The Use of Virtual Mentoring With Underrepresented Minority Groups in Baccalaureate Programs of Nursing: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

AIM: The purpose of this systematic review is to explore the state of science on virtual mentoring in baccalaureate programs of nursing (BSN) and its impact on recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority (URM) groups. BACKGROUND: Research shows that URMs have significantly higher attrition rates than other BSN students. Innovative approaches to recruitment and retention through virtual means may increase the diversity of BSN programs and the nursing workforce. METHOD: Studies in peer-reviewed articles between 2010 and 2021 were selected based on their relevance to the research questions posed. Evidence was summarized. RESULTS: Although literature validated that virtual mentoring is used with graduate students, few BSN programs use mentoring as a strategy to recruit and retain URMs. None of the studies reviewed used this intervention virtually. CONCLUSION: Additional research is required to determine if virtual mentoring can be used to recruit and retain URMs.

Diverse students collaborating to address social determinants of health using listening sessions.

In this article, a Nursing Workforce Diversity grant-funded project examined the social determinants of health (SDH) including diverse high school and baccalaureate nursing students. All involved students were from educationally and/or economically disadvantaged backgrounds and/or underrepresented minority groups. The purpose of this article is to report the project outcome data and analysis gathered from students' experiences of SDH, using the collaborative method, listening sessions. The project staff and student nurses discussed SDH with high school students, who then identified and prioritized key SDH in their neighborhoods during a series of facilitated listening sessions in their schools. Initial analysis included reviewing, with the students, the notes taken during the sessions, resulting in a list of SDH to address. As a secondary analysis, the listening session tapes were transcribed and independently coded and examined by project staff. Six themes evolved that illustrate the depth of understanding of the complex challenges of SDH experienced by students in their local communities. Based on student-determined priorities, the project staff developed programs to meet the identified SDH needs at both high schools. Nursing and other health professionals are in ideal positions to collaborate with schools to create programming interventions for addressing SDH effectively into the future.

Patients' perspectives on engaging in their healthcare while hospitalised.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To examine patients' experiences and preferences for engaging in their healthcare while hospitalised. BACKGROUND: Promoting patient engagement or involvement in healthcare has become an important component of contemporary, consumer-oriented approaches to quality care. Previous research on patient engagement highlights that preferences for engagement are not assessed while hospitalised, leading to patient role confusion and frustration. METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with patients from January-March 2017 to examine their experiences and preferences for engaging in their care while hospitalised on medical-surgical units in the United States. Inductive thematic analysis was used to uncover the themes from the interview transcriptions. The reporting of research findings followed the COREQ checklist. RESULTS: Seventeen patients, eight male and nine female, aged between 19-83 years old were interviewed. Patients had a difficult time articulating how they participated in their care while hospitalised, with the majority stating there were few decisions to be made. Many patients felt that decisions were made prior to or during hospitalisation for them. Patients described their engagement through the following themes: sharing the subjective, involvement of family, information-gathering, constraints, "I let them take care of me," and variability. CONCLUSIONS: Engagement is a dual responsibility of both nurses and patients. Patients' experiences highlight that engagement preferences and experiences are not universal between patients, speaking to the importance of assessing patient preferences for engagement in health care upon hospital admission. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The articulation of what patients actually experience in the hospital setting contributes to improve nursing practice by offering insight into what is important to the patient and how best to engage with them in their care. The constraints that patients reported facing related to their healthcare engagement should be used to inform the delivery of future engagement interventions in the acute care setting.