The Lived Experiences of Maternal Health Racism Among African American Women: A Scoping Review.

Objective: The purpose of this scoping review is to consolidate existing scholarly literature on the experiences of racism in maternal health by African American women.

Background: Maternal health disparities among African American women are linked to systemic racism and resulting in alarming rates of adverse maternal disparities.

Methods: Using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) scoping review methodological approach, a literature search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar for empirical studies published between 2013 and 2023.

Addressing the Shortage of Academic Nurse Educators: An Opportunity for Collaboration Between Academic and Healthcare Organization Leaders.

Background: The numbers of nursing school admissions and, thus, future nursing graduates are directly affected by the lack of qualified ANEs.

Methods: A consortium of diverse ANEs was formed to research these questions using the nominal group technique.

Results: Two central themes emerged from the consortium: support and collaboration.

The Clinical Nurse Specialist: Maximizing Return on Investment.

The United States health care system is facing an unprecedented nursing shortage, increasing complexity of care, and fewer experienced nurse mentors. These factors contribute to a cycle of burnout, turnover, decreased quality and safety, and a worsening financial bottom line. Improving these contributing factors depends on our ability to mitigate the structural causes of burnout and turnover.

Advancing Professional Governance to Improve Health Outcomes.

Developing the skills and behaviors needed for nurses to lead in professional governance has long been a priority at the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL). The annual AONL Professional Governance Leadership Conference is an important part of advancing nursing professional governance, convening nurses in all roles to discuss professional governance concepts and leadership practices. AONL has produced publications and podcasts exploring the professional governance foundations, roles, and behaviors, available on its website.

Optimize and Thrive: An Electronic Health Record Optimization Program Case Study.

Although electronic health record optimization programs are common in healthcare organizations, a dearth of published evaluations of these programs exists. Little is known about the ability of optimization programs to handle flooding requests for change and achieve their objectives of cost savings, value, quality of care, and efficiency. This program evaluation reviewed one organization's electronic health record clinical optimization program.

Child life specialist services, practice, and utilization across health care: a scoping review.

Objective: The objective of this review was to map the available evidence regarding the scope of child life specialist services, practice, and utilization.

Introduction: The concept of child life services began in 1922 and emerged as the child life specialist services specialty in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. Child life specialists are members of multidisciplinary health care system teams who prioritize the developmental needs of pediatric patients to support and improve patient and family health care experiences.

A Modified Delphi Consensus Approach to Define Entrustable Professional Activities for Neurocritical Care Advanced Practice Providers.

Objectives: To define consensus entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for neurocritical care (NCC) advanced practice providers (APPs), establish validity evidence for the EPAs, and evaluate factors that inform entrustment expectations of NCC APP supervisors.

Design: A three-round modified Delphi consensus process followed by application of the EQual rubric and assessment of generalizability by clinicians not affiliated with academic medical centers.

Setting: Electronic surveys.

A Visionary Think Tank to Address the Nursing Workforce Crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an existing problem plaguing hospital systems across the United States: a nursing workforce shortage. This article describes how one institution applied the American Organization for Nursing Leadership Nurse Executive Competencies to convene an immersive think tank to reimagine the nursing workforce.

Child life specialist practice and utilization across health care: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: The objective of this review is to map the available evidence regarding the scope of child life specialist practice and utilization.

Introduction: Child life specialists provide developmentally appropriate and emotion-focused supportive interventions that aim to build coping skills, enhance resilience, and mitigate traumatic experiences during health care encounters. Evidence of the care provided by a child life specialist is spread throughout health care literature.

A Stakeholder Evaluation of an RN-to-BSN Academic Progression Program.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate programmatic elements supporting BSN attainment by employed nurses holding associate degrees or diplomas, using a stakeholder involvement approach.

Background: Studies have associated higher percentages of baccalaureate-prepared nurses with improved clinical outcomes. Since 2013, the study organization supported an RN-to-BSN requirement with an academic progression benefit program and achieved an 80% BSN goal by 2021.

Surge Planning and Implementation: A Required Competency for Today's Nurse Leaders.

The ability to respond effectively and efficiently during times of crisis, including a pandemic, has emerged as a competency for nurse leaders. This article describes one institution's experience using the American Organization of Nurse Leaders Competencies for Nurse Executives in operationalizing the concept of surge capacity.

Leveraging Professional Governance During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Dynamic nursing leadership and engagement of nursing at all levels are critical to effective care delivery. During the COVID-19 crisis, many organizations suspended non-COVID-related meetings, including professional governance councils where practice decisions are made. This article highlights how shared or professional governance was leveraged during this global pandemic at a large academic medical center and community hospital effectively sustaining autonomous nursing practice while responding to a rapidly changing environment and impacting quality patient care.

Parent Psychological and Physical Health Outcomes in Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Background: Parents of children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are at risk of adverse health outcomes due to their intense caregiver demands.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe adverse health outcomes in parents of children who survived an allogeneic HSCT done within the past 1 to 10 years.

Methods: This cross-sectional study, conducted at a children's hospital in the western United States, enrolled English- and Spanish-speaking parents of children who survived allogeneic HSCT between 2005 and 2015.

Distinguishing the Clinical Nurse Specialist From Other Graduate Nursing Roles.

Purpose: Today's healthcare environment poses diverse and complex patient care challenges and requires a highly qualified and experienced nursing workforce. To mitigate these challenges are graduate nursing roles, each with a different set of competencies and expertise. With the availability of many different graduate nursing roles, both patients and healthcare professionals can be confused in understanding the benefit of each role.

Addressing Safe Opioid Monitoring Practices Using an Interprofessional Approach.

Objective: The aims of the project are to increase knowledge related to opioids and improve adherence to evidence-based interventions for sedation monitoring and assessment in adult inpatients receiving opioids for pain through delivery of an interprofessional online program.

Background: Preventable opioid-induced respiratory depression is a patient safety risk in hospitals. Sedation and respiratory assessment and monitoring guidelines and tools are available to improve practice.

Promoting the Shared-Care Model for Adolescent and Young Adults With Cancer: Optimizing Referrals and Care Coordination With Primary Care Providers.

Background: The "shared-care model" for patients with cancer involves care coordination between primary care providers (PCPs) and oncologists, with the goal of optimizing survivorship care. However, a high proportion of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors do not have a PCP. Study objectives were to increase the percentage of AYAs with a PCP documented in the electronic medical record (EMR) via the use of a best practice advisory (BPA) or "stopgap" intervention; to increase communication between providers by the number of routed clinic notes; and to assess oncology providers' attitudes/beliefs about the model and intervention.

Impact of Standardized New Medication Education Program on Postdischarge Patients' Knowledge and Satisfaction.

This study, implemented on 2 medical-surgical units, evaluated the impact of a standardized, evidence-based new medication education program. Outcomes evaluated included patient postdischarge knowledge of new medication purpose and side effects, patient satisfaction with new medication, and Medicare reimbursement earn-back potential. As a result, knowledge scores for new medication purpose and side effects were high post intervention.

DNP and PhD Collaboration: Bringing Together Practice and Research Expertise as Predegree and Postdegree Scholars.

A deliberate course of predegree intraprofessional DNP and PhD student collaboration can yield relationships that will facilitate postdegree teamwork. Working together, DNP-prepared nurses can use their practice expertise, and PhD-prepared nurses can use their research expertise to improve and change health care. This article presents 3 contexts in which predegree collaboration can occur between DNP and PhD students.