Examination of the Relationship Between Clinical Hours and NCLEX Success.

BACKGROUND: Clinical education provides important learning opportunities for students. Finding clinical sites and faculty can be a challenge. Exploring the relationship between the number of clinical practice hours and NCLEX-RN success may be helpful for curriculum development and revision. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to provide descriptive information about clinical education in RN programs and determine if a relationship existed between the number of clinical hours and NCLEX-RN pass rate. METHOD: A descriptive research design using a survey was sent to over 1000 accredited nursing programs in the United States. RESULTS: One hundred and fourteen surveys were completed. When comparing 2021 NCLEX-RN pass rates with clinical hours, there was a statistically significant difference at the 500 clinical hour interval. CONCLUSION: Nursing programs can ensure fiduciary responsibility while supporting clinical judgment development and licensure success by reviewing their curriculum and reconsidering the number of clinical hours in their programs.

Evaluating the Efficiency of Survey Collection Methods to Trauma Patients.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic injury survivors often experience negative health consequences, impacting recovery. No studies have assessed the feasibility of evaluating the resiliency of hospitalized trauma patients using the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10). PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the most efficient method to collect survey responses on the CD-RISC-10. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used a convenience sample of admitted patients with traumatic injury. Patients were randomized to complete the CD-RISC-10 using pen and paper, tablet, or workstation on wheels. RESULTS: Of the 161 patient surveys, the tablet-based survey took the shortest time to complete (2 minutes, 21 seconds), and the paper survey resulted in the lowest percentage of missed questions (0.5%). Trauma patients reported high levels of resiliency. CONCLUSION: The CD-RISC-10 can be easily administered to trauma patients. Clinicians should balance efficiency and patient preferences when deciding on a survey collection method.

"Make-up" Examinations: Comparison of on-Time and Late Examination Student Scores.

BACKGROUND: Nursing faculty may have concerns about unfair advantages and inflated examination grades when students take an examination late. PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to compare make-up examination scores with on-time examination scores to determine whether scores were higher in students who took an examination late. METHODS: A descriptive, comparative study using retrospective examination scores from a large nursing program was analyzed. Late examination scores were compared with the student's individual on-time examination average and the class's average of on-time examination scores. RESULTS: A total of 156 examinations were taken late. There were no statistically significant differences between students' late examination scores when compared with the student's on-time examinations or the class average of the examination. CONCLUSION: Students do not appear to gain an advantage when taking an examination late. Findings may assist faculty in developing policies for taking make-up examinations.

Exploring Nurses' Perceptions of Specialty Certification.

BACKGROUND: The strategic nursing plan for a large Midwestern health care system includes achievement of the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Magnet® recognition for all their hospitals. This study explored the barriers to and perceived value of certification among nurses employed by the same health care system across eight facilities in a metropolitan region. One of these facilities holds Magnet® recognition. METHOD: Subjects were recruited by direct email to collect demographic data and complete a barrier to certification survey and the Perceived Value of Certification Tool-12. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences in the perception that lack of institutional support is a barrier to certification both in aggregate and when comparing the Magnet® hospital with the others. CONCLUSION: As an initial exploration into barriers and perceived value, this study provides data for this health care system to plan strategies to promote certification. This study also serves as an exemplar for other organizations considering evaluation of certification barriers and value among their nursing staff. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2023;54(12):567-573.].

Incidence of and Factors Associated With Recurrent Firearm Injury Among Patients Presenting to St. Louis Trauma Centers, 2010 to 2019 : A Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Firearm injuries are a public health crisis in the United States. OBJECTIVE: To examine the incidence and factors associated with recurrent firearm injuries and death among patients presenting with an acute (index), nonfatal firearm injury. DESIGN: Multicenter, observational, cohort study. SETTING: Four adult and pediatric level I trauma hospitals in St. Louis, Missouri, 2010 to 2019. PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive adult and pediatric patients (n = 9553) presenting to a participating hospital with a nonfatal acute firearm injury. MEASUREMENTS: Data on firearm-injured patient demographics, hospital and diagnostic information, health insurance status, and death were collected from the St. Louis Region-Wide Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program Data Repository. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index was used to characterize the social vulnerability of the census tracts of patients' residences. Analysis included descriptive statistics and time-to-event analyses estimating the probability of experiencing a recurrent firearm injury. RESULTS: We identified 10 293 acutely firearm-injured patients of whom 9553 survived the injury and comprised the analytic sample. Over a median follow-up of 3.5 years (IQR, 1.5 to 6.4 years), 1155 patients experienced a recurrent firearm injury including 5 firearm suicides and 149 fatal firearm injuries. Persons experiencing recurrent firearm injury were young (25.3 ± 9.5 years), predominantly male (93%), Black (96%), and uninsured (50%), and resided in high social vulnerability regions (65%). The estimated risk for firearm reinjury was 7% at 1 year and 17% at 8 years. LIMITATIONS: Limited data on comorbidities and patient-level social determinants of health. Inability to account for recurrent injuries presenting to nonstudy hospitals. CONCLUSION: Recurrent injury and death are frequent among survivors of firearm injury, particularly among patients from socially vulnerable areas. Our findings highlight the need for interventions to prevent recurrence. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Emergency Medicine Foundation-AFFIRM and Missouri Foundation for Health.

