Alternate strategy for home health clinical experiences.

Healthcare is increasingly shifting from acute care, inpatient settings to home and community settings. At the same time, nursing schools are seeking to increase enrollment to meet the demands for nurses in all settings of healthcare. The limited availability of home health clinical experiences and preceptors creates a challenge for educators seeking to prepare students for providing nursing care in the home environment. Faculty developed an alternate home health experience that provided students the opportunity to complete a home evaluation, patient assessment, and teaching for a community resident with an acute or commonly occurring medical condition. The alternate home health experience enabled students to meet the clinical objectives to demonstrate effective communication, conduct a home assessment, and provide health promotion teaching within the community. Nursing faculty must be prepared to meet the needs of patients while maintaining a safe and meaningful clinical environment for the student; therefore, an alternative to the traditional home health clinical can be utilized to effectively prepare students for future home health experiences.

Opening the Door to an Alternative Teaching Strategy for Home Health Clinical.

BACKGROUND: Health care is increasingly shifting from inpatient to home settings. The limited availability of home health clinical experiences creates challenges for educators seeking to prepare students for providing nursing care in the home environment. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the implementation of a simulation to increase nursing students' experience in home health care. METHOD: A home health simulation was implemented with second-semester students. Effectiveness of the simulation in meeting student learning needs was measured using the Simulation Effectiveness Tool-Modified and student performance was evaluated using the Quint leveled clinical competency tool. RESULTS: The home health simulation was an effective teaching strategy to introduce second-semester students to the care of a patient in the home environment. CONCLUSION: Nurse educators can use simulation to equip students with clinical judgment skills to meet the needs of an increasing home health care population. [J Nurs Educ. 2020;59(2):97-100.].

Using Simulation to Promote Professional Development of Clinical Instructors.

BACKGROUND: Clinical instructors play an important role in the education of nursing students. Nursing faculty must provide orientation and support for clinical instructors to ensure quality clinical experiences for students. Simulation can be used as a teaching strategy to prepare clinical instructors for clinical teaching. The purpose of this article is to describe the use of simulation to prepare clinical instructors in the role of teaching and increase confidence to provide clinical education to students. METHOD: Clinical instructors attended an orientation program that included simulation. During the simulation, nursing student volunteers role-played situations that required instructors to intervene for patient safety. Following the simulation, clinical instructors completed an online survey to measure confidence in teaching students. RESULTS: Twenty-six clinical instructors participated in the simulation with student volunteers and completed the survey. CONCLUSION: Clinical instructors thought the simulation prepared them for clinical teaching, increased their confidence, and assisted them to provide student feedback.

Technology and diabetes self-management: An integrative review.

Technology can be used to supplement healthcare provider diabetes care by providing both educational and motivational support. Education can be provided using technology allowing patients to learn new practices and routines related to diabetes management. Technology can support daily diabetes self-management activities including blood glucose monitoring, exercising, healthy eating, taking medication, monitoring for complications, and problem-solving. This article describes an integrative review conducted to evaluate the types of technology being used to facilitate diabetes self-management and the effect of that technology on self-management and diabetes outcomes for adults living with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A literature review was conducted by searching Medline, PubMed, and Psych INFO databases using the search terms: diabetes self-management, technology, type 2 diabetes, smartphones, cell phones, and diabetes mellitus covering the years from 2008-2013. Articles relying on secondary data (editorials, systematic reviews) and articles describing study protocol only were excluded. Fourteen studies including qualitative, quasi-experimental, and randomized controlled trial designs were identified and included in the review. The review found that technological interventions had positive impacts on diabetes outcomes including improvements in hemoglobin A1C levels, diabetes self-management behaviors, and diabetes self-efficacy. Results indicate that technological interventions can benefit people living with diabetes when used in conjunction with diabetes care delivered by healthcare providers.

Support for diabetes using technology: a pilot study to improve self-management.

Technology may assist people living with type 2 diabetes with self-management. A pilot study that used Apple iPad technology to support diabetes self-management is described.

Facilitators of diabetes self-management among rural individuals.

