencies of clinical nurse preceptors: A nominal group technique study.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore core competencies of nurse preceptors based on the perspectives of postgraduate-year nurses, nurse preceptors and head nurses.

Background: Perspectives of core competencies of nurse preceptors are varied among postgraduate-year nurses, nurse preceptors and head nurses, which makes it difficult to establish preceptor training programs and develop evaluation instruments.

Design: A nominal group technique study.

Effects of simulation-based learning on nursing students' perceived competence, self-efficacy, and learning satisfaction: A repeat measurement method.

Background: Simulation-Based Learning is beneficial to nursing education. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown a side effect of being overwhelmed by repeated exposures to simulation. Thus, how many times simulation scenarios should be provided to students remains a question for nursing faculty.

Non-randomized preliminary study of an education and elastic-band resistance exercise program on severity of neuropathy, physical function, muscle strength and endurance & quality of life in colorectal cancer patients experiencing oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Purpose: Many colorectal cancer (CRC) patients report having Oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (OXAIPN), compromising their overall quality of life (QoL). Yet, the existing studies on examining the effects of elastic-band resistance exercise yielded inconsistent results and there was a scare study with CRC population employing a longitudinal research design. The purpose of this non-randomized preliminary study was to examine the effects of an educational program providing skills and knowledge about OXAIPN along with home-based lower extremity elastic-band exercise training in a sample (n = 42) of Taiwanese patients with CRC.

Prediction of fall events during admission using eXtreme gradient boosting: a comparative validation study.

As the performance of current fall risk assessment tools is limited, clinicians face significant challenges in identifying patients at risk of falling. This study proposes an automatic fall risk prediction model based on eXtreme gradient boosting (XGB), using a data-driven approach to the standardized medical records. This study analyzed a cohort of 639 participants (297 fall patients and 342 controls) from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi Branch, Taiwan.

Relationships between disaster nursing competence, anticipatory disaster stress and motivation for disaster engagement.

Nurses are the largest group of healthcare providers and are often the first line responders to a disaster event. Nurses' disaster competence, motivation for disaster engagement, and factors that impact their motivation to respond to disaster events need to be understood. The purposes of the study were to determine the predictive relationships between Taiwanese nurses' disaster competence, anticipatory disaster stress, and motivation for disaster engagement.

Performance competence of pregraduate nursing students and hospital nurses: A comparison study.

Aims And Objectives: To compare and contrast the competence in clinical performance between pregraduate nursing students and hospital nurses. The study also explored the most difficult technical skills for the participants to perform.

Background: Assessment, communication and critical thinking are competencies that help in providing safe and appropriate care for patients.

Effects of simulation-based learning on nursing student competences and clinical performance.

The aims of this study were to explore the effects of simulation-based learning (SBL) on nursing student competences and performance in the clinical setting. A comparison group design was used with data obtained from self-administered questionnaires at the onset and end of the semester. Students' practicum grades were also collected to examine their clinical performance.

Incidence, severity, longitudinal trends and predictors of acute and chronic oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy in Taiwanese patients with colorectal cancer.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the longitudinal incidence, severity, pattern of changes or predictors of oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (OXAIPN) in Taiwanese patients with colorectal cancer. A longitudinal repeated measures study design was employed, and 77 participants were recruited from the colorectal and oncology departments of two teaching medical centres in Taiwan. Physical examinations were performed, and self-reports regarding adverse impacts of OXAIPN and quality of life were obtained at five time points throughout 12 cycles of chemotherapy (C/T).

Development of the Computerized Model of Performance-Based Measurement System to Measure Nurses' Clinical Competence.

Critical thinking skills and clinical competence are for providing quality patient care. The purpose of this study is to develop the Computerized Model of Performance-Based Measurement system based on the Clinical Reasoning Model. The system can evaluate and identify learning needs for clinical competency and be used as a learning tool to increase clinical competency by using computers.

Factors influencing nurses' attitudes and intentions toward medication administration error reporting.

Aim: The aims of this study were to explore the factors that influence nurses' attitudes and intentions toward medication administration error (MAE) reporting.

Methods: The theory of planned behavior was used as the framework for this study. A cross-sectional design was used, and data were obtained from self-administered questionnaires.

Nurses' attitude and intention of medication administration error reporting.

Aims And Objectives: The Aims of this study were to explore the effects of nurses' attitudes and intentions regarding medication administration error reporting on actual reporting behaviours.

Background: Underreporting of medication errors is still a common occurrence. Whether attitude and intention towards medication administration error reporting connect to actual reporting behaviours remain unclear.

Caregiver burden, health status, and learned resourcefulness of older caregivers.

As caregivers undertake caregiving responsibilities over a long period of time, the burdens placed on them could lead to undue stress and affect their health. This correlation study examined the current situations and relationships among caregiver burden, health status, and learned resourcefulness (LR) of older caregivers who care for disabled older adults, and predicted the important factors that affect their caregiver burden. In all, 108 older caregivers were recruited from home care services of two hospitals.

Physical conditions and depressive symptoms of Chinese postpartum mothers in the United States and Taiwan.

In this study, we aimed to determine commonalities and differences in physical conditions and depressive symptoms of Chinese postpartum mothers in the United States and Taiwan, and whether their relationship differs by country. Data from 151 Chinese mothers in the United States and 238 Taiwanese mothers were analyzed. A physical health condition checklist and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD) scale were used.

A surveillance system to reduce transmission of pandemic H1N1 (2009) influenza in a 2600-bed medical center.

Background: Concerns have been raised about how the transmission of emerging infectious diseases from patients to healthcare workers (HCWs) and vice versa could be recognized and prevented in a timely manner. An effective strategy to block transmission of pandemic H1N1 (2009) influenza in HCWs is important.

Methodology/principal Findings: An infection control program was implemented to survey and prevent nosocomial outbreaks of H1N1 (2009) influenza at a 2,600-bed, tertiary-care academic hospital.

Managing nursing assistants with a web-based system: an empirical investigation of the mixed-staff strategy.

Under the global shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs), some hospitals have integrated nursing assistants (NAs) into their teams to help to provide maximum quality care for acute patients, while keeping the hospital's staff-related costs down. However, the RNs may have to shoulder an increased burden of assigning and overseeing NAs. A web-based Nursing Assistants Management System (NAMS) was developed and evaluated for a case hospital in Taiwan to compare the processes of assigning and managing NAs before and after the NAMS intervention.