Misty Schwartz

Predictors of success on National Council Licensure examination for registered nurses for accelerated baccalaureate nursing graduates.

A ccelerated nursing curricula (ANC) were first offered in 1971, and the nursing shortage has fostered the development of additional programs across the country. Employers look favorably on ANC programs because they produce nurses more rapidly than traditional programs. Students are partial to them because they can reach their goal in a shorter period of time. Accelerated nursing curricula may have different prerequisites and admission criteria; however, they offer qualified, previous-degree students the opportunity to graduate with a bachelor of science in nursing in 1 year. Because of the unique characteristics of ANC students and programs, predictors for success on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) may differ from those for traditional students. There are gaps in the literature concerning predictors of NCLEX-RN success in ANC students in the predictive value of pre-RN examinations, previous degree, and coursework. In an effort to evaluate a newly revised curriculum and address declining school NCLEX-RN pass rates, a retrospective study was conducted to identify variables that predicted NCLEX-RN in our graduates. Variables examined included the following: admission grade point average (GPA), previous degree (science or nonscience), senior complex care (SCC) grade, and pre-RN assessment score.

Partnering with schools: a win-win experience.

In many states, budget cuts have influenced school systems to question whether school nurses are necessary. Consequently, many schools no longer have a nurse to coordinate school health services. Creighton University School of Nursing saw this situation as an opportunity. Using schools as clinical sites for nursing students has resulted in positive outcomes for all involved. Competencies successfully demonstrated by nursing students have included understanding concepts of health and illness, identification of strategies to promote and protect the school-age population, and the ability to provide population-focused prevention within the community. Faculty think the school population is healthier and school personnel have increased knowledge of health promotion and protection strategies for school-age children as a result of the school health project. The education provided serves to promote the well-being of students, families, and the community and prepares them to make health-related choices. The project has also resulted in health benefits for the community.

Combining Service Learning and Research: Partnering With Schools

Providing service and research experiences for nursing students is a challenge. The authors discuss a partnership with local parochial schools in which nursing students presented health information and collected data. Through this partnership, families and school personnel gained knowledge of health promotion behaviors, and nursing students were involved in a service-learning and research project.

Parental Perceptions of Body Mass Index Notification: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND There is a worldwide epidemic of obesity in children. To address obesity in children, emphasis must be on factors within family, school, and community environments. Although most parents and school officials are aware of the problem of overweight children, there are few data available to guide decision making about the acceptability of school-based body mass index (BMI) screening and referral programs. Parental insight is essential to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of BMI notification. METHODS The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of parents whose school-age children received a BMI referral letter stating their child is overweight. Purposeful convenience sampling was used to obtain 21 parents. Semistructured interviews were used to collect the data. RESULTS Eight themes and corresponding subthemes emerged. The themes regarding parental perceptions were feelings about receiving the letter, causes of obesity, capabilities, barriers, role modeling, primary care provider response, schools role, and health screening process. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study can serve as the foundation and provide guidance for parents, schools, healthcare professionals, and communities when attempting to implement changes and programs to combat the epidemic of childhood obesity.

The effect of increasing dairy calcium intake of adolescent girls on changes in body fat and weight

Background: Overweight is epidemic in adolescents and is a major concern because it tracks into adulthood. Evidence supports the efficacy of high-calcium, high-dairy diets in achieving healthy weight in adults. However, no randomized controlled trials of the effect of dairy food on weight and body fat in adolescents have been reported to our knowledge.Objective: The aim was to determine whether increasing calcium intake to recommended amounts with dairy foods in adolescent girls with habitually low calcium intakes would decrease body fat gain compared with girls who continued their low calcium intake. Participants had above-the-median body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2).Design: We enrolled 274 healthy postmenarcheal 13- to 14-y-old overweight girls who had calcium intakes of ≤600 mg/d in a 12-mo randomized controlled trial. Girls were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to 1 of 2 groups within each of 3 BMI percentiles: 50th to <70th, 70th to <85th, and 85th to <98th. The assignments were 1) dairy, which included low-fat milk or yogurt servings providing ≥1200 mg Ca/d or 2) control, which included the usual diet of ≤600 mg Ca/d.Results: We failed to detect a statistically significant difference between groups in percentage of body fat gain over 12 mo (mean ± SEM: dairy 0.40% ± 0.53% > control; P < 0.45). The effect of the intervention did not differ by BMI percentile stratum. There was no difference in weight change between the 2 groups.Conclusion: Our findings that the dairy group gained body fat similar to the control group provide no support for dairy food as a stratagem to decrease body fat or weight gain in overweight adolescent girls. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01066806.

Clinical Trial of Dairy in Adolescent Girls: Effect on Bone Accrual

Peak bone mass is acknowledged to be the best predictor of osteoporotic fracture in older adults. Thus, it is critical that children maximize their potential for bone mass accrual. Evidence shows that providing calcium supplementation to children with low calcium intake will increase bone mass accrual. However, few studies have evaluated the effect of increasing dairy foods on bone mass accrual in children. This chapter describes outcomes of a randomized clinical trial that examined the effects of increases in dairy food on bone accrual in adolescent girls who had low baseline dairy and calcium intake.

Identification of Parents’ Perceptions of Antibiotic Use for Individualized Community Education

The purpose of this project was to evaluate parents’ perceptions of antibiotics to better understand the barriers related to judicious antibiotic use and for selection of educational resources. A descriptive survey design was distributed electronically to a convenience sample of parents in Omaha, Nebraska, using the Parental Perception on Antibiotics scale. A total of 170 completed surveys were evaluated. Nearly all parents (97%) disagreed with the statement “antibiotics are needed for the common cold,” and 90% were in agreement that antibiotics treat bacterial infections. Respondents did not expect an antibiotic after being seen for the common cold. All reported they “never” changed doctors when antibiotics were not prescribed. The parents completing this survey were knowledgeable about antibiotic use. Results demonstrate implications for both education efforts and patient-provider interactions. This project supports the need for community-specific identification of parents’ perceptions for individualized education and promotion of proper antibiotic use.

Predictors of success on national council licensure examination for registered nurses for accelerated baccalaureate nursing graduates.

A ccelerated nursing curricula (ANC) were first offered in 1971, and the nursing shortage has fostered the development of additional programs across the country. Employers look favorably on ANC programs because they produce nurses more rapidly than traditional programs. Students are partial to them because they can reach their goal in a shorter period of time. Accelerated nursing curricula may have different prerequisites and admission criteria; however, they offer qualified, previous-degree students the opportunity to graduate with a bachelor of science in nursing in 1 year. Because of the unique characteristics of ANC students and programs, predictors for success on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) may differ from those for traditional students. There are gaps in the literature concerning predictors of NCLEX-RN success in ANC students in the predictive value of pre-RN examinations, previous degree, and coursework. In an effort to evaluate a newly revised curriculum and address declining school NCLEX-RN pass rates, a retrospective study was conducted to identify variables that predicted NCLEX-RN in our graduates. Variables examined included the following: admission grade point average (GPA), previous degree (science or nonscience), senior complex care (SCC) grade, and pre-RN assessment score.