Addressing future demands: Nursing students,elders, and pet birds: A student-initiated quality improvement project

The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to promote the enthusiasm of baccalaureate nursing students in providing service to older adults by using the concept of service learning as a teaching strategy. An additional goal of the student-initiated QI project, which later also included graduate social work students, was to explore the impact of caring for a pet for older adults in an assisted living facility (ALF). After completing a student-elder team QI project, nursing students' journals yielded three themes: Improved Communication Skills with Elders, Becoming Interested in The Eden Alternative^® Principles, and Skills in Implementing and Evaluating Interprofessional Interventions. Elders' anecdotal comments and interviews yielded four themes: Improved Self Care, Decreased Anxiety, Sense of Purpose, and Sense of Belonging. These outcomes demonstrate ways to drive student interest in interdisciplinary gerontological care and to promote elders' well-being when transitioning to residential care.     

The care of VIPs in the emergency department: Triage,treatment and ethics

People identified as Very Important Persons (VIPs) often present or are referred to the Emergency Department (ED). Celebrities are a small subset of this group, but many others are included. Triage of these patients, including occasional prioritization, creates practical and ethical challenges. Treatment also provides challenges with the risks of over testing, overtreatment, over consultation, and over or under admission to the hospital. This article presents a practical and ethical framework for addressing the care of VIPs in the ED.     

Transition to Nursing Practice: A Capstone Simulation for the Application of Leadership Skills in Nursing Practice

A large-scale capstone simulation was implemented to fully immerse nursing students into the authentic role of the professional nurse by giving them the autonomy to independently manage the care of multiple complex patients with competing priorities in a realistic hospital environment. This innovative learning experience gave students an opportunity to transfer theory into practice. Overwhelmingly positive feedback from students supports the implementation of a capstone simulation to promote a smoother transition into the nursing workforce.