Psychometric evaluation of the nurses' attitudes toward eICU scale.

The eICU technology system has been implemented nationwide to facilitate efficient and safe care for patients. The purpose of this study was to provide psychometric evidence of the reliability and validity of an instrument, the Nurses' Attitudes Toward eICU Scale (NATES). The study involved 117 registered nurses working in critical care units that had not yet implemented eICU technology. The reliability for the total scale was .91. Factor analysis results supported construct validity and indicated that five factors accounted for 67.3% of variance in the data: Cost and Benefit; Patient Care and Quality; Anxiety and Confidence: Effort; and Anger and Fear. The NATES showed promise as a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing nurses' attitudes toward eICU technology.

Advanced health assessment in nurse practitioner programs: follow-up study.

The increase in advanced practice graduate programs and the inclusion of content and skills related to advanced health assessment as a core competency for practice served as the impetus for a 5-year follow-up study to track the changes, methodologies, and integration of technology into practitioner programs. The questionnaire was mailed to the faculty/schools listed as current members in the National Health Service Corps Nurse Practitioner Faculty Advocate Network. The number of responding schools was 135 (44%). The family nurse practitioner program continues to be the most offered advanced practice nursing program. Nearly all institutions offer a post-master's program and an advanced health assessment course to their clinical graduate students. Health assessment is usually taught concurrently or as a prerequisite for clinical experiences; there continues to be a strong emphasis on the physical examination component. Ethnic and cultural assessment and gerontological assessment content increased since the original study. Both class and laboratory class sizes decreased. Qualitative data that centered on differences in graduate versus undergraduate health assessment revealed a shift in focus in several areas: differential diagnoses, abnormals, and the inclusion of advanced skills. There was an emergence of more creative strategies: the use of standardized patients, online coursework, videotaping, "live" patients, and simulations.