Breastfeeding knowledge of university nursing students.

OBJECTIVE: To assess breastfeeding knowledge among senior nursing students and identify the types of breastfeeding knowledge the students have. We also investigated the relationship between the different types of breastfeeding knowledge. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: An exploratory descriptive design used a convenience sample of 115 students from two schools of nursing in two Midwestern universities. Students who completed maternal/child nursing didactic and clinical courses were eligible to participate. A Breastfeeding Knowledge Questionnaire adapted from Brodribb, Fallon, Jackson, and Hegney (2008) was used. The questionnaire consisted of 24 items covering knowledge about benefits of breastfeeding, physiology of lactation, and breastfeeding management. Content and face validity were considered, and Cronbach's α for internal consistency was 0.70. Eligible students completed the questionnaire in class. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to describe student knowledge and to test the differences in breastfeeding knowledge. RESULTS: Findings revealed a mean knowledge score of 17 ± 2.9 (total possible score 24). There was a significant difference in the students' knowledge regarding physiology of lactation and benefits of breastfeeding (t = -3.615, p = .000) and between benefits and breastfeeding management (t = 5.255, p = .000). There was a positive relationship between knowledge of physiology of lactation and breastfeeding management (r = 0.369, p = .000). CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Strategies are warranted to improve breastfeeding education in the nursing curriculum, focusing on breastfeeding management skills.

Assessment and early diagnosis of dysphagia.

Dysphagia is defined as difficulty in swallowing food (semi-solid or solid), liquid, or both. Neurological, muscular, anatomical, and/or psychological factors may predispose a person to difficulty in swallowing. Difficulty in swallowing or dysphagia can lead to serious complications including aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition, and death if not diagnosed early. Health care providers who are knowledgeable in assessing and diagnosing individuals with or at risk for dysphagia can in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team ameliorate the complications of dysphagia and optimize outcomes through focused interventions. In addition, health care costs would be reduced through decreased need for hospitalization, length of stay when hospitalized, and overall health care expenditures. This article provides a review of the epidemiology of dysphagia, the normal swallowing process, pathophysiology, signs and symptoms, and diagnostics. Implications for practice also are discussed.

A daylong clinical laboratory: from gaming to high-fidelity simulators.

Meeting required objectives in the clinical setting can be difficult because of low exposure to critical events. This has been further compounded by an increase in the number of enrolling students without a reciprocal rise in the number of field-related clinical sites. As simulation gains popularity in nursing, exploration of its use and benefits to teach nursing-related concepts is desirable. The authors discuss a variety of teaching strategies ranging from the use of games to high-fidelity simulators that have been incorporated into an all-day clinical simulation campus laboratory.

Validation of critical thinking skills in online responses.

Although nursing accreditation bodies have recognized critical thinking as a significant outcome for graduates at the baccalaureate and master's levels, no consensus exists on its definition and measurements. In addition, schools of nursing that are completely online do not agree on how to evaluate critical thinking in online responses. This study explains the development of a 10-item tool that uses a Likert scale to evaluate critical thinking skills in students' online responses in three master's-level courses in a nursing school in the midwestern United States. The developed tool has adequate reliability coefficients, as measured by Pearson's r and Cronbach's alpha. The critical thinking skills of the tested students were adequate in the areas of analysis and synthesis but needed improvement in the evaluation domain.