Kathleen S. Ashton

Nurse educators and the future of nursing.

Calls for transformation in nursing education and practice abound. Nurses are part of a trusted profession, but they have been under-represented in conversations about health care compared with other, more vocal professionals. Nurses may not consider that they already have many leadership skills, and nurse educators in staff development roles are positioned to foster growth in other nurses. The relationship between nurse educators and their constituents provides the context for support that can motivate staff nurses to move beyond their concerns and accept challenges that may cause them some discomfort, such as writing for publication or public speaking. The leadership of nurse educators is essential to support colleagues who will shape the future of nursing.

Teaching nursing students about terminating professional relationships, boundaries, and social media

Nurse educators should teach students about the nature of the nurse-patient relationship, which is a professional relationship and different from other relationships they have. In addition to teaching students how to establish relationships with their patients, nurse educators should also teach students about terminating relationships with patients. Without this professional guidance, nursing students may be tempted to use social media to maintain a relationship with patients. This may inadvertently lead to professional boundary violations, causing harm to patients and problems for nursing students or nurses.

Quality of articles published in predatory nursing journals

BACKGROUND Predatory journals exist in nursing and lack the safeguards of traditional publishing practices. PURPOSE To examine the quality of articles published in predatory nursing journals. METHOD Randomly selected articles (n = 358) were reviewed for structural content and eight quality indicators. FINDINGS Two-thirds (67.4%) of the articles were published between 2014 and 2016, demonstrating the acceleration of publications in predatory nursing journals. The majority (75.9%) of the articles were research reports. Most followed the IMRAD presentation of a research report but contained errors, or the study was not pertinent to the nursing discipline. CONCLUSIONS Nursing research published in predatory journals may appear legitimate by conforming to an expected structure. However, a lack of quality is apparent, representing inadequate peer review and editorial processes. Poor quality research erodes the scholarly nursing literature.

The Orientation Period Essential for New Registered Nurses’ Adaptation

The purpose of this research study was to explore adaptation in new registered nurses using the Roy adaptation model as the guiding conceptual framework. This quantitative study employed a random sampling of new nurses in the state of North Carolina. Personal attributes of the new registered nurses and characteristics of their work setting were modeled with four measures considered suitable proxies for adaptation. Being in a formal orientation period significantly supported the new nurses’ overall adaptation. This may represent the benefit of social support, including education, which seems to facilitate adaptation.

Team Huddle Implementation in a General Pediatric Clinic.

Teamwork and communication are critical to ensure safe and quality patient care. However, the ability to affect these constructs within well-established healthcare settings is challenging. Using a quality improvement approach, staff development educators collaborated with clinical nursing staff to implement a daily team huddle. When incorporated into the workflow, a team huddle can promote communication and positively influence how teams function within a clinical area.

New registered nurses' personal responses to professional practice: a pilot study.

This pilot study employed a qualitative description design to inquire into new registered nurses’ (RNs’) personal responses to being a “new nurse.” Six new RNs participated in semistructured interviews. The findings of this pilot study can be used to guide educational activities for nurse leaders and others who work with new RNs. Several strategies are discussed, which may ease new RNs’ transition into professional practice.

Patient education in home care: strategies for success.

This article describes principles for patient education, beginning with assessment of learning needs through evaluation. Strategies for effective teaching in the home care setting are presented, including use of educational resources.

Teaching Nursing Students to Care for Patients Who Are Inmates

BACKGROUND Inmates in federal or state correctional facilities or those who are under the custody of local law enforcement officials receive health care in acute care settings, and caring for these inmate-patients is difficult for many nurses. Nurse educators should teach nursing students that nurses care for all patients in all situations with respect for a persons inherent dignity and worth. METHOD Information from relevant nursing publications was synthesized to provide nurse educators with content that can be useful when teaching nursing students to care for inmate-patients in acute care settings. A case study is provided as a teaching strategy for nurse educators. RESULTS Respect, care, and concern are expressed differently when nurses care for inmate-patients in acute care settings. CONCLUSION Nurse educators are responsible to teach nursing students how professional nurses should respond to patients, especially in situations that many nurses find challenging. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(11):655-659.].

A school nurse's guide to PowerPoint presentations.

In today’s educational environment, school nurses are often called upon to provide presentations utilizing electronic slides. A tool frequently utilized for presentations is PowerPoint. However, as with any instructional method, it is only as effective as the presenter who has designed the slides. A study conducted to evaluate professional PowerPoint slides is the focus of this article. After reviewing 1,732 slides and comparing them to best practices criteria, the researchers call attention to common errors in slide presentations. Additionally, the article provides guidance to school nurses in reinventing the art of providing powerful, interactive, and interesting presentations.