<p> The purpose of this qualitative research study with an existential phenomenological approach was to generate an understanding of the lived experiences of a shared central phenomenon of RN-to-BSN graduates and determine their perceptions of the value of their BSN degree. RNs may have begun their education journey at the diploma or associate degree level, and their insights into how obtaining their degree changed their professional and personal goals may contribute greatly to this study. The theory of planned behavior guided this study. The experiences, perceptions, and value that affect RNs&rsquo; educational journeys were the framework for this qualitative research study with an existential phenomenological approach. The data collection procedure was open-ended, semi-structured, which was consisted of one-on-one interviews with 12 nurses who are licensed in Massachusetts and who are graduates of RN-to-BSN programs. The findings identified seven major emerging themes, a) job requirement, b) promotion, c) professional growth, d) personal growth, e) family obligations, f) time and energy, and h) compensation. The themes were incomparable through all emerging themes. The future implications of this study have the potential to add to the body of knowledge for nursing education and RN-to-BSN programs because it has provided opportunities for non-BSN RNs to continue their education for job requirements and promotions for career opportunities. </p><p>

<p> Job dissatisfaction among nursing faculty could have a significant impact on nursing faculty retention and student enrollment in nursing programs. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to gain insight into the perspectives of faculty members who teach nursing education in a university program. This study used Herzberg, Mausner, and Snyderman&rsquo;s motivation-hygiene theory to explore employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction in the workplace. The research question focused on the perspectives of nursing educators and challenges they face. Data were collected through individualized interviews with 15 nurse educators, using open-ended questions and reviewing relevant documents. The data were analyzed by sorting and highlighting the participants&rsquo; responses and using codes to categorize and develop themes. Six overarching themes (expectations, motivations, benefits, job fulfillment, challenges, and job dissatisfaction) and 3 subthemes (remuneration, excessive workload, and funding for advancing education, recruitment, and mentoring) emerged. These themes and subthemes identified critical aspects of job satisfaction that may help nursing faculty and nursing administrators strengthen the positive and diminish the negative aspects of the job for greater faculty satisfaction. Nursing leaders and health care administrators can use these findings to bring awareness to the nursing education community by creating realistic goals that address job satisfaction, retention, and recruitment of nursing faculty. These changes will improve student enrollment and increase the number of nurses available to provide quality care throughout the nurses&rsquo; respective communities.</p>

<p> The assessment of new graduate nurses&rsquo; competency is an important outcome of orientation. Nurse managers and nurse preceptors are important stakeholders in the transition of new graduate nurses and are often responsible for assessing the competency of new graduate nurses. This study used the New Graduate Nurse Performance Survey to assess the perceptions of nurse managers and nurse preceptors related to new graduate nurse competency post orientation. </p><p>

<p> Empathetic communication enhances the nurse-patient relationship and improves patient outcomes and needs to be taught and evaluated during simulated clinical experiences. Experience in healthcare education has shown students&rsquo; empathy levels decrease over time. The purpose of this quasi-experimental pretest posttest, study was to compare nursing students&rsquo; empathy levels, self-confidence, and satisfaction with simulation between the use of the high-fidelity manikin simulator (HFMS) and a standardized patient (SP) used during their simulated clinical experience. Kolb&rsquo;s experiential learning theory was used to guide the study through the four phases specific to simulation and learning. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 135 nursing students in the pre-simulation survey; 123 participants completed the post-simulation survey with 64 in the control group (HFMS) and 59 in the experimental group (SP). Data were analyzed using an independent <i>t</i>-test to determine if there were any mean differences between the HFMS and SP groups in terms of empathy, satisfaction, and self-confidence. Empathy was measured using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professions Student and the NLN&rsquo;s Satisfaction and Self-Confidence Scales. Results revealed there were no significant difference in students&rsquo; empathy levels, self-confidence, and satisfaction. Positive social change through prioritizing nursing students&rsquo; empathetic communication in patient care may be enhanced in the simulated clinical environment with various approaches. Recommendations for future research are to determine what interventions best develop nursing students&rsquo; empathy, satisfaction, and self-confidence in patient care. </p><p>