Implementing a hospital-based violence intervention program for assault-injured youth: implications for social work practice.

Youth in the U.S. experience a high rate of assault-related injuries resulting in physical, psychological and social sequelae that require a wide range of services after discharge from the hospital. Hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIP's) have been developed to engage youth in services designed to reduce the incidence of violent injury in young people. HVIP's combine the efforts of medical staff with community-based partners to provide trauma-informed care to violently-injured people and have been found to be a cost-effective means to reduce re-injury rates and improve social and behavioral health outcomes. Few studies have explored the organizational and community level factors that impact implementation of these important and complex interventions. The objective of this study was to develop an in-depth understanding of the factors that impact HVIP implementation from the perspectives of 41 stakeholders through qualitative interviews. Thematic analysis generated three themes that included the importance of integrated, collaborative care, the need for providers who can perform multiple service roles and deploy a range of skills, and the importance of engaging clients through extended contact. In this article we explore these themes and their implications for healthcare social work.

A Regional Approach to Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs Through LOV.

CONTEXT: Community violence is an underaddressed public health threat. Hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) have been used to address the root causes of violence and prevent reinjury. OBJECTIVE: In this article, we describe the methodology of the St Louis Region-wide HVIP, Life Outside Violence (LOV) program, and provide preliminary process outcomes. DESIGN: Life Outside Violence mentors intervene following a violent injury to decrease risk of subsequent victimization and achieve goals unique to each participant by providing therapeutic counseling and case management services to patients and their families. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Eligible patients are victims of violent injury between the ages of 8 and 24 years, who are residents of St Louis, Missouri, and present for care at a LOV partner adult or pediatric level I trauma hospital. INTERVENTION: Enrolled participants receive program services for 6 to 12 months and complete an individual treatment plan. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: In this article, we report LOV operational methodology, as well as process metrics, including program enrollment, graduation, and qualitative data on program implementation. RESULTS: From August 15, 2018, through April 30, 2022, 1750 LOV-eligible violently injured patients presented to a partner hospital, 349 were approached for program enrollment, and 206 consented to enroll in the program. During this pilot phase, 91 participants graduated from the LOV program and have process output data available for analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Life Outside Violence has been implemented into clinical practice as the first HVIP to influence across an entire region through partnership with multiple university and hospital systems. It is our hope that methods shared in this article will serve as a primer for organizations hoping to implement and expand HVIPs to interrupt community violence at the regional level.

Characteristics of Adult Patients for Violence-Related Injuries Presenting to a Level 1 Trauma Center in Midwest United States.

BACKGROUND: Hospital violence intervention programs (HVIPs) have recently been initiated in trauma centers across the United States. However, violence-related injuries have unique factors and issues that should be addressed in the health care provided in emergency departments. PURPOSE: This study aimed to characterize the patient population presenting at a level 1 ACS verified trauma center, with a chief complaint of violent trauma, and identify characteristics of patients most at risk for violence-related trauma. METHODS: The cross-sectional retrospective study examined patients' electronic health records, at least 18 years, with a diagnosis of blunt or penetrating injury treated by the emergency and trauma team at level 1 ACS verified trauma center in the Midwest. RESULTS: Assault injuries accounted for most of the mechanisms that required treatment at the hospital and disposed to home. Nearly 80% of the population had no documentation of the relationship of the assailant. The average age of the patients was 33 years and black males. Eleven patients were treated in the emergency department twice for a trauma-related injury during the six-month data collection. CONCLUSION: Injuries from violence require comprehensive care from various healthcare disciplines, similar to managing acute and chronic illnesses. The American College of Surgeons (ACS) guidelines support the development of an HVIP to identify risk factors and treatment plans for any patient exposed to violence. This research demonstrates that HVIPs should provide standardized screening and follow-up care while in the emergency department or immediately following the hospital to reduce the cyclical events.

