The development of academic identity in graduate nursing students: An interpretive descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Mentorship is an important element in the development of academic identity among graduate students in nursing. Although most often occurring within the context of faculty advisor-student relationships, mentorship should extend beyond formal advisor-advisee relationships. Peer mentorship is known to be beneficial for graduate students, yet little is known about how peer mentorship specifically impacts the development of academic identity. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore how peer mentorship, within the context of an international research conference, impacts the development of academic identity. DESIGN: Qualitative descriptive study. Graduate nursing students from a research-intensive university in Canada were invited to participate in a peer mentorship initiative. Data were collected through reflective journals. Data analysis was conducted iteratively and collaboratively using an interpretive descriptive approach. PARTICIPANTS: Eight mentees, two peer mentors and five faculty mentors participated in the initiative. With the exception of one faculty mentor, all participants provided reflective journals on their experiences, in response to journal prompts. RESULTS: Findings centered on five themes: walking through quicksand, navigating a complex academic world, developing academic identity through relationships, intentional cultivation of community, and finding solid ground. Our findings highlight the relational nature of academic identity development, and the significant benefit of providing mentorship to graduate nursing students outside of formal learning spaces. CONCLUSIONS: Given the urgent need to increase the numbers of nurses with advanced research training, it is important that effective strategies like this innovative mentorship initiative, that enhance professional identity development, are integrated into graduate education programs.

Parent-Mediated Intervention for One-Year-Olds Screened as At-Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Theoretically, interventions initiated with at-risk infants prior to the point in time a definitive autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis can be made will improve outcomes. Pursuing this idea, we tested the efficacy of a parent-mediated early intervention called Adapted Responsive Teaching (ART) via a randomized controlled trial with 87 one-year-olds identified by community screening with the First Year Inventory as at-risk of later ASD diagnoses. We found minimal evidence for main effects of ART on child outcomes. However, ART group parents showed significantly greater increases in responsiveness to their infants than control group parents. Further, significant indirect (mediation) effects of assignment group on multiple child outcomes through changes in parent responsiveness supported our theory of change.

Physical and psychomotor functioning of females the morning after consuming low to moderate quantities of beer.

OBJECTIVE: Individuals in society typically consume alcohol in "standard" units (e.g., bottles/cans of beer, glasses of wine, shots of distilled spirits) over a reasonable period of time whereas in many hangover studies, participants consume a single large dose of alcohol relative to their body weight in a short period of time. The purpose of this study was to examine how consuming low to moderate "standard" quantities of alcohol over an evening affected subjective hangover ratings, physical, physiological, and psychomotor functioning of adult females the next morning. METHOD: Twelve females consumed zero, two, four, or six bottles of beer (341 ml; 5% weight by volume) in a within-subjects design. Blood alcohol concentration, resting heart rate, resting blood pressure, and grip strength were measured prior to consumption, 1 hour after consumption, and the following morning (9 hours after consumption). In the morning, participants rated the presence of eight hangover symptoms, completed a four-choice reaction time test, and performed tests of submaximal and maximal endurance on a treadmill; blood lactate, blood glucose, and perceived exertion were recorded during submaximal and maximal exercise. RESULTS: Heart rate, blood pressure, grip strength, blood lactate, blood glucose, and reaction time did not significantly change the next morning as a function of alcohol dose. Participants made more choice reaction errors after consuming six than zero bottles of beer. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that consuming moderate quantities of beer affects decision making but not physical and physiological performance in adult females the next morning.