The nurse faculty role: A lived experience of mentoring nurses while coping with anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Anxiety is common in women, nurses and nurse educators and can negatively impact overall mental well-being and work-life satisfaction. Anxiety increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hope is a personal resource that can be employed to help cope with anxiety. Professional identity, 'our why', is important to recognize and revisit as a way to add value to daily work in anxious times. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: Compassion fatigue has contributed to burnout and turnover of nurses and nursing faculty. Knowing our 'why' helps understand the motivation in our work. Using hope as a personal resource, and sharing my lived experience, could be useful to other nursing faculty struggling with anxiety. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH NURSING?: There is a need for mental health resources within healthcare and education systems to support nurses and nurse educators not only during the COVID-19 pandemic but through future healthcare crises. Support programmes and interventions need to be developed to sustain and retain both nurses and nursing faculty. ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Providing patient care and nurse education in today's healthcare environment is high-stress, often resulting in high-anxiety among both nurses and nurse educators. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurse faculty is largely unexplored. AIMS: The aim was to share the experience of living and work working with anxiety in the nurse faculty role during the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS & METHODS: This is a lived experience narrative of one nurse faculty member. RESULTS: Through daily purposeful self-motivation and reflection, yoga, and brief outdoor respites, the author was able to strengthen professional identity, to see value in her work and to activate the personal resource of hope (Nursing Management, 52, 2021, 56; Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 93, 2020, 187). DISCUSSION: 'Nursing faculty are essential to the profession' and likely experienced 'emotional exhaustion' during the pandemic (Nursing Education Perspectives, 42, 2021, 8) in their efforts to buoy students. It needs to be acknowledged that nursing faculty can experience anxiety, secondary trauma (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17, 2020, 8358) and compassion fatigue, through listening to students' experiences and offering reinforcement during chaotic times. CONCLUSION: Little is known about what nursing faculty experienced as they attempted to support students (Nursing Education Perspectives, 42, 2021, 285). It is hoped that by sharing this lived experience, nurses and nurse faculty will understand how employing hope as a personal resource and re-engaging with their professional identity will help them cope with the significant stresses that future healthcare pandemics or disasters may bring.

Reliability and Validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 as a Screening Tool for Poststroke Depression.

BACKGROUND: Screening for poststroke depression (PSD) using a valid and reliable tool is recommended for all stroke survivors. This literature review identifies the specificity, sensitivity, and appropriateness of the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to screen stroke patients for PSD. METHODS: Relevant databases were searched using the following selection criteria: (1) peer-reviewed primary research, (2) published from 2012 to 2018 (to evaluate the most recent research using this tool), and (3) examined the specificity and sensitivity of the PHQ-9 for screening stroke survivors for PSD. RESULTS: Six studies, with an overall level of evidence grade of "B," representing an overall total sample size of 930 participants (851 given a diagnosis of stroke and 49 given a diagnosis of transient ischemic attacks) met criteria for inclusion in the review. Only 2 studies reported data on all of the components necessary to determine the robustness of this tool to screen for depression in stroke survivors. CONCLUSION: Evidence regarding the sensitivity and specificity of the PHQ-9 to screen stroke patients for PSD is inconclusive. Additional research is needed to address the appropriateness of the PHQ-9 as a depression screening tool in this population. Clinicians should validate the results of PHQ-9 screening of ischemic stroke patients for PSD with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5, the standard for diagnosing depression, before initiating treatment of PSD.

Adolescent Victims Emerging From Cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying is a pervasive public health issue, affecting 10% to 50% of adolescents and resulting in significant negative health outcomes. Due to the relative newness of cyberbullying, there are many elements of the phenomenon that are not understood. Fifteen adolescents and young adults who had experienced cyberbullying as adolescents, participated in one-on-one, semi-structured interviews. A grounded theory and model, Emerging From Cyberbullying, was constructed to describe the process of being a victim of cyberbullying. The process began by Being Targeted and a cycle of Being Cyberbullied, Losing Oneself, and Attempting to Cope followed. Once out of the cycle, victims could begin the process of Resolving and Finding Oneself. This theory can be used to inform cyberbullying prevention efforts and adolescent providers can utilize this theory to understand the process of being a victim of cyberbullying, promote open discussions with adolescents about cyberbullying, and offer suggestions for effective methods to cope.

Improving Breastfeeding Support by Understanding Women's Perspectives and Emotional Experiences of Breastfeeding.

Exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months is universally acknowledged as the optimal means of infant nutrition. However, current studies show that most women are not following this recommendation. Many studies address the issue of increasing breastfeeding rates, but fewer explore the perspectives and experiences of breastfeeding women. In this article we review the literature and identify common themes in women's breastfeeding experiences. Nurses and other health care providers stand to help or hinder breastfeeding women, and they must be aware of and sensitive to women's personal experiences and perspectives to understand how to best promote and support women in their attempts to meet their breastfeeding goals.

Using Simulation to Teach About Poverty in Nursing Education: A Review of Available Tools.

Poverty is one of the most significant social determinants of health, and as such, it is imperative that nurses have an understanding of the impact that living in poverty has upon one's life and health. A lack of such understanding will impede nurses from providing care that is patient centered, treats all patients fairly, and advocates for social justice. It is essential that nursing educators assure that poverty-related content and effective teaching strategies are used in nursing curricula in order to help students develop this understanding. Several poverty-simulation tools are available and may be able to assist with development of accurate knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Unfortunately, little evidence exists to evaluate most poverty simulation tools. This article will provide an introduction to several poverty-related simulation tools, discuss any related research that evaluates their effectiveness, and make recommendations for integration of such simulation tools into nursing curricula.

Intimate partner violence in rural U.S. areas: what every nurse should know.

Intimate partner violence is a major health care issue, affecting nearly 6% of U.S. women annually. Multiple mental and physical health problems are associated with intimate partner violence, and billions of health care dollars are spent in trying to address the consequences. Although prevalence rates of intimate partner violence are roughly the same in rural and nonrural areas, rural survivors face distinct barriers in obtaining help and services. Because rural women routinely access health care services in nonrural as well as rural settings, it's essential that all providers understand the issues specific to rural survivors. Routine screening for intimate partner violence would create opportunities for women to disclose abuse and for providers to help victims obtain assistance and support that may keep them safer. This in turn would likely decrease serious health sequelae and lower health care costs. This article describes the unique aspects of intimate partner violence in rural populations. It also describes a simple screening tool that can be used in all settings, discusses ways to approach the topic and facilitate disclosure, and addresses interventions; relevant resources are also provided.

Bittersweet knowledge: the long-term effects of an international experience.

Although many schools of nursing are offering international experiences for students, there has been minimal research that demonstrates a link between what students experience in these international programs and the subsequent long-term effects on their personal and professional lives as nurses. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to describe the effects of an international nursing student experience on participants' later personal and professional lives. The participants were 6 nurses who had completed a student international experience in Guatemala 2 years prior. Data collection methods included individual written narratives and a focus group. The overarching theme of the experience was that the participants had gained "Bittersweet Knowledge." Three themes supported this over-arching theme: "Coming to Understand" represented the positive side of the experience, "Unsettled Feelings" represented the uncomfortable side of the experience, and "Advocating for Change" represented the ongoing response to the experience.

Addressing domestic violence through maternal-child health home visiting: what we do and do not know.

Domestic violence (DV) has been described as a public health epidemic. Health care providers of all disciplines encounter victims of DV in every practice setting. However, the vast majority of DV health care research has focused on care provided to victims in traditional acute care and clinic settings. Few investigators have conducted studies with community health nurses (CHNs) who visit DV victims in their homes. CHNs, providing preventive maternal-child health (MCH) care through home visits with families, have been described by some as key providers in DV prevention. However, there is a dearth of knowledge about the actual practice and related outcomes of these nurses when working with families experiencing DV. The purpose of this article is to provide a baseline view of the current state of knowledge on which nurses may begin building future research that leads to evidence-based practice. The article describes the potential role of home-visiting MCH nurses in DV prevention and intervention, provides a critical review of the existing research, identifies primary gaps in scientific knowledge, proposes future research priorities, and makes recommendations for practice.

The meaning of participation in an international service experience among baccalaureate nursing students.

Nine nursing students volunteered their spring break to provide nursing service in a rural, economically challenged area of Guatemala. The students were involved in all aspects of planning and preparation for the international experience. All nine students participated in a qualitative study which sought to describe the meaning of participation in an international service experience among baccalaureate nursing students. Data were collected through reflection journals, evening group conversations in Guatemala, written narratives, and a post-experience focus group interview. Six themes were uncovered using content analysis: (a) Clarification of career path/goals, (b) Improved understanding of social justice and globalization issues, (c) Motivation to continue service work, (d) Discovering the reciprocity of relationships with others, (e) Appreciation for the whole person, and (f) Finding a way to respect the sacredness of the experience. This study lends support for the positive benefits of short-term international experiences for nursing students.