Nurse practitioner curriculum puzzle: Connecting all of the documents.

ABSTRACT: Many organizations, foundational documents, and structures guide nurse practitioner (NP) educators. The number can be overwhelming for nurse practitioner faculty and administrators, but awareness and understanding are essential for developing high-quality NP programs. A set of five key questions is a starting place for NP faculty to identify documents that guide their NP program development and curricula. (1) Which states does your program meet state educational requirements for professional licensure or certification? (2) Which accreditor is your program accredited by? (3) Which certification examinations are your students prepared to take? (4) Which educational competencies/standards apply to your program? (5) Which professional or practice organizations might be influential to your program? The development of high-quality NP programs advances the protection of the public and upholds the reputation of the profession. Organizations, components of licensure, accreditation, certification, education, and practice (LACEP), and key documents from national organizations will be reviewed, including how each of these are complementary and different.

Common Sexually Transmitted Infections in Women.

The spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remains a significant public health issue in the United States. Social, economic, and behavioral implications affecting the spread of STIs have been identified. The most important social factor in the United States is the stigma associated with discussing sex and STI screening. In this article, specific recommendations for women are included regarding screening, diagnosing, and treating common vaginal and cervical infections. Screening women for infections of the vagina and cervix is essential because untreated infections may result in complications that have current and long-term health consequences and impact quality of life.

Highlights From the U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated the U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use to foster a reduction in unplanned pregnancy rates and to provide clinicians an evidence-based guide for contraception management. Nurses play an important role in helping women and families with reproductive life planning. By bridging knowledge gaps and removing access barriers with regard to contraception, nurses can contribute to reducing rates of unintended pregnancy. Nurses and other clinicians are encouraged to use the U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use when counseling women about safe and effective contraception management.

How do patient perceived determinants influence the decision-making process to accept or decline preimplantation genetic screening?

OBJECTIVE: Identify the determinants that influence the patient's decision-making process when deciding to accept or decline preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) in a given IVF cycle. DESIGN: Pilot, retrospective, cross-sectional study that used a questionnaire containing a combination of quantitative and qualitative items. SETTING: Private practice IVF clinic. PATIENT(S): Patients and partners initiating an IVF treatment cycle, both autologous and donor, between October 2012 and January 2015. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Identification of patient perceived determinants and the importance of each on the decision to accept or decline PGS. RESULT(S): Responses from the questionnaire (N = 117) were returned, and of these, 60% accepted PGS. The female response rate was 75% (N = 88) and the male response rate was 25% (N = 29). Ninety-eight percent were Christian (N = 112) and 88% college educated (N = 102) with 39% (N = 40) having some postgraduate education. Sixty-eight percent (N = 79) had no knowledge of PGS before the IVF cycle; however, after provider education, 92% (N = 108) correctly identified that PGS was elective and 93% (N = 109) reported sufficient knowledge to make an informed decision to accept or decline PGS. The additional cost of screening, the provider information and influence, and social support or acceptance from partner, family, and/or friends, were the three statistically significant variables affecting the decision. CONCLUSION(S): This is the first study, to the authors' knowledge, to identify and assess the determinants of the patient decision-making process when presented with the choice of PGS. Several factors contribute to the patient-perceived determinants when choosing to accept or decline PGS, including cost, religious and ethical beliefs and values, social and family support, provider influences, and the past reproductive experience of the patient.

Smoking Is a Women's Health Issue Across the Life Cycle.

Many women know about the risks of lung cancer and cardiovascular disease that stem from tobacco use, but many don't realize there are several other potential health consequences of smoking. Nurses should utilize every opportunity to educate women about the various health risks of smoking. Promotion of smoking cessation now may help women prevent numeroushealth problems later.

Current evidence supporting fertility and pregnancy among young survivors of breast cancer.

Approximately 6% of invasive breast cancer is diagnosed in women younger than age 40 of age childbearing potential. Cancer-directed therapies can cause hormonal and anatomical changes that negatively affect the reproductive potential of young survivors of breast cancer. Recent national guidelines on fertility preservation are widely available. However, gaps in care exist in the interdisciplinary evidence-based management of young survivors of breast cancer with fertility and parenting concerns after cancer treatment.