ABSTRACT
Cultural immersion experiences offered through study abroad opportunities for nursing students have been increasing in recent years. Examining the impact of these experiences has largely focused on students and not on the faculty leading the experiences. It is important to understand the impact of these experiences on all participants. Exploring the literature on empowerment provides some clarity on the relationship between studying abroad and its impact on participants. Further research linking cultural immersion experiences with empowerment is needed to better understand this relationship and the possibilities of empowering both students and faculty engaged in these exciting opportunities.
Subject(s)
Cultural Competency , Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate , International Educational Exchange , Models, Educational , Power, Psychological , Georgia , Humans , Republic of Korea , Students, NursingABSTRACT
As nurses engaged in a caring profession, it is critical that we learn not only to care for others but also to care for ourselves. To care effectively for ourselves, we must create the space and time in which to do this. Journaling is one tool that scholars offer as a way to create this space. Although there is no clear consensus about the best techniques for journaling, there is evidence that journaling, as a reflective, meditative activity, can promote creativity, self-awareness, and personal development.
Subject(s)
Autobiographies as Topic , Nurses/psychology , Self Care , Writing , Attitude of Health Personnel , Burnout, Professional/prevention & control , Burnout, Professional/psychology , Creativity , Emotional Intelligence , Empathy , Humans , Self Care/methods , Self Care/psychology , Self Concept , ThinkingABSTRACT
As the population demographics for the United States (U.S.) shift towards increasing diversity, it is essential that nurses provide culturally competent care. Cultural sensitivity has been identified as a major curricular element in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing's (AACN) The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice. Thus it is imperative that nursing faculty use effective strategies to help nursing students develop cultural sensitivity and competence. Educational workshops focusing on cultural diversity are usually designed to increase people's cultural sensitivity. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a cultural diversity forum on nursing students' cultural sensitivity as measured by their openness to diversity. A convenience sample of students was recruited from a public university in the southeastern United States. The workshop was designed as a forum that combined a keynote presentation, shared meal, and a small group interactional activity. Cultural sensitivity was measured using the Openness to Diversity/Challenge Scale (ODCS), and was administered to students before and after the forum. A convenience sample of 47 students agreed to participate and completed both the pretest and posttest. Following the workshop, the students had more cultural sensitivity as measured by their scores on the ODCS (Wilcoxin Signed-Rank test z= -3.286, p = 0.001). The findings suggested that an educational format like the cultural diversity forum can promote students' cultural sensitivity. Further research needs to continue to focus on the effectiveness of strategies to increase the cultural sensitivity of baccalaureate nursing students.
Subject(s)
Attitude of Health Personnel/ethnology , Cultural Competency/education , Cultural Diversity , Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate/organization & administration , Minority Groups , Students, Nursing/psychology , Adult , Black or African American/education , Black or African American/ethnology , Cultural Competency/organization & administration , Curriculum , Female , Humans , Male , Minority Groups/education , Minority Groups/psychology , Nursing Education Research , Prejudice , Program Evaluation , Southeastern United States , Statistics, Nonparametric , Surveys and Questionnaires , Transcultural Nursing/education , Vulnerable Populations/ethnology , White People/education , White People/ethnologyABSTRACT
Historically, mandatory overtime has been used to provide adequate staffing in times of crisis; however, as a result of today's severe nursing shortage, hospitals and other healthcare institutions are more commonly using mandatory overtime as a daily management tool to meet staffing requirements. This practice has created turmoil between management and staff in providing quality healthcare. Nursing literature describing staff nurses' views of overtime is limited. This article offers a description of the environment at the Hospital for Sick Children, a private nonprofit rehabilitation and transitional care pediatric hospital in Washington, DC, and the challenges the hospital faces in staffing the patient care units. This article also reports the results of the hospital's efforts to poll the nursing staff on their opinions regarding both voluntary and mandatory overtime and identifies conditions that influence the nursing staff's decisions and perceptions about overtime. Survey results will be used to modify existing staffing strategies and implement new staffing policies.
