As a result of changing demographics and an increasing need for access to healthcare, in 2013, the Nevada Legislature passed Assembly Bill 170 (AB170) allowing nurse practitioners (NPs) full practice authority in Nevada in 2013 (VanBeuge & Walker, 2014). With the movement from collaborative agreement to independent practice, recent NP graduates need to be prepared for transitioning from the NP student role to an independent practitioner role. Historically, speaking there have been numerous studies citing that NPs provide high-quality health care and have high patient satisfaction, yet there has been almost no research regarding the readiness for clinical practice post-graduation (Hart & Macnee, 2007). The purpose of this project was to develop a better understanding of readiness to practice, perceived barriers, and to develop recommendations for post-graduation nurse practitioners in Nevada. A brief survey was provided electronically to NPs who were members of the Nevada Advanced Practice Nurses Association (NAPNA).

Inga Leonavičiūtė Paper for Master’s degree Psychological readiness of Master’s degree students for further academic career Psychological career readiness includes obtaining of personal, professional, educational and social competence, ability to assume responsibility for one’s activity and to purposefully act in changing situation, i.e. it determines the further career development. Career readiness assessment is important for a person while choosing occupational activities and making choice in favour or prejudice of a career since it allows better understanding of one’s intentions and thus facilitates the decision-making process. The aim of investigations was to analyse the psychological readiness for academic career of students doing their Master’s degree in Psychology. The objectives of the investigations were as follows: 1. To reveal the approach to studies of the students doing their Master’s degree in psychology. 2. To analyse students’ attitudes towards their professional future. 3. To compare the assessment of readiness for academic career of the students doing their Master’s degree in Vilnius Pedagogical University, Vilnius University and Mykolas Riomeris University. 4. To elucidate how the students conceive the academic career. 5. To compare the peculiarities of the approach to academic career readiness of the full-timers to that of the external students. 6. To assess the interdependence between the satisfaction from the studies and the self-assessment of the... [to full text]

Despite the fact that phonological awareness (PA) is one of the strongest predictors of reading acquisition, relatively little is known about its origins and development. Theories of spoken word representation and cognitive control were examined to explore the respective roles of linguistic and cognitive factors in the development of PA following debate in the research literature regarding the linguistic versus cognitive basis of PA. Pre-literate, kindergarten children were administered tasks assessing PA, spoken word representation in long-term memory, phonological encoding in working memory, and cognitive control at the beginning and end of the kindergarten year. At the end of grade one, the same children were administered tasks of reading in order to investigate the roles of PA and each of the linguistic and cognitive factors in the development of reading skills. While the ability to phonologically encode spoken words in working memory was a significant predictor of PA, spoken word representation in long-term memory and cognitive control were not causally related to PA. PA was the best predictor of the development of word identification skills in children; however, spoken word representation in long-term memory may play a role in the development of reading comprehension skills. These findings refute the theory of spoken word representation in long-term memory proposed by Walley (1993) and Fowler (1991) and suggest that the causal relationship between cognitive control and PA obtained by Tunmer et al. (1988) may be due to methodological shortcomings in their investigation. Finally, the theory that awareness of an awareness of phonemes arises from the acquisition of reading skills is challenged with the findings that pre-literate phoneme awareness is a significant predictor of reading ability approximately 18 months later. The implications of these findings for the diagnosis of reading disability and reading remediation are discussed.

The purpose of this research was to develop and evaluate a 5-week readiness for change precursor to group cognitive-behavioral therapy for individuals with eating disorders. Group content was based on the theories of the Transtheoretical Model of Change and Motivational Interviewing, and also included an experiential pretraining component. Forty-six medically stable individuals with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) were recruited from the Adult Eating Disorders Program at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, Canada. Participants completed measures of readiness for change, eating disorder symptomatology, and treatment outcome at three time points: pre- and post-readiness precursor, and post-cognitive-behavioral group. One-way repeated measures analysis of variance, regression analysis, and Cochran’s Q analysis were used to investigate hypotheses. Results revealed that participants’ readiness for change increased significantly following the readiness group. However, despite changes in readiness, stage of change awareness and cognitive-behavioral treatment drop-out rates were not significantly improved. In was concluded that motivational interventions appear to be an effective way to increase readiness for change in the eating disorders, however more research is needed to determine whether increases in readiness have a significant impact on treatment outcome.

