Digital Commons Network^™

Friends Of Nursing: A Community Of Caring To Promote Excellence In Nursing Practice, Education, And Research, Kim S. Hitchings Msn, Rn, Nea-Bc, Terry Capuano Rn, Svp, Clinical Services, Mary Ellen Herzog Med, Cfre, Cgms

Terry A Capuano MBA, MSN, RN, FACHE, NE-BC

More than 25 years ago, the name "Friends of Nursing" was adopted by an academic, community Magnet(®) hospital to signify a model for community support of nursing. From inception, the intent was to recruit philanthropic dollars to promote recognition of and excellence in nursing practice, education, and research. Although philanthropy in health care settings is common, what is unique about this program is the long-standing, dedicated conceptual framework for nursing philanthropy and the very significant number of philanthropic dollars from literally thousands of donors to support a diverse range of activities to affect and advance the professional excellence of nurses …

Casualisation Of The Teaching Workforce: Implications For Nursing Education, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Sharon Andrew, Kath Peters, Yenna Salamonson, Debra Jackson

Elizabeth Jane Halcomb Professor

Internationally, nursing faculty shortages have been reported and there is a potential for them to worsen into the next decade as existing faculty age. To, in part, address this issue, across disciplines there is clearly an international trend towards the increasing casualisation of the higher education workforce. Despite the potential impact of this two-tiered workforce structure, there has been limited examination of the discipline specific issues related to the employment of a growing number of sessional nursing staff. This paper provides a critical review of the literature related to the employment of sessional teachers in higher education. The paper advances …

Short Of Transformation: American Adn Students' Thoughts, Feelings, And Experiences Of Studying Abroad In A Low-Income Country, Cynthia Foronda, Ruth Belknap

Ruth A Belknap

ADN students are a large yet distinct subgroup of nursing students who require research and understanding. The purpose of this study was to describe the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of American associate degree nursing (ADN) students who participated in a short study abroad course in a low-income country. A qualitative, narrative method was used. Three categories emerged from the analysis. Participants revealed thoughts of “constant comparisons”, feelings of an “emotional journey”, and they experienced “learning”. Participants did not demonstrate perspective transformation as defined by Mezirow as participants signified no intent for social action. Several potential blocks to perspective transformation were …

Prenatal Oral Health Education In U.S. Obstetrics And Gynecology Residencies And Dental Schools: Results Of A National Survey, Megan Weeks, Judith A. Savageau, Hugh Silk

Judith A. Savageau

Background: Pregnant women represent a special population within oral health care. Adverse pregnancy outcomes and increased infant caries can occur when prenatal oral disease is not addressed. Currently, medical and dental clinicians are not meeting the oral health needs of pregnant patients.

Objective: Medical and dental providers are not addressing prenatal oral health (POH) with patients despite knowledge of the risks. The objective of this study was to determine how training in dental schools and OB/Gyn residencies may contribute to this paradox.

Methods: We conducted a national survey of 60 dental school deans and 240 obstetrics and gynecology residency program …

Curriculum Renewal At The University Of Iowa Carver College Of Medicine, Marygrace Elson

Marygrace Elson

It has been more than fifteen years since the last curriculum renewal occurred. During the review for the most recent LCME review of the College, opportunities were identified to better prepare today’s medical students to prepare for the future practice of medicine. These include the need for greater integration between courses and clerkships, and between material presented in the basic sciences and the clinical disciplines. As medical knowledge increases exponentially, the provider of the future will need to be well-versed in electronic information retrieval and evidence-based practice principles including biostatistics and epidemiology.