Jane D. Brannan

Resilience in Nurses: An Integrative Review

AIM To describe nursing research that has been conducted to understand the phenomenon of resilience in nurses. BACKGROUND Resilience is the ability to bounce back or cope successfully despite adverse circumstances. Nurses deal with modern-day problems that affect their abilities to remain resilient. Nursing administrators/managers need to look for solutions not only to recruit nurses, but to become knowledgeable about how to support and retain nurses. EVALUATION A comprehensive search was undertaken for nursing research conducted between 1990 and 2011. Key search terms were nurse, resilience, resiliency and resilient. Whittemore and Knafls integrative approach was used to conduct the methodological review. KEY ISSUES Challenging workplaces, psychological emptiness, diminishing inner balance and a sense of dissonance are contributing factors for resilience. Examples of intrapersonal characteristics include hope, self-efficacy and coping. Cognitive reframing, toughening up, grounding connections, work-life balance and reconciliation are resilience building strategies. CONCLUSION This review provides information about the concept of resilience. Becoming aware of contributing factors to the need for resilience and successful strategies to build resilience can help in recruiting and retaining nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Understanding the concept of resilience can assist in providing support and developing programmes to help nurses become and stay resilient.

A mentor-protégé program for new faculty, part I: stories of protégés.

Mentorship has been identified as an influential factor in retaining new nursing faculty. A mentor-protégé program for novice faculty was implemented to promote development of the protégés in their role as nurse educators. A qualitative research study conducted to illuminate the meaning of experiences of mentors led to the emergence of four patterns: The Significance of the Mentor-Protégé Relationship, Communication as Important Between Mentor and Protégé, The Mentor-Protégé Program-Protégés Perspectives, and The Mentoring Role as Expert Educator. The data from the study support the significance of providing mentorship to novice or new nurse educators. The data suggest that mentors benefit from participation in a mentor-protégé program as much as the protégés. Similar programs are needed in nursing if we are to mentor and encourage faculty to begin and remain in the role of educators to combat the future nurse educator shortage.

Returning Nurses to the Workforce: Developing an Online Refresher Course.

The crisis of a nursing shortage is encouraging unemployed nurses to return to practice. A refresher course is needed before they return safely. Historically, schools of nursing and hospital-based continuing education departments offered refresher courses in the traditional classroom-based environments. Nurses in less populated, geographically dispersed areas have limited access to these educational opportunities. Refresher courses, whether in an academic or a hospital-based setting, are expensive and depend on class size to be cost-effective. An answer to the problem of cost and access is collaborative distance education using web-based instruction.

Effectiveness of a structured curriculum focused on recognition and response to acute patient deterioration in an undergraduate BSN program

The study purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured education curriculum with simulation training in educating undergraduate Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing (BSN) students to recognize and respond to patients experiencing acute deterioration as first responders. Researchers have demonstrated a lack of adequate clinical reasoning skills in new graduate nurses is a factor in critical patient incidents. A mixed methods design using a quasi-experimental, repeated measures and a descriptive, qualitative approach was used. A convenience sample of 48 BSN students was recruited. Statistically significant increases were shown in knowledge, self-confidence, and perceptions of teamwork. Six categories emerged from the qualitative data analysis: sources of knowledge, knowledge as a person, knowledge as a group, reasoning under pressure, feelings, real person versus simulation, and values. Nursing educators need to use innovative teaching strategies to ameliorate or even eliminate the theory-practice gap in nursing.

Outcomes-Based Research: Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Online Nurse Refresher Course

According to the Monthly Labor Review, 1 million new nurses will be needed by the year 2010. Returning inactive nurses to the profession is undoubtedly an economical and cost-effective approach to address this need. Embracing an online methodology will reach nurses in less populated, geographically dispersed areas with limited access to traditional educational opportunities. On the basis of the principles of good practice, it is imperative that educators evaluate the effectiveness of distance methodology. This article provides empirical data supporting the online learning process and consumer satisfaction of an online nurse refresher course.

Learning Styles: Impact on Knowledge and Confidence in Nursing Students in Simulation and Classroom

Abstract Nurse Educators must develop nursing curriculum with engaging learning strategies that promote the knowledge and confidence needed for safe, effective nursing practice. Faculty should explore new methods of teaching that consider how students learn. Studies have shown mixed results regarding student learning styles, academic achievement, and development of confidence in nursing practice. An experimental study using Felder and Soloman’s (2004). Index of learning styles instrument was conducted to examine nursing student learning styles and their impact on confidence and knowledge in traditional and high fidelity simulation settings. Findings revealed students were more likely to have active, visual, sensing, and sequential learning styles. Student confidence or knowledge did not significantly differ among the learning styles in either simulation or traditional classroom methods. Awareness of learning styles may aid faculty in adapting engaging teaching strategies. Further research is needed with larger samples to identify best approaches to enhance student learning within the context of learning styles.

Using Combined Teaching Modalities to Enhance Nursing Students' Recognition and Response to Clinical Deterioration

Abstract Newly licensed registered nurses are confronted with complex patient situations on a daily basis. As nurse educators, it is imperative that we prepare nursing students to manage clinical deterioration events as newly licensed registered nurses in order to achieve optimum patient outcomes. This article describes the components of an innovative elective nursing course titled Acute Patient Deterioration. The course uses a variety of teaching modalities to teach nursing students to quickly recognize and respond to acute patient deterioration events.