Measuring Bachelor of Science in Nursing competencies in public/population health.

Nurses have a long history of practice in public health. More recently basic population health knowledge and skills are being required across all nursing practice settings. To prepare nurses for this practice nursing education has long included public or community health nursing (PHN) content and skills as part of prelicensure education at the baccalaureate level and above. However, little work has been done to document student competency in these areas. Competency-based education is a process whereby students are held accountable for the mastery of knowledge and skills deemed critical for an area of study. The AACN Public/Population Health Workgroup addressed the challenge of measuring baccalaureate student nursing competencies in population health by developing an unfolding case study, with embedded questions assessing selected competencies. Lacking established population health competencies in nursing curriculum at the time of this work but wanting to assess students' basic competencies across the care continuum, the Workgroup selected relevant competencies from the Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations (formerly called the Quad Council) Competencies for Public Health Nurses. Utilizing these selected competencies, the Workgroup devised the unfolding case study and piloted it with 275 baccalaureate nursing education programs across the country. The findings from the Pilot demonstrated nursing student competency achievement and how this achievement changed as students progressed through the curriculum. The authors report implications and recommendations for competency measurement in population health based on the results of the pilot.

Project REACH: A multi-level, interdisciplinary approach to enhance student retention and success.

BACKGROUND: An escalating nursing shortage brought attention to nursing student retention and success including graduation and licensure. PURPOSE: The purpose of this Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) project, Realizing Educational Attainment and Careers in Healthcare (REACH), was to increase nursing progression and graduation rates for undergraduate nursing students from diverse and/or under-resourced backgrounds. METHODS: REACH goals focused on four levels: 1) Individual: Neutralize the impact of economic-environmental factors that are barriers for diverse and under-resourced populations to pursue a BSN, 2) Group: Bridge gaps within a social determinants framework to achieve progression and graduation, 3) Institutional: Broaden the cultural competence of faculty on campus and 4) Community: Expand the knowledge and skills of the social determinants of health and cultural competence for nurses within the largest nursing employer in the community. RESULTS: 92% (35/38) of participants graduated with a BSN and 91% (32/35) of these graduates are employed as registered nurses. Sixty percent (n = 35) of participants are employed in HRSA designated Health Professional Shortage Areas or in Medically Underserved Areas/Populations as compared to 24% (n = 79) of College of Nursing students. CONCLUSION: An interdisciplinary approach to addressing social determinant needs allowed this project to successfully diversify the nursing workforce.

Strengthening Student Nurses' Sense of Belonging Through Attendance at a Professional Nursing Conference.

Nursing faculty members at one midwestern college provided a professional development opportunity for baccalaureate nursing students by organizing a trip to a nursing association conference (ie, the AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo). Preconference and postconference survey results showed a statistically significant increase in sense-of-belonging scores; and the eta-squared statistic (0.14) indicated a large effect size, suggesting the students' conference attendance enhanced their sense of belonging to the profession. A Pearson's correlation analysis revealed a strong, positive correlation between a student's intention to join a professional organization and his or her belief that membership in a professional organization was important (r = 0.82, n = 26, P < .001). This type of professional experience may improve students' perception of nursing professionalism, sense of belonging, intention to join a professional organization, and confidence in nursing as a career.

Pathways to BSN Education: Teamwork in Ohio.

AIM: The Ohio Action Coalition was formed to address the key recommendations of the Institute of Medicine's Future of Nursing report. BACKGROUND: The Future of Nursing Campaign for Action is a national initiative to guide implementation of the recommendations in the Future of Nursing report. METHOD: Through statewide meetings, leaders from nursing education and practice adopted a statewide competency model. Regional teams provided detailed regional gap analyses using the Ohio Nurse Competency Model and address the Institute of Medicine's foundational pillar that nurses should achieve higher levels of education. RESULTS: Communication among baccalaureate and community colleges and nursing practice has increased statewide as a result of this collaborative project. The teams are committed to exploring ways to standardize and develop adaptable seamless academic progression models for implementation across communities. CONCLUSION: Ultimately, the goal is to positively impact the academic preparation of the Ohio nursing workforce.

