Teresa Shellenbarger

Successful enculturation: strategies for retaining newly hired nursing faculty.

Although the nursing faculty shortage negatively impacts student enrollment figures, it also facilitates career mobility of nursing faculty. To retain qualified faculty, nursing programs need to implement supportive programs that facilitate successful enculturation of the newly hired faculty member. The authors propose a series of supportive activities aimed at enculturation and subsequent retention of newly hired nursing faculty.

Using technology to promote mobile learning: engaging students with cell phones in the classroom.

Advancements in cell phone technology have impacted every aspect of society. Individuals have instant access to social networks, Web sites, and applications. Faculty need to consider using these mobile devices to enrich the classroom. The authors discuss how they successfully designed and incorporated cell phone learning activities into their classrooms. Teaching-learning strategies using cell phone technology and recommendations for overcoming challenges associated with cell phone use in the classroom are discussed.

Helping the dyslexic nursing student.

Some nursing students who are struggling to succeed academically may be dyslexic and may need help from nurse educators. First, the author describes ways to identify the student with dyslexia in both the clinical and classroom setting. Secondly, diagnostic processes are reviewed. Finally, the author discusses simple strategies that modify the learning environment while helping to foster student success.

Developing as a scholarly writer: The experience of students enrolled in a PhD in nursing program in the United States

Graduates of doctoral nursing programs are expected to disseminate knowledge through scholarly writing, yet faculty teaching doctoral nursing students in two specific programs in western Pennsylvania in the United States noted students enter their doctoral programs with varying writing skills. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to uncover the lived experience of developing as a scholarly writer. Data were collected through the use of a demographic questionnaire and personal interviews with 10 students enrolled in their first semester of coursework in a traditional, rather than online, 60-credit PhD in nursing program at a large state university in western Pennsylvania. All interviews were recorded and transcribed and served as rich data sources. Data were analyzed using a systematic approach consistent with hermeneutic phenomenology. Themes uncovered included (a) coming to know about scholarly writing, (b) shifting thinking in order to write scholarly, (c) giving birth: the pain and the pleasure of scholarly writing, and (d) putting all the pieces together into the final product. Findings from this study can help faculty to understand the experiences of nursing student scholarly writing development. Recommendations based on the findings include a collection of teaching strategies that can be used to facilitate scholarly writer development across all levels of nursing education.

Pinstructive ideas: Using a social networking bulletin board for nursing education.

The advancement of Web 2.0 tools has created multiple avenues in which nursing students can search for and share information. Nursing faculty should consider using these advancements to create teaching-learning activities that engage students. The authors discuss the use of Pinterest, a visual social bookmarking site that was used to promote active and engaged learning in a course designed to prepare future nursing educators who, as faculty, will feel comfortable embracing this technology. Steps that faculty can take in planning, implementing, and evaluating Pinterest activities as well as lessons learned and suggestions for other use of Pinterest are discussed.

Technology-based strategies for promoting clinical reasoning skills in nursing education.

Faculty face the demand of preparing nursing students for the constantly changing health care environment. Effective use of online, classroom, and clinical conferencing opportunities helps to enhance nursing students’ clinical reasoning capabilities needed for practice. The growth of technology creates an avenue for faculty to develop engaging learning opportunities. This article presents technology-based strategies such as electronic concept mapping, electronic case histories, and digital storytelling that can be used to facilitate clinical reasoning skills.

The lived experience of part-time baccalaureate nursing faculty.

Hiring part-time nursing faculty may impact students, faculty careers, and the institution. Yet, little has been studied, particularly in nursing, regarding the experiences of these faculty. This hermeneutic phenomenological study seeks to understand the lived experience of being a part-time faculty member in a baccalaureate nursing program. Through purposive and snowball sampling, nine nursing faculty in part-time positions in northeastern baccalaureate nursing programs participated in in-depth personal interviews. Four themes were uncovered during data analysis, including achieving the dream, a group divided, for the love of the students, and jump in and figure it out. Results of the study seem to indicate that the experience of being a part-time faculty differs in several ways from being a full-time faculty. Understanding part-time faculty experiences provides insight into faculty needs, issues, and concerns while facilitating the development of research-based recruitment and retention strategies. Recommendations for those involved in nursing education, including nursing faculty and administrators, are provided.

Understanding the Scholarly Writing Development of Nurses Enrolled in U.S. Clinical Doctoral Programs

PROBLEM Faculty teaching nurses enrolled in clinical doctoral programs need to understand the process of student scholarly writing development so that students can be prepared to share knowledge and communicate effectively in scholarly formats. METHODS A hermeneutic phenomenological study that sought to understand the scholarly writing development of nurses enrolled in a clinical doctoral program was conducted. FINDINGS Findings from interviews with six Doctor of Nursing Practice students revealed three themes: learning throughout life, influence of emotions, and getting through the gate. CONCLUSION Based upon these findings, recommendations for further development of doctoral student writing are suggested so that students can disseminate their knowledge in a scholarly manner, improve practice, and contribute to the profession.

The curriculum vitae sending the right message.

When reviewing curriculum vitae (CV), it becomes clear that some CV information provides a better reflection of work completed than others do. The authors provide a description of common CV errors, propose strategies to avoid such problems, and suggest methods for developing an accurate and clear CV that highlights accomplishments and clearly represents the work. Tips for updating CV and suggestions for electronic formats are also provided.

Strategies for searching and managing evidence-based practice resources.

Evidence-based nursing practice requires the use of effective search strategies to locate relevant resources to guide practice change. Continuing education and staff development professionals can assist nurses to conduct effective literature searches. This article provides suggestions for strategies to aid in identifying search terms. Strategies also are recommended for refining searches by using controlled vocabulary, truncation, Boolean operators, PICOT (Population/Patient Problem, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Time) searching, and search limits. Suggestions for methods of managing resources also are identified. Using these approaches will assist in more effective literature searches and may help evidence-based practice decisions.