<p> Nationwide, there has been a trend for acute care facilities to hire a greater percentage of new graduate registered nurses (GRNs). It has been estimated that in acute care 42% of newly hired Registered Nurses (RNs) are likely to be new graduates; and turnover rates for these new hires can range between 35 and 60 percent. A high turnover rate of RNs can have several negative consequences including increased cost in training and recruitment, and decreased quality of patient care. </p><p> Current literature has identified challenges that occur during the transition period between being a student and becoming a registered nurse. There is a gap in the literature regarding an understanding of the experience of the newly graduate RNs and an understanding of when GRNs feel like they are fully functioning as an RN and part of the health care team. </p><p> A Hermeneutic Phenomenology study was conducted in a 500 bed acute care facility in Northeast Ohio. Ten GRNs agreed to participate in the study and completed one-on-one interviews with the researcher. </p><p> Themes that emerged focused on the process of transitioning into the role of RN. Participants discussed challenges of the new RN role, especially their first code experience. Major themes that emerged included: self-esteem and confidence, development of critical thinking, mentoring, bullying, amount to learn, and high expectations.</p><p>

<p> The demand for innovation in nursing education has increased the use of technology and expanded growth in online courses (Hoffman &amp; Dudjak, 2012; Sword, 2012; Valiga, 2012). Many faculty embrace online learning while others perceive knowledge and skills associated with navigating online learning as a barrier to education (Hoffmann &amp; Dudiak, 2012). A lack of research exist related to faculty efficacy in the use of technology for teaching in the online environment (Chang et al., 2011; Petit Dit Dariel et al., 2013; Sword, 2012). The purpose of the descriptive correlational pilot study was to investigate educational technology competencies and efficacy in teaching online. Additionally, the relationship was explored between educational technologies and online teaching efficacy. Bandura&rsquo;s self-efficacy theory served as the conceptual framework for the study. Two instruments were used to collect data: the Michigan Nurse Educator&rsquo;s Sense of Efficacy for Online Teaching Scale (MNESEOTS) and the Duke University School of Nursing Self-Assessment of Educational Technology Competencies Scale (DUSAETCS). The sample consisted of 64 nurse educators teaching at least 51% of course content online within a baccalaureate or graduate level program. A significant relationship was found between self-assessed competency in the use of educational technologies and nurse educators&rsquo; sense of online teaching efficacy (r = .56, p &lt; .001). Additionally, findings from the study revealed that nurse educators reported a sense of efficacy for online teaching from &ldquo;some&rdquo; to &ldquo;quite a bit&rdquo; on subscales addressing student engagement, instructional strategies, classroom management, and uses of computers with a mean of 28.94 on the total scale with a range of scores from 19-35. Participants indicated that they were &ldquo;somewhat competent&rdquo; to &ldquo;very competent&rdquo; in the use of educational technologies based upon responses on subscales addressing: competency, helping students achieve, implementing principles of good teaching, and creating learning experiences with a mean of 145.40 on the total scale ranging from 100-174. An OLS regression was run with predictor variables including online teaching efficacy, online teaching experience, faculty mentoring, instructional design support, and technology competence total score. Technological competency was the only significant variable predicting online teaching efficacy (b = 0.112; p &lt; 0.001) with 36.8% of the variance in online teaching efficacy explained by technological competence. Nurse educators with high online teaching efficacy beliefs value instructional designer support, preparatory course, and peer or mentor support. Additional research is needed to establish reliability and validity for the use of the DUSAETCS tool. Replication of this study is suggested using a larger sample size of online nurse educators to verify variables affecting faculty self-efficacy in the online teaching environment. With additional supporting evidence strategies can be developed to enhance self-efficacy and technological competencies of nurse educators.</p>

<p> Nurses need sharp, clinical reasoning skills to respond to critical situations and to be successful at work in a complex and challenging healthcare system. While past research has focused on using virtual learning environments to teach clinical reasoning, there has been limited research on the experiences of nursing faculty and there is a need for research to include a clearer understanding of potentially significant insights that nurse educators may gain from teaching clinical reasoning skills with virtual learning tools. This qualitative study identified and described nursing faculty experiences with teaching clinical reasoning skills when using virtual learning environments. The researcher interviewed eight nursing faculty and content analyzed the data from those interviews. Findings from this qualitative study supported past research and added to the body of knowledge regarding faculty members&rsquo; use of virtual learning environments. For example, faculty experiences indicated that virtual learning environments included patient situations that offered faculty a way to better assess students. It was found that assessing a student in the clinical setting could be very subjective, while the virtual environment is finite. Faculty experiences indicated that one of the challenges to teaching clinical reasoning skills with virtual learning environments was that students found that virtual communication was difficult and faculty claimed that using virtual environments increased faculty workload. The findings of this study provided deeper understanding into experiences reported by nursing faculty on the teaching of clinical reasoning skills when using a virtual learning environment. Recommendations for further research include using a larger sample size, a specified education level population, traditional, face-to-face classes as compared to classes from an online, or blended program, and investigating use of a specific virtual learning environment, in new research.</p>

