<p> The purpose of this study is to compare satisfaction, self-confidence, and engagement of baccalaureate nursing students using defined observational roles and expectations versus traditional observer role assignments in high fidelity simulation and debriefing and to evaluate student perceptions of these constructs. The NLN/Jeffries Simulation Theory serves as the theoretical framework for the study. A convenience sample of 132 freshman level baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in a BSN program in the spring 2017 semester was utilized for the study. A quasi-experimental comparative mixed method design was utilized for the study. </p><p> Data analysis of the study indicates a statistically significant difference between overall satisfaction score, <i>t</i>(119.83) = 2.43, p = .017, overall self-confidence score, <i>t</i>(102.86) = 3.823, p&lt;.001, overall engagement score, <i>t</i>(100.9) = 4.11, p&lt;.001, of baccalaureate nursing students using defined observational roles and expectations (<i>N</i> = 67) versus traditional observer role assignments <i> N</i> = 65) in high fidelity simulation and debriefing. Student&rsquo;s perceptions of satisfaction, self-confidence, and engagement were increased with the use of defined observational roles and expectation.</p><p>

<p> Substance use and abuse has been studied for years and has been proven to be a problem among college students and there is a growing number of students who abuse prescription stimulants, despite increased campaigns to educate, raise awareness and prevent this health epidemic. The rate for prescription type drug abuse among nurses is more than twice that of the general population. Additionally, nurses have particular risk factors specific to the occupation. Despite these overwhelming statistics, prevalence studies for nursing students with legitimate prescriptions who use appropriately, or misuse their prescription are very scarce.</p><p> A quantitative approach was used to examine use and misuse of prescription stimulant medications among nursing students who were members of a professional nursing organization within Alabama. Investigate predictive risk factors and motives for any illicit use were examined as well. Of the 1,111 members, a response rate of 9.2% was obtained (n = 102). Of the 102 respondents, 3 were ineligible, 11 declined participation of did not progress past the informed consent document. There were 88 participants with usable data. This study found 54.5% who reported no use at all. Legitimate use was found to be 14.8%. Illicit use was found to be 30.7% of participants. There was a statistically significance (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) in grade point averages between the groups that is consistent with prior findings. However, this study did not yield significant findings for age, time in extracurricular activities, or PanHellenic membership. Motivations for illicit prescription stimulant abuse were similar to those in previous studies.</p><p> These findings have importance in the field of nursing education and substance abuse prevention. By increasing our knowledge base, faculty can be better equipped to educate their nursing students on the dangers of self-medication, diverting medications and the harm that eventually comes from this illegal activity.</p><p>

<p>This prospective, exploratory, single case study is about health care simulation as a learning approach for faculty to develop as teams of interprofessional facilitators. The research was aimed at understanding how simulation-based team training, designed around an interprofessional theme, promotes both teamwork and interprofessional facilitator competencies among participants representing 6 health care professions (medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant and pharmacy). The central research question asked how faculty attitudes, knowledge, and skills/behaviors in the areas of teamwork and interprofessional education (IPE) facilitation are characterized after experiencing a faculty development workshop designed as interprofessional simulation based team training (IP-SBTT). Four sub-questions focused inquiry into the workshop&rsquo;s: use of TeamSTEPPS^&reg;, unique instructional design, impact on the peer-to-peer attitudes of faculty, and impact on faculty&rsquo;s personal perspectives about simulation-based learning (SBL). </p><p> The examined case was the shared experiences of 9 faculty who participated in a 2-day, 14-hour workshop conducted in a university based simulation center. The workshop entailed immersion in team-based scenarios involving IPE issues. Learning objectives focused on facilitation skills. Data from multiple sources included video recordings of all activities, media material, observation notes/tool, surveys and a focus group interview. An iterative analysis of the evidence employed the use of HyperRESEARCH, qualitative data analysis software for video and text. Twelve key findings are based on triangulation of the frequency of coded behavioral markers on 12.5 hours of video, quantitative and qualitative data from post-simulation survey data, as well as focus group interview results. </p><p> Triangulation via analysis using 3 theoretical constructs lead to the study conclusions which are presented in 3 thematic clusters: (a) IP-SBTT enhances attitudes of mutual trust and team orientation, and the knowledge achievement of shared mental models; (b) the TeamSTEPPS framework is an effective approach to developing teams of IPE facilitators, and the Tension Triangle framework closely aligns with SBL components; and (c) Interprofessional-Meta-Simulation Based Team Learning (IP-M-SBTL) fosters an increased awareness of the emotional vulnerability associated with SBL, and enhanced self-reflection skills, increasing competence in interprofessional facilitation. The IP-M-SBTL model for faculty development is strongly recommended for building teams of interprofessional facilitators. </p>

