Nursing and midwifery advocacy to lead the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was implemented on January 1, 2016 and is composed of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and further delineated by 169 targets. This article offers background information on the 2030 Agenda as it relates to nursing and midwifery, professional organizational initiatives currently advancing the SDGs, the ethos of global citizenship, the urgency to respond to dwindling planetary health, the salience of nursing and midwifery advocacy in SDG attainment, and the myriad opportunities for nurses to lead and collaborate toward realizing these Global Goals. A US-based perspective is employed to underscore the Agenda's relevance to the US nursing workforce and healthcare system. The SDGs, with their holistic bio-psycho-social-environmental approach to health, present enormous opportunities for nurses and midwives. The SDG framework is naturally aligned with the foundational philosophy and purpose of our professions.     

Enhancing Student Engagement: Innovative Strategies for Intentional Learning

Aim

This paper presents four innovative teaching modalities conceptually designed and adherent to National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) indicators.

Global citizens,healthy communities: Integrating the sustainable development goals into the nursing curriculum

BackgroundIntegrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the nursing curriculum is an ethical response and facilitator developing students into global citizens. Nurse educators can promote global citizenship through the concept of “glocal” experiences in local communities as students work in partnership with communities to address social determinants of health and begin to achieve SDG targets.PurposeThis paper explores the process of integrating the SDGs into the nursing curriculum emphasizing the strategic vision of international agencies and national nursing organizations.DiscussionDistinct pedagogical and clinical approaches for implementing SDG content into the curriculum are provided including an exploration of global health competencies and their relationship to the SDGs. Finally, an academic-community partnership is described as a clinical exemplar to strengthen the health of communities and begin realizing the SDGs at a local level.     

Feasibility and acceptability of a nurse-led hypertension management intervention in general practice

Background

Hypertension is the most frequently seen condition in Australian general practice. Despite the availability of effective therapies, many hypertensive individuals struggle to maintain adequate blood pressure control and are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease and premature morbidity. As such there is an urgent need for research to identify evidence based strategies to improve hypertension management in general practice. General Practice Nurses (GPNs) are conceptually ideally placed to support consumers to receive best practice care and achieve behavioural change. However, their specific role in managing hypertension is unclear. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a GPN-led intervention to manage hypertension in Australian general practice.

Resident decision-making in the context of residential aged care

Background

Worldwide research confirms that older people value autonomy, want to remain independent and want control over their lives for as long as possible. Accordingly, the aged care system in Australia is undergoing major government-initiated reforms and is moving towards consumer directed care.

Advocacy and actions to address disparities in access to genomic health care: A report on a National Academies workshop

BackgroundIn the United States, access to genomic risk assessment, testing, and follow up care is most easily obtained by those who have sufficient financial, educational, and social resources. Multiple barriers limit the ability of populations without those resources to benefit from health care that integrates genomics in assessment of disease risk, diagnosis, and targeted treatment.PurposeTo summarize barriers and potential actions to reduce genomic health care disparities.MethodSummarize authors' views on discussions at a workshop hosted by the National Academy of Medicine.DiscussionBarriers include access to health care providers that utilize genomics, genetic literacy of providers and patients, and absence of evidence of gene variants importance in ancestrally diverse underserved populations.ConclusionEngagement between underserved communities, health care providers, and policy makers is an essential component to raise awareness and seek solutions to barriers in access to genomic health care for all populations.     

Enteral and parenteral feeding of neonate

Neonates cannot get necessary nutrients through natural ways required for growth, development, maintaining body functions healthily and renewal of the organism due to some kind of limitations. In these specific conditions, it may be necessary to use enteral or parenteral feeding method. Gestation age, birth weight, the fullness of food sources, nutritional method, the existence of growth failure and metabolic changes caused by illnesses and treatments of neonates should be taken into consideration in order to be able to choose one of these methods. Nurses who are members of a multidisciplinary team are responsible for meeting nutritional requirements of neonates. Nurses who work in the neonatal intensive care units are expected to have knowledge about nutritional requirements and feeding methods and do their practices in parallel with the evidence-based guidelines while they meet the nutritional requirements of neonates.     

An innovative academic-practice partnership to enhance the development and training of military nurses

Academic-practice partnerships have been identified by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing as a best practice for advancing the profession of nursing in a collaborative manner by sharing goals, knowledge, and respect in a mutually beneficial line of effort. Training military nurses poses a unique challenge to academia and military nurse corps to produce competent nursing professionals who are also effective military officers. The academic-practice partnership between the United States Army Cadet Command's ROTC program and the University of San Francisco's School of Nursing is a prime example of such a partnership. Through the innovative month-long nurse summer training internship program, Army nursing students work one-on-one with an experienced Army nurse preceptor to receive an intense clinical experience with a minimum of 150 h of hands-on patient care in a military medical treatment facility. This example of cognitive apprenticeship learning provides an adjunct to nursing program curricula in addition to an introduction of the roles and responsibilities of a military officer. This academic-practice partnership helps develop a strong group of novice nurses who are confident leaders and critical thinkers that easily make the transition from academia to professional practice.