<p> Clinical reasoning is the cognitive process and strategies used to understand the significant patient data to identify and diagnose actual or potential problems in order to make competent clinical decisions that will affect patient outcomes (Fonteyn &amp; Ritter, 2000). The purpose of the study was to determine if implementing the Outcome-Present State Test Model of Clinical Reasoning with guided reflection activities was an effective method to improve clinical reasoning skills in senior nursing students at a large southeastern university. The overall research questions involve comparing participants Health Sciences Reasoning Test scores before and after implementation of the OPT Model as clinical paperwork, secondly the experimental group was given a guided reflection activity to complete in conjunction with use of the OPT Model during clinical experience. </p><p> Kolb&rsquo;s Experiential Learning Theory is the theoretical framework used throughout this study. Nursing education has historically blended didactic learning with clinical experiences to transfer knowledge. The OPT offers a frame to organize thoughts and guides the learner to decide what data is important to each patient situation. </p><p> This study reports the findings for 62 senior nursing students that completed the HSRT prior to implementation of the OPT Model and a guided reflection activity. Clinical instructor&rsquo;s scored participants using the Lasater&rsquo;s Clinical Judgment Rubric each week. There were no statistically significant differences between the experimental group and the control group. The only statistically significant difference that was identified was in the Lasater&rsquo;s Clinical Judgment Rubric scores between week one and week 2, and week 3 and week 4.</p><p>

<p>Tobacco use among veterans is significantly higher than among members of the general population. The purpose of this quality-improvement project was to increase acute care staff members? knowledge and confidence in using tobacco cessation interventions to increase quit rates among the inpatients of a veterans? hospital in the midwestern region of the United States. An evidence-based, standardized Tobacco Tactics Toolkit was developed and implemented, and a 6 sigma method guided the quality improvement process to define, measure, analyze, improve, and control the tobacco-cessation education initiative. The reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance framework was used to ensure that evidence-based interventions were applicable to practice. The transtheoretical model was also used to understand the changing behavior of individuals addicted to tobacco and explain the phenomena of nicotine dependence. A convenience sample method was used, and a 10-question pre- and posttest was administered to 12 staff members. Results showed a 60% increase in posttest scores indicating a significant improvement in staff confidence, knowledge, and willingness to implement tobacco-cessation interventions. The Tobacco Tactics Toolkit has the potential to positively impact social change by increasing quit rates, decreasing admissions, and improving quality of life among veterans.

<p> Women who undergo immediate mastectomy for breast cancer experience tremendous anxiety when faced with breast reconstruction and are often conflicted regarding which type of breast reconstruction to choose. This pilot study aimed to analyze the impact of a decision aid, adapted from Stanford University Breast Center, on decisional conflict in women with newly diagnosed breast cancer seeking breast reconstruction. Twenty newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients seeking breast reconstruction at a large academic healthcare center were randomized into two groups. Comparisons were made between women who reviewed the standard educational materials prior to initial consultation, and women who reviewed these materials and then reviewed a decision aid brochure at initial consultation and two weeks post consultation, utilizing the Decisional Conflict Scale. Technical issues halted data collection after only nine participants completed the study. Although no reliable findings could be interpreted from such a small sample size, the results suggest the decision aid as a valuable tool for patient education. Nurses may gain increased awareness of the emotional conflicts faced by newly diagnosed breast cancer patients when making decisions for breast reconstruction.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an educational intervention on nurses&rsquo; knowledge of, beliefs about, and attitudes toward EBP, and their perceived ability to implement EBP. Also, the study was focused on examining the correlation between nurses&rsquo; knowledge of, beliefs about, and attitudes toward EBP and nurses&rsquo; perceived ability to implement EBP. A pretest/posttest quasi-experimental randomized design was used. Nineteen nurses employed in a county hospital in California participated in the study. Data were collected via a web-based survey. The knowledge and attitude subscales of the Evidence Based Practice Questionnaire, the Evidence Based Practice Beliefs Scale, and the Evidence Based Practice Implementation Scale were used to measure nurses&rsquo; knowledge of EBP, attitudes toward EBP, beliefs about EBP, and their perceived ability to implement EBP respectively. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon&rsquo;s signed rank test, and Pearson&rsquo;s correlation coefficient test. Within subject data analysis indicated that the EBP educational intervention significantly improved nurses&rsquo; beliefs about EBP, knowledge of EBP, and their perceived ability to implement EBP (<i>p</i> &lt; .05). Pearson&rsquo;s r test analysis indicated that there is no relationship between nurses&rsquo; knowledge of EBP, beliefs about and attitudes toward EBP, and their perceived ability to implement EBP (<i> p</i> > .05). The study results could encourage nurse leaders to promote teaching EBP in clinical settings and remove barriers to the application of evidence into nursing practice. The study served as a foundation for future studies on an educational intervention to help nurses adopt EBP.</p><p>

