Experiencia en la implantación y consolidación de las Guías de buenas prácticas de la Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) en el ámbito clínico y académico en Colombia

This paper describes the results of the implementation, consolidation and future projection of the Best practice guidelines of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) in clinical and academic scenarios in Santander, Colombia. The tool proposed by the RNAO was used for the implementation of the guidelines in both clinical and academic settings. Preliminary results on the implementation of the guidelines are presented in this paper. In the clinical setting, the implementation of the guidelines has made it possible to start the process of standardizing care across the institution, with systematic follow-up based on indicators. This has allowed decision-making and visualization of the quality of nursing care provided by nurses in their different roles. In the academic scenario, implementing the guidelines has strengthened teaching and research functions, and, to a lesser extent, continuing education and social projection processes. In the consolidation phase, advances were achieved in 10 components, relevant to teachers, students, and practice scenarios of public / private health institutions, users (patients/caregivers), health personnel and other nursing programmes at a national and international level. Implementing the clinical practice guidelines has reduced the gap between the clinical and the academic scenarios, where collaborative and inter-institutional work is enhanced to obtain better patient outcomes, based on the available evidence.     

How inclusive are we,really?

Research has revealed that nurses and nursing students with disabilities experience discrimination. There are relatively few nurses with obvious physical disabilities working in clinical settings. Misconceptions abound regarding what a nurse with a disability can do. The focus tends to be on disability rather than ability. Similarly, prospective nursing students with disabilities are viewed with apprehension and caution. The overriding concern regarding nurses and nursing students with disabilities is that they will jeopardize patient safety. Nurse educators worry that students will not be able to complete the required skills and often confuse essential functions of nursing work with the academic standards required to graduate successfully. This article proposes that based on the research, we are not truly inclusive of nurses or nursing students with disabilities.     

Position statement on defining scholarship for the discipline of nursing

While the mission of institutions of higher learning is unique in each setting, the commitment to scholarly approaches to education, practice, and research creates common bonds across the academic nursing community. This document is intended to clarify, extend, and enhance the scholarly work of nursing in academic settings. The application of the standards proposed in this document will differ by institution, yet will provide a framework for the advancement of nursing knowledge that will ultimately improve the health of people.     

Overcoming challenges for nurse-led research in the neonatal intensive care unit

Nurse researchers have made considerable contributions to the science of nursing. Conducting studies in the clinical environment is the best way to determine what interventions are most effective. Because most research is conducted by nurses from academic settings, they often are not viewed as credible by nurses in clinical practice, nor are they accepted readily into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to conduct research. This article addresses the barriers to implementing and conducting studies in the NICU setting, and provides suggestions for creating collaborative and mutually satisfying relationships between nurse researchers and healthcare staff in the NICU. Partnerships built on mutual respect are necessary to have successful research outcomes, and to continue to build knowledge for the best neonatal care.     

Preparing Today's Nursing Students for Tomorrow's Career

Federal directives, nursing and nursing education associations, as well as accrediting bodies emphasize the importance of integrating health information technology and EHRs into nursing practice. Additionally, informatics is a required competency of baccalaureate nursing graduates. Nursing education's efforts to enhance students’ learning in the area of electronic documentation is at its peak. The goal of enabling nurses to make healthcare safer, more effective, efficient, patient-centered, timely and equitable can only be achieved if a variety of technologies are clearly integrated into nursing education. Therefore, some schools have developed educational innovations to incorporate academic EHRs. As the mental health setting is unique, extraordinary attention has to be provided during the education of electronic documentation. Nursing education efforts must focus on interventions that provide resources that enhance the participant's knowledge and skills related to electronic documentation in a variety of clinical settings. Additionally, implementing academic EHRs in clinical settings offers nursing educators an opportunity to note the benefits. The state of nursing education depends on the accessibility to utilize academic EHRs in the nursing curriculum within the clinical setting to effectively prepare students for real-word practice.     

