Karen Buro

A comparison of competencies between problem-based learning and non-problem-based graduate nurses.

Competence is essential to ensuring safe, ethical and legal nursing practice. Various teaching strategies are used in nursing education in an effort to enhance graduate competence by bridging the gap between theory learned in the classroom and professional practice as a nurse. The objective of this comparative descriptive research was to determine if there was a difference in self reported competence between graduates from PBL and non PBL (NPBL) nursing programs. A convenience sample of 121 graduate nurses in one Canadian province, who had been practicing for at least 6 months took part in the study. The researcher designed questionnaire included both forced choice and open ended questions. There was no statistical significance difference between the PBL and NPBL graduates on self reported entry-to-practice competence. However, several significant themes did emerge from the answers to open ended questions which asked graduates how their nursing programs prepared them to meet the entry-to-practice competencies and what program improvements they might suggest. Unlike the NPBL graduates, the PBL graduates identified the structure and process of their programs as instrumental in their preparation to meet the entry-to-practice competencies. PBL graduates associated their abilities to think critically and engage in self-directed evidence-based practice as key to enabling them to meet the competencies. A common theme for program improvement for both PBL and NPBL graduates was a request for more clinical time.

Identifying male sexual offender subtypes using cluster analysis and the Static-2002r

This study examines whether clinically meaningful subgroups could be identified within a large, undifferentiated group of convicted adult male sex offenders. Of eight cluster analyses, a reliable three-cluster solution emerged based on the subscores of the Static-2002R with 345 sex offenders. To establish the validity of the emergent clusters, the three groups of offenders were compared on four domains: criminal history, psychosexual development, sexual attitudes and interests, and recidivism. The findings revealed meaningful differences among the group, and the implications of subgroup membership is discussed in terms of risk, treatment, and supervision.

Appraising Risk for Intimate Partner Violence in a Police Context

This study examines the predictive accuracy of three risk assessment approaches for intimate partner violence (IPV) among a sample of 246 male perpetrators who were charged for offenses against their intimate partners. The sample was followed up for an average of 3.3 years, and any new general, violent, and IPV charges and convictions were recorded. The Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) and a modified 14-item version of the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Guide (SARA) demonstrated large effects in their ability to predict any reoffending or any violent reoffending and moderate predictive accuracy for IPV offending behaviors. The regionally used approach, Family Violence Investigative Report (FVIR), showed good predictive validity for any future offending but poorly predicted any of the violent-specific recidivism outcomes. Results of the study show that the ODARA was significantly better at predicting violence risk over the FVIR, but paired comparisons did not reveal statistical differences with the SARA.