Assessment of Nurse Educator Leadership: Instrument Development and Psychometric Analysis.

AIM: Study purposes were to 1) establish the relevance and clarity of a new instrument, the Leadership in Nursing Education (LNE©) for nurse educators, and 2) provide evidence to support the reliability and validity of the LNE. BACKGROUND: The future of nursing education is dependent upon the leadership of nurse faculty. Competency development requires self-assessment to engage in meaningful pathways for leadership development. METHOD: A Delphi study was conducted with 50 nurse faculty leaders to determine the content validity of the LNE. The final instrument was then sent to nurse faculty across the United States to assess its psychometric properties. RESULTS: The LNE was determined to be a reliable instrument for the population tested. Three distinct subscales emerged from the exploratory factor analysis: strategic, relational, and authentic. CONCLUSION: The LNE fills a gap in nurse educator leadership assessment and provides evidence to support the instrument's reliability and validity.

Nurse Faculty Administrators' Experiences of Communication, Cooperation, Coordination, and Collaboration During Educational Disruption.

AIM: The primary purposes of the study were to describe nurse faculty administrators' experiences of rapid transition and disruption in nursing education during the COVID-19 pandemic. BACKGROUND: The disruption and shift to remote learning for nursing education programs posed challenges for these administrators. METHOD: A descriptive survey methodology with a convenience sample was used with the Four Cs of Disaster Partnering framework. RESULTS: The findings revealed that key elements of the Four Cs framework played a role in the successful adaptation to new learning environment realities. Time was an overarching finding. Connectedness with faculty, staff, and students was a significant challenge. CONCLUSION: The application of the Four Cs of Disaster Partnering framework demonstrated utility for examining academic nurse administrators' preparedness.

Building Academic Leadership Capacity Through Coaching.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of coaching in a 12-month leadership development program for nurse faculty and administrators who transition to leadership positions or who aspire to lead. BACKGROUND: There is a critical need in nursing education to build leadership capacity. One strategy to foster leadership development is through coaching. Although developmental leadership programs for nurse educators exist, limited empirical data exist in nursing academia examining the effectiveness of coaching on leadership. METHOD: The design was qualitative descriptive. Using a semistructured interview guide, participants ( N = 12) responded to open-ended questions about their coaching experience. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed three themes: encouraging intentional reflection of self and leadership, validating perceptions of challenging professional situations, and strategizing options for action plans and behaviors. CONCLUSION: Coaching holds a great deal of promise as a means to develop the next generation of academic nurse leaders.

Undergraduate Student Stress, Classroom Engagement, and Self-Directed Learning Postcurricular Revision.

One way of promoting student success in a nursing program is through curricular revision. However, significant curricular revision coupled with a simultaneous move to active learning strategies can have an impact on the educational and emotional well-being of students. This descriptive correlational study examined student stress, engagement, and self-directed learning in a convenience sample of junior-level nursing students (N = 164) after a transition to a new curriculum and active learning methods. The researchers identified moderate stress levels in students, which affected both classroom engagement and self-directed learning. Select demographic variables also impacted study outcome variables. The findings of this study highlight the need for interventions to promote stress reduction and self-care for students. Faculty and curriculum committees must remain vigilant when restructuring the curriculum ladder to decrease the academic burden on already stressed students. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(10):566-569.].

Predictors of Emotional Engagement in Online Graduate Nursing Students.

BACKGROUND: Student engagement, specifically emotional engagement, is a predictor to positive learning outcomes and academic success. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness have been associated with engagement; however, these studies have not been done in nursing. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine if autonomy, competence, and relatedness predicted emotional engagement among graduate nursing students in the online learning environment. METHODS: A descriptive, correlational design was used to determine the levels of and relationships among emotional engagement and autonomy, competence, and relatedness as well as predictors of emotional engagement in students (n = 123) in online nursing programs. RESULTS: Findings revealed that students were emotionally engaged in their learning, and competence was the only predictor of emotional engagement. CONCLUSION: Competency-based learning strategies should be implemented in online learning environments to increase the emotional engagement of graduate nursing students.

Nurses at the table: A naturalistic inquiry of nurses on governing boards.

In an environment in which there is little or no nursing presence on governing boards in healthcare organizations (HCOs), physicians, and nonclinicians take responsibility for keeping the other board members apprised of the quality of patient care, including nursing-generated, patient safety initiatives. Governing boards in HCOs are either not appointing nurses to governing boards or are not appointing nurses in numbers that are commensurate with the size and vital contributions of the profession. As a result, competent nursing professionals with an intimate understanding of quality care and patient safety are not in decision-making roles that may redesign health care and improve patient care. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe experiences of nurse board members who hold governing board appointments in HCOs, and to describe the facilitators of and barriers to holding governing board appointments, as experienced by those nurse board members. This novel research employed naturalistic inquiry to explore the experiences of 12 nurse board members who held appointments with voting privileges in HCOs. From the interview data emerged four distinct themes: leveraging relationships and networking, valuing the mission of the board, feeling respected for my participation, and committing to board work. Facilitators of and barriers to governing board appointments were suggested. Findings validated the few previous research studies found in the literature and have implications for nursing leadership and governance.

