Joyce Shea

Integrating Spirituality into Undergraduate Nursing Curricula

Nursing programs have done a commendable job keeping pace with the rapid advances in disease management. Yet, spirituality has received far less attention in nursing curricula (Keefe, 2005) and nursing students often do not have a strong foundation in this area. The purpose of this project was to integrate spirituality into the undergraduate nursing curricula and measure student outcomes related to spiritual knowledge and attitudes. Nursing faculty participated in a spirituality education program and followed this with sessions focused on integration of spiritual content into individual nursing courses. Student pre and post-tests were administered using a standard instrument to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Significant differences in spirituality knowledge and attitudes among senior-level nursing students (t = -3.059, p = .004) were revealed. As the healthcare system becomes increasingly complex, providing students with tools to identify and strengthen inner resources is essential to patient care.

Integration of End-of-Life Care Content in Undergraduate Nursing Curricula: Student Knowledge and Perceptions

Studies indicate that nurses spend more time with patients at the end of life than any other health care discipline (K. M. Foley & H. Gelband, 2003). So it is imperative that nurses be educated so they can provide this high-quality end-of-life care. The purpose of this project was to provide a current state of end-of-life nursing education in the literature and to report on end-of-life knowledge and experiences of two groups of nursing students in one small, liberal arts university. A total of 111 undergraduate students (61 sophomores and 50 seniors) were administered a 50-item, multiple-choice test to determine their baseline knowledge about end-of-life care. Sophomore scores ranged from 20% to 86% with a mean of 60.98 (SD = 11.83). Senior pretest scores ranged from 70% to 96% with a mean of 83.26 (SD = 6.6). An independent samples t test was conducted to determine if there was a difference in group mean knowledge between sophomore and senior students. Levenes test for equality of variance was significant (F = 4.22, P < .05); thus, a t test with equal variance assumed revealed a significant difference between sophomore and senior group means (t = -10.44, P < .001). The review of literature and student knowledge and experience assessment resulted in the development of a model of end-of-life curriculum integration implemented at the university and sets the stage for future program evaluation studies.

Validation of the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium Knowledge Assessment Test: An Abbreviated Version

The need for improved nursing knowledge about end-of-life care is well documented; however, efficient measures to evaluate knowledge attainment from end-of-life training programs are lacking. The authors tested a 50-item version of an original 109-item knowledge assessment tool developed by the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium. Items with highest item-to-total correlations were selected to represent each of the nine domains in the original instrument. One hundred forty-one graduate and undergraduate nursing students pretested the shorter version. Thirty graduate students also completed the original version. Item analysis, equivalence, and internal consistency estimates were conducted to evaluate the validity of the 50-item version. Scores on the 109-item and 50-item versions were highly correlated (r = 0.92), and the total scale internal consistency estimate for the 50-item version surpassed the 0.80 standard (Kudar Richardson [KR] 20 = 0.84). Item difficulty and discrimination indices suggest that the revised version should discern knowledge attainment across varied achievement levels. Pretest scores were well below the 80% target for mastery among graduate students in practice and support the ongoing need for end-of-life education. The results support the utility of the shorter version to assess baseline end-of-life knowledge. Further testing is needed to demonstrate its usefulness in end-of-life program evaluation.

The needs of siblings of children with cancer: a nursing perspective.

Findings from research studies on the needs of siblings of children with cancer have highlighted the imperative that these siblings be supported and involved in the plan of care when a diagnosis of cancer is made. However, few studies have included the perspective of the nurse when evaluating sibling needs or identifying interventions used to meet the needs. This qualitative descriptive study used a combination of individual interviews and a focus group to capture perspectives from 13 pediatric oncology nurses employed at a leading Children’s Hospital located in the northeast. Transcripts were analyzed for content and theme in relation to the 2 research questions. Needs identified included getting attention, wanting to know, having fears/worries, feeling at fault, wanting to help, and wanting a normal routine, whereas interventions identified included recognizing their needs, getting siblings involved, sharing appropriate information, being a resource, giving support, and bending the rules. Findings support previous studies that document the variety of needs experienced by siblings of children with cancer and offer examples of nursing interventions to meet these needs.

Coming back normal: the process of self-recovery in those with schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: Researchers have identified the reestablishment of self-identity as a key part of recovery in individuals with schizophrenia. Previous studies have increased scholars’ understanding about how and when identity changes occur in those with schizophrenia; less is understood about the process by which individuals with schizophrenia reconstruct their self-identity. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to describe the process of self-identity reconstruction in people with schizophrenia. STUDY DESIGN: A grounded theory study was conducted with 10 purposively selected participants and 4 significant others; 19 semistructured interviews were completed. RESULTS: Constant comparative analysis led to a theory of a six-stage process of self-recovery in those with schizophrenia. For some participants, the successful struggle to care for a new self led to the refinement and eventual recovery of self-identity. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with schizophrenia experience a process of distinct changes in self-identity occurring between engulfment by a severe mental illness and emergence of a new self.

Transforming Doctoral Education Through the Clinical Electronic Portfolio

The DNP is a terminal degree focusing on the preparation of expert clinicians with advanced leadership, evidence-based practice, and systems management skills. An electronic clinical portfolio (e-portfolio) allows students to showcase their individual experiences, provides an objective measure of their achievement, and demonstrates integration of the core doctoral competencies within each specialty. The purpose of this article was to describe the development of an e-portfolio and provide general guidelines for successful implementation and evaluation.

Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a Peer Review of Teaching (PRoT) Initiative in Nursing Education

Abstract For many years, an area of research in higher education has been emerging around the development and implementation of fair and effective peer evaluation programs. Recently, a new body of knowledge has developed regarding the development and implementation of fair and effective peer evaluation programs resulting in formative and summative evaluations. The purpose of this article is to describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a peer review of teaching (PRoT) program for nursing faculty, initiated at one small comprehensive university in the northeastern United States. Pairs of nursing faculty evaluated each other’s teaching, syllabi, and course materials after collaborating in a pre-evaluation conference to discuss goals of the classroom visit. Qualitative data gathered in post project focus groups revealed that faculty found their modified PRoT process to be a mutually beneficial experience that was more useful, flexible and collegial, and less stressful than their previous evaluation process.