Preparing the next generation of nurse leaders: an educational needs assessment.

A group of nurse leaders from education and practice settings in Western New York convened in 2007. They expressed concern about preparing the next generation of nurse leaders. This was identified as critical for the future direction of health care. A plan for educational enrichment of nurses about this topic evolved. Area nurse leaders were surveyed to describe the conditions that would enable the development of nurse leadership and to recommend educational content that would support it.

Survey of pain among veterans in Western New York.

Recent emphasis on pain and its impact on the health and well-being of individuals evoked the interest of health care providers about services needed for effective and efficient pain management. This study was undertaken to examine the feasibility of using a mailed survey to determine the prevalence, nature, and extent of pain being experienced by Western New York Veterans. The specific aims were to (1) determine the feasibility of using a mailed survey to obtain information about pain in a population of Veterans; (2) estimate the extent of pain in the sample; and (3) describe the nature and impact of the pain experienced by the respondents. A comprehensive survey was prepared by modifying preexisting, widely used pain-assessment tools to describe a Veteran group's pain experience. It was mailed to a randomly selected sample of 150 Veterans registered at a primary care clinic at the Western New York Veterans Administration Health System. A 76% response rate (n=114) was obtained. Respondents declared a wide variety of health problems, and 71% reported having pain. The average number of body parts affected was 4.4 of a possible 11. The average intensity of pain was moderate; 35% reported constant pain, and 85% reported the pain to be occurring for years. Seventy-nine respondents described their pain to be interfering with their life and well-being. Medication was the primary treatment approach and was reported as ineffective by 48%. Veterans' satisfaction with specific aspects of pain treatment was mixed.

Preadmission characteristics of advanced practice nursing students.

PURPOSE: To determine the nature of prerequisite experiences of applicants to nurse practitioner (NP) and certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) programs that faculty believe are necessary for success in graduate nursing programs. DATA SOURCES: An exploratory descriptive study based on findings from four focus groups of faculty from four different universities and a written survey mailed to program or admissions directors of a random sample of 50% of the 295 credentialed NP or CRNA programs in the United States. CONCLUSIONS: Themes from the focus groups revealed 20 personal characteristics, 14 professional characteristics, and 9 clinical skills, all of which were used to create a survey instrument. A 33% response rate was achieved (n = 48). Personal characteristics were considered most important, professional characteristics and clinical skills moderately important, and kinds of clinical experience of lesser importance. Length of desired experience ranged from 0 to 5 years, most often 2 years. The most important characteristic under personal was "ethical;" under professional, "clinically competent;" under clinical, "interpersonal communication;" and under clinical experience, "to work in a setting with MD-RN interaction." IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Information from this study may be useful for examining admissions policies of advanced practice graduate programs. Faculty were able to articulate the characteristics, proficiencies, and experiences that are likely to produce success in NP and CRNA programs. These desired characteristics need to be translated into meaningful criteria for admission.