Descriptive survey of Summer Genetics Institute nurse graduates in the USA

The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical, research, educational, and professional activities that nurses are engaged in following participation in a 2 month intramural genetics training program. An online survey was administered in 2010 to graduates of the program sponsored by the US National Institute of Nursing Research from 2000 to 2009, in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. The electronic, voluntary survey was sent to 189 graduates via email. The survey included demographic characteristics, educational preparation, professional roles and responsibilities, and attitudes about genetic testing and privacy issues. Of the 95 graduates responding to the survey, 74% had doctorates and 70% were advanced practice nurses. All respondents reported incorporating genetics knowledge into daily clinical, academic, or research practices since completing the program, with 72% reporting being involved in genetically‐focused research (52% with research funding), 32% incorporating genetics into patient care, and 79% providing genetics education. Respondents working in a hospital setting or academic institution were more likely to desire additional training in genetics. National Institute of Nursing Research graduates have successfully integrated genomics into a variety of nursing practices.     

Caring behaviours and stress perception among student nurses in different nursing programmes: A cross-sectional study

Caring is central to providing high-quality nursing. Little research exists concerning the relationship between caring behaviours and stress perception among student nurses. This study aimed to explore this relationship among student nurses in different nursing programmes. A sample of 792 student nurses from three nursing education programmes in one academic institution completed Chinese versions of the Caring Behaviors Scale and the Nurse Stress Checklist to assess participants' caring behaviour and psychosocial responses to work-related stress, respectively. We found a statistically significant negative correlation between caring behaviour and stress perception among participants. The three most frequently reported caring behaviours were related to ‘knowing the patient’: (a) recognising that each patient holds unique values, (b) taking a patient's chief complaints seriously, and (c) stating that the family's best interests should be respected regarding health decisions. Completion of work, time limitations, and lack of personal interactions were sources of stress. Nursing education curricula involve the fundamentals of caring and the preparation of nursing students for clinical practice. The study recommends that nursing faculty and administrators should educate students in stress management in order to foster, support, and promote caring behaviours among nursing professionals.     

Israeli nurses' knowledge of health care reforms

Israeli nurses’ knowledge of health care reforms Objectives. This study examines health care reforms’ implementation processes from the perspective of nurses’ knowledge regarding the reforms. The research has been carried out in the Israeli context, where health care reforms were initiated in 1995. Three specific research questions were formulated: (a) What is the level of nurses’ knowledge regarding the recommendations of the Netanyahu committee? (b) What is the level of nurses’ knowledge concerning the basic principals of the National Insurance Law? and (c) Are there knowledge differences relating to employment setting (hospital, community, and educational settings), nurses’ roles (managerial vs. staff nurses), years of experience, and level and type of education? Method. The stratified nonproportional random sample consisted of a total of 468 nurses. Of these nurses, 206 were employed in community settings (136 in curative care, and 70 in preventive care), 137 were employed in hospital settings, and 125 worked in schools and departments of nursing. Research tools, developed for the purpose of this study, included the nurses’ knowledge questionnaire comprised of five subscales, and the knowledge relevancy questionnaire. Results. Overall, data demonstrated a low to moderate level of knowledge on all knowledge scales. Knowledge level on the criteria questions was particularly low. Contrary to the low level of knowledge, nurses regarded health care reforms’ knowledge as highly relevant to their work life. Curative setting, an extensive work experience, managerial position, and non‐nursing academic degree were all positively related to higher levels of reforms’ knowledge. Conclusion. These findings should encourage both policy makers and managers in various health care organizations to develop programs for informing health care providers on central aspects of health care reforms considered most relevant to the practice setting.     

Clinical nurse specialist: a facilitator for clinical research

The role of the clinical nurse specialist is continuing to expand to include participation in clinical research. There is, however, a lack of clinical researchers available to conduct nursing research. A clinical nurse specialist with a joint appointment between a clinical and an academic setting can facilitate clinical research through collaboration. Such collaborative efforts can result in improved patient care and nursing practice. This article describes several major collaborative models used to join the academic and practice settings and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. It also describes in detail a collaborative approach in which the clinical nurse specialist play a more pivotal role by acting as a facilitator for the collaboration. We discuss the formation of the collaborative team, the roles of the participants, and the research plan of the team. Suggestions for implementing this model in other settings are offered.     