Burn trauma from a space heater requiring paraspinal muscle flap back reconstruction with skin grafting: A case report.

Full-thickness burns damage all layers of skin and may also damage underlying tissue including bones, muscles, and tendons. Full-thickness burns almost always require immediate medical and surgical management. Some may require extensive bone, muscular, and other reconstructive surgery depending on the depth of involvement of surrounding tissues. Bone exposure in burn patients can lead to unique complications including osteomyelitis. We present the case of an elderly patient with a history of dementia who presented with full-thickness burns to the back with exposed spinal elements who later developed osteomyelitis requiring lumbar spine reconstruction with bilateral paraspinous muscle flap for back reconstruction, adjacent tissue transfer, and split thickness skin grafting. This case represents the severity of full-thickness burns with underlying bone exposure and the importance of aggressive wound care and multidisciplinary team approach.

Acute Gastric Dilatation Complicated by Necrosis and Perforation Following a Binge Eating Episode.

Acute gastric dilatation is a rare entity limited to case reports in the literature. It is characterized by significant distention of the stomach beyond physiologic parameters. The sequelae of this phenomenon are life-threating, as it can lead to gastric perforation. It is frequently reported in patients who suffer from eating disorders, particularly binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa. We present a case of a 28-year-old female who suffered from acute gastric dilatation following significant food intake. Her long hospital course was complicated by gastric necrosis and perforation, requiring multiple laparotomies prior to the restoration of a functional gastrointestinal tract. We aim to demonstrate the true gravity of this diagnosis and raise its awareness.

An exploration of factors impacting implementation of a multisystem hospital-based violence intervention program.

Community violence, particularly gun violence, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in young people in the United States. Because persons experiencing violence-related injuries are likely to receive medical care through emergency departments, hospitals are increasingly seen as primary locations for violence intervention services. Currently, there is little research on how best to implement hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) across large hospital systems. This study explored the factors influencing the implementation of a multi-site HVIP using qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of 20 multidisciplinary stakeholders. Thematic analysis was used to generate several themes that included: (1) reframing gun violence as a public health issue; (2) developing networks of community-hospital-university partners; (3) demonstrating effectiveness and community benefit; and (4) establishing patient engagement pathways. Effective implementation and sustainment of HVIPs requires robust and sustained multidisciplinary partnerships within and across hospital systems and the establishment of HVIPs as a standard of care.

Septic Emboli Resulting From Severe Trauma: A Primer on Care.

INTRODUCTION: Trauma nursing requires specialized knowledge and skills. This article describes the case of a patient who was involved in a motor vehicle accident and presented to the emergency department with hypovolemic shock secondary to a splenic laceration. In the hospital, the patient experienced prolonged hypotension. CLINICAL FINDINGS: The patient sustained a variety of insults to the cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, and musculoskeletal systems. Microbiological data and laboratory test results did not reveal the defining characteristics of sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syndrome typical of trauma patients, making it challenging to identify the source of the sepsis. DIAGNOSIS: The patient was diagnosed with nontraumatic cerebral septic emboli, a condition that is less common in trauma patients and more common in cases of endocarditis, septic thrombophlebitis, and central venous catheter infections. The condition has a 50% mortality rate if not detected promptly and appropriate treatment administered. OUTCOMES: The patient survived the 4-week hospitalization owing to timely management of his conditions by the health care team and their persistence in identifying the cause of his atypical sepsis. CONCLUSION: To provide adequate care to trauma patients, critical care nurses require specialized knowledge of this unique population. Trauma critical care nursing should involve hands-off communication, thoughtful review of laboratory test and imaging results, and engagement in interdisciplinary care rounds.

Proposed management of traumatic blunt gallbladder injuries: A case of a pre-emptive laparoscopic cholecystectomy for suspected gallbladder avulsion after blunt traumatic liver injury.

