Population Focused Nursing: Advocacy for Vulnerable Populations in an RN-BSN Program

The purpose of this article is to describe an innovative learning activity for online RN-BSN students designed to foster advocacy for vulnerable populations. The Vulnerable Population Advocacy Assignment, included as a component of the online Population-Focused Nursing class, provides students with the opportunity to identify and develop an awareness of issues impacting vulnerable populations and to advocate for policy changes that will influence the health of individuals, families, and populations. RN-BSN students build on previous knowledge and skills in professional communication and advocacy as they develop a policy statement designed to address health disparities impacting local, national, and global populations

Evaluating an Online Family Assessment Activity: A Focus on Diversity and Health Promotion

This article describes the development, implementation and evaluation of a family assessment activity that was designed for a transition course in an RN-BSN program. The family assessment activity emphasized diversity and health promotion as key curricular concepts highlighted through the use of constructivist teaching strategies in the online classroom. The activity was developed and implemented by utilizing the Family Health Systems (FHS) approach to family assessment and Healthy People 2020 as a framework for family health promotion. The activity was evaluated through faculty observation and student feedback which is discussed in the article

A snake of a different color: physiological color change in Arizona black rattlesnakes

Coloration may serve a variety of behavioral (e.g., crypsis, communication) and physiological (e.g., thermoregulation, protection) functions for terrestrial ectotherms. However, optimal coloration for a given function may vary over environments (spatial or temporal) or conflict with other functions. Physiological color change (rapid change due to movement of pigment granules within chromatophores) may be an adaptation to resolve conflicting selective pressures on coloration. The proximate factors related to physiological color change are well known in many animals, but few studies have investigated the ecological or evolutionary implications of this behavior. Here, we present alternative hypotheses for physiological color change and discuss biotic and abiotic factors that may have led to the maintenance and/or loss of this behavior among populations of Arizona black rattlesnakes (_Crotalus cerberus_). We discuss what is known about this behavior and propose to investigate the function and evolution of coloration and color change in _C. cerberus_

GOP SuperPACs didn’t give Trump money, but they did help create his juggernaut campaign.

Since the introduction of SuperPACs as a campaign tool in 2010 following the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, there has been increasing concern over the role of outside money in US political contests. Melissa Smith writes that past narratives about money’s influence have been turned on their head in the current election season, with the Republican Party’s nominee, Donald Trump, receiving less than $900,000 from SuperPACs compared to the tens of millions raised by his now vanquished GOP rivals. She argues that if there had been fewer than 17 Republican candidates in the 2016 race, and SuperPACs had cut their losses earlier on losing candidates, then Trump might well not have become the GOP’s nominee

Why Trump could mean all change at the Federal Election Commission – if he can be bothered.

Last week Ann Ravel stepped down from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), issuing a blistering report against the Commission detailing how deadlock and changes to campaign finance law have significantly decreased its effectiveness. Melissa Smith writes that, with the remaining five commissioners serving an expired term, President Trump now has the opportunity to replace them with members who prefer less regulation. However, so far, Trump has shown little interest in the FEC, despite its finding that his presidential election campaign skirted the law

Què fer si arriba el cas: Planificadors, pamflets i propaganda en l'edat de la Bomba H

What To Do If It Happens: Planners, pamphlets and propaganda in the age of the H-bomb.In 1955, a committee of experts predicted that an H-bomb attack on Britain would have the most devastating effects. Despite this, the pamphlets made available to the public offered advice that now seems absurd, like washing radioactive dust off with soap and water. The British civil defence programmes at that time were not only the result of expert advice, but also political, military and economic pressure, which were often in confl ict with each other

Book review: campaign finance and political polarization: when purists prevail by Raymond J. La Raja and Brian F. Schaffner

Is there too much money behind US political campaigns or is it more a question of where the money flows? In Campaign Finance and Political Polarization: When Purists Prevail, Raymond J. La Raja and Brian F. Schaffner present their argument in favour of giving more, rather than less, money to political parties in order to reduce the polarisation that characterises the US political system. While she questions the extrapolation of state-level analysis to the federal level, Melissa M. Smith praises the cogent delivery of the book’s central claim, even if it remains to be seen if the authors’ points will make it into practice

Trump, Brexit, and the West’s “Mad as hell” moment

With the popularity of Donald Trump, and the UK’s recent vote to leave the European Union, we live in seemingly strange political times, writes Melissa Smith. She comments that the sluggish world economy, migration crisis, and negativity towards globalism all appear to be fuelling the West’s current “Mad as hell” moment. It’s hard to stay mad forever, though, and in Donald Trump’s case, if he wishes to win the White House, he will need to continue to fuel his supporters’ anger until November

Optimizing the integration of advanced practitioners in a department of surgery: An operational improvement model

Physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) have established themselves as key members of the healthcare team to supplement practicing physicians in patient care. PAs and NPs are collectively referred to as “advanced providers” (APs) and work not only in primary care but in general surgery and surgical subspecialties. Studies have addressed AP integration into the profession of medicine and have examined cost and efficacy of APs, attitudes about APs among residents, and educational impact of APs, but very little literature exists that describes a formalized approach to AP integration into a department of surgery, specifically with AP/resident integration. The purpose of this paper is to describe an initiative for developing an operational improvement model for APs working with residents on surgical inpatient services in a large academic health center. The model consists of four components and each component is described in detail from discovery state towards continuous improvement. Formal professional development opportunities for APs as well as appointing a Clinical Director for Surgical APs have positively impacted AP integration into the department of surgery

Civil War Treasures: Black Soldiers in the Civil War and Elite White Union-Sympathizing Women

These new sources present new avenues of study for diverse subjects in the Civil War, including Black Civil War Soldiers and elite white women who sympathized with the Union cause