Publishing Quality Improvement Projects: Know the Guidelines Before Starting Your Project.

Health care clinicians, educators, and students who plan and implement quality improvement (QI) projects must know reporting guidelines for successful project planning and publication. We aimed to identify QI guidelines, which authors can locate, and highlight how best to use them for manuscript preparation. We also address guidelines for educational QI projects. Because of the increasing number of Doctor of Nursing Practice projects generated, these students and their mentors must be familiar with commonly used guidelines for reporting QI projects to facilitate peer review, demonstrate quality and rigor of work, reduce revisions, and potentially accelerate a paper's acceptance for publication.

Using Virtual Remote Interpretation in Simulation for Clients With Limited English Proficiency.

ABSTRACT: Providing culturally responsive communication to clients with limited English proficiency (LEP) is important to achieve equitable care. Ensuring nurses are trained in effective communication using interpreters or interpretation devices can begin before licensure. Virtual remote interpretation (VRI) is commonly used in the absence of in-person interpretation for clients with LEP. The purpose of this simulation activity was to evaluate student performance and perceptions related to culturally responsive communication when using VRI in a prenatal care simulation of clients with LEP.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Virtual Mock Interview for Health Professions Students.

BACKGROUND: Virtual mock interviews were offered to students to improve job interviewing skills. This educational quality improvement project aimed to use virtual mock interviews to increase student preparedness and confidence, and reduce anxiety related to professional interviews. METHOD: Health professions students (n = 19) participated in the mock interviews conducted and recorded through a web-based meeting. Students received the recorded interview to watch before follow-up. Students completed pre- and postquestionnaires that addressed students' preparedness, confidence, and anxiety related to interviewing. RESULTS: Participants' confidence and preparedness improved significantly in their virtual interviews (p < .001), and their anxiety decreased significantly after the virtual interviews (p < .001). After watching the interviews, students' reported eye contact needed improvement and answers included too many "uhms." CONCLUSION: Students benefited from the virtual mock interviews. Mock virtual job interviews may have a positive effect on successful job acquisition in health professions. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(8):479-482.].

The Real Secret to Getting Published: Responding to Reviewers.

Authors submitting a paper often receive an opportunity to revise and resubmit the paper. Authors may find addressing reviewers' comments challenging. We posit authors should welcome expert suggestions for revisions that strengthen the paper and develop a persuasive response if they disagree with the reviewer. A thoughtful, detailed response allows authors to dialogue with reviewers. Our paper uses exemplars of responses to reviewers to illustrate the effectiveness of clear and compelling author responses. Addressing reviewers' comments ultimately results in a better paper-more likely to be accepted. Developing skills in resubmitting research and clinical scholarship reports is essential to the dissemination process.

Psychometrics of Nurses' Perceptions of Technology Effectiveness Scale.

BACKGROUND: When evaluating new technology designed to improve patient care quality and safety in the clinical setting, researchers need instruments with evidence of reliability and validity. This secondary analysis aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the Positive and Negative Effectiveness of Technology Use (PNET) instrument. METHOD: A sample of 71 nurses evaluated the current telephone interpretation system in use for persons with limited English proficiency. Internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's alpha and construct validity using factor analysis tests were assessed. RESULTS: Both positive and negative scales of the PNET instrument had adequate internal consistency reliability coefficients (α > .70) and evidence of construct validity; however, some items on the negative effectiveness scale may need to be revised. CONCLUSION: The PNET scales may be useful in assessing nurses' views of existing and new technologies for quality improvement in the practice setting. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(5):248-252.].

Evaluating Nursing Students' Perceptions of Using Quick Response Codes to Enhance Learning During Nursing Health Assessment.

ABSTRACT: Providing engaging activities to supplement classroom learning can be a challenge for today's nurse educator. Quick response (QR) code technology provides hands-on clinical experiences without the use of high-fidelity simulators. The purpose of this article is to evaluate how QR codes during a health assessment simulation activity enhanced learning for first-semester baccalaureate nursing students. The use of QR codes increased student confidence during health assessment with a form of technology they found engaging.

