Vaping education in baccalaureate nursing curriculum and effects on practice: A cross-sectional exploratory study.

BACKGROUND: Vaping has become increasingly more prevalent, and nurses need to understand the risks, assess health effects, and provide education on vaping cessation and avoidance. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to evaluate nursing students' vaping behaviors and knowledge as well as the extent that vaping education is integrated into curriculum and clinical practice. DESIGN: A cross-sectional exploratory study. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Baccalaureate nursing students from across the United States. METHODS: Questionnaires were electronically delivered to nursing programs for distribution. The questionnaire assessed vaping behaviors, knowledge of health risks related to vaping and smoking, the extent to which participants integrated vaping education into their clinical practice, and vaping education in nursing curriculum. Pearson correlations and t-tests were performed to assess the relationships and differences between the variables. RESULTS: The prevalence of vaping in US nursing students identified in this study exceeds most of the previous studies in this area. In the states represented, programs were more likely to teach smoking content than vaping. If vaping was part of the curriculum, most programs were more likely to teach vaping through informal class discussion versus within the formal curriculum. Correlations were noted between knowledge of vaping health outcomes and clinical practice behaviors of students. Overall, there was a correlation between comfort assessing/discussing vaping in the clinical setting and the presence of vaping curriculum, however the correlation was stronger when taught as part of the formal curriculum rather than through informal discussion. CONCLUSIONS: While vaping is rapidly increasing in use, students were less likely to include vaping into their clinical practice if they lack knowledge of the effects. When formal curriculum is in place, students were more likely to include vaping assessment and education into clinical practice. Including vaping content within the formal curriculum is a warranted approach to address this growing crisis.

Understanding clinical leadership behaviors in practice to inform baccalaureate nursing curriculum: a comparative study between the United States and Australia novice nurses.

OBJECTIVES: While the nursing profession recognizes the importance of leadership behaviors, limited evidence exists on essential clinical leadership behaviors that nursing students should exhibit upon graduation. The purpose of this study was to determine if there were common leadership behaviors exhibited by recently graduated baccalaureate clinical staff nurses in the United States and Australia. METHODS: A quantitative descriptive study with a comparative design was conducted using The Clinical Leadership Survey. RESULTS: Similar clinical leadership behaviors were reported by nurses from the two countries though there was a statistically significant difference in the overall frequency of behaviors between the two groups. Behaviors in the 'challenging the process' domain were less commonly practiced in both countries, identifying a clinical gap and opportunity for student development. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies the central behaviors that should be included in baccalaureate nursing education curriculum in order to prepare students for successful transition into practice.

Effectiveness of Short-term Medical Missions on Chronic Disease in Underserved Communities.

A retrospective chart review study was conducted to evaluate health outcomes after a nurse-led short-term medical mission group provided free health care in four communities in Kingston, Jamaica over a four-year period. Participants were adult patients who had visited short-term medical mission clinics at least twice and were diagnosed with hypertension and/or diabetes. Blood pressure (BP) and blood sugar (BS) results along with factors including adherence and control per guidelines were analyzed using descriptive, t-tests and chi-square analysis. The data revealed that overall BP and BS measurements trended down, and there was a significant decrease in BP in patients with uncontrolled hypertension at the first visit. Medication adherence between the visits and gender had a statistically significant impact on BP and BS control. Outcomes suggest short-term medical missions are an effective model to address hypertension and diabetes in developing countries when using a sustainable approach.

Measuring professional nursing value development in students participating in international service learning: A quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: International service learning is becoming widely used in nursing education as a means to provide global learning opportunities as well as part of a clinical learning experiences. Concrete outcomes for these experiences have not been clearly supported in previous research. Professional nursing values are an important learning outcome for nursing students and development of professional nursing values has been found to occur through various learning experiences. Determining if international service learning experiences facilitate the development of professional nursing values can support the use of international service learning as a viable pedagogy. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to determine if there was a difference in professional nursing values development in students who participate in international service learning as part of their clinical experiences compared to those who do not. DESIGN: The research was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test design. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Undergraduate students participating in one week international service learning as part of their clinical hours were compared with students who did not participate in international service learning. METHODS: Comparison of professional nursing values development between the experimental and control group was completed using the Nurses Professional Values Scale. RESULTS: The study showed the use of international service learning as part of clinical was at least equivalent in the development of professional nursing values as traditional clinical. In addition, it supported the development of professional nursing values through clinical learning overall. CONCLUSION: The use of international service learning is a viable option for clinical experiences as a means to develop professional nursing values.

Applying Credit Hours to International Clinical Placements for Baccalaureate Nursing Programs.

BACKGROUND: As global learning programs gain momentum in nursing education, a variety of models have emerged. A typical experience consists of 1-week international immersion in which faculty, nursing students, and an interprofessional team deliver direct health care to impoverished communities. Our international clinical placements have been successful in providing rich learning experiences while applying clinical credit hours toward required courses in our baccalaureate nursing program. METHOD: The unique attributes of these international clinical placements include full integration into the curriculum, use of formative and summative clinical evaluations, participation across specialties and life span in one experience, an interprofessional practice setting, and consistent design and standards across programs. RESULTS: By integrating the experiences into the curriculum and maximizing credit hours applied, the international experiences fulfill clinical placements and develop the students' personal and professional goals. CONCLUSION: These innovative strategies of international clinical placements have been successful in meeting student, program, and community needs. [J Nurs Educ. 2019;58(12):733-735.].

Using an Intraprofessional Global Immersion to Foster Role Formation in Nursing Students.

BACKGROUND: Nursing programs are instrumental in developing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for nursing practice. Opportunities are lacking for role formation for successful transition into practice. METHOD: An intraprofessional global clinical immersion program was utilized as the setting for students to develop their role identity. Students from each level of nursing traveled to Jamaica to participate in a clinical immersion experience. Students participated in structured collaboration among students in different programs and acted as the instrument other students utilized to develop their role. Students had the opportunity to work with each other every day, and they provided authentic feedback for each other on their role-formation process. RESULTS: Program evaluation revealed that the immersion helped students gain confidence in their roles as they transition into practice. CONCLUSION: Results of this evaluation support the sustainability of the structured global immersion experiences for professional role formation. [J Nurs Educ. 2019;58(5):294-297.].