<p> Gambling disorder is a behavioral addiction that disproportionally affects college students as a population group and can disrupt college careers. While gambling disorder has not traditionally been one that institutions of higher education have addressed, the rapid growth of legalized gambling in the United States and the resulting widespread availability and acceptability of gambling in general have led to calls for policies and programs to prevent the negative consequences that even mild to moderate gambling disorder can cause. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine the stage of readiness of a university campus community to address the issue of students&rsquo; disordered gambling, to identify the barriers and needs of the community prior to the implementation of disordered gambling prevention on campus, and to explore the reliability of using the Community Readiness Tool (Oetting, 2014) as a repeated measure tool over time to appraise changes in levels of community readiness, particularly when re-interviewing the same key informants. </p><p> Eleven mid-level university administrators participated in the study. Each participant was interviewed using an adapted version of the CRT. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and scored according to the standard scoring procedures. Grounded theory analysis was used for the purpose of identifying barriers and needs of the community not fully captured by the CRT. The results indicated an overall lack of awareness of problem gambling as a higher education issue. Eight barriers and nine needs emerged from the qualitative analysis. To examine the use of the CRT as a repeated measure, four participants were re-interviewed one year after their initial interview, and scores were compared to both their own original scores and the scores of a second cohort of participants who were interviewed only once but at the same time. There were no significant differences in overall CRT scores from time 1 to time 2, or between the two cohorts of participants. Implications for appropriate prevention programming and future research are discussed.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the factors that contribute to or detract from the educational preparation of graduates between associate (AD) and baccalaureate degree (BD) respiratory therapy programs through the use of graduate and employer survey ratings, Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credentialing success, and document analysis of various institutional and program mission, course content, and goals.</p><p> This study employed quantitative analyses to compare the perceptions of AD graduates and their employers with the perceptions of BD graduates and their employers regarding the educational program&rsquo;s ability to prepare graduates for entry into the profession. Graduate and employer ratings of cognitive, psychomotor, and affective competencies obtained from the follow-up surveys from 16 BD and 88 AD respiratory therapy programs were analyzed to determine whether there were perceived differences in preparation of associate and baccalaureate degree graduates. Credentialing success data for graduates of 361 AD and 57 BD respiratory therapy programs were also analyzed to determine whether differences in program type had an effect on RRT credentialing success. Multivariate analyses of variance, Welch&rsquo;s F tests and Mann-Whitney two-sample test were used to analyze the data. Additional information obtained from 22 AD and 22 BD institutions were also analyzed to explore similarities and differences in mission, vision, learning outcomes and coursework.</p><p> The three most significant findings in this study were that (1) Employers rated BD graduates higher than AD graduates in the cognitive (mean ratings 4.442 and 4.256 respectively) psychomotor (mean ratings 4.508 and 4.308 respectively) and affective domain (mean ratings 4.642 and 4.496 respectively); (2) BD employer survey ratings were also higher than AD employer ratings (mean ratings 4.49 and 4.21 respectively) on the mean rating for the single item that asked graduates to rate the overall quality of their preparation for entry into the profession and (3) Findings from the document analysis revealed that BD programs required courses beyond the minimum general education, prerequisite and RT course requirements. Thus, the results of this study support the &ldquo;2015 and Beyond&rdquo; recommendation that the BD be the minimum entry-level education required for entry into the profession.</p>

<p> The study was designed to examine the predictive relationship between the variables of seat preference, learning style, and past profession, and student achievement. A convenience sample of N = 248 traditional manual osteopathic students of two Canadian and one Swiss accredited English speaking part-time colleges was recruited for the quasi experimental predictive study. The participants were adult learners ranging in age from 20 &ndash; 69 years with 71% of the sample being female in accordance to the population demographic. The data collection included grade score, learning style as measured by the Learning Style Inventory (LSI 3.1), and a researcher designed survey, Demographic and Seat Preference Survey (DSPS), which gathered information on age, past profession, education, sensory deficits, and seat preferences of three seat diagrams. A multiple regression analysis was used to create the predictive equation. The variables seat preference, learning style, and past profession statistically predicted student achievement <i>R</i>² = .10, <i> F</i>(10, 217) = 2.33, <i>p</i> = .01, power .92. The specific variables action seat in the 10 X 5 seating plan <i>b</i>₁ _10X5AS = 2.91, <i>t</i>(217) = 2.51, <i> p</i> = .01, 95%CI[0.63, 5.20]; the professions of athletic therapy <i> b</i>₂ _AT = 4.60, <i>t</i>(217) = 2.77, <i> p</i> = .01, 95%CI[1.33, 7.86], Nurse/kinesiologist/occupational therapist <i> b</i>₂ _NR/KIN/OT = 4.10, <i>t</i>(217) = 2.54, <i>p</i> = .01, 95%CI[0.92, 7.27], and Other profession <i> b</i>₂ _OTHER = 3.48, <i>t</i>(217) = 2.26, <i>p</i> = .03, 95%CI[0.45, 6.52]; and the diverging learning style <i>b</i>₅_diverging = -3.03, <i> t</i>(217) = -2.13, <i>p</i> = .03, [-5.83, -0.23] contributed significantly to the prediction. In pair-wise comparisons there were significant (<i>p</i> &lt; .05) differences in mean achievement scores between the professions of athletic therapists, nurse/kinesiologists/occupational therapists, and other professions, and medical doctor/osteopathic physician/dentist, and massage therapists; between students preferring the assimilating learning style and students preferring the diverging learning style; and between the 10 X 5 action seats and non-action seats. The findings of the study support the predictive nature of past professions, learning style, and action seat preference in an English-speaking accredited part-time traditional manual osteopathic program. Recommendations for continued data collection and investigating the variables of first language and campus location are made.</p>