The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus has increased dramatically with a higher rate in rural populations. Diabetes self-management behaviors such as medication administration, blood glucose testing, and appropriate diet and exercise regimens must be implemented daily to increase chances of achieving therapeutic patient outcomes. Home healthcare clinicians are pivotal in assisting these individuals to be more self-confident and independent in managing their diabetes, achieving therapeutic goals, and addressing diabetes-related complications. This article will discuss facilitators of diabetes self-management in rural populations and implications for home healthcare clinicians.

A program to provide resources and support for clinical associates.

Clinical associates are necessary and valued contributors to nursing education. All those involved in student instruction need to have clearly defined expectations that are aligned with the conceptual framework and program outcomes. Additionally, they must have the necessary resources to facilitate their ability to effectively instruct and evaluate nursing students in the clinical setting. Preparing competent clinical associates to provide effective clinical instruction requires detailed planning and development that includes guided mentoring from faculty. This article describes the development of an orientation course and ongoing resources and support designed to facilitate the transition into a clinical instructor role for registered nurses teaching in a baccalaureate nursing program. The Clinical Associate Resources and Support program was designed to enhance learning experiences for both clinical associates and the recipients of clinical education, nursing students.

Relationships among self-efficacy, social support, social problem solving, and self-management in a rural sample living with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Self-management behaviors are important for control of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, determining factors that promote effective self-management behaviors may be significant for improving the well-being of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study examined relationships among self-efficacy, social support, social problem solving, and diabetes self-management behaviors. Further, this study evaluated whether social support and social problem solving were mediators of the relationship between self-efficacy and diabetes self-management behaviors in those living with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Using a cross-sectional, descriptive correlational design, data from a convenience sample of 152 rural people living with type 2 diabetes mellitus were examined. Findings indicated that self-efficacy was a strong predictor of diabetes self-management. The effect of social support on diabetes self-management differed among men and women in the sample. Social support and social problem solving were significantly associated with diabetes self-management in men. Neither social support nor social problem solving were mediators of the relationship between self-efficacy and diabetes self-management in this sample. These findings suggest that nurses need to consider implementing interventions to improve patients' self-efficacy and potentially influence diabetes self-management.

Community health advisors in diabetes care.

Lay liaisons can improve health care outcomes, especially in underserved communities.

An empirical study of self-efficacy and social support in diabetes self-management: implications for home healthcare nurses.

This pilot study was conducted to evaluate relationships among self-efficacy, social support, social problem solving, and diabetes self-management in people living with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Self-efficacy, social support, and social problem solving were significantly correlated with diabetes self-management. These relationships indicate the importance of including interventions to promote self-efficacy, social support, and social problem solving in diabetes self-management programs.

An integrative review of community health advisors in type 2 diabetes.

The purpose of this paper was to report findings from an integrative literature review conducted to identify the theoretical basis of interventions for studies using community health advisors; populations and settings served by community health advisors; characteristics, training, and roles and activities of community health advisors; and the effectiveness of interventions by community health advisors for improving self-management of patients living with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Community health advisors' theoretical interventions were based on providing culturally appropriate care and resolution of health disparities within minority populations. Typically community health advisors were patients themselves living with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Major roles of community health advisors included: supporter, educator, case manager, advocate, and program facilitator. Activities of community health advisors were: coordinating educational programs, conducting educational courses for patients, serving as a link between patients and healthcare professionals, providing counseling, and leading peer support meetings. The effectiveness of interventions by community health advisors was mixed. Examples of outcome criteria were improvements in: knowledge, hemoglobin A1C, low density lipoprotein levels, blood pressure, and physical activity. Community health advisors provide culturally appropriate interventions to promote and restore health and prevent diseases while serving as links between community and healthcare providers.

Immune thrombocytopenia purpura.

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), once known as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, is an autoimmune disorder. ITP can occur acutely or chronically, and ranges in severity from mild to life-threatening. The signs and symptoms, treatment, and nursing care for patients with this disorder are discussed.

Enhancing faculty resources through peer mentoring.

Peer mentoring is a relationship in which a more experienced person assists a less experienced person to achieve desired outcomes. Mentoring relationships provide benefits for both the mentor and the mentee. The authors describe a peer-mentoring strategy implemented in a skills laboratory to improve skills knowledge, decrease anxiety associated with skills demonstrations, and provide positive socialization and its outcomes.