The impact of mentorship, preceptors, and debriefing on the quality of program experiences.

With the prevalent problem of nurse retention and the lack of confidence new nurses experience, it is critical for nurse residency programs to have supportive factors that enhance residency experiences. By incorporating mentorship, preceptors, and debriefing components into these programs, skills in communication, organization, clinical reasoning, stress management, and self-confidence increase. This quantitative study was a descriptive analysis of secondary data using a cross-sectional design. Two instruments were used to gather data, the Demographic Information Survey and the Evaluation of the RN Residency Survey. The sample was comprised of 1078 graduate nurses completing nurse residency programs throughout the United States. The findings indicated that higher residency ratings were significantly related to higher preceptor and debriefing experiences. Results also showed no significant interaction effects of reduced stress due to mentoring on the relationship between preceptorship experiences or debriefing experiences and ratings of nurse residency. Consequently, it is important that new nurses are given the opportunity to take part in programs offering mentorship, preceptors, and debriefing elements, as nursing residents have found them to be highly beneficial. Furthermore, debriefing sessions strengthened their skills and built confidence during their first year of employment.

Veteran satisfaction and treatment preferences in response to a posttraumatic stress disorder specialty clinic orientation group.

To maximize accessibility to evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has widely disseminated cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and prolonged exposure (PE) therapy to VA clinicians. However, there is a lack of research on veteran preferences when presented with a range of psychotherapy and medication options. This study uses a mixed-method approach to explore veteran satisfaction with a VA PTSD specialty clinic pre-treatment orientation group, which provides education about available PTSD treatment options. This study also tested differences in treatment preference in response to the group. Participants were 183 US veterans. Most were White, male, and referred to the clinic by a VA provider. Results indicated high satisfaction with the group in providing an overview of services and helping to inform treatment choice. Most preferred psychotherapy plus medications (63.4%) or psychotherapy only (30.1%). Participants endorsed a significantly stronger preference for CPT versus other psychotherapies. PE was significantly preferred over nightmare resolution therapy and present-centered therapy, and both PE and cognitive-behavioral conjoint therapy were preferred over virtual reality exposure therapy. Results suggest that by informing consumers about evidence-based treatments for PTSD, pre-treatment educational approaches may increase consumer demand for these treatment options.