Postpandemic Nursing Education: Moving Forward With New Ideas.

BACKGROUND: Since March 2020, the world has faced many new challenges, and both faculty and students have needed to make many adjustments to the typical learning experience. Schools of nursing have reported on many innovative teaching strategies used during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. METHOD: A reflective method was used to propose ideas related to postpandemic nursing education. Consideration was given to ways in which nursing education can be changed in response to lessons learned from the pandemic experience. RESULTS: Most changes reported relate to the delivery of nursing education. Little has been published about the pandemic experience challenging educators to look more critically at the total academic experience and consider implementing changes that will enhance students' learning; support mental health; strengthen clinical partnerships; and help students internalize an identity as a nurse, scholar, and leader who can deal effectively with change and uncertainty. CONCLUSION: Nurse educators must think broadly about changes that can be made to achieve these goals. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(12):680-685.].

New Faculty Orientation for Nurse Educators: Offerings and Needs.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to identify the common elements for new faculty orientation (NFO) programs and then replicate two previous studies regarding NFO offerings and needs. METHOD: Using a descriptive survey research design, a 40-item survey was developed based on Morin and colleagues' surveys and disseminated via the Qualtrics platform. The survey addressed nurse faculty orientation offerings and needs. RESULTS: Some form of orientation was offered to 61% of the respondents. Only 14% identified a person responsible for orienting new faculty to their nursing program, 15% said no one person was accountable, and 69% reported they did not know who was responsible. The top three categories to be included in an orientation program were educational environment, academic environment, and social milieu. CONCLUSION: NFO programs attended by nursing faculty may not be as comprehensive or effective as they could be. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(5):273-276.].

Clinical decision making in undergraduate nursing students: A mixed methods multisite study.

BACKGROUND: Clinical decision making is an integral part of what nurses do, yet little is known about how students learn how to make clinical decisions or about the nature of the clinical decisions they make-whether intuitive or analytical. This multischool, multistate embedded mixed methods study was conducted to better understand these phenomena within the context of Hammond's Cognitive Continuum Theory. The content for this manuscript was taken from the primary author's dissertation. METHODS: Students (N = 168) completed the NDMI-Revised 2014; followed by focus groups. RESULTS: Three quarters of the participants (n = 127) scored in the quasi-rational range of clinical decision making indicating they are flexible making decisions dependent on the situation. Six themes described how students made clinical decisions. CONCLUSIONS: Participants were flexible decision makers who used the help of others, lessons learned, the wisdom of nurses, experience, the situation at hand, and systematic cognitive processing to make clinical decisions.

Building Social Capital to Foster Interprofessional Education: The Interprofessional Educator Academy.

Interprofessional education (IPE) is promoted as a necessary precursor to the implementation of the collaborative practices in patient care thought to improve teamwork and communication among health care providers, patients, their families, and communities. Yet barriers to IPE persist, due largely to a lack of understanding on the part of health care team members about the norms and practices of health professions outside their own. A by-product of social interactions within groups and networks, social capital is a collective asset that contributes to the development of trust, innovation, and coordination of efforts toward mutual goals. Duke AHEAD (Academy for Health Professions Education and Academic Development), an interprofessional educator academy, is examined through the lens of social capital theory as a viable means of breaking down barriers to IPE, thereby improving patient care.

Leaders, managers, and followers: Working in harmony.

All nurses have the potential and responsibility to effect positive change in nursing practice and healthcare. This article details the characteristics of leaders and effective followers and clarifies that one does not need to be in a management position to function as a leader.

Nursing education trends: future implications and predictions.

This article examines current trends in nursing education and proposes numerous transformations needed to ensure that programs are relevant, fully engage learners, reflect evidence-based teaching practices, and are innovative. Such program characteristics are essential if we are to graduate nurses who can practice effectively in today's complex, ambiguous, ever-changing health care environments and who are prepared to practice in and, indeed, shape tomorrow's unknown practice environments.

Audio feedback for student writing in online nursing courses: exploring student and instructor reactions.

Because scientific writing is an essential skill for advanced practice nurses, it is an important component of graduate education. Faculty typically provide written feedback about student writing, but this may not be the most effective choice for the distance-learning environment. This exploratory pilot study's aim was to compare spoken, recorded feedback with written feedback in three areas: which approach do students perceive as providing more useful guidance; which approach helps students feel more connected to the course; and which approach do instructors prefer? Students enrolled in an evidence-based practice graduate-level course received asynchronous audio feedback on their written assignments instead of the written feedback they received in other courses. Results from a survey completed by 30 students at completion of the course suggest a strong preference for audio feedback. This pilot study suggests that audio feedback may be preferable to written comments for distance learning courses.