<p> The need for nurses to be collaborative and practice-ready upon entering the profession has never been more important than it is today. The Institute of Medicine has identified that teamwork and collaboration should be essential parts of the nursing curriculum to prepare nurses to be ready to manage patient care with a team-based approach. The literature supports the idea that by learning out of silos and bringing students together from all different pre-professional programs, the professional working environment can be mirrored and the processes of collaboration and communication within teams can start. </p><p> Transition into practice has been studied for decades regarding the &ldquo;burnout&rdquo; and &ldquo;reality shock&rdquo; that result from the experience. However, no literature has been uncovered that has investigated the nurses&rsquo; experiences of transitioning into practice after receiving an interprofessional education. The present study used Merleau-Ponty&rsquo;s phenomenological perspective and vanManen&rsquo;s phenomenological research method to illuminate the experiences of nurses transitioning into practice after having IPE. Ten practicing nurses who had received IPE were interviewed about their experiences transitioning into practice. Each participant shared stories about her transition period into professional practice. Through the process of reading and rereading transcripts, four essential themes emerged that shed light on the transition into practice after receiving IPE: (a) Understanding Team Dynamics, (b) Competent and Responsive Communicators, (c) Valuing Team Members, and (d) Recognized Self-Readiness. For this study, the lived experience of nurses who transitioned into practice after receiving an education with an IPE curriculum and practice is one of understanding team dynamics as competent and responsive communicators, valuing team members, and recognizing self-readiness. </p><p> Interprofessional education does not have to occur only with students in nursing, medicine, or other allied health programs. Being creative with multiple programs at any institution can enrich students&rsquo; education by developing their communication and collaboration skills and adding quality and scope to their education experiences while preparing them for the real-world environment.</p><p>

<p> Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) contribute to increased patient length of stay and health care costs. The literature has shown that one plausible cause of CAUTIs is improper Foley catheter insertion techniques among nurses. The purpose of this project was to answer the project-focused question that asked if there was a difference in nurses&rsquo; practice skills following an educational intervention involving aseptic Foley insertion. Benner&rsquo;s novice-to-expert theory was the conceptual model for the study. Nurses from a college nursing program were asked to demonstrate Foley catheter insertion on a simulation model, and their technique was evaluated using a standardized checklist. Following the simulation demonstration, an educational intervention was conducted with ample opportunity for the nurses (n = 16) to practice catheter insertion. Following the practice opportunity, the nurses completed a 2nd return demonstration. Percentages of correct skills from the preintervention observation were compared with percentages of correct skills from the postintervention observation to determine the effectiveness of the education intervention in enhancing Foley catheter skills in an acute care setting. Results of a paired t test revealed a significant increase (p &lt; .01) in performance scores on the demonstrations after the intervention and catheter insertion techniques were taught. Hospitals and nursing education programs could implement simulation interventions to improve nurses&rsquo; Foley catheter insertion skills. This study has the potential to contribute to social change by providing evidence that simulation training can lead to improved competence and confidence with nursing skills.</p><p>