The initial purpose of this study was to determine if a locally generated, highly structured, Pre-School program that included performance objectives in the areas of language, cognitive, and motor development were sufficient to provide a substantial achievement gain in the language age of four-year-old pupils. The secondary goal of the study was to determine how effective and lasting the Pre-School program was after one year of formal Kindergarten experience and education.Two null hypotheses were established to guide the study and the necessary statistical analysis. Hypothesis number one indicated there would be no significant difference in the language age growth of four-year-old Pre-School pupils when the scores of pre and post testing were examined statistically. Hypothesis number two assumed there would be no significant difference between the group mean Readiness scores of Pre-School background pupils and non Pre-School background pupils when testing results were examined statistically at the close of the Kindergarten school year.There were fifty-four-year-old children enrolled in the Pre-School program. Twenty-five pupil names were drawn at random and they made up the sample pupil population. All twenty-five pupils were individually administered the Zimmerman Pre-School Language Scale, both in September and May. All fifty pupils received 170 instructional periods of language, perceptual-motor, and cognitive skill development. Progress of pupils was monitored carefully each day and instructional groupings focused on skills students had not assimilated.Pre versus post test data was submitted to t test specifications to examine for significance of difference in Language Age of the pupil population. The mean of the difference scores for the sample population was 16.78 months of growth. The Language Age growth difference was significant at the .01 level of confidence.Phase two of the study followed the Pre-School population into a formal year of Kindergarten experience. Pre-School background students, who attended morning classes, were compared to non Pre-School background pupils who were enrolled in afternoon sessions of formal Kindergarten. There was no attempt to differ the curriculum for morning and afternoon classes.The pupil sample population that comprised the Kindergarten phase of the study was seventeen matched pairs of five-year-old students. Pairings were completed on the basis of sex, mental age, and social class. The Metropolitan Readiness Test was administered to all children involved in the study in May of the school year. Raw score data from the sample population was submitted to t test specifications to examine for significance of difference between the two paired groups. The t test results evidenced the fact that there was no significant difference in achievement between the Pre-School and non Pre-School background groups.Statistical processing of the data supported the finding that the structured, performance oriented, language development program did provide for a significant gain in the language growth of the Pre-School subjects of the study. Analysis of the data also witnessed to the fact that the Pre-School background pupils, after having experienced a full year of formal Kindergarten, were no better prepared for academic primary school education than were their matched pair counter-parts who had not been enrolled in any type of Pre-School program.Review of the literature and the research on the subject of early childhood intervention programs appears to support the position that highly structured, language development programs better serve children from disadvantaged elements of our society. Conversely, traditional middle class free play and group interaction Pre-School settings are not suited for all children who enter the formal setting of our public schools.The curriculum model and the design of programs appears to be of more value and assistance to well informed, enthusiastic teachers than to pupils. The demands made by curriculum on acceptant teachers have served to focus instructional energies and integrate activities into meaningful programs.

The purpose of this research was to develop and evaluate a 5-week readiness for change precursor to group cognitive-behavioral therapy for individuals with eating disorders. Group content was based on the theories of the Transtheoretical Model of Change and Motivational Interviewing, and also included an experiential pretraining component. Forty-six medically stable individuals with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) were recruited from the Adult Eating Disorders Program at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, Canada. Participants completed measures of readiness for change, eating disorder symptomatology, and treatment outcome at three time points: pre- and post-readiness precursor, and post-cognitive-behavioral group. One-way repeated measures analysis of variance, regression analysis, and Cochran’s Q analysis were used to investigate hypotheses. Results revealed that participants’ readiness for change increased significantly following the readiness group. However, despite changes in readiness, stage of change awareness and cognitive-behavioral treatment drop-out rates were not significantly improved. In was concluded that motivational interventions appear to be an effective way to increase readiness for change in the eating disorders, however more research is needed to determine whether increases in readiness have a significant impact on treatment outcome.

Thesis (MEd) -- University of South Australia, 1993

Thesis (M.A.)--George Mason University, 2008. / Vita: p. 108. Thesis director: Adam Winsler. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Mar. 9, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-107). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--University of Florida. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-82).