Concept Interview Assignment to Foster Intentional Learning in Nursing Students

Intentional learning is the process of acquiring skills and attributes that facilitate knowledge attainment and application, and this process may foster learning skills and attributes in nursing students so they may thrive in student-centered nursing curricula and competently practice in today’s dynamic and complex healthcare system. The purposes of this study were to determine 1) if there are any associations between academic achievement and intentional learning and 2) if there is an effect of a nursing concept interview assignment on academic achievement and intentional learning scores in second-semester nursing students. The majority of studies on intentional learning were quasi-experimental designs providing strong evidence. Positive associations with intentional learning discovered in these studies include higher order thinking, learner satisfaction, efficacy, autonomy, learning how to learn, and self-reflection and evaluation. The interview assignment, developed in the accounting discipline, has demonstrated initial promising results and is adaptable to nursing education as both disciplines have similar end goals to prepare students for practice through professional formation. However, the studies involving the interview assignment did not use an instrument to measure intentional learning, which would strengthen the findings. This study used the Learning Orientation Questionnaire (LOQ), which has demonstrated sound psychometric properties. The Conceptual Model for Successful Intentional Learning was adapted to guide this study. This model is based on neuroscience research on the limbic system (i.e., emotional center of the brain) and supports the use of individualized approaches to support and teach students. These approaches specifically target areas of need based on the student’s intentional learning ability and foster areas for improvement, such as goal setting, prioritization, reflection, and self-evaluation. A quasi-experimental, two group (experimental and comparison) pretest/posttest design was used for this study. A convenience sample of 92 students in the second semester of a Bachelor of Science in nursing program in the midwestern United States was used. All students enrolled in a nursing theory course were given a demographic survey and LOQ at the beginning of the second semester. The intervention, a nursing concept interview assignment, occurred throughout the semester with the experimental group only. The LOQ was administered again at the end of the semester to both groups of students to answer research questions one and three. Lastly, final exam scores for all students were analyzed at the end of the semester as a measure of academic achievement to answer research questions one and two. Respective to the three research questions asked in this study, statistical analyses demonstrated 1) no significant relationship between final examination scores and posttest LOQ scores; 2) significant differences for final examination scores between the comparison and experimental group, with students in the comparison group scoring higher on the final examination (p = .000), which was an unexpected finding; and 3) no interaction effect of time by group and no differences in pretest and posttest LOQ scores between groups after completing the nursing concept interview assignment. Although not a specific research question in this study, it was discovered that LOQ scores significantly increased from the beginning to the end of the semester, regardless of group (p = .039). While the intervention trialed in this study did not influence this change, other interventions and/or factors must be studied to determine how to positively impact intentional