Undergraduate pediatric nursing education: issues, challenges and recommendations.

The topic is a national review of content and clinical experiences in undergraduate pediatric nursing education with recommendations for strengthening the pediatric nursing curriculum. American Association of Colleges of Nursing member programs (N = 596) were surveyed with 344 schools responding. A 39-item survey collected school demographics, faculty characteristics, pediatric classroom and clinical information, and actual and perceived barriers to implementing the pediatric curriculum. Recommendations for change were offered by participants attending the 2011 Institute of Pediatric Nursing Nursing Forum. A mean of 33 (SD = 27) total undergraduate faculty included an average of 3.1 (SD = 3.11) faculty with graduate specialization and/or recent clinical experience in pediatrics. Within a mean of 43 (range = 0-136 hours) pediatric classroom hours, more than 59% of programs reported 2 hours or less in pediatric genetics, environmental health, and child nutrition. Content focused on acute and specialty care with programs using pediatric inpatient medical (68%) and surgical units (40%) for clinical learning. Recruiting pediatric faculty was a common issue and reported as extremely (23%) to moderately difficult (26%). Competition for clinical practice sites (76%) was a reported barrier. Adjustments in the pediatric undergraduate curriculum are recommended to highlight current health issues experienced by children including expansion of clinical learning experiences to settings where children live, learn, and play.

Scientific considerations for complex drugs in light of established and emerging regulatory guidance.

On March 9, 2012, the New York Academy of Sciences brought together experts representing a variety of perspectives--including academic, industrial, regulatory, as well as those from physicians and consumers--to discuss considerations for the non-biological complex drug (NBCD) regulatory approval pathway, given the emerging regulatory guidelines for biosimilars (follow-on biological complex drugs). Some of the organizers of the conference expressed their belief that NBCDs share a number of characteristic features with biologicals: the structure cannot be fully defined by the available (physicochemical) analytical tests, and quality assurance is based on in-depth knowledge, consistency, and control of the production process. However, their view on NBCDs was not universally accepted among the experts who participated in the conference. Plenary sessions addressed the most recent regulatory developments, experimental design, interchangeability, and immunogenicity issues for follow-on versions of complex drugs from the perspective of key audiences, including industry, regulatory agencies, physicians, and consumers. This report summarizes these various perspectives on NBCDs and the scientific and regulatory considerations associated with complex drug categories.

A profile of certification for pediatric nurses.

Over the past 15 years, more than 5,000 nurses have earned specialty nursing certification in pediatrics. While approximately 68% of these nurses have maintained this certification, many have allowed their certification to lapse. Surveys were conducted to describe differences between these two groups.

A new profile of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the pediatric nurse: a revision of the CPN certification exam.

Recently an expert panel of pediatric nurses from the U.S. and Canada, using data gathered from interviews, activity logs, and aspects of an international role delineation survey, created a new national pediatric nursing exam content outline that reflects the nature of general pediatric nursing practice. The outline presented in this article incorporates the newly evolving knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to provide expert pediatric nursing care.

What do pediatric nurses do? Results of the role delineation study in Canada and the United States.

The National Certification Board of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Nurses (NCBPNP/N) is responsible for developing, maintaining, and administering the general pediatric nursing certification examination. A key feature is to ensure that the template used to construct the examination is formulated on the basis of current practice in pediatric nursing. Changes in health care require that a formal examination be conducted every 7-10 years to assess current practice and revise the test specifications as indicated. The purpose of this study was to identify the roles and responsibilities of the general pediatric nurse as a first step in continuing the job-related certification examination program. The purpose was to also analyze areas of knowledge, skill, and ability for pediatric nurses.