Trauma is the leading cause of death among people aged 1-45 in the United States with the abdomen being the third most commonly injured anatomic region. The incidence of gallbladder trauma in the setting of abdominal injury ranges between 0.5 and 2.1 %. While gallbladder injuries secondary to penetrating abdominal wounds are found intra-operatively owing to the likely progression towards laparotomy, due to the paradigm shift of non-operative management of blunt liver injuries, the diagnosis of blunt gallbladder injuries are commonly delayed upwards of 1 to 6 weeks. 4 We present a case of a pre-emptive cholecystectomy less than 36 h after sustaining a grade V liver injury status post blunt abdominal trauma in effort emphasize the importance of critical review of diagnostic images, and support the utilization of diagnostic laparoscopy to definitively diagnose and manage traumatic blunt gallbladder injuries. When operative intervention is not performed, the nonspecific findings suggestive of gallbladder injuries can lead to delayed diagnosis and subsequent increased morbidity and mortality. Due to the lack of previous guidelines we propose a diagnostic algorithm for the approach of traumatic blunt gallbladder injuries.

Laboratory Testing in the School Setting: Are You CLIA Compliant?

Nurses are qualified to design, manage, supervise, and deliver health care in a public health setting such as the school. Considering this, school nurses should understand regulations necessary to aid in the care of children, especially related to point-of-care laboratory testing for the assessment and treatment of health conditions. The pandemic and resulting mitigation strategy of COVID-19 testing adopted by some schools, has raised questions about the need for school nurses to comply with the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). CLIA was established to improve the quality of laboratory test results and school nurses who perform blood glucose monitoring and urine dipstick testing fall under the CLIA waiver category. Therefore, school nurses should be knowledgeable about CLIA certification. By developing policies and procedures for testing, completing the CLIA certificate of waiver, and following best laboratory practices, school nurses will be delivering high-quality nursing care in their health room.

Linking out-of-hospital deaths with a regional hospital-based firearm injury database: a clinical researcher's guide to accessing data from the National Death Index.

IntroductionFirearm injuries are a public health crisis in the US. The National Death Index (NDI) is a well-established, comprehensive database managed by the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC. In this methodology paper we describe our experience accessing and linking data from the NDI to our regional, hospital-based violent injury database to identify out-of-hospital deaths from firearms. METHODS: We outline the key steps of our submission to the NDI. Data were collected from research team meeting notes, team member emails with NDI staff, and information provided from the NDI website and supplementary guides. Few of our collaborators or university partner investigators had accessed or used data from the NDI. We discuss the online NDI Processing Portal data request, data preparation and receipt from the NDI, troubleshooting tips, and a timeline of events. RESULTS: Our query to the NDI returned 12 034 records of 12 219 firearm-injured patient records from 2010 and 2019. The record match rate was 98.5%. DISCUSSION: Linking hospital-based data sets with NDI data can provide valuable information on out-of-hospital deaths. This has the potential to improve the quality of longitudinal morbidity and mortality calculations in hospital-based patient cohorts. We encountered logistic and administrative challenges in completing the online NDI Processing Portal and in preparing and receiving data from the NDI. It is our hope that the lessons learnt presented herein will help facilitate easy and streamlined acquisition of valuable NDI data for other clinical researchers. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: - A step-by-step guide for clinical researchers of how to apply to access data from the National Death Index (NDI).- Advice and lessons learned on how to efficiently and effectively access data from the NDI.- A well-described methodology to improve the quality of longitudinal morbdity and mortality calculations in hospital-based cohorts of firearm injured patients.What is already known on this subject:- There is a need for robust, longitudinal data sources that reliably track morbidity and mortality among firearm injured patients in the United States.- The NDI is a well-established, comprehensive database that holds death records for all 50 states, which provides valuable mortality data to the public health and medical research community.

Acute gastric perforation after leaving against medical advice: A case presentation.

INTRODUCTION: Gastric perforation with necrosis is rare following acute gastric dilation (AGD) and can be fatal. We present a case of a patient with AGD due to a binge-eating episode who left the emergency department (ED) against medical advice (AMA) only to return with gastric perforation and necrosis requiring total splenectomy and partial gastrectomy. CASE: A 28-year-old female without a remarkable past medical history presented to the ED with diffuse abdominal pain and obstipation after a three-day "food crawl." On admission, a computerized tomography (CT) scan revealed a markedly dilated stomach from the diaphragm to the pelvis with severe mass effect. The therapeutic plan at the time was gastric decompression via a nasogastric tube. The following day, the patient reported feeling better and left AMA only to return the same evening with worsening symptoms and peritoneal signs. The patient was then emergently taken to the operating room (OR). In the OR, laparotomy revealed frank spillage of partially digested food and necrosis along the greater curvature of the stomach that extended to the spleen. Damage control surgery was performed, which required a total splenectomy and a partial gastrectomy. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and subsequently underwent five more trips to the OR due to severe edema that delayed the primary closure of the fascia. Once the patient was transferred out of the ICU, she was evaluated by psychiatry and diagnosed with a binge-eating disorder. CONCLUSION: This case demonstrates the severity of acute gastric dilation and its potentially lethal consequences. In some cases, such as this one, the patient may present with mild symptoms and not comprehend the gravity of the situation. Therefore, it is important for clinicians to recognize this condition as a true emergency and perform immediate decompression and evaluation for surgery.

