Strategies That Prepare Nurse Educators for Teaching Cultural Competence: A Review of the Literature

Higher education has called for the transformation of how students are being educated across the board. Unique challenges exist for schools of nursing as they strive to fluidly meet the quickly changing landscape of healthcare and the standards that are required from accreditation standards for both the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and their accrediting bodies. Not only do Nurse Educators (NE) face the task of educating the future workforce to be safe practitioners, they must do so through the creation of significant and rich learning experiences. An area of increasing importance in nursing education is the concept of cultural competence. For many schools of nursing, curriculum is designed to achieve the outcome of cultural competence through significant learning experiences such as study abroad and immersion opportunities. Research indicates that study abroad and immersion opportunities in nursing allow for students to gain a firsthand view of different cultures and how culture shapes our perceptions of health and wellness. Further, study abroad and cultural immersion opportunities allow nursing students to experience nursing practice, health care delivery models, grow personally and professionally, and gain a global perspective of health and wellness (Kent-Wilkinson, Leurer, Luimes, Ferguson, and Murrary, 2015). While these rich cultural learning experiences are prominent in baccalaureate nursing programs, programs are lacking for graduate students. More specifically, programs are lacking for the NE student who will need to be able to assure cultural competence in the students they engage with and potentially lead global immersion experiences in their future practice. In the following paper, the historical timeline of how the nursing profession came to understand the need for cultural competence, the influence that a provider\u27s cultural competence has on patient outcomes, methods for preparing nursing students to be culturally competent in a variety of environments, and identification of areas that would improve the preparation of NE graduate students to teach cultural competence will be explored

Michelle Obama’s Impact on African American Women and Girls

Rachelle Brunn-Bevel is a contributing author (with Kristin Richardson), Let’s Move! with Michelle Obama. Book description: This edited collection explores how First Lady Michelle Obama gradually expanded and broadened her role by engaging in social, political and economic activities which directly and indirectly impacted the lives of the American people, especially young women and girls. The volume responds to the various representations of Michelle Obama and how the language and images used to depict her either affirmed, offended, represented or misrepresented her and its authors. It is an interdisciplinary evaluation by African American women and girls of the First Lady’s overall impact through several media, including original artwork and poetry. It also examines her political activities during and post-election 2016.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/sociologyandanthropology-books/1065/thumbnail.jp

Whey Protein Ingestion Activates mTOR-dependent Signalling after Resistance Exercise in Young Men: A Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial

The effect of resistance exercise with the ingestion of supplementary protein on the activation of the mTOR cascade, in human skeletal muscle has not been fully elucidated. In this study, the impact of a single bout of resistance exercise, immediately followed by a single dose of whey protein isolate (WPI) or placebo supplement, on the activation of mTOR signalling was analyzed. Young untrained men completed a maximal single-legged knee extension exercise bout and were randomized to ingest either WPI supplement (n = 7) or the placebo (n = 7). Muscle biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis before, and 2, 4 and 24 h post-exercise. WPI or placebo ingestion consumed immediately post-exercise had no impact on the phosphorylation of Akt (Ser473). However, WPI significantly enhanced phosphorylation of mTOR (Ser2448), 4E-BP1 (Thr37/46) and p70S6K (Thr389) at 2 h post-exercise. This study demonstrates that a single dose of WPI, when consumed in modest quantities, taken immediately after resistance exercise elicits an acute and transient activation of translation initiation within the exercised skeletal muscle

Infidelity of SARS-CoV Nsp14-Exonuclease Mutant Virus Replication Is Revealed by Complete Genome Sequencing

Most RNA viruses lack the mechanisms to recognize and correct mutations that arise during genome replication, resulting in quasispecies diversity that is required for pathogenesis and adaptation. However, it is not known how viruses encoding large viral RNA genomes such as the Coronaviridae (26 to 32 kb) balance the requirements for genome stability and quasispecies diversity. Further, the limits of replication infidelity during replication of large RNA genomes and how decreased fidelity impacts virus fitness over time are not known. Our previous work demonstrated that genetic inactivation of the coronavirus exoribonuclease (ExoN) in nonstructural protein 14 (nsp14) of murine hepatitis virus results in a 15-fold decrease in replication fidelity. However, it is not known whether nsp14-ExoN is required for replication fidelity of all coronaviruses, nor the impact of decreased fidelity on genome diversity and fitness during replication and passage. We report here the engineering and recovery of nsp14-ExoN mutant viruses of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) that have stable growth defects and demonstrate a 21-fold increase in mutation frequency during replication in culture. Analysis of complete genome sequences from SARS-ExoN mutant viral clones revealed unique mutation sets in every genome examined from the same round of replication and a total of 100 unique mutations across the genome. Using novel bioinformatic tools and deep sequencing across the full-length genome following 10 population passages in vitro, we demonstrate retention of ExoN mutations and continued increased diversity and mutational load compared to wild-type SARS-CoV. The results define a novel genetic and bioinformatics model for introduction and identification of multi-allelic mutations in replication competent viruses that will be powerful tools for testing the effects of decreased fidelity and increased quasispecies diversity on viral replication, pathogenesis, and evolution

Are Nurses the Key Factor in Saving Patients from a Crisis?

Purpose: The study purpose is to examine the benefits when an RN takes the vital signs which leads to an earlier recognition and interpretation of the patient’s condition, rather than delegating the task to a PCA (James et. al., 2010). Background: PCAs are trained to take vital signs, but not to assess and interpret the data gathered (James et. al., 2010). There is evidence that shows that undetected patient deterioration can lead to a worsening condition. Method: Two medical surgical floors at the same hospital will be used to study the difference between RNs and PCAs taking vital signs. Data Collection/Analysis: Information gathered will be processed through a computer database, including close-ended questions to focus the research. Hypothesis: When RNs take vital signs themselves, rather than delegating the task, there will be accelerated interpretation of the patient’s change in condition leading to better patient outcome