Elizabeth Bonham

Psychometric Testing of the Children's Resourcefulness Scale

PROBLEM Resourcefulness is known to reduce depression in adults, but its effects on children are less well known, possibly for lack of a psychometrically sound measure. METHODS This study examined the reliability and validity of the 32-item Childrens Self-Control Scale (C-SCS), which measures resourcefulness, in 122 school-aged children. FINDINGS Standard scale refinement methods produced a 10-item scale with alpha= .72 and correlations with the C-SCS (r = .86), positive thoughts (r = .38), and depressive symptoms (r =-.32). Factor analysis revealed two factors: problem-solving and delay of gratification. CONCLUSIONS The 10-item scale may be useful for identifying children who are not resourceful and are at risk for depression.

Appreciative inquiry in youthful offender psychiatric nursing research.

PROBLEM Combined with demonstrated impulsive behaviors and culturally bound expectations, youth who are detained in the juvenile justice system are challenged to find opportunities to articulate their stories and life experiences that contribute to a future life. METHODS Appreciative inquiry (AI) as a research method is used to analyze interviews of youth residing in a juvenile detention center. FINDINGS The narrative, or life pattern, that youth in detention express is explicated through the four processes of the 4-D Cycle in AI. The processes are discovery, dreaming, designing, and delivery. CONCLUSIONS AI as a research method is useful to conduct interviews with detained youth, to provide a data analysis method for qualitative interviews, and generate nursing interventions. Through articulation of their own stories, youth discover voice and envision empowerment.

The clinical practice project: Planning to publish

Purpose:An increasing number of journals focused on clinical practice publish high‐quality projects. However, research reports typically follow a distinct design, which is not always appropriate for reporting clinical practice projects. The purpose of this article is to provide a succinct guide for planning and reporting clinical projects, specifically, the Doctor of Nursing Practice applied clinical project. Data sources:Literature concerning clinical practice project planning and preparation for publication was reviewed for this article. Conclusions:This article provides a section‐by‐section summary of elements frequently included when preparing a manuscript for publication. The elements addressed in this article are suggestions and their inclusion and sequencing may vary depending on specific journal requirements. Implications for practice:If information from clinical research projects is to contribute to nursing knowledge in the form of lessons learned and information about translation of research into clinical practice, the design and conduct of the project must be rigorous and information about implementation and findings must be accurate and clearly communicated.

Educating the Workforce Who Cares for the Pediatric Population

A recurring belief in modern society is that children are the earth’s most important resource. Indeed, I saw those sentiments on a poster hanging on the wall of the elementary school where I went to vote. Yet, budgets in all educational venues ranging from elementary to higher education are being slashed throughout the country. For years we have advocated for early identification and intervention of mental health disorders of children. Yet, when those children become college students universities lament the number of students needing campus mental health services. In nursing schools across the country, clinical hours in pediatric settings, generally and child and adolescent mental health settings, specifically are declining at alarming rates. Who will take care of the children? How will they do it? And how will they be prepared? We want to discuss three opportunities before us now that provide a proactive mechanism: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) Public Law 111-148, the Pediatric Nursing Alliance, and the ISPN White Paper on the educational preparation of advanced practice nurses who provide mental healthcare to children and adolescents. The PPACA contains language that covers many aspects of health care. Much of the components address care being provided in community, home, and school settings— environments well known to nurses and ones where the nursing workforce is well poised to practice. For this discussion, however, we will mention just four aspects of PPACA: primary care workforce; nurse managed health centers; nurse education, practice, and retention; and nursing workforce diversity grants. Funding would be increased for the primary care workforce in that a variety of entities would develop programs that teach provision of primary care. This aspect parallels nicely with the nurse managed health centers component that would provide funding for establishing comprehensive primary care and wellness services for people with limited financial abilities. Providing primary physical and mental health care for underserved populations while affiliated with an academic department of nursing is ideal for the patients served and for increasing opportunities for faculty practice, clinical settings for students, and research. The nurse education, practice and retention component would provide funding for nursing schools or health facilities who demonstrate enhanced collaboration and communication. As child and adolescent psychiatric nurses, we excel at collaboration and communication. Designing a formal operation could be the very next challenge for someone who is reading this right now. Finally, the nursing workforce diversity grants would provide funding for registered nurses to enter bridge or accelerated nursing degree programs. In turn, more nurses would be prepared for graduate education as well as being able to provide care in the complex contexts mentioned above. The Pediatric Nursing Alliance (PNA) is a coalition of organizations formed to strengthen and secure the well being and welfare of children and their families. PNA wants to address five areas that impact quality care of children and families: access, advocacy, care coordination, education for pediatric nurses, and safe evidence-based nursing practice. International Psychiatric Nurses Association (ISPN) was one of the 17 pediatric nursing organizations that met in November 2009 to begin the collaborative dialog. In that meeting, representatives from the nursing groups mapped out the dilemmas they face in supporting the health and mental health of children. The group developed a White Paper, Securing the Future of Children’s Health, which can be accessed at http://www.pedsalliance.org. On the web site you can also view videos of the topic groups that crafted strategies to address education, policy, access and quality. Maintaining ISPN representation with the PNA is one way that the pediatric agenda, in general and pediatric mental health, specifically remains on the national radar. Together we can move towards creating prevention-oriented mental health system as well as one geared to early recognition and intervention. Finally, an ISPN/American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) Task Force recently completed a white paper: The Educational Preparation of Advanced Practice Nurses to Address the Mental Health Needs of Children and Adolescents. The task force, ably led by Dr. Margaret Brackley, presented the paper at the April 2010 ISPN Annual Business Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. The paper alludes to the significance of collaboration and supports increasing primary care practice knowledge of children’s mental health as well as increasing the knowledge that the psychiatric mental health (PMH) workforce has about life span development. Recommendations include competencies for graduates of primary care practitioner programs and competencies for the preparation of PMH Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners. This differentiation between mental health competencies for primary doi: 10.1111/j.1744-6171.2010.00241.x