Integrating theory and research into practice.

An experiential learning assignment was imPlemented in an undergraduate nursing course. The purpose of the assignment was to integrate theory and research into a nursing practice activity. The authors describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of the assignment. Evaluation data indicated that the assignment was an appropriate way to prepare beginning nursing students for building knowledge about nursing as a scholarly discipline.

Family care giving at home as a solitary journey.

Home caregivers play an increasingly important role in providing health services for family members. Although many studies have been done to measure burden and related concepts, few studies have examined holistically the caregiving experiences. A grounded-theory design was used to better understand the caregiving experience from the perspective of caregivers. Seventeen families from a metropolitan intermountain western area comprised the sample. Recipients of care ranged in age from 14 months to 87 years. People with documented mental illness, dementia, or Alzheimer's disease were excluded from the sample. Interviews were conducted in participants' homes. Data were analyzed through constant comparative analysis. The central idea emerging from the data was caregiving as a solitary journey. Burden, responsibility, isolation, and commitment shaped the context of the journey.

Decision making in home health care.

As caregivers take control of their newly chaotic lives, they become more active and assertive in decision making and, not coincidentally, better caregivers. Future research and nursing interventions should focus on this process of taking charge to make our support of home care providers more meaningful and useful. Another issue needing further exploration is the preponderance of female caregivers, regardless of the age or relationship of the care recipient. As Anderson and Elfert (1989) pointed out, health professionals often emphasize the concept of family when discussing home health care, but in fact, it is almost always the women who assume the burden. They argue that this results in a devaluation of the work done in home care, as it is not reimbursed. Perhaps our belief that home care is less costly should be reexamined, both in terms of monetary and nonmonetary costs.

A comprehensive approach to faculty evaluation.

The purpose of this undertaking was to design a comprehensive faculty evaluation instrument that would reflect the complexities of the faculty role. An 80-item instrument was designed from a review of the literature, content analyses on job descriptions, existing evaluation tools. Items were modified on the basis of critical review by educators with expertise and experience in evaluation measurement and faculty role expectations. Instrument design incorporates the need for explicit criteria; flexibility in establishing performance standards and expectations; involvement of students, peers, administrators and self in the evaluation process; and greater consistency of judgments. When used in conjunction with a computerized data management package, this instrument provides a variety of information needed to make well-informed decisions regarding faculty development, promotion, retention and tenure of faculty members, and optimum utilization of faculty talents. Each school's faculty establishes standards of performance expectations according to its values, capitalizing on the unique nature of the proposed evaluation instrument.