Care, lead, and inspire: Infusing innovation into nursing research and evidence-based practice course.

BACKGROUND: Today's nursing workforce is expected to know how to identify and understand research methods and procedures and apply the most current evidence into daily practice. However, teaching evidence-based practice (EBP) in an undergraduate nursing curriculum poses unique challenges in overcoming students' perception of content relevancy to their educational experience, but also offers opportunities for innovation to facilitate critical thinking and clinical application. AIMS: The aim of this article is to report on how teaching and learning innovation was infused into a research and evidence-based practice course and the effect on students' perceptions of course values and effectiveness. METHODS: We used a Plan-Do-Study-Act approach to introduce innovation in an undergraduate course within a university setting. Final student course evaluations were used to measure outcomes on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = low and 5 = high) on the following dimensions: (1) value of overall educational experience, (2) relevancy of course content, (3) improvement in critical thinking, and (4) level of student-instructor interaction. RESULTS: Overall course evaluation scores improved greatly from 2.69 to 3.90 between Spring 2020 and Fall 2021. This finding remained relatively consistent across subsequent semesters (3.79 [Spring 2022], 3.84 [Fall 2022]). Students also reported appreciation and increased engagement and interest with the material after transitioning from examinations to a project-based assignment that allowed them to walk through the steps of EBP in class. LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION: We identified and implemented several innovative strategies to improve student outcomes and increase the relevance of the course content. These innovations can be easily incorporated at other universities to enhance delivery and student engagement in this content that is essential to advancing quality care in nursing and developing future nurse scientists and practice leaders who care, lead, and inspire.

Evaluating Burnout and Resiliency in New Graduate Nurses: A Cross-sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate current levels of and factors contributing toward burnout and resiliency among new graduate nurses to identify effective mitigation strategies. BACKGROUND: New graduate nurses are at a high risk of increased turnover in the 1st year of employment. An evidence-based, graduate-nurse centered approach is essential to improving nurse retention among this cohort. METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving 43 new graduate nurses was completed in July 2021 (a subset of a larger sample of 390 staff nurses). Nurses were recruited to complete the Brief Resilience Scale, the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, and a demographic survey. RESULTS: New graduate nurses scored within "normal resiliency." This cohort reported moderate levels of burnout overall. Higher levels were reported within personal- and work-related subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Strategies to reduce burnout and increase resiliency in new graduate nurses should be focused on improving personal and work-related burnout.

Toward Building Surge Capacity: Potentially Effective Spatial Configurations in Emergency Departments.

BACKGROUND: Emergency departments (EDs) have been struggling with overcrowding issues for years. Some spatial configurations have been proposed to improve ED performance in facing overcrowding. Despite similarities with mass casualty incidents (MCIs), when demand for care exceeds the capacity, little is documented about the application of the proposed configurations during MCIs to improve surge capacity. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to explore the potential of spatial configurations that have been proposed to handle ED overcrowding in daily operations so as to improve surge capacity during MCIs. METHODS: Using an online Likert-scale survey, 11 spatial design strategies were rated by ED care teams in terms of their potential to improve surge capacity during MCIs. RESULTS: Responses from 72 participants revealed that establishing an in-house lab was perceived as the most potential strategy, followed by rapid care area, internal waiting rooms, and in-house imaging. In contrast, separate entrance and exit doors, as well as decentralized nurse stations, were perceived as the least potential strategies but also exhibited the most variance in response. Respondents' comments implied that their choice of in-house ancillary services was primarily to improve communication and to reduce turnaround time and risk of errors. Their choice of rapid care and internal waiting areas related to improved flexibility. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding clinicians' perspectives on potentially effective spatial configurations aids in implementing balanced strategies to better equip EDs to handle overcrowding in daily operations and manage surges during MCIs.

The Academic Partnership Unit: Educating, Recruiting, and Retaining BSN Nurses.

Recruitment and retention of BSN-prepared nurses are a primary goal of many hospitals as they attempt to meet the challenges of high patient acuities and increased turnover among bedside nurses. In this article, the authors describe the Academic Partnership Unit, an evidence-based clinical education program designed to train, recruit, and retain BSN-prepared nurses.