Reframing Hospital Nursing as a Specialty to Address the Staffing Crisis.

Academia and nursing practice are at a crossroads.

Educating generation Z: Psychosocial dimensions of the clinical learning environment that predict student satisfaction.

Generation Z (Gen Z) nursing students have characteristics that differentiate them from previous cohorts. They are entrenched in technology, prefer to work at their own pace, seek a great deal of feedback, and can be anxious. Because Gen Z is also entrepreneurial, it is important to identify strategies for promoting satisfaction among Gen Z nursing students to retain them in nursing. This study sought to identify the psychosocial dimensions of the clinical learning environment that best predict Gen Z nursing student satisfaction in the medical-surgical clinical learning environment. A secondary analysis was performed on data collected using the Revised Clinical Learning Environment Inventory-32. Maximum Likelihood regression analysis identified predictors of satisfaction. Three subscales of the CLEI-32, reflecting 3 psychosocial dimensions of the clinical learning environment, significantly predicted student satisfaction in the clinical learning environment, after controlling for clustering effects of students within hospitals. Findings were consistent with the literature on Gen Z learners and revealed that their satisfaction improves when they can make decisions, work at their own pace, and receive direction, feedback, and support. The effect of hospital environment on the clinical learning environment should be investigated further; other variables that predict satisfaction remain to be identified.

Examination of the Structural Validity of the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory Using Exploratory Factor Analysis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study tested the psychometrics of the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI-actual version), a tool designed to measure the perceptions of nursing students' clinical learning. The developer of the CLEI did not report structural validity. METHOD: Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed using data from 311 licensure nursing students to assess the CLEI's proposed dimensions or structural validity. RESULTS: The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test indicated acceptable sampling adequacy. Analysis of four different models, while retaining items with factor loadings >0.35, resulted in a four-factor solution with 32 items. The factors were renamed: Concern for Student Welfare (the highest weighted factor); Organized/Effective Teaching; Enjoyment of Clinical Learning; and Student Decision-Making. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the 32 item four-factor CLEI is sufficiently structurally valid and reliable for further testing.

From Academic-Practice Partnership to Professional Nursing Practice Model.

HOW TO OBTAIN CONTACT HOURS BY READING THIS ISSUE Instructions: 1.2 contact hours will be awarded by Villanova University College of Nursing upon successful completion of this activity. A contact hour is a unit of measurement that denotes 60 minutes of an organized learning activity. This is a learner-based activity. Villanova University College of Nursing does not require submission of your answers to the quiz. A contact hour certificate will be awarded after you register, pay the registration fee, and complete the evaluation form online at http://goo.gl/gMfXaf. In order to obtain contact hours you must: 1. Read the article, "From Academic-Practice Partnership to Professional Nursing Practice Model," found on pages 104-112, carefully noting any tables and other illustrative materials that are included to enhance your knowledge and understanding of the content. Be sure to keep track of the amount of time (number of minutes) you spend reading the article and completing the quiz. 2. Read and answer each question on the quiz. After completing all of the questions, compare your answers to those provided within this issue. If you have incorrect answers, return to the article for further study. 3. Go to the Villanova website to register for contact hour credit. You will be asked to provide your name, contact information, and a VISA, MasterCard, or Discover card number for payment of the $20.00 fee. Once you complete the online evaluation, a certificate will be automatically generated. This activity is valid for continuing education credit until February 28, 2020. CONTACT HOURS This activity is co-provided by Villanova University College of Nursing and SLACK Incorporated. Villanova University College of Nursing is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. OBJECTIVES Describe the benefits and barriers to participation in a community-based academic-practice partnership. Identify three changes in the practice environment that transform the practice of staff nurses working in partnership model clinical units. DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Neither the planners nor the author have any conflicts of interest to disclose. This study used a qualitative descriptive design to examine the role of the expert staff nurse or clinical liaison nurse (CLN) participating in a community-based academic-practice partnership. Little is known about the influence of participation by expert nurses in community hospital settings. Focus groups were conducted with nine CLNs to explicate their experiences in a unit-based leadership practice model. Eight themes were identified: Reciprocal Learning Between Staff Nurses and Students; Reciprocal Learning Between Student and Patient; Working Around the System; Building Relationships; Valuing the CLN Role; Faculty Recognition of CLNs; Transforming Practice; and a variant theme, Recognition That Some Nurses Neither Value nor Enjoy Working With Students. The benefits of developing partnerships in community hospitals can be far reaching and may be of interest to educators and leaders in the profession. When a practice environment focused on evidence and was fueled by student enthusiasm reinvigorates staff nurses, their work world suddenly transforms. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2017;48(3):104-112.

Predictors of Undergraduate Nursing Student Satisfaction with Clinical Learning Environment: A Secondary Analysis.

Nurse educators must develop evidence-based strategies that prepare new graduates to function in a dynamic health care environment. Student satisfaction with their clinical learning has been identified as a particular outcome of interest. A secondary analysis of pilot study data was performed to determine predictors of student satisfaction in the medical-surgical clinical environment. All dimensions of the clinical learning environment were measured using a published, validated instrument. Two dimensions, Task Orientation and Individualization, significantly predicted satisfaction, explaining 57 percent of the variance. To improve satisfaction, clinical faculty should make clear assignments, provide specific instructions, maintain organization, and provide individualized attention.

Clinical liaison nurse model in a community hospital: a unique academic-practice partnership that strengthens clinical nursing education.

The necessity to help baccalaureate nursing students transition to clinical practice in a health care environment governed by change has compelled nurse educators to investigate alternative clinical instruction models that nurture academic-practice partnerships and facilitate student clinical learning. This article describes an academic-practice partnership in a community hospital using the Clinical Liaison Nurse (CLN) model as a link between students and clinical faculty and reports results of a quasi-experimental study that compared perceptions of the clinical learning environment between students participating in the CLN model (experimental group) and those in a traditional, instructor-led clinical model (control group). Students assigned to the CLN model had statistically significantly higher individualization, satisfaction, and task orientation scores on the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory. The findings provide evidence that academic-practice partnerships can be successful in community hospital settings and enhance students' perceptions in the clinical learning environment.

Dimensions of caring: a qualitative analysis of nurses' stories.

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study is to describe dimensions of caring as they relate to and clarify the practice of professional nursing. Nurses are unique caregivers, and their work at the bedside and in the community matters. What nurses do as they care for patients is multi-dimensional, complex, and essential. Two hundred stories written by nurses were analyzed using Giorgi's methodology for existential phenomenology. Their stories indicate that nursing goes far beyond technical skills. Seven dimensions of caring that define professional nursing practice were found: caring, compassion, spirituality, community outreach, providing comfort, crisis intervention, and going the extra distance. The nurses' stories demonstrate that the dimensions of caring that define professional nursing practice are universal. Documentation of nurse's stories facilitates reflective and thoughtful practice, while clarifying the essential components of nursing.