Holistic Admissions Review Integration in Nursing Programs.

BACKGROUND: To address health inequities, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Institute of Medicine, and Association of American Medical Colleges recommend holistic admissions review (HAR) to increase health professional diversity. METHOD: This cross-sectional study collected admissions criteria from 1,547 nursing programs. Criteria were categorized according to the experiences, attributes, and academic metrics (EAM) model, and programs were dichotomized into those with holistic admissions criteria versus none. RESULTS: Only 43% of nursing programs considered holistic admissions criteria. Regionally, rates varied from 35% in the South to 54% in the West. The rate of HAR integration exceeded 67% in only six states. CONCLUSION: Nursing programs have not widely integrated HAR despite evidence that academic metric use alone disadvantages qualified underrepresented students. HAR implementation can be facilitated by standardizing how HAR is operationalized and applying best evidence to rubric development that appropriately weighs admissions criteria based on the EAM model, and also training reviewers for unbiased candidate evaluation. [J Nurs Educ. 2022;61(7):361-366.].

Evaluating Scientific Writing Skill in DNP Program Students.

BACKGROUND/PROBLEM: Scientific writing skill development interventions in nursing are widely represented in the literature, but the specific skills required are poorly defined and measured. APPROACH: This study used a cross-sectional, descriptive design to compare scientific writing skill assessment of doctor of nursing practice students' final project reports using 2 rubrics. OUTCOMES: Of 13 skills, the strongest were: adherence to a standard structure, paraphrasing, and grammar, punctuation, and style. The weakest were: use of primary sources, concise, nonredundant presentation, and critical appraisal. Overall interrater agreement for the general essay writing rubric was 69.6%, and that for the scientific writing rubric was 82.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the essay rubric, the scientific writing rubric was more useful for identifying skill strengths and weaknesses and improved interrater consistency.

Constructivism applied to psychiatric-mental health nursing: an alternative to supplement traditional clinical education.

With the popularity of accelerated pre-licensure nursing programmes and the growth in nursing student enrolments, traditional clinical education continues to be a challenge to deliver. Nursing faculty members are required to develop and implement educational innovations that achieve effective learning outcomes, while using fewer resources. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the effectiveness of a constructivism-based learning project to achieve specific learning outcomes and to supplement approximately 30 clinical hours in a psychiatric-mental health nursing course. Students participated in a 10-week, multistage project that examined life histories, treatment resources, and evidence-based practice, as applied to a single individual with a mental illness. Students reported increased understanding of mental health and illness, developed personal relevance associated with the knowledge gained, and learned to problem solve with regard to nursing care of individuals diagnosed with mental illness. For many students, there also appeared to be a reduction in stigmatized attitudes towards mental illness. Constructivism-based learning is a promising alternative to supplement clinical hours, while effectively achieving learning outcomes. Future research is needed to further validate the use of this method for the learning of course content, as well as the reduction of stigma.

Exploring the impact of race on mental health service utilization among african americans and whites with severe mental illness.

BACKGROUND: Disparities among African Americans and Whites with severe mental illness have been identified in numerous studies. Yet it remains unknown if disparities are associated with race or other vulnerabilities common to this population. OBJECTIVES: This study used the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations to examine mental health service utilization among 155 African Americans and Whites with severe mental illness for 12 months after discharge from a residential crisis program. DESIGN: This cross-sectional study was a secondary analysis of data from a randomized trial. RESULTS: Race did not emerge as a significant predictor of mental health service utilization. Factors associated with frequency of service use were diagnosis, age, drug use, gender, health benefit status, and enrollment in an outpatient mental health program. CONCLUSION: It is possible that the geographic location of the study, equal access to services, and equal rates of substance use between racial groups explain the lack of racial differences found in this sample.

The role of treatment setting and high acuity in the overdiagnosis of schizophrenia in African Americans.

Multiple studies have shown that significant disparities exist in the diagnosis of schizophrenia between African Americans (AAs) and Whites with severe mental illness. This phenomenon has been a topic in the literature for nearly three decades, yet it remains unclear what factors contribute most conclusively to the overdiagnosis of schizophrenia in AAs. The purpose of this article was to collectively examine the contributing factors identified in the literature and to discuss the role of acuity and treatment setting in overdiagnosis as well. A variety of client-level (higher rates of use of psychotomimetic substances in AAs) and care process-level (misinterpretation of cultural mistrust as paranoia, under detection of depression, similarities in diagnostic criteria between mood and psychotic disorders, provider bias, miscommunication between patient and provider, changes in diagnostic criteria, differences in diagnostic practice between providers, and a lack of sufficient data obtained) factors emerged as influential in overdiagnosis. However, in this review, it also emerged that AAs tendency to use emergency and acute care services, a systems level factor, could be related as well. It is possible that assessment at a time when symptom acuity is severe might increase the likelihood of a schizophrenia diagnosis in AAs.