Creating a Global Community of Learners in Nursing and Beyond: Caring Science, Mindful Practice MOOC.

Aim: The aim was to examine the usefulness of a massive open online course (MOOC) on caring and mindfulness to a broad international audience that included nurses, allied health professionals, and others.

Background: MOOCs in higher education have been evident since 2008. Very few MOOCs on nursing topics have appeared since that time.

The Teachers of Quality Academy: A Learning Community Approach to Preparing Faculty to Teach Health Systems Science.

Problem: Although efforts to integrate health systems science (HSS) topics, such as patient safety, quality improvement (QI), interprofessionalism, and population health, into health professions curricula are increasing, the rate of change has been slow.

Approach: The Teachers of Quality Academy (TQA), Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, was established in January 2014 with the dual goal of preparing faculty to lead frontline clinical transformation while becoming proficient in the pedagogy and curriculum design necessary to prepare students in HSS competencies. The TQA included the completion of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Open School Basic Certificate in Quality and Safety; participation in six 2-day learning sessions on key HSS topics; completion of a QI project; and participation in three online graduate courses.

Early Bubble Continuous Positive Airway Pressure: Investigating Interprofessional Best Practices for the NICU Team.

Premature neonates delivered <32 completed weeks gestation are unprepared to handle the physiologic demands of extrauterine life. Within the respiratory system, alveolar instability and collapse can cause decreased functional residual capacity, impaired oxygenation, and hypoxemia leading to respiratory distress syndrome. Supportive measures are indicated immediately after birth to establish physiologic stability including bubble continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation.

Nurse Practitioner Practice Patterns for Management of Heart Failure in Long-Term Care Facilities.

This study examined nurse practitioners' (NPs) practice patterns for heart failure (HF) management, specifically regarding the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), beta antagonists, diuretic monotherapy, and echocardiograms for older adults residing in long-term care facilities. A Web-based survey was developed to identify NP practice patterns for HF management in long-term care settings. The Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys and expert opinion guided the survey design.

Social support and self-esteem as mediators between stress and antepartum depressive symptoms in rural pregnant women.

The purpose of this secondary analysis was to determine whether satisfaction with social support and self-esteem mediated the relationship between antepartum stress and depressive symptoms in women attending prenatal clinics in a rural Southeastern community (N = 318). Path analysis with linear regression indicated that the relationship between antepartum stress and depressive symptoms was partially mediated by higher levels of the internal resources of satisfaction with social support and self-esteem. Self-esteem had a greater influence on the relationship between antepartum stress and depressive symptoms than did satisfaction with social support.

Prenatal yoga in late pregnancy and optimism, power, and well-being.

The study reported here explored changes in optimism, power, and well-being over time in women who participated in a six-week prenatal yoga program during their second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The study was conceptualized from the perspective of Rogers' science of unitary human beings. A correlational, one-group, pre-post-assessment survey design with a convenience sample was conducted.

The relationship between pressure ulcer prevalence, body mass index, and Braden scales and subscales: a further analysis.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether any of the Braden subscales were more strongly related to pressure ulcer occurrence than the Braden total score in obese and nonobese hospitalized patients. The authors investigated whether defining high risk for the total Braden score of 16 or less was associated with pressure ulcer occurrence.

Diversity must start somewhere: the experience of one college of nursing.

The concept of diversity varies widely in its definition, conceptualization and connotations. Addressing issues of diversity within a college of nursing is necessary if the cultures of our academic units are to change and become more inclusive. The article provides an overview of how this CON began to address changing its culture to one of a more inclusive nature and across all groups represented within the college, not bound only by ethnicity and gender.

Catching the spirit of cultural care: a midwifery exemplar.

Midwives provide an integral part of health care in underserved, rural areas of the United States. To meet the health care needs of people from diverse cultures, they need to learn culturally competent care. This article describes efforts by a university and its college of nursing to adapt to a changing cultural climate and prepare faculty and students to become culturally competent in practice encounters with diverse populations.

School nurses and children with diabetes: a descriptive study.

Background: Managing diabetes in children is complex. The aims of this descriptive study were to describe the care provided to children with diabetes by school nurses using case management, to identify differences in care on the basis of the workload of the nurse and the age of the child, to explore the role of the nurse in responding to emergencies, and to describe the relationship between case management and quality of life.

Methods: School nurses completed an expanded health assessment.

Ira P. Gunn: educator, advocate, legend.

This column examines the contributions of nurse anesthetist Ira P. Gunn, CRNA, MLN, FAAN (1927-2011), widely recognized as a visionary and tireless advocate for the profession of nurse anesthesia. Her contributions to nurse anesthesia practice, research, education, publication, consultation, credentialing, and government relations have significantly contributed to the preservation and advancement of nursing and nurse anesthesia.

Pain experience of the elderly.

Too often, the elderly suffer silently and needlessly with chronic pain. To investigate the pain experience of the elderly living in the community, a descriptive research design was used. The aims of the study were to determine the prevalence of pain in an older population living in the community, to obtain a description of the older adult's pain experience, and to determine strategies used to manage their pain.

The power of theoretical knowledge.

Nursing theoretical knowledge has demonstrated powerful contributions to education, research, administration and professional practice for guiding nursing thought and action. That knowledge has shifted the primary focus of the nurse from nursing functions to the person. Theoretical views of the person raise new questions, create new approaches and instruments for nursing research, and expand nursing scholarship throughout the world.

Nursing theory-guided research.

Theory-guided research has a long tradition in nursing that spans at least 50 years. Yet the use of nursing theory with qualitative research approaches continues to raise questions. Grounded theory is selected by nurses as a research methodology to address research questions that are aimed at understanding the nuances of nursing communication processes.

"It's a touchy subject": Latino adolescent sexual risk behaviors in the school context.

Adverse sexual health outcomes remain disproportionately high for Latino adolescents. To examine sexual risk behaviors in Latino adolescents, we conducted in-depth interviews with 18 Latino parents and 13 school staff members and carried out 1 year of fieldwork in the school and community. "It's a touchy subject [sex] here" exemplified the reluctance of addressing sexual risk behaviors.

Introductory pharmacology for clinical practice.

The average woman will take many medications, both prescription and nonprescription, as well as herbs or other dietary supplements over the course of her lifetime. These chemicals can produce therapeutic benefits but can also cause toxic effects. Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacotherapy, adverse drug reactions, and research in pharmacology are discussed as applied to women's health.

The vital nature of environment.

The nursing perspective includes the environment of a person, family, or community and there is global acceptance of environment as a disciplinary boundary. However, there are important distinctions among the conceptual models of nursing with regard to the meaning of the term. These differences spring from the worldview and philosophy that tailor its focus and fit.

Nursing knowledge and health policy in process.

In this column, the authors discuss the complexity of nursing knowledge, the political landscape, and the critical need for nurses to be involved in health policy-making at all levels of government.

Nursing care, delirium, and pain management for the hospitalized older adult.

Delirium is a reversible cognitive disorder that has a rapid onset. Delirium risk factors include older age, severity of illness, poorer baseline functional status, comorbid medical conditions, and dementia. There are adverse consequences of delirium, including increased length of stay and increased mortality.