Implementing a Specifications Grading System in a Nursing Course.

Background: Nurse educators are charged with the challenging task of evaluating student learning and abilities effectively using traditional student assessment methods, which come with several inherent shortcomings. New guidelines for nurse educators now present a more competency-based approach to nursing education that calls for objective-driven assessments.

Problem: Traditional grading practices lack the ability to connect student learning to their final course grades.

Building Team Leader Competency in Senior Nursing Students.

Nursing students have limited opportunities to build team leader skills during their clinical experiences, leaving a practice gap. Senior nursing students participated in a competency-based education unit and a simulation-based learning experience incorporating team leader skills. Presurvey and postsurvey data were collected using the Self-Confidence and Comfort with Utilizing a Standardized Handoff Communication Tool.

Frailty Screening in Geriatric Trauma: A Pilot Feasibility Study.

Background: Frailty in older adult trauma patients is associated with increased complications and worsened outcomes. Frailty screening can help guide care. Yet, trauma center assessment of frailty is relatively new, can be challenging to implement, and is not yet standard practice.

Integration of the 5As Nicotine Cessation Framework in a Primary Care Clinic.

Background: Nicotine causes significant morbidity and mortality. Many adults who want to quit using nicotine may not be receiving adequate support from their primary care providers. If used properly, the 5As nicotine cessation guidelines may help patients address their nicotine use.

Mentoring and Support for Underrepresented Nursing Faculty: An Integrative Research Review.

Background: Nursing faculty members may need several mentors to succeed in scholarly productivity, career development, work-life balance, and socialization in the academy. Underrepresented (UR) faculty report additional challenges to success.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to search the literature for best practices in mentoring UR faculty.

Off Target: Case Report of Heparin Resistance in a Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit Patient.

Introduction: Heparin resistance was discovered in a patient in the surgical intensive care unit who underwent emergency endovascular coiling and later an anterior communicating artery clipping procedure to treat subarachnoid hemorrhage due to rupture of an anterior communicating artery aneurysm.

Clinical Findings: On intensive care unit day 17/postoperative day 3, the patient experienced shortness of breath, persistent tachycardia, and hypoxia. Bilateral pulmonary emboli, a saddle embolus, and lower-extremity and upper-extremity deep vein thrombi were diagnosed.

The Impact of Nurse Education on Heart Failure Readmissions and Patient Education.

Background: Heart failure (HF) has become a national concern, with approximately 5.7 million adults in the United States suffering from this life-altering disease. Improved education of these patients prior to discharge helps patients manage their disease adequately and reduce symptom exacerbations.

Implementing Sleep Apnea Screening Prior to Conscious Sedation Procedures in a Rural Hospital: A Quality Improvement Project.

Background: Screening patients for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) risk factors is an effective method for helping reduce adverse outcomes in conscious sedation. Patients receiving conscious sedation for endoscopy were not being screened for OSA at a rural hospital.

Objective: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement a nurse education program to improve OSA screening of endoscopy patients, using an evidence-based screening tool, and to increase nurse OSA knowledge and patient education.

Implementing a Clinical Practice Guideline on Opioid-Induced Advancing Sedation and Respiratory Depression.

Background: Opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD) is a serious adverse reaction associated with opioid administration.

Local Problem: The purpose of this quality improvement study was to evaluate the impact of implementing a clinical practice guideline for OIRD in a medical-surgical setting lacking standardized monitoring techniques and reporting criteria for patients receiving opioid analgesia.

Methods: An American Society for Pain Management Nursing protocol was implemented in 4 medical/surgical units.

Impact of Nursing Education on Phlebotomy Blood Loss and Hospital-Acquired Anemia: A Quality Improvement Project.

Background: Phlebotomy blood loss resulting in hospital-acquired anemia remains a significant problem in the critically ill population. A quality improvement project focused on decreasing phlebotomy blood loss and increasing nursing knowledge regarding blood conservation strategies was undertaken in the intensive care unit of a community hospital.

Methods: The project followed a quasi-experimental design.

The Growing Impact of Legionella in the Flint Water Crisis.

The water crisis in Flint, Michigan raised national awareness about lead- tainted drinking water, particularly its harm to children and pregnant and lactating women. However, according to recent findings, there may be another by-product of this man-made crisis. Failure to use anticorrosive material in the water, a practice mandated by the 1978 Clean Water Act, is being linked to an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease, an illness detrimental primarily to adults over 65 years of age.

Academic Partnerships: Preparing Nurse Practitioners for Underserved Populations.

Medically underserved populations suffer disproportionately from disease and poor health, and nursing schools are challenged to prepare nurse practitioner students to effectively care for underserved patients. This article describes one university's endeavor to create and evaluate academic partnerships with HIV/hepatitis C virus primary care clinics in underserved settings. Designated preceptorships and specific preparation of students tailored for this population via online modules were strategies created to increase students' readiness to practice as primary care providers and increase clinical placements for nurse practitioner students.

Measuring the Gap Between Students' Expectations and Experiences in an RN-to-BSN Nursing Program.

With the nursing profession requiring a more educated workforce, RN-to-BSN program enrollment has increased. Therefore, many nursing schools have expanded these programs and incorporated online learning components. The purpose of this study was to explore student expectations and perceptions of a Midwestern university's RN-to-BSN program.

An Intervention to Improve Cultural Competence in Graduate Nursing Education.

Noting the small number of studies on the influence of an entire curriculum on graduate nursing students' cultural competence, the researchers examined the effect of a curricular intervention using a pretest-posttest design. The study, conducted from 2012 to 2014, focused solely on the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at a midwestern university. Results from a pre- and postintervention faculty curriculum survey indicated that the percentage of courses including a cultural competence objective increased from 65 percent to 81 percent.