Practicing Upstream: Race-Based Trauma Care Training For Veteran's Health Administration Nurse Practitioners.

Problem: The Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) employed by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) lack race-based trauma training for Veterans that have experienced psychological, physiological, and emotional trauma. The VHA is responsible for the health of this culturally diverse patient population with complex health conditions. APRNs without prior military experience may have trouble obtaining an accurate history and physical exam due to their inexperience with the military's cross-cultural environment. This quality improvement pilot project aimed to incorporate race-based trauma training into a new adult geriatric acute care nurse practitioner's (AGACNP) fellowship curriculum. The study question is: In acute geriatric acute care nurse practitiioner's, what are the effects of race-based trauma training on competency and confidence in providing care to Veterans when hospitalized? Methods: A prospective descriptive design utilized a purposeful sample of senior adult-geriatric nurse practitioner (AGNP) students, due to the unforeseen circumstances of not hiring AGACNPs s for this pilot, for the first 6-weeks of a new acute care fellowship pilot program. Outcome measures included evaluating skills in identifying racial differences and confidence in applying culturally sensitive care. Results: Participant (N = 3) self-reported confidence increased by .33 (20%) in providing culturally competent and race-based trauma care, and an improvement in identifying race-based differences by .33 (17%) at completion of the pilot. Implications: Results indicated improvement in confidence and competence when providing race-based trauma care within 6 weeks. Continued training and evaluation throughout the 12-month fellowship are recommended.

Raising awareness: African American faculty perceptions of the interview process.

BACKGROUND: The American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN] and the National League for Nursing [NLN) recognize the importance of increasing the number of African American nursing faculty in collegiate nursing education. In other words, not hiring African American nurse faculty removes the African American perspective in advancing the tripartite mission of teaching, research, and service in academic nursing. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the interview process of African American faculty who sought employment in academic nursing. METHOD: This qualitative study, guided by Critical Race Theory (CRT), used face-to-face, semi-structured interviews to explore the feelings and perceptions of nine African American female nursing educators who sought employment in academic nursing. RESULTS: Major themes that emerged from their stories associated with the interview process were the lack of clarity, lack of job security, lack of diversity within the nursing academy, and racism. Their stories provided a deeper understanding of the challenges, issues, and complexities experienced when navigating the interview process as they attempted to gain access to employment opportunities. CONCLUSION: Through examining the lived experience of the African American nurse faculty hiring process, the CRT's framework illuminated how academic nursing institutions intentionally or unintentionally confirm the notion that nursing primarily wants to remain an 'all-white profession.'

A Game Changer: Adult-Geriatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Fellowship for the Veterans Health Administration.

BACKGROUND: Nurse practitioner (NP) fellowship programs assist the novice NP in transitioning to advanced practice while emphasizing building confidence and competence. The Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) offers an NP primary care fellowship program. The purpose of this project was to develop an acute care transition to practice fellowship program at a Midwestern VHA hospital. METHODS: A prospective, descriptive design utilizing a convenience sample of senior adult-geriatric nurse practitioner (AGNP) students during a pilot study of an acute care fellowship program. Outcome measures included evaluation of skills interpreting electrocardiograms (ECG), chest x-rays (CXR), and self-reported confidence in performing these skills over the initial 6-week period of the 12-month program. RESULTS: There were three participants (N = 3, 100%). There was a 33% increase in self-reported confidence of readiness to practice at completion of the pilot. However, ECG scores decreased 66% and CXR interpretation scores decreased 33%. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Despite training and targeted clinical experiences in ECG and CXR interpretations during an acute care fellowship, competence in these skills decreased while self-reported confidence increased at the end of 6 weeks. Continued education and training throughout the 12-month program is recommended to increase the novice NP's competence in these skills while transitioning to their new role. OBJECTIVE: To provide an acute care fellowship to facilitate with transition into advanced practice while increasing confidence and competence in the novice NP. CONCLUSION: The novice NP may benefit from an NP fellowship program.

A community-wide academic-service partnership to expand faculty and student capacity.

This article describes a unique academic-service community collaborative aimed at increasing student and faculty capacity. The state hospital association held a series of community-wide meetings with health care organization and academic leaders to discuss the growing RN and faculty shortages. Collectively, schools of nursing experienced a 70% increase in qualified applicants and could not admit all qualified applicants due to faculty constraints. A unique Workforce Collaborative Pilot Project was formed to address student and faculty capacity issues with three primary objectives: expand the pool of educators involved in preparing the next generation of nurses, increase nursing school enrollments by 335 additional nursing students each year in the metropolitan area for the next 5 years, and implement an innovative educational model that could be sustained or replicated. As a result, area schools of nursing have expanded enrollment by 1,046, and overall quality measurements and evaluative feedback remain positive.