Utilizing the Intercultural Development Inventory® to develop intercultural competence.

PURPOSE: Health care professional education programs in the United States have been charged to devise strategies to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of the workforce (Health Resources and Services Administration, Nursing Workforce Diversity (NWD) http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/grants/nwd.html, 2014). The purpose of this charge is to develop a healthcare workforce that can better provide culturally relevant care to meet the needs of diverse communities. The purpose of this study was to assess the cultural competency of students, faculty, and staff from a small Midwest-university college of nursing. METHODS: This study was part of a larger interventional study to enhance the cultural development of the College of Nursing faculty, staff, and students. The sample for this study included 314 participants (students, faculty, and staff) in phase one of the parent study. Phase one included the initial administration of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI®) over a two year period with analysis of the pre-test results. Phase two includes the implementation of cultural development interventions with a post-test IDI® survey and is currently in process. RESULTS: IDI® aggregate results were similar for students and faculty/staff in that most participants scored at the Minimization level according to the IDI®. Ninety-eight percent of student participants overestimated their level of cultural competency. Minority students had higher cultural competency scores in terms of developmental orientation (M = 98.85, SD = 14.21) compared to non-minority students (M = 94.46, SD = 14.96). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the IDI® was a valuable self-reflection tool to assess cultural development. At the individual level, it has allowed for self-reflection and awareness to the reality of cultural development, attitudes, and values. At an institutional level, the aggregate results provided a framework for the examination of department policies, procedures, and curriculum design with the ultimate goal of graduating a more culturally competent nursing workforce to serve the greater community.

Academic/Clinical partnership and collaboration in Quality and Safety Education for Nurses education.

The Institute of Medicine and the Carnegie Foundation for Health Education have called for significant changes in nursing education to reduce medical errors and improve health outcomes. In response to this call, a small private Catholic university undertook an innovative bachelor of science in nursing curriculum revision based in large part on the competencies described by the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) initiative. Part of the curriculum revision involved an innovative model of clinical education. The model emphasized integration and application of concepts across multiple didactic courses and envisioned the student as an active member of the health care team. Instead of exposing students to numerous clinical placements, the goal was to increase student exposure to one site to appreciate system issues and effectively work with a stable health care team. Implementation of this model required a strong academic/clinical partnership between Lourdes University and a large integrated regional health care system, ProMedica. Supported by a program grant from the Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services Nurse Education Practice, Quality and Retention, the practice-based role of the clinical integration partner (CIP) was developed to implement the new clinical education model. This article describes the academic/clinical partnership and the role of the CIP in implementing a QSEN-based clinical education model.

The Baby Think It Over experience to prevent teen pregnancy: a postintervention evaluation.

An evaluation was conducted to describe the personal impact of the "In Your Care" pregnancy prevention intervention program using Baby Think It Over infant simulator. Data was collected regarding the attitudes, actual and intended sexual practices, feelings, and opinions of participants 2 or 3 years after the intervention. Student recommendations for program continuation and improvement were also solicited. Male and female 11(th) grade students in rural and suburban Midwestern communities, who had experienced the program 2 or 3 years earlier, completed surveys and were interviewed in focus groups. Participants vividly recalled and described the simulated experience in statements that reflected insight and feelings about parental responsibility and the consequences of teen pregnancy. The teens also made several recommendations for enhancing the program. The findings suggest that simulated experiences can be a powerful strategy for effective learning about complex decisions regarding the risks of sexual activity and the realities of parenting.

The smallpox threat: the school nurse's role.

Today, with the threat of bioterrorism and war, there is a new dimension to the traditional role of the school nurse. The smallpox threat to public health will invoke the school nurse's role as an educator, liaison, and consultant in the community. This article discusses smallpox, the vaccination process, adverse effects, and postvaccination care. In addition to the role of educator, the school nurse has the role of a liaison between the school and the local health department. The school nurse also plays a vital role in school health policy development and implementation. Being prepared and educated makes our nation less vulnerable to these threats and will assist in keeping our children and communities safe.