INCREASING DIVERSITY IN OUR SCHOOLS OF NURSING.

This article will review one school's quest to address the multi-level social, historical, environmental and structural determinants faced by under-represented ethnic minorities (UREM) and disadvantaged background (DB) students as they seek entrance into a nursing program. Nursing Network Careers and Technology (NN-CAT) provides a nursing career network for underrepresented and disadvantaged students in western North Carolina and has increased the number of underrepresented and disadvantaged students who are admitted, retained and graduate with a bachelor's degree in nursing from Western Carolina University. Initial data from this NN-CAT program have demonstrated that addressing social determinants and eliminating barriers can increase the number of UREM and educationally disadvantaged students who successfully matriculate in our schools of Nursing and subsequently graduate. These nurses then enter the workforce and provide culturally meaningful care in their local communities.

Nurses as Instruments of Healing: Self-Care Practices of Nurses in a Rural Hospital Setting.

OBJECTIVE: To better understand current self-care practices and health-promoting behaviors of nursing staff in a rural hospital and determine if there is a need for further development of a holistic self-care program for nursing staff in the hospital. METHOD: In this cross-sectional, descriptive study, a structured questionnaire was used to collect data on current self-care practices and health needs and interests of hospital registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nursing assistants from inpatient, outpatient, and emergency departments. A convenience sample of 45 was employed. RESULTS: Most prevalent self-care practices included humor/laughter/play, music, spirituality/prayer, healthy sleep habits, reading, healthy nutrition, and walking. At least 75.6% answered to be extremely or likely to use three of five fitness programs (95% confidence interval [CI: 63.05%, 88.15%]). All four nutrition education programs were rated extremely likely or likely by at least two thirds of respondents (66.7%; 95% CI [52.93%, 80.47%]). Other programs of interests included health education programs and job stress management programs. Majority would participate in self-care program at work if one was offered (73.3%; 95% CI [60.37%, 86.23%]). CONCLUSIONS: Majority of nursing staff recognize the importance of self-care. There is a strong preference toward fitness programs and nutrition education programs at work to other programs.

International collaboration: a concept model to engage nursing leaders and promote global nursing education partnerships.

This article describes a newly developed, internationally focused concept model, Engaging tomorrow's international nursing leaders (ETINL). The primary tenets of the ETINL model encourage advocacy, activism, and professional accountability in preparing nursing leadership. The article presents the foundation and application of the ETINL model in providing an on-going forum for student and faculty exploration of global nursing issues. The concept model has been applied in a collaborative partnership between a United States school of nursing and two United Kingdom schools of nursing to create a leadership development course 'blending web-based learning and mentored experiential travel. This pilot project illustrates the ways alliances between international schools of nursing build nursing leaders who can facilitate global health outcomes.