Iranian nurses' perceptions of theoretical knowledge transfer into clinical practice: a grounded theory approach

Since nursing education was transferred to universities in Iran, the public and health administrators have criticized Iranian nurses because of poor-quality patient care. It seems that nurses are not able to transfer the taught theoretical knowledge in academia into practice. This paper attempts to provide an insider view of why the taught theoretical knowledge in academia might be difficult to enact in the clinical setting. Using the grounded theory approach, individual in-depth interviews and participant observation were undertaken with a purposive and theoretical sample of 26 participants in Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. The findings showed that, in spite of increased academic input into nursing education, clinical behaviors in both the education and practice settings were perceived as "traditional routine-based".     

Peer Review by Nursing Research Committees in Hospitals

With the increasing amount of nursing research conducted in clinical settings, the value of peer review by nursing research committees (NRCs) in hospitals has come under greater scrutiny. Research facilitation has been the prevailing paradigm of NRCs for several decades. Reports of activities by NRCs in the literature appear to indicate a shift in that paradigm. The presence of clinical nurses with expert knowledge and advanced academic degrees who are serving as intra- and interdisciplinary scientific reviewers are leading a shift in the paradigm of NRCs toward activities that strengthen nursing science and nurse scientists. Eight strategies to support NRCs as review bodies for scientific merit are recommended.     

The role of nursing in clinical research trials.

The role of nurses and their scope of practice in various clinical settings have become better defined in recent years. Research for most nurses is either new or unfamiliar, despite the fact that research will in some way affect every nurse in clinical practice. The majority of analysis in the literature of nursing research has focused on the relationship between research and clinical practice. What abilities nurses possess and how they can be put into practice for the success of a clinical research trial are the subjects of this article.     

Professional nurses'' attitudes towards humour

A study of the attitudes of 204 registered professional nurses' towards humour showed differences in the attitudes in two settings. Fishbein & Ajzen's theoretical framework of attitude development and measurement was used to guide the study. The positive functions of humour indicate that it is a useful strategy for nurses to employ in their professional work setting. Although the nurses held positive attitudes towards humour in both the professional and personal settings, they were less positive in the professional work setting. The findings indicate that a potentially useful nursing strategy is not being fully utilized by nurses.     

Trends in nursing of families

The authors describe their observations of three trends in the nursing of families: namely, increased diversity in nursing practice; increased research; and increased family content in academic settings. These trends have major implications for nursing practice, research and education. The authors speculate on the implications and their effect on the families for whom nurses care.     

Enrolled nurse trainees in acute care

Enrolled nurses (ENs) play a pivotal role in the health workforce in Australia and the role is expanding in many practice settings. An EN traineeship was introduced in an acute medical/surgical setting at St Vincents & Mercy Private Hospital (STVMPH) a large metropolitan private hospital in Victoria, in 2005. Since then there has been a significant increase in the EN workforce across all clinical areas within the organisation. With consideration of skill mix the current percentage of 18.3% of the nursing workforce is ENs. This review shows the viability of such a program in relation to workforce planning and recruitment. Enrolled nurses are a valuable source in the health care environment. The latest figures indicate there are 230,192 registered nurses (RNs) and 52, 895 ENs (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2010). Enrolled nurses account for approximately 23% of the nursing workforce. The common setting for education (clinical placement) and employment for ENs is aged care. Education and employment of ENs in acute hospital settings is necessary to broaden the skill mix of nursing staff in an acute environment. The acute medical setting encourages ENs to develop and advance their clinical skills to practice acute nursing care within their scope of practice.     

Get the most from your preceptorship program

Carefully designed, systematically implemented, and comprehensively evaluated clinical preceptorship programs can expand and enhance the educational experience of baccalaureate nursing students. In addition, such programs can increase the satisfaction and vitalize the teaching and leadership roles of staff nurse preceptors. Such programs may attract faculty and new graduates to a particular practice setting, as well as attract staff to a particular academic program for further education. In an era of increased professional accountability and demands for cost containment, collaboration between academic programs and practice settings can ensure more efficient and effective use of resources to ease the transition of new nurses from the world of education to the world of clinical practice.