A, B, or C? A Quasi-experimental Multi-site Study Investigating Three Option Multiple Choice Questions.

There is nearly a century of educational research that has demonstrated that three option multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are as valid and reliable as four or five option, yet this format continues to be underutilized in educational institutions. This replication study was a quasi-experimental between groups research design conducted at three Canadian schools of nursing to examine the psychometric properties of three option MCQs when compared to the more traditional four option questions. Data analysis revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in the item discrimination, difficulty or mean examination scores when MCQs were administered with three versus four option answer choices.

Early Use of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy to Accelerate Symptomatic Relief and Complete Left Ventricular Function Recovery in Peripartum Cardiomyopathy.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare cause of heart failure that develops during the last month of pregnancy or within first months of delivery. We report the case of a 40-year-old woman diagnosed with severely symptomatic PPCM characterized by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 10% and significant dyssynchrony secondary to a left bundle branch block (LBBB). Early cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) was used to achieve remarkable functional and LVEF recovery. This case suggests that early CRT must be considered for patients suffering from severely symptomatic PPCM despite optimal medical therapy for whom advanced heart failure therapies are proposed.

Nursing students' perceptions of preparation to engage in patient education.

Patient teaching is a key component of graduate nursing practice. Nurses sometimes believe that their undergraduate teaching does not prepare them to engage in effective patient teaching. In addition, nursing students often do not use teaching resources when engaging in patient teaching. The aim of this focused ethnographic study was to determine if students in a CBL/PBL based learning undergraduate nursing program engage in patient teaching when they are in the clinical area. Focus groups and shorter individual interviews were used to ensure in-depth data collection. Data saturation was reached with a sample of 28 undergraduate students. Emerging themes included: Whose responsibility? When patient teaching does happen, when patient teaching does not happen and improving the culture of patient teaching in the teaching setting. It was clear that students in this context-based learning nursing teaching program valued and were engaged in patient teaching. However, they did not necessarily feel that they had been taught the skills necessary for engaging in effective patient teaching. They also expressed concern that workplace conditions for nurses were not always conducive to patient teaching.

Solution mechanism guide: implementing innovation within a research & development organization.

In order to create a culture more open to novel problem-solving mechanisms, NASA's Human Health and Performance Directorate (HH&P) created a strategic knowledge management tool that educates employees about innovative problem-solving techniques, the Solution Mechanism Guide (SMG). The SMG is a web-based, interactive guide that leverages existing and innovative problem-solving methods and presents this information as a unique user experience so that the employee is empowered to make the best decision about which problem-solving tool best meets their needs. By integrating new and innovative methods with existing problem solving tools, the SMG seamlessly introduces open innovation and collaboration concepts within HH&P to more effectively address human health and performance risks. This commentary reviews the path of creating a more open and innovative culture within HH&P and the process and development steps that were taken to develop the SMG.