Nursing--Study and teaching

The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes and experiences of
community college nursing faculty related to the integration of service learning. An
exploratory case study was conducted at three Florida community college nursing
programs. The data were collected primarily through structured interviews with 14
community college nursing professors, three nursing administrators, and one service
learning coordinator along with document analysis and site observation.
The researcher posed six research questions related to service learning integration.
These six questions addressed: (a) the differentiation of service programs at the three
sites, (b) the meaning of service learning, (c) faculty motivation to use service learning,
(d) institutional supports needed by nursing faculty, (e) the obstacles that nursing faculty
face, and (f) the strategies they use to overcome them. The major conclusions were that community college nursing faculty members are
vital to the integration of service learning and need training in service learning
procedures. Service learning has potential for further development in community college
nursing programs and may lead to a perspective change in how nursing students view the
social dynamics of nursing. Time and workload obstacles, along with confusion
regarding service learning, clinicals and community service have contributed to the slow
growth of SL in nursing programs. There is a need for new models to guide service
learning integration in nursing education. Two models for integration of service learning
into community college nursing are offered. Recommendations for practice, educational
leadership and further research are presented.

The purpose of this study was to describe caring attributes of nursing staff as rated by nursing students. A convenience sample of 166 second year associate degree nursing students was asked to rate caring attributes of nursing staff using the Nyberg Caring Assessment Scale, a twenty item 5-point Likert scale instrument. One hundred and thirty-seven nursing students volunteered to participate in the study. The caring attribute "communicate a helping, trusting attitude toward others" was rated as extremely important by the participants. The participants rated "remains committed to a continuing relationship" and "considers relationship before rules" as slightly important. The remaining items were rated as somewhat important to very important. The study adds to the literature of caring in nursing education and practice.

This is a historical research study of the influence of feminism on nursing and nursing education from 1970 to 1994. Historical research contributes to the knowledge of the underpinnings of nursing education practices and the socialization process of nurses as a profession within the male, patriarchal system of medicine. This inquiry identifies select nurse-woman leaders and their contributions in incorporating a new value system for education and nursing based on feminist principles. The implications of this paradigm shift for nursing education, practice and research are discussed.

The purpose of this research is to describe the lived experience of student nurses with horizontal violence in the clinical setting. Students were surveyed and interviewed regarding their experiences with specific behaviors of horizontal violence, and what actions, if any, were taken in response to the behavior. Five descriptive themes emerged from the data: "Hurry up," "Oh, she's just a student," "Don't worry about it; she's probably having a bad day," "Aren't you getting your BSN?," and "No opportunity to learn."

The changing health care environment and student population are challenging faculty to create a learning environment supportive of adult students. This study explored relationships among nursing program attributes, nurse faculties' personal attributes and preferences for learner-centered instruction, measured by the Principles of Adult Learning Scale (PALS). Predictor variables included 19 personal and 16 program attributes. Thirty BSN/MSN programs and 30 ADN programs with a minimum enrollment of 150 students were randomly selected. A faculty member in each school completed a program data sheet and distributed 10 faculty questionnaires. The sample included 298 faculty (50%). Descriptive statistics were reported by attributes and program, and tested for statistical significance. Six multiple regression analyses were completed. Overall, faculty were teacher-centered. Associate degree faculty were more teacher-centered than baccalaureate and higher degree faculty who, in turn, split between teacher-centered and learner-centered instruction. Teaching, research, professional service, community service, and clinical practice were rated as to their importance to faculty and perceived importance to faculties' institutions. Teaching was the most important role to faculty and believed to be the most important role to their institutions. Notably, there was incongruence among other faculty ratings. Three null hypotheses were rejected at the .05 alpha criterion. Of three models using the total sample, the personal and program attributes model accounted for 30% of variance in overall mean PALS scores, with significant contributions from self-study of adult learning principles, type of student taught, and rank. Dividing the total sample by program, the BSN/MSN personal and program attributes model accounted for 30% of variance in overall mean PALS scores. Recommendations include self-administration of PALS and analysis of responses for staff development programs; use of the model as part of program evaluation; and development of mission effectiveness programs to examine congruence of personal and organizational philosophies. Suggestions for further research include testing of the PALS' factors, population invariance, and subscale reliability; development of an associate degree program model; study of classroom and clinical dimensions of teaching style; and study of the effectiveness of adaptation strategies to learner-centered instruction.

The purpose of this study was to compare empathy levels of registered nurses based on three different types of academic preparation: associate degree (two-year program), diploma (three-year program), or baccalaureate degree (four-year program). The relationship of empathy to age, marital status, parental status, clinical experience, and length of time in practice was also investigated. Subjects (n = 122) for the study were registered nurses working at two acute care health settings in the southeast metropolitan area of Florida. Two instruments were used: (a) Empathy Construct Rating Scale (ECRS), and (b) a demographic information questionnaire. The ECRS was chosen because of its proven construct validity and specificity to nursing (LaMonica, 1981). The demographic questionnaire assisted the investigator to determine any relationship between level of empathy and the aforementioned variables. A regression analysis was performed first to determine any relationship between empathy levels of registered nurses and the demographic variables. No significant relationship was found between professional preparation and the demographic variables. A one-way analysis (ANOVA) was performed to assess the strength and direction of the relationship between academic preparation and empathy. Using 0.05 level of significance as the criterion, statistical analysis revealed there was no relationship between registered nurses' academic preparation and level of empathy.

This study compared the perceptions of Associate Degree (A.D.N.) and Baccalaureate Degree (B.S.N.) nursing students and faculty concerning teaching behaviors and teacher characteristics in clinical nursing settings. The Clinical Teacher Behavior and Characteristic (CTBC) Questionnaire, consisting of 94 items, was developed for use in this study and was administered to a total of 565 A.D.N. and B.S.N. respondents. Both descriptive and inferential statistical procedures were used to analyze group responses. Items were mean-rank ordered according to respondent groups tested. Generally, respondents in both A.D.N. and B.S.N. programs identified: (a) professional nursing competencies, (b) interpersonal relationship skills, and (c) evaluation methods as the most effective teaching behaviors in clinical nursing settings. Least effective items included those associated with: (a) personal attributes, (b) instructional methods, and (c) theoretical orientation. Significant differences were disclosed by ANOVA in testing the six null hypotheses and led to the rejection of five null hypotheses at the .05 level of significance. Both A.D.N. and B.S.N. faculty tended to assign stronger levels of agreement to the teaching behaviors than did students; the student groups demonstrated closer agreement to each other than to their respective faculties. The B.S.N. faculty assigned greater importance to items centering on theoretical approaches and interpersonal skills than did the A.D.N. faculty. In addition to the significant differences found among A.D.N. and B.S.N. respondent groups, the findings suggested that there may be differences in perceptions of clinical teaching behaviors associated with where the faculty's basic nursing education occurred, that is, diploma schools, A.D.N., or B.S.N. programs. The total sample estimate of reliability-internal consistency for the CTBC questionnaire was .96, suggesting that the instrument has the potential for accurately assessing respondents' opinions in future studies of this nature.

A virtual shelf for nursing that closely mirrors what previously was found on a physical reference shelf is now a reasonable goal. Advantages of doing this for nursing students and faculty in an academic setting are enumerated. Overviews of relevant vendor and publisher interfaces and models are included. The authors present a selected list of appropriate electronic reference sources that demonstrate how ebooks and internet sites can be combined to build a virtual reference shelf in this subject area.