<p> Lack of presence in online courses can result in perceived isolation leading to student dissatisfaction with the learning experience. The purpose of this study was to measure nursing students&rsquo; perceived extent of teaching, social and cognitive presence and course satisfaction in an online undergraduate nursing course, and whether relationships and associations existed between the three presences, course satisfaction, student demographic, academic, and technology variables, and selected instructional strategies. </p><p> The Community of Inquiry theory was the framework used in this descriptive correlational study of RN-BSN students (n= 76). Variables were measured using the <i>Community of Inquiry Survey</i> and the <i>Perceived Student Satisfaction Scale</i> instruments, and a researcher developed survey. </p><p> Findings indicated students&rsquo; perceived teaching and cognitive presence were present to a greater extent than social presence. Significant positive correlations (p &lt; .01) were found between teaching and cognitive presence (r =.79), cognitive and social presence (r =.64), teaching and social presence (r =.52), satisfaction and the teaching (r =.77), social (r =.63), and cognitive (r =.52) presences. There were no significant findings associated with age, ethnicity, race, number of online courses taken, expected course grade or GPA and perceptions of the three presences and course satisfaction. There was a significant difference (<i>p</i> &le; .05) with gender and perceived social presence with male students reporting stronger levels. Students experiencing course technology difficulties reported significantly (<i> p</i> &le; .05) lower perceptions of teaching presence than those experiencing no difficulty. Significant differences (<i>p</i> &le; .05) were found between specific course instructional strategies and each presence and course satisfaction. The findings provide faculty with an understanding of online course management and teaching/learning strategies that may increase students&rsquo; perceptions of presence in online courses and improve student satisfaction with online learning.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating technology into a sophomore level baccalaureate nursing class and to explore students&rsquo; perceptions on the use of technology in the classroom in relation to their perceived learning and their perceived interaction with classmates. This study evaluated the use of technology in a baccalaureate nursing classroom and determined the effectiveness of the intervention. The participants in the study included three sections of students enrolled in sophomore level nursing courses, in a small Catholic university, located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. A within-subjects study utilizing a quantitative design was utilized to complete the research. Data were collected from post-tests given to classes after traditional lectures as well as from post-tests given in lectures with the intervention of technology. The purpose of the post-tests was to gauge retention of the presented material in each of the classes. The scores on these tests were compared to determine if there were statistically significant changes between the assessment quiz scores on the lectures with technological intervention as compared to lectures without technological interventions. A survey was distributed to all students at the end of the study to gather total study sample information on student perceptions of the use of technology. While the quantitative study results were inconclusive as to the effectiveness of incorporating technology in the classroom, it did show positive findings concerning students&rsquo; perception of using technology in the classroom and their sense of connectedness with classmates. The relevance of this study was to evaluate the need to adapt teaching methods that increase student engagement, and may result in positive assessment outcomes based on retention of information.</p><p>

<p> A common goal among nurse educators is to adequately prepare graduates to be competent, caring professionals who deliver the highest standard of care. For the nursing school graduate, the first step to attaining this goal is success on the NCLEX-RN. Nurse educators are constantly seeking new strategies to help better prepare graduates for first time NCLEX-RN success. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between student access to computer-adaptive quizzing software program during the final semester of a baccalaureate nursing program and first time NCLEX-RN success. </p><p> Employing the principles of retrieval practice theory, computer-adaptive quizzing is a strategy used in nursing education to allow students to study, evaluate, remediate, and reevaluate mastery of nursing concepts. Computer-adaptive quizzing was developed using the foundational principles of computer-adaptive testing and item response theory, which have been utilized in education, psychology, and computer science for many years. </p><p> A retrospective, descriptive correlational design was used to compare NCLEX-RN outcomes of one cohort of students who did not have access to the computer-adaptive quizzing software (<i>n</i>=99) and one cohort who did have access (<i>n</i>=96). The computer-adaptive quizzing software program that was used in this study was PassPoint^&reg;, a product of Wolters Kluwer Health. There were no statistically significant differences between the two cohorts related to age, gender, race, pre-nursing science GPA, nursing GPA, nursing course failures, and if other degrees were held. There were no major course changes or revisions over the four semesters of the study other than the implementation of the PassPoint adaptive quizzing software. Chi-square analysis suggested that there was an association between having access to and using the software and NCLEX-RN success (<i>p</i>&lt; .001; <i>df</i>=1) with 16.16% of those not having access being unsuccessful on the NCLEX-RN compared to 1.05% of those with access being unsuccessful. Logistic regression showed the predictive model significantly predicted that 18% of the variability of NCLEX-RN success could be linked with usage of the adaptive quizzing software.</p>

<p> Schools of nursing around the United States take multiple measures to prepare nursing students for safe practice in today&rsquo;s complex healthcare system. One area in which schools of nursing continue to struggle is the first-attempt pass rates of NCLEX-RN. Despite various ways of preparing nursing student graduates, the NCLEX-RN first-attempt pass rates for United States&rsquo; nursng schools remain sub-optimal. Because many of the efforts to increase first-attempt NCLEX-RN pass rates have been inadequate and new ways of preparing nursing students remain underexplored, the purpose of this study was to explore a computerized adaptive testing program, PassPoint, and identify any predictors for NCLEX-RN success on first attempt. The purpose was also to compare and analyze the computerized adaptive testing program, PassPoint, to a traditional preparatory testing method, Kaplan, in relation to NCLEX-RN first-attempt success in an associate degree nursing program in the midwestern United States. After employing a retrospective correlation design, a number of statistically significant relationships were noted.</p><p>