Nontraditional Academic-Community Partnership: A Survey of Student Knowledge and Competencies.

This pilot study examined student perceptions of the acquisition of core knowledge and basic community/public health generalist competencies gained through an innovative, nontraditional clinical partnership with an organization serving a vulnerable population. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Workplace Health Model was the conceptual framework. A survey, based on the Essentials of Baccalaureate Nursing Education for Entry Level Community/Public Health Nursing Practice, was completed by 25 BSN nursing students. Students rated the experience as influential/extremely influential in the areas of human diversity, health promotion/risk reduction, and communication. Findings suggest that students can achieve community/public health competencies in nontraditional community settings.

Graduate Clinical Nurse Preceptors: Implications for Improved Intra-Professional Collaboration.

Advanced practice nurses have increased in number and public acceptance. Students preparing for these roles require quality clinical education so they are prepared to assume collaborative roles in healthcare settings. Although graduate clinical preceptors have a vitally important role in the clinical education and professional socialization of advanced practice students, there is a paucity of evidence about factors that influence their role commitment. In this article, the authors review the literature related to graduate-level, clinical-preceptor experiences; describe their study of 91 graduate clinical preceptors that identified factors influencing graduate clinical preceptors' role commitment; report and discuss their findings; as well as the limitations of this study. They conclude that the graduate clinical preceptor role needs to be more visible and better integrated into schools of nursing and healthcare organizational structures, and identify the need for intra-professional collaboration among nursing faculty, administrators, and clinicians to facilitate the recruitment, cultivation, and retention of graduate clinical preceptors.

Differences between novices' and experts' solving ill-structured problems.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe differences in the cognitive processes of novice and expert public health nurses (PHNs) as they solved ill-structured problems commonly found in public health practice. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: This descriptive/exploratory small group design used the think-aloud method, a qualitative technique of collecting verbal data about cognitive processes. Data were coded and analyzed using theoretical thematic analysis. The purposive sample consisted of 12 registered nurses: six novices and six experts. MEASURES: Participants were asked to think-aloud as they solved two ill-structured public health problems (underage drinking and obesity). RESULTS: Findings indicated that novice and expert PHNs solve ill-structured problems differently. Experts used cognitive strategies, such as conversion, to propel the problem-solving process forward, forming complex, detailed problem representations and solutions. Novices asked questions as a strategy in defining the problem and developed broad, superficial problem representations and solutions. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests the need for the development of strategies in the workplace and in academia that support PHNs in identifying and solving ill-structured problems as they transition from novice to expert.

What does the nurse reinvestment act mean to you?

During 2002, the 107th Congress passed landmark legislation, the Nurse Reinvestment Act, P.L. 107-205. This article discusses the specific provisions of P.L. 107-205 within the context of the contemporary literature and the experience of the nursing shortage. The authors ask nurses to examine what the Nurse Reinvestment Act means for their career development. In laying out the anatomy of the Nurse Reinvestment Act, title by title, and section by section, the article presents the Congressional plan for addressing the two faces of the shortage: Nurse Recruitment, Title I, and Nurse Retention, Title II.