<p> Medical dosimetry education occupies a specialized branch of allied health higher education. Noted international shortages of health care workers, reduced university funding, limitations on faculty staffing, trends in learner attrition, and increased enrollment of nontraditional students force allied health educational leadership to reevaluate current admission practices. Program officials wish to select medical dosimetry students with the best chances of successful graduation. The purpose of the quantitative ex post facto correlation study was to investigate the relationship between applicant characteristics (cumulative undergraduate grade point average, science grade point average, prior experience as a radiation therapist, and previous academic degrees) and the successful completion of a medical dosimetry program as measured by graduation. A key finding from the quantitative study was the statistically significant positive correlation between a student&rsquo;s previous degree and his or her successful graduation from the medical dosimetry program. Future research investigations could include a larger research sample representative of more medical dosimetry student populations and additional studies concerning the relationship of a prior history in radiation therapy and the impact on success as a medical dosimetry student. Based on the quantitative correlation analysis, allied health leadership on admissions committees could revise student selection rubrics to place less emphasis on an applicant&rsquo;s undergraduate cumulative GPA and increase the weight assigned to previous degrees.</p>

<p> An explanatory correlational study was conducted to explore whether and to what extent a relationship between hours of participation in service learning and commitment to social responsibility exists for students enrolled in pre-licensure baccalaureate-nursing programs currently participating in the Nursing Licensure Compact. The convenience sample consisted of 103 volunteer professional nursing students. The Civic Attitudes and Skills Questionnaire (CASQ), comprised of six subscales: civic action, interpersonal and problem-solving skills, political awareness, leadership, social justice, and diversity, was the tool used to measure social responsibility. The total Cronbach's alpha for the CASQ was .914. The alternate hypotheses stated a significant relationship between the hours of participation in service learning and each of the CASQ subscales. Data analysis using a Spearman's rho correlation coefficient showed no statistically significant correlations between hours of participation in service learning and any of the CASQ subscales. The data did not support that social responsibility relates to how much time the students spend participating in service learning. This study expands the body of knowledge in nursing education by demonstrating that other factors and not time spent in service learning, may contribute to social responsibility. The notion that prolonged hours are always needed to achieve success can discourage educators from incorporating service learning in their courses. In the context of social responsibility, this study demonstrated that service learning may not require extended time to result in positive outcomes. With this information, nurse educators can plan service-learning experiences more efficiently.</p>

<p> <b>Background:</b> Approximately 25% of newly hired nurses are deficient in critical thinking skills. <b>Purpose:</b> The purpose of the study was to determine if the hybrid design course assisted nursing students to improve critical thinking skills as compared to the traditional face-to-face lecture. <b>Methods:</b> This quasi-experimental study utilized pre- and post-test Assessment Technologies Institute, LLC (ATI) score analyses, course grades, and a demographic survey for students in the hybrid design course and students in the traditional course. The sample size consisted of 26 students in the hybrid design course and 25 students in the traditional lecture course. <b>Results:</b> No statistically significant differences were found between the critical thinking skills of students in the hybrid design section versus the traditional lecture section of the medical-surgical course. Course grades were statistically higher in the hybrid design course when compared to the traditional lecture section of the course.</p>

<p> Research has shown a link between sexual risk taking among college women and a decrease in self-esteem. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the sexual risktaking practices occurring within the academic achieving, more affluent, Caucasian and female college student population. The secondary purpose of this study is to explore what sexual risk-taking patterns exist within behavioral and sociocultural constructed variables and demographic information among college women. The variables examined are religion, self-esteem and reported depressive symptoms. Additional variables used during analysis are body weight and race and/or ethnicity of college women. There are three primary research questions being examined in this study: (a) Do college women with higher academic achievement report more sexual risk-taking practices than those with lower academic achievement? (b) Do women of a higher socioeconomic status choose birth control over disease prevention in their sexual encounters? (c) Do behavioral and sociocultural variables make a difference in risky sexual behavior of college women? The American College Health Association (ACHA) National College Health Assessment II (NCHA-II) has been used to measure the college student health habits and practices at over 540 college and universities in the United States and Canada. The instrument was administered online in spring 2010 and received 872 responses, of which 542 were from female students. The data is analyzed through multiple logistic regressions. Findings of statistical significance were found between academic achievement and sexual risk taking, the number of partners a college woman has and sexual risk taking, and increase in human papillomavirus (HPV). This study also affirmed prior research that there was a significant difference in the sexual risk taking between college women who had been diagnosed with depression in the last year. The study demonstrates the connection between depressive symptoms and sexual risk taking. The research does not present a judgment about sex&mdash;but rather, evidence regarding the lack of disease prevention, the long-term implications, and possible causes of increases in casual sex on college campuses.</p>