Leading nurses: emotional intelligence and leadership development effectiveness.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of an emotional intelligence (EI) and leadership development education program involving 20 nurse leaders at nursing homes. Also, it investigates the relationship between EI and transformational leadership. Design/methodology/approach Three research questions are posed. Correlation analysis and t-tests were conducted to answer the questions posed. Findings The findings of this paper indicate that the EI educational development was effective, while the personal leadership development was not. The data also showed a positive significant relationship between EI and transformational leadership. Research limitations/implications This paper is limited by the small sample size; thus, a causal relationship between EI and leadership could not be investigated. Additionally, the sample was not randomly selected because of the commitment needed from the participants. Furthermore, the paper was focused on nurse leaders in nursing homes, so it may not be generalizable to other populations. Practical implications With the increasing need for nursing home facilities and the limited training generally provided to nurses who move into managerial roles in these facilities, it is critical for organizations to understand the effectiveness of educational programs that exist. Moreover, the findings of this paper may provide information that would be useful to others who wish to develop EI and/or leadership education for nurses. Originality/value While much research exists on EI and transformational leadership, little of this research focuses on nurses in nursing home facilities. Thus, this paper fills a gap in the literature.

Curriculum Revision: Student Stress and Lessons Learned.

BACKGROUND: Curricular revision and engaging students in learning are important aspects of preparing students for a complex health care environment. The purpose of this study was to identify student perceptions of active learning practices incorporated into the junior year of a new curriculum. METHOD: A descriptive qualitative design using focus group interviews for data collection was used to explore student perceptions of stress, engagement, and self-directed learning in an active learning environment. RESULTS: Three themes emerged from the data, including Feeling Stressed and Overwhelmed, Coping With Stress, and Being Prepared. CONCLUSION: The results of this study highlight how students responded to the increased stress of junior-year nursing courses and the lessons learned by both the students and the faculty teaching junior-year nursing students after a curricular revision and subsequent change in teaching strategies. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(6):337-342.].

Predictors of transformational leadership of nurse managers.

AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among education, leadership experience, emotional intelligence and transformational leadership of nurse managers. BACKGROUND: Nursing leadership research provides limited evidence of predictors of transformational leadership style in nurse managers. METHODS: A predictive correlational design was used with a sample of nurse managers (n = 148) working in varied health care settings. Data were collected using the Genos Emotional Intelligence Inventory, the Multi-factor Leadership Questionnaire and a demographic questionnaire. Simple linear and multiple regression analyses were used to examine relationships. RESULTS: A statistically significant relationship was found between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership (r = 0.59, P < 0.001) explaining 34% variance in transformational leadership. CONCLUSIONS: Nurse managers should be well informed of the predictors of transformational leadership in order to pursue continuing education and development opportunities related to those predictors. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The results of this study emphasise the need for emotional intelligence continuing education, leadership development and leader assessment programmes.

Competencies for Leaders in Nursing Education.

AIM: The study purpose was to identify and describe the competencies that educators need to be leaders in nursing education. BACKGROUND: Leadership is inherent within the role of the nurse educator; however, many lack formal education in leadership and are underprepared to fully embrace the faculty leadership role. there exists a dearth of research on the competencies necessary for leaders in nursing education. METHOD: Fifteen leaders in nursing education were interviewed. Data were analyzed using an inductive iterative process. trustworthiness was established. FINDINGS: Four competencies emerged: articulate and promote a vision for nursing education, function as a steward for the organization and nursing education, embrace professional values in the context of higher education, develop and nurture relationships. CONCLUSION: Leadership is an essential component of the nurse educator role. The findings provide evidence to support best practices in nursing education and to advance the science of nursing education.

Bed-sharing influences, attitudes, and practices: implications for promoting safe infant sleep.

The purpose of this study was to examine the infant bed-sharing practices of mothers from the birth of the infant to three months of age. The study was a longitudinal descriptive design using a self-report instrument immediately after delivery with follow-up phone interviews at one and three months after discharge. While no mothers intended to bed-share with their infants immediately after delivery, 60 percent reported bed-sharing at some time at one month after discharge and 9 percent at three months. Only 19 percent of mothers reported receiving information about infant sleeping practices from their physician and 22 percent from their nurse. One month post discharge was identified as a high-risk period for infant bed-sharing. Interventions aimed at teaching new mothers about responding to infant cues and ways to manage a fussy infant may minimize the rate of bed-sharing.

Student outcomes of distance learning in nursing education: an integrative review.

Distance learning offers a distinctive environment to educate nursing students. While there is a significant body of evidence in the literature related to course, program, and faculty outcomes of distance education, little attention has been given by researchers to evaluate student outcomes, with the exception of student satisfaction. There is a need to evaluate and translate findings related to student outcomes in distance learning into educational practice. Integrative reviews offer one strategy to contribute to evidence-based teaching practice initiatives. A search of available published qualitative and quantitative research on student outcomes of distance learning from 1999 to 2009 was conducted using a number of databases. Astin's Input-Environment-Output conceptual model provided a framework for this review. Thirty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. Bothcognitive and affective student outcomes emerged. The cognitive outcomes were student learning, learning process, and technology proficiency. Affective outcomes included personal and professional growth, satisfaction, and connectedness. Implications, recommendations, and future research are discussed.

Giving and receiving: a case study in service learning.

Service learning is becoming a requirement for many universities wanting to connect with the communities surrounding them while also instilling civic responsibility in their students. The process should benefit all involved. In the following case study, the authors describe their experience of initiating a service learning component in an introductory nursing course, from the design to the implementation of the project. Faculty concerns and student reactions are included.

The family management of breastfeeding low birth weight infants.

Human milk plays a vital role in the health and development of low birth weight (LBW) infants, yet the initiation and duration rates of breastfeeding in this population are far below those of term infants. Families play an important role in the breastfeeding experience and therefore may contribute to the overall success or lack thereof of the experience. This qualitative study used naturalistic inquiry to describe the family management styles of 13 breastfeeding families of LBW infants. The family management style conceptual framework guided this inquiry, with management styles emerging from the families' definition of the experience and their management behaviors within their unique sociocultural context. These families described facilitating, maintaining, and obstructing family management styles. Through the identification of distinct management styles, interventions may be developed that will assist these families to achieve their breastfeeding goals.