Greer Glazer

Partnering and leadership: core requirements for developing a dedicated education unit.

Preparing new nurses to practice independently and provide safe and effective care has always been a priority for nurse leaders in academe and service but is becoming more of a challenge as patient acuity intensifies and care systems become more complex. Recent reports by the Carnegie Foundation1 and by the Institute of Medicine and RWJF2 call for nurse leaders to improve how nurses are prepared and educated by reducing the gap between classroom and clinical teaching and making better use of resources and partnerships available in the community. The development of a dedicated education unit is one strategy to address this gap.

The power of partnership: Addressing cancer health disparities through an academic-service partnership

Partnerships between universities and healthcare organizations help foster interdisciplinary collaboration and can yield programs to address pressing needs in both sectors. In spite of these benefits, such partnerships remain more the exception than the norm. This article describes a partnership between a comprehensive cancer center and a university-based college of nursing and health sciences that serves a diverse student population. With the support of U-56 funding, the 2 organizations collaborated to develop a new, 87-credit BS-to-PhD in Nursing program and to enhance the universitys traditional PhD in nursing program. Both PhD programs prepare nurses for careers in teaching, health policy, and research related to cancer health disparities. In addition to an innovative curriculum, the programs include a mentorship that leverages the research expertise and scholarly resources of both organizations and a community outreach component that gives students experience in planning and implementing educational and risk-reduction programs addressing cancer health disparities.

How many schools adopt interviews during the student admission process across the health professions in the United States of America

Health profession schools use interviews during the admissions process to identify certain non-cognitive skills that are needed for success in diverse, inter-professional settings. This study aimed to assess the use of interviews during the student admissions process across health disciplines at schools in the United States of America in 2014. The type and frequency of non-cognitive skills assessed were also evaluated. Descriptive methods were used to analyze a sample of interview rubrics collected as part of a national survey on admissions in the health professions, which surveyed 228 schools of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, and public health. Of the 228 schools, 130 used interviews. The most desirable non-cognitive skills from 34 schools were identified as follows: communication skills (30), motivation (22), readiness for the profession (17), service (12), and problem-solving (12). Ten schools reported using the multiple mini-interview format, which may indicate potential for expanding this practice. Disparities in the use of interviewing across health professions should be verified to help schools adopt interviews during student admissions processes.

Transforming Nursing Education With Apple Technology.

The widespread adoption of technology has the potential to redefine nursing education. Currently, there is limited knowledge of how to implement technological advancements in nursing curricula. This article describes 1 colleges journey to transform nursing education through leadership, professional development, and innovative learning and teaching. The iPad opens the classroom experience to resources and learning opportunities for students. Facilitating the culture change required to adopt the iPad as a teaching and learning tool required a supportive vision, strong leadership, commitment to provide adequate technological support, early adopters, and planning.

Evaluation of a Summer Bridge: Critical Component of the Leadership 2.0 Program

BACKGROUND Summer bridges facilitate the transition from high school to college. Although many schools employ summer bridges, few have published outcomes. This articles purpose is to share preconceptions of college by underrepresented and disadvantaged nursing students and describe important elements and long-term impact of a summer bridge, a component of the Leadership 2.0 program. METHOD A longitudinal study design was used to collect baseline, short-term, and long-term post-summer bridge data. Methods included pre- and postsurveys, interviews, and focus groups. RESULTS After bridge completion, students felt more prepared for the nursing program. Students ranked socialization components as most important. The summer bridge had lasting impact through the first year, where grade point average and retention of underrepresented and disadvantaged bridge students was comparable to the majority first-year students. CONCLUSION The summer bridge was effective in preparing nursing students for the first year of college. Through holistic evaluation, unique aspects of socialization critical to student success were uncovered.

Increasing healthcare workforce diversity: Urban universities as catalysts for change

Increasing the diversity of the healthcare workforce is often cited as a strategy for reducing racial and ethnic health disparities. Colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to influence workforce diversity through their recruitment, admissions, and student support practices, and by partnering with community groups to improve the pipeline of underrepresented racial/ethnic (URE) students pursuing health careers and influence workforce diversity practices in healthcare institutions. In this article, the authors describe a multifaceted initiative implemented by the Academic Health Center (AHC) at the University of Cincinnati (UC) that sought to address each of these areas. The initiative was led by the dean of the College of Nursing and a professor from the College of Medicine, who served as co-principal investigators. Within the university, UC identified improving health disparities and workforce diversity as central to its mission, adopted holistic admissions practices, used social media to strengthen outreach to URE students, and created a diversity dashboard to monitor diversity efforts. Additionally, UC partnered with community groups to expand pipeline programs for URE students and worked with a community advisory board to engage the regions health systems in evaluating their workforce diversity efforts. Within the College of Nursing, the initiative resulted in increased applications from students at pipeline schools, a larger number of URE student admissions, and increased faculty diversity.

Pulse Check: Underrepresented Minority Health-Care Student Recruitment and Retention at the University of Cincinnati

In February 2015, the Urban Universities for HEALTH (Health Equity Alignment through Leadership and Transformation of the Health Workforce) learning collaborative site team at the University of Cincinnati held focus groups seeking to understand the contributing factors of underrepresented minority students’ decision to study within the Academic Health Center colleges of Allied Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy. Students identified university and program-level factors as contributing to their perception of a student-centered, quality educational experience. This “pulse check” project with the undergraduate and graduate health-care students affirmed the efficacy of many current recruitment practices and retention strategies. Participant feedback provided rich process improvement data for the Academic Health Center leadership, and the larger urban universities learning collaborative.

A mixed methods study of the experience of older adults with multimorbidity in a Care Coordination Program

Introduction Care Coordination Programs are designed to streamline services for older adults with multimorbidity. The Triple Aim, a conceptual model for the design and evaluation of healthcare models, stipulates that a balance of three aims—reducing costs, improving population health, and improving patient experience—are needed for high-quality, value-based care. Research is beginning to show that coordinating care across the continuum of care reduces costs and improves the health of the multimorbid older adult population. Yet little is known about older adults’ experience of care and their overall assessment of interactions with healthcare providers across the length of time of these interactions in a Care Coordination Program. Methods To gain a deeper understanding of older adults’ experience with a Care Coordination Program, this concurrent mixed methods research study analyzed 201 older adults’ assessment of their chronic illness care using the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC+). A subset of 30 older adults also participated in a telephone interview to collect qualitative data. Results The experience of older adults with multimorbidity in a Care Coordination Program was related to two factors: (1) professional actions and (2) professional attitudes. Actions that improved patients’ experience of care were communication, coordination, and addressing fundamental problems. Professional attitudes that improved their experience of care included being compassionate, knowledgeable and professional, mutually respectful, and positive and encouraging. Discussion To improve patient experience, Care Coordination Programs must design and measure their efforts related to the actions and the attitudes of their care team, especially primary care physicians and care coordinators.