Army nurse readiness instrument: psychometric evaluation and field administration.

The purpose of this study was to construct and evaluate the psychometric properties of an instrument to estimate the level of individual readiness among U.S. Army nurses. This study constitutes phase II of congressionally sponsored research to establish the degree to which Army nurses are prepared for the expectations of deployment. An expert panel established the validity of the initial readiness questionnaire. Changes were then incorporated into the first Readiness Estimate and Deployability Index (READI) questionnaire. Internal consistency and test-retest techniques assessed multiple reliabilities from pilot administrations. The READI was refined based on the results. Analysis of field administrations of the revised READI to three separate groups of nurses replicated earlier reliability results. Principle component analyses appear to support the hypothesized dimensional structure underlying questionnaire attitude items. The READI produced psychometrically stable ratings and results with great utility for the Army and potential adaptation for other military services.

Variations in feminine hygiene practices of military women in deployed and noncombat environments.

There is limited information on how military women manage feminine hygiene practices in combat and noncombat environments. The purpose of this study was to describe feminine hygiene practices of military women in deployed and noncombat (normal) environments. A nonexperimental descriptive research design was used. The study used a survey questionnaire, the Deployed Female Health Practice Questionnaire, which was developed specifically for military women to report their experiences with hygiene issues. Significant differences between deployed and normal environments were found in the areas of types of menses management products used and in douching and handwashing practices. Continuing education about safe feminine hygiene practices will help military women cope better in deployed (field) environments. Recommendations suggest further study on intervention strategies for hygiene management practices.

Improving qualitative proposals: common problem areas.

Advanced practice nurses conducting clinical research may decide to use qualitative methods. These types of studies also are now receiving more positive consideration for funding than they have in the past. When writing a proposal for research projects, investigators new to qualitative research frequently have misconceptions about this type of research and the assumptions on which the research is based. These misconceptions lead to problems within the proposals that make it difficult for reviewers to evaluate adequately the research plan. In this article, the authors outline problems frequently observed in qualitative proposals, offer advice on how to correct the problems, and provide some examples from their own funded proposals.

Faculty perceptions of characteristics needed for clinical success at military nurse anesthesia programs.

In this exploratory descriptive study, an investigator-developed survey tool was used to describe military clinical faculty's perception of the characteristics that nurse anesthesia students need for success in the clinical portion of graduate education. Study participants consisted of 29 clinical faculty from the Army, Air Force, and Navy (100% response). The survey tool consisted of a quantitative part with 35 characteristics in 4 categories: academic knowledge, nursing knowledge, clinical skills, and personal characteristics. Seven qualitative questions made up the second part of the survey. The faculty rated 28 of the 35 characteristics as essential or important for clinical success. All categories contained characteristics rated important or higher, with personal characteristics and clinical awareness receiving the highest ratings. Qualitative analysis of the 7 additional questions further supported the importance of personal characteristics and clinical awareness. The findings give a description of the successful student as perceived by faculty. If a student successfully completes the didactic portion of the education, personal characteristics and clinical awareness have a large role in success in the clinical portion. Knowing what characteristics are thought important allows the characteristics to be studied further. With the emphasis in this study on personal characteristics, ways to assess the difficult-to-measure personal traits need to be developed.

Developmental and individual differences in children's on-line representations of dynamic social events.

Developmental and clinical differences in children's on-line understanding of ongoing social events were examined. Boys with (n = 38) and without (n = 41) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were compared. Prior social schemes and integrative processes were hypothesized to influence children's representation of incoming social cues. Younger children and children with ADHD were expected to differ from older children and children without ADHD, respectively, in what they encoded and how they organized the encoded information. Differences in on-line representation were postulated to underlie differences in children's recall and social reasoning. Children's prior social schemes, looking time and on-line verbal protocols, recall, and social reasoning were assessed. Younger boys and ADHD boys showed less integrated on-line representations, accounting for poorer recall and reasoning.

A research-based model of nursing orientation.

The authors present an orientation model derived from a naturalistic study of a nursing orientation program. This model includes the organizational aspects of orientation, as well as characteristics related to the person being oriented. Included in the model is an affective element of welcoming newcomers to a facility and an assessment of clinical competency. In addition, the model includes the educational and managerial requirements of the process and emphasizes the importance of the preceptor.

Past, present, future: a continuous cycle of improvement for ancillary glucose testing.

As the demand for more rapid testing continues, the laboratory must take a proactive stance in needs assessment and program implementation to meet quality patient care guidelines and regulations for ancillary testing. This 256-bed hospital had a very conventional ancillary testing history. The deficiencies identified in the program by inspection criteria and the concerns of the medical staff created a focus for a laboratory/nursing/medical staff quality improvement team. The Ancillary Glucose Testing Program redeveloped by the team offers a model for active needs assessment, participation, quality assurance, ongoing improvement, and laboratory/nursing cooperation that can be applied to any ancillary testing program.

Psychometric evaluation of the Program Evaluation Instrument.

Most continuing education program evaluations are developed informally with little attention paid to psychometric properties. Rigorous evaluation of continuing education programs should measure quality and allow valid comparisons across programs. The Program Evaluation Instrument (PEI), which evaluates continuing education programs, was tested in this study to further evaluate its psychometric properties. The 19-item instrument consists of four theoretical subscales: program objectives, learner objectives, teacher behavior, and program satisfaction. Participants (N = 566) completed the instrument after a variety of hospital continuing education programs. Principal components factor analysis with Varimax rotation revealed two interpretable factors, Preparation and Presentation, and Usefulness. Coefficient alphas for the two factors were .94 and .70 respectively. The findings suggest item revision and further psychometric evaluation.

Mentoring through predoctoral fellowships to enhance research productivity.

This article reports a study of the mentoring relationships that developed during predoctoral fellowships awarded to five nursing students who worked with faculty mentors at the University of Kansas, School of Nursing. Data were gathered through interviews and a written questionnaire from each of eight study participants (four of the five pairs). The analysis of interview and questionnaire data supported the existence of a mentoring relationship according to Yoder's (1990) model of mentoring, with the addition of two variables, socialization as a researcher and mutual sharing, that are unique to doctoral education. Themes that represented the experience of the mentor-protégé pairs were identified: (1) productivity, (2) work organization, (3) mutual learning, (4) problems encountered, (5) beneficial research application skills, and (6) innovative communication. All participants were enthusiastic about the experience, and students indicated increased confidence in application of the research process.

A place to be yourself: empowerment from the client's perspective.

This article describes a focused ethnography of a group of chronically mentally ill clients who were involved in a client-run drop-in center. Spradley's (1979) Developmental Research Sequence guided the research. Data were obtained from interviews, participant-observation and documents review. The qualitative analysis identified the major theme of empowerment, which had four process domains: participating, choosing, supporting and negotiating. These domains represented four levels of empowerment for this group. From the client's perspective, empowerment meant they participated more in the community, their choices were increased, they provided support for each other and they negotiated on a more equal basis with staff. A fifth domain, personal significance, described the effects of empowerment for each individual.