Evidence-based practice has resulted in better patient outcomes, higher patient satisfaction, and effective patient-centered care. Leadership of a large teaching hospital determined that new nurses lacked the education and experience to design and implement an evidence-based project at the bedside, which was an expected outcome for completion of the established nurse residency program. The purpose of this project was to develop a design-only project in which Masters of Science in Nursing-prepared mentors were added to the residency program to establish the required evidence-based project. A mentor workshop was developed to guide the mentors in this role using Benner's novice to expert theoretical model. A team of stakeholders, including an expert in the field of nursing education, provided ongoing process evaluation in the development of the outcome products including the Mentor Facilitation Guide, Mentor Workshop Curriculum, Mentoring Toolkit, Pre-and Post-Mentor Workshop Survey Assessment, and Mentor Implementation Plan. Stakeholders completed a summative evaluation on the processes, outcomes, and student leadership of the project. Findings showed that the project met 100% of the stated goals and objectives, as evidenced by the stakeholders' responses to the summative evaluation regarding the degree of effectiveness for the project, process, and leadership skills. Implementation and evaluation of the project, which was developed for use in the hospitals' existing nurse residency program, will occur post-graduation. Social change will occur if new nurses learn to use evidence-based practice to support their nursing actions, resulting in improved patient care outcomes and population health.

No description available.

The main aim of this thesis was to examine internal representation in the context of nurse education using two main output variables - namely imagery and identity. The initial basic argument for the thesis was that procedures to facilitate the acquisition of psychomotor skills that have been developed in sports science could fruitfully be applied to the development of skills in other areas, such as nurse education. Study one approached this through the use of an imagery training programme - PETTIER (Holmes & Collins, 2001) on an undergraduate nursing curriculum. PETTIER served as the independent variable with the dependent variable - performance - being measured through Obje&tive Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs). Unexpected results revealed no significant differences between the control and experimental groups, with the control group actually performing better overall. Given this, the explicit choice was made to pursue investigation into the other plausible factors affecting behaviour, in order to explicate and underpin the results obtained. Study two investigated students' perceptions of and preparation for the OSCEs using a skills training questionnaire. Results revealed common concerns, specifically related to skills practice. Furthermore these concerned the amount of practice time provided; the practice environment; and the amount of support and training during teaching. In light of these findings, study three pursued a contrasting and comparative investigation from the professionals' perspective on the curriculum. This specifically examined perceptions of the assessment structure and expectations within the curriculum; the content of the curriculum; levels of support and provision for training; and the application of theory and practice. This aimed to identify any coherent or conflicting views between the students' receiving the curriculum and the staff delivering the curriculum. Results revealed coherency in the professional view that theory and practice were equally as important for nurse education. However, students commonly perceived practice as the most important aspect. Also, some students often struggled to apply theory to practice and vice versa. In light of this it became apparent that students may in fact identify differently with the content of the curriculum. Therefore, appraisal of the content may have different significance for students and affect behaviour differently both internally and/or externally. Study four investigated this using Identity Structure Analysis (ISA)/lpseus (Weinreich & Saunderson, 2003).This explored how students applied themselves to the various aspects of nursing in the contexts of healthcare and broader affiliations, and how these fitted into students' broader sense of identity. It also looked at typologies within nursing and whether identity fitted into three distinct categories depending on construals. Study five followed this up using two individual case studies. The purpose of this was to encapsulate meaning behind individual construals and typologies and explicate the findings of ISA/lpseus and the implications for nurse education. Results found that construals are grounded in experiences which can affect development, behaviour and identity towards nursing and the broader affiliations in individuals' lives. In conclusion identity in nursing should be investigated further in order to provide stronger evidence in regards to typologies and how these may be influencing students' behaviour and development in nurse education. Such research could have important implications for the future of nurse education and be a positive step towards future curriculum revisions.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Asthma is a chronic disease that affects 8.4 million children in the United States (American Lung Association [ALA], 2007). Adolescents with asthma need tailored management of their care with attention given to particular developmental concerns. Standards of care, such as the National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute [NHLBI] 2007 asthma guidelines (NHLBI, 2007), exist to guide patient care and in this case, also address specific adolescent needs. Advanced practice nurses should incorporate "national standards of care as a framework for managing patient care" (American Association of Nurse Practitioners [AANP], 2007, p. 2). There is a lack of research about nurse practitioner use of standards of care, especially in caring for adolescents with asthma.The purpose of this practice inquiry was to explore patterns of practice and perceptions of practice by the nurse practitioners who care for adolescents with asthma, and to evaluate the current patterns of practice in comparison with national standards for providing care to adolescents with asthma at the Larry Combest Community Health Wellness Center [LCCHWC]. The design for this practice inquiry was descriptive retrospective, using mixed methods for process evaluation of a program through description of nurse practitioner practice at an academic nurse-managed primary care clinic.The nurse practitioners addressed all components of the process of care recommended by the AANP (2007), which includes assessment, diagnosis, development and implementation of a treatment plan, and evaluation of the patient status. However, despite comments about the importance of using evidence based practice in the form of guidelines, results from health records review indicate that nurse practitioners have not fully integrated the NHLBI 2007 asthma guidelines into providing care to adolescents with asthma. This study establishes a baseline measure of adoption of the NHLBI 2007 asthma guidelines by nurse practitioners at this clinic site. The results of this study may ultimately contribute to nurse practitioners' awareness of use of standards of care and improved quality of care for adolescents with asthma.