Getting started: Needs and preferences of Colorado faculty for graduate education in nursing.

The projected shortage of nurses is greatly influenced by the shortage of nursing faculty. This is of significant concern in Colorado due to increasing requirements for master's-prepared instructors at all levels. While there are many reasons for the faculty shortage, this study looked specifically at the needs and preferences of current nursing instructors related to obtaining graduate education in nursing. The survey results paint a picture of nurse faculty who need new approaches to managing graduate course work in addition to teaching and family responsibilities. Help with expenses through grants, scholarships, and loan forgiveness is vital. Potential graduate students rarely consider full-time or on-campus study, instead favoring online, one-per-semester, year-round courses. They are concerned about practicum hours, less concerned about graduate-level academic work, and not very concerned about online methods. There were no evident differences in needs and preferences for further education based on rural/urban location or community college/university setting.

High-fidelity simulation: factors correlated with nursing student satisfaction and self-confidence.

While available research suggests positive outcomes when using high-fidelity simulation in nursing education, little is known about factors associated with these outcomes. This descriptive, correlational study examined the effects of a simulation experience on two outcomes (student satisfaction and self-confidence) as well as factors correlating with these outcomes. This was accomplished by both descriptive statistical analysis (mean and standard deviation) in addition to correlational statistical analysis using bivariate statistics (Spearman's rho) and multiple linear regression. Results indicate that design characteristics, especially clear objectives and an appropriately challenging problem to solve, were significantly correlated with student satisfaction and self-confidence.

Caring for families coping with perinatal loss.

OBJECTIVE: To describe support needs and comfort level of labor nurses caring for families experiencing perinatal loss. DESIGN: Qualitative descriptive study. SETTING: A western hospital birthing unit. PARTICIPANTS: Ten labor nurses. METHOD: Participants completed online surveys and follow-up interviews; data saturation was reached. Content analysis produced themes and recommendations related to providing perinatal bereavement care. Participants reviewed and confirmed accuracy of the results. RESULTS: Nurses are generally comfortable but find it difficult to provide perinatal bereavement care. Strategies for coping include focusing on needed care, talking to nursing peers, and spending time with their own family members. Nurses take turns providing care depending on "who is best able to handle it that day" and prefer not to be assigned a laboring patient in addition to the grieving parents. Developing clinical expertise is necessary to gain the comfort level and the skills necessary to care for these vulnerable families. Orientation experiences and nursing staff debriefing would help. Needed education includes grief training, communication techniques, and guidelines for the extensive paperwork. CONCLUSIONS: Initial and ongoing education of nurses about perinatal bereavement care is needed. Effective strategies for coping during and after providing care would support nurses in meeting the emotional challenge of providing high quality perinatal bereavement care.

Tracking the development of professional values in undergraduate nursing students.

In the current nursing shortage, nurses are frequently making significant patient care decisions concerning value-laden clinical issues. A program evaluation study was conducted to track professional values over time from entry into a baccalaureate program to graduation. Nursing students completed a survey measuring professional values upon entry into and exit from the program. Comparative analysis of pretest and posttest group means demonstrated statistically significant increases in total scores. The highest pretest value items were also the highest on the posttest, with the addition of patient advocacy. Patient advocacy jumped 16 places from pretest to posttest to become the highest-ranked statement upon exit from the program. All of the values rated as least valued at pretest remained least valued at posttest; however, the means of all but two (participating in nursing research and providing consumer education about products/services) increased significantly. The value statements with mean scores that increased significantly centered on aspects of nursing practice less visible to the lay public and involving interaction with other health care providers.