Strategies for successful promotion for clinical track nursing faculty.

Successful promotion of faculty yields multiple benefits including career advancement, recognition for productivity and contributions to the organization, and an increase in financial compensation for the individual. In academic settings, particularly in research intensive institutions, time and resources often are focused on supporting tenure track faculty to be successful in obtaining promotion and tenure. Although most nursing programs have substantial numbers of clinical track faculty (CTF), there may be less emphasis around planning and resources for performing activities that will lead to successful promotion for nontenure track faculty. Consequently, at the time of initial faculty appointment, CTF must begin promotion planning. This paper provides practical advice for CTF preparing for promotion including planning the promotion trajectory and identifying and facilitating the collection of evidence supporting the areas of teaching, scholarship, practice, and service. Examples are provided of activities engaged in by CTF that would serve as evidence to support promotion.

Nurses' Perceptions of Technology Used in Language Interpretation for Patients with Limited English Proficiency.

PURPOSE: This project examined nurses' positive and negative perceptions of the technology used in language interpretation for patients who have limited English proficiency (LEP). The intervention was guided by the technology acceptance model, a framework that addresses users' acceptance or rejection of computer-based technology. METHODS: A sample of 47 nurses participated. Nurses' perceptions of an existing telephone-based remote interpretation technology were compared with their perceptions of a video remote interpretation (VRI) system. Instruments included a structured questionnaire to collect nurses' demographic and other characteristics and to measure their perceptions of the technology used in language interpretation; open-ended questions were added on how technology affected nursing care and nurses' rapport and communication with patients. Questionnaires on the telephone-based interpretation technology were administered, and after an eight-week trial of the VRI technology, questionnaires on the VRI system were administered. RESULTS: Overall, positive perceptions of VRI were significantly higher and negative perceptions significantly lower compared with perceptions of telephone-based interpretation technology (P < 0.001 for both). Qualitative findings indicated that VRI technology improved communication and was less time consuming for nurses. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses preferred VRI technology because of its positive effects on time expenditure and communication. VRI technology is likely to be adopted successfully and ensures increased use of professional language interpretation for patients with LEP.

Homelessness, Unsheltered Status, and Risk Factors for Mortality: Findings From the 100    000 Homes Campaign.

OBJECTIVES: People who live in unsheltered situations, such as the streets, often have poorer health, less access to health care, and an increased risk of premature mortality as compared with their sheltered counterparts. The objectives of this study were to (1) compare the characteristics of people experiencing homelessness who were sleeping primarily in unsheltered situations with those who were accessing homeless shelters and other sheltered situations, (2) identify correlates of unsheltered status, and (3) assess the relationship between unsheltered status and increased risk of mortality. METHODS: Using primary data collected as part of the 100    000 Homes Campaign-a national effort to help communities find homes for vulnerable and chronically homeless Americans-we estimated 2 generalized linear mixed models to understand the correlates of unsheltered status and risk factors for mortality. Independent variables included demographic characteristics; history of homelessness, incarceration, foster care, and treatment for mental illness or substance use; sources of income; and past and present medical conditions. The study sample comprised 25489 people experiencing homelessness who responded to an assessment of their housing and health as part of the 100    000 Homes Campaign from 2008 to 2014. RESULTS: In the full model, the following characteristics were associated with unsheltered status: being a veteran (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.10); having 5 years), incarceration (aOR = 1.32), or substance use (aOR = 1.10 for ever abusing drugs or alcohol, aOR = 1.13 for ever using intravenous drugs, aOR = 1.98 for drinking alcohol every day for past month). Being unsheltered (aOR = 1.12), being female (aOR = 1.22), or receiving entitlements (aOR = 1.63) increased respondents' odds of having risk factors for mortality. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the need to assertively reach out to vulnerable populations and provide interventions to assist them during their transition-for example, as they exit incarceration or age out of foster care. Such a response could prevent unsheltered homelessness and thereby address increased mortality risk. Connecting people with resources to increase their access to employment, benefits, and other sources of income is especially important.