Preparedness to Write Items for Nursing Education Examinations: A National Survey of Nurse Educators.

BACKGROUND: Nursing programs in the United States primarily use multiple-choice questions to prepare students for the NCLEX. BACKGROUND: Nursing programs in the United States primarily use multiple-choice questions to prepare students for the NCLEX. Currently, the optional next-generation NCLEX is testing the validity and reliability of situational case studies. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the preparedness and confidence of nurse educators in writing NCLEX-style questions. METHODS: A descriptive survey design with snowball sampling was used to collect the data and was sent to 1550 deans/directors/coordinators of publicly available email addresses of accredited schools of nursing. RESULTS: A total of 300 participants completed the survey from 44 states. When asked about confidence in writing NCLEX-style items, those who received formal education or training reported being somewhat confident (51%), whereas those who did not reported ambivalent or not confident (49%). CONCLUSION: Surveyed nurse educators lack confidence in writing questions and feel unprepared for the new question types instituted by the NCSBN in 2023. Nurse educators need continued education to develop and review NCLEX-style items and examinations.

Assessment of Answer-Changing Behavior of Nursing Students and Faculty Recommendations.

BACKGROUND: Existing literature identifies a general positive benefit to students' examination scores when students change their answer on examinations. Current shifts toward computerized examinations and in test anxiety warrant a literature update on test-taking behaviors. PURPOSE: This study assessed answer changing on multiple-choice examinations and investigated faculty recommendations related to answer changing. METHOD: This study used a mixed-methods design using retrospective student data from ExamSoft reports and faculty responses from a national survey of nurse educators. RESULTS: Findings indicated 55% of students improved their examination score, with an average improvement of 3%, and 24% of students lowered their examination score. However, faculty continue to incorrectly recommend that students should not change answers on examinations. CONCLUSION: The results of this study support prior literature that answer changing benefits students. However, data are lacking on the characteristics of students who improve or lower their examination scores by changing answers.[J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(6):324-328.].

Changes in attitudes toward diabetes in nursing students at diabetes camp.

AIM: The research purpose was to determine whether exposure to residential diabetes camps affects attitudes toward diabetes care and management in nursing students. BACKGROUND: Summer camp for children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) provides a unique and engaging clinical environment for nursing students to learn about evolving diabetes care and to help children develop diabetes management skills. METHODS: This prospective, pretest/posttest study assessed student nurses' attitudes about diabetes, who attended one of four residential summer camps in the United States, using the Diabetes Attitude Survey 3 (DAS3). The survey was administered before and after clinical experience designed to fulfill experiential curricula requirements from various nursing programs. RESULTS: After attending diabetes camp, nursing students (N = 73) had a positive change in their attitudes regarding the need for special training and the psychosocial impact of diabetes. DISCUSSION: The diabetes camp clinical experience impacted nursing students' attitudes. Diabetes camps are a unique clinical setting that uses learned clinical knowledge and judgment to promote health and prevent disease and disability, supporting the integration of primary care and public health nursing.

Leadership development of nursing professionals: Education and influences of self-efficacy.

BACKGROUND: According to Bandura's theory, understanding the relationship of traits and leader self-efficacy in the various roles of nursing can aid in leader development and the growth of the profession. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of leader self-efficacy of academic nursing professionals to determine if traits and participation in certain activities was predictive of leader self-efficacy. METHOD: A validated survey tool, the Leader Efficacy Questionnaire (LEQ) was administered to nursing professionals using snowball sampling from publicly available email addresses. FINDINGS: Statistical significance was found between the academic degrees and the 4 scores of the LEQ. Overall, the participants reported moderate to high leader self-efficacy with an LEQ overall score (LSME) of 70 or greater. DISCUSSION: The dynamic challenges of health care require an understanding of nursing professionals' leader self-efficacy in light of their academic preparation and activities to grow the profession.