Undergraduate Journal of Nursing

Improving the Clinical Experience of Working with Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Team Approach

Improving the Clinical Experience of Working with Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Team Approach

Tags: clinical clinical experience nursing school nursing students preceptorship student nurse students teamwork undergraduate working together

This article emphasizes the value of working together in training the future nurses, and suggests strategies and tools to assist in the process. Bringing quality and safety to nursing education in the classroom and clinical is of high importance. Staff nurses play a key role in the clinical preparation and success of the student nurse. Faculty, preceptors, students and the system at large can be more successful if working together to reach the learning objectives and goals. Designated educational units (DEU) are an example of improved clinical teaching/learning environments, but every clinical unit can participate and practice quality regardless to the formal structure and protocal of an established DEU. Understanding that the staff nurse plays a significant role in mentoring the future nurse generation is a reason enough to see working with students is a necessity rather than a burden.

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Health and Wellbeing: A Student Nurse's Perspective

Health and Wellbeing: A Student Nurse's Perspective

Tags: assertiveness health mental health Nurse Education stress student nurse students undergraduate wellbeing

This essay discusses health and well-being as multifaceted concepts and explores how my health and wellbeing has been affected since becoming a student nurse. This essay also discusses the importance of maintaining good health and wellbeing in relation to self-care and patient care.

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The Future of Nursing Education: Heading for a Major Crisis

The Future of Nursing Education: Heading for a Major Crisis

Tags: advanced practice advocate clinical experience future of nursing history of nursing nursing education nursing faculty nursing leadership nursing school requirements undergraduate

Nursing as a practice and profession has experienced significant changes over the years. For instance, in the 1800s nurses were expected to be subservient to doctors. Just hear what the doctor who gave Springfield Hospital’s first nursing graduation address: "Every nurse must remember that it is the attending physician's business to make a diagnosis of disease and hence that she should never hazard an opinion herself, under any circumstances." (Dr. Hooker, Springfield Hospital Annual Report, 1894). It would be interesting to know what the nursing faculty were thinking when they heard those words. Thankfully nurses during that era did not take the doctor’s advice and remained dedicated to advance and advocate for the profession of nursing. Around the same time that Springfield Hospital’s first nursing graduating class were listening to their graduation address, Florence Nightingale along with other nurse advocates, were making incredible strides to implement nursing education. After the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale recognized and introduced the need for formal nursing education but the education was limited to basic nursing knowledge and skills. As a result of the Women’s Rights Movement in the 1900s, the idea of nursing as a profession evolved into a reality. As society’s healthcare needs changed, nursing education had to change to meet those needs. There were however, challenges each century faced when trying to ensure nursing education met society’s needs and today, the challenges faced are heading right for a major crisis.

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Educational Requirements for Baccalaureate Nursing Faculty: How do the States Differ?

Educational Requirements for Baccalaureate Nursing Faculty: How do the States Differ?

Tags: Baccalaureate Nursing Faculty educational requirements nursing faculty nursing shortage requirements RN shortage state by state undergraduate

Nursing shortages have plagued the United States for the past several decades. By 2020, the deficit of Registered Nurses (RN) is projected to exceed 1.2 million (AACN, 2012). One important factor is the shortage of qualified nursing faculty. Every year many qualified applicants are denied admission to nursing programs due to nursing faculty shortages (AACN, 2012). Nursing programs can only accommodate as many students as they have faculty to teach. State Boards of Nursing (SBN) throughout the country are collaborating with colleges and universities to fill nursing faculty vacancies utilizing a variety of creative strategies. An educational research team, at a private university in the Midwestern section of the country, examined each state’s SBN rules and regulations related to pre-licensure faculty requirements for baccalaureate nurse educators. The researchers found that there were vast differences in the educational requirements allowed by individual State Boards of Nursing for Baccalaureate nurse educators.

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Healthy Cooking for the Soul

Healthy Cooking for the Soul

Tags: Community Health Education Community Health Nursing cooking diabetes Health Promotion Healthy Nursing Education Research undergraduate

The purpose of this pilot study was to use motivation and coaching strategies to encourage Detroit African-American adults who are at high risk for hypertension and diabetes to change their dietary patterns. Oakland University Accelerated BSN (ABSN) student nurses designed and implemented the project to bring health coaching to the urban Indian Village community. Interventions included nutrition presentations and healthy soul-food cooking demonstrations. Information about program effectiveness was obtained through surveys. Survey scores increased for ninety percent of the participants from pre to posttest, indicating a corresponding increase in nutrition awareness. Future research is needed to determine the long-term effectiveness of the intervention strategies. The Healthy Cooking pilot project has the potential to facilitate research that will educate nursing students as well as citizens of Detroit's Indian Village.

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Where are the Children? Pediatrics in an integrated format 

Where are the Children? Pediatrics in an integrated format 

Tags: child children pediatric pediatrics students teaching undergraduate

Integrating pediatric content is a challenge to nurse educators. Limited information exists regarding the most effective method of teaching pediatrics. Nurse educators disagree on placement of pediatric content. Pediatric concepts are at risk of getting lost or deemed unimportant as other concepts are expanded. This article will examine the experience of educators in a nursing program that integrated pediatric content. The benefits and disadvantage of teaching pediatrics in an integrated format will be discussed.

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