Diversity: an answer to the nursing shortage.

Profound changes are occurring in nursing and the health care world. Two of the changes that are the most profound are the nursing shortage and the changing image of nursing. Although we must retain our current nursing workforce, we also must work diligently to recruit young men and women of diversity into our profession. Faculty will have to respond to the academic needs of the diverse students and will have to develop new and creative nontraditional teaching strategies to meet the students' needs. It is within the shared integrity of learning that diversity is recognized and acknowledged by educators and students and that valuable learning takes place. It will only be with improvements in recruitment and education that nursing will incorporate the much-needed diverse nurses into our profession to help meet the nursing shortage and to facilitate improvements in the changing image of nursing.

Continuing education in nursing: a 10-year retrospective study of CE offerings presented by the Kentucky Nurses Association.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate continuing education (CE) offerings presented by the Kentucky Nurses Association during a 10-year period. METHOD: Data were collected and analyzed from 37 CE offerings (N = 474 respondents). RESULTS: Findings revealed that the majority of the respondents reported that the CE offerings were useful, stimulated them to seek further information, and resulted in acquisition of significant knowledge or skills for nursing education or practice. However, fewer than half of the respondents reported they were able to implement changes in nursing education or practice as a result of the CE offerings. CONCLUSION: Findings supported the usefulness of CE in nursing education and practice and the need for further research evaluating CE and the correlation between CE and nursing education and practice.

Self-care agency and self-care practice of adolescents.

The purposes of this study were threefold: (a) to describe self-care agency, (b) to describe self-care practice, and (c) to describe the relationship between self-care agency and self-care practice in adolescents. The usefulness of Orem's Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory (SCDNT) with adolescents also was evaluated. Participants in this study included 173 adolescents, 14 to 19 years of age. Data were collected in classroom settings in two diverse high schools. Denyes Self Care Agency Instrument-90 and Denyes Self-Care Practice Instrument-90 were administered. Results revealed the presence of self-care agency and self-care practice. Although self-care practice was lower than self-care agency, a significant positive correlation was found between the two concepts. The lower self-care practice scores, as compared with the self-care agency scores, suggest that characteristic adolescent behaviors may or may not interfere with self-care practice. The results of this study support the usefulness of Orem's SCDNT with adolescent populations and identify the critical need for further research examining self-care in adolescents.

The use of convocation for exploring multiculturalism.

The development of creative persons in the field of nursing has been identified as a major task for nurse leaders (1). A critical component in the development of creative nurses is the development of persons who are culturally sensitive, who recognize and respect cultural diversity (2). [symbol: see text] Nurses need a broad understanding of the impact of society, politics, and culture on the practice of professional nursing (3). We have been challenged to discover ways to explore diverse aspects of humanity that are not culturally bound (4). Through exposure to multiculturalism, we are helped to become sensitive to our own cultural biases and behaviors as well as to the lived experiences of those we serve.

Interviewing as a teaching strategy for promoting cultural sensitivity.

Interviewing was found to be an excellent teaching strategy in the promotion of cultural sensitivity in the course described in this article. Students were active learners in the acquisition of knowledge and critical thinkers in the analysis of the knowledge. Leininger (1991) emphasized the need for cultural sensitivity and cultural specific care in assisting supporting, facilitating, and/or enabling "individuals or groups to maintain or regain their well being (or health) in culturally meaningful and beneficial ways, or to help people face handicaps or death" (p.47). The need for further research on teaching strategies for promoting cultural sensitivity and on interviewing as a teaching strategy was identified.

Adolescent pregnancy.

PIP: Kentucky has the fourth highest percentage of infants born to teenage mothers in the US. Risk factors for adolescent pregnancy are poor academic performance, family history of adolescent pregnancy, absence of one or both biological parents in the home, troubled family relationships, family violence, history of substance abuse, and poor self-concept. Pregnancy adds new developmental requirements to the continual developmental crisis of adolescence. Some of these developmental requirements are dealing with pregnancy and birth of a child and peer and family reactions and relationships. Pregnant teens are at high risk for anemia, preeclampsia, preterm delivery, and low birth weight infants. The health care team must assess the abilities, needs, practices, and priorities of teens. Nurses should promote health and positive health practices in teens. They should focus on prevention of adolescent pregnancy and on meeting the needs of pregnant teens. Adolescent pregnancy interventions include education and adolescent-centered special programs. Peer groups, role playing, videos, and computer games are individualized and effective education techniques for teens. Formal adolescent pregnancy prevention programs are abstinence education, knowledge-based programs, and clinic-focused or school-based programs. A combination of approaches is more effective than using just one approach. Adolescent pregnancy prevention interventions should promote the value of education, discourage substance abuse, and provide counseling for victims of child abuse. Pregnant teens should receive prenatal care as soon as possible. One health care agency should combine physical care, psychosocial support, and education for teens. Kentucky schools help pregnant teens continue their education and help them obtain information and support for care for themselves and their babies. Nurses can be effective at reducing the number of unwanted teen pregnancies.^ieng

State of the art of nursing research and theory development in adolescent health.

A literature review was conducted to ascertain the state of the art of nursing research and theory development in adolescent health. A conceptual framework and data collection tool were developed to guide evaluation of the research reports. Adolescent health literature reported within the past 10 years (June 1982 to June 1992) was reviewed. Of 124 adolescent health articles identified in literature searches, 46.0% (n = 57) met inclusion criteria and were included in the literature review. A developmental approach, which included the purposes of theory and research (Chinn & Jacobs, 1987), was used to determine the state of the art of nursing research and theory development. Nursing research and theory development in adolescent health were determined to be at a level between adolescence and young adulthood, reflecting beginning maturity.

Infant stimulation during hospitalization.

Stimulation is essential to the development of infants and children. They are developing skills related to gross motor, fine motor-adaptive, language, and personal-social functioning. Hospitalization can disrupt the developmental process for infants, even those without pre-existing developmental delays, if intervention is not provided. Hospitalized infants are often subjected to an overabundance of meaningless stimulation or understimulation. Nursing needs to insure provision of meaningful stimulation to help alleviate the effects of hospitalization. Parents and/or significant others need to be included whenever possible. A suggested infant stimulation program for hospitalized infants is presented. Practicality for the pediatric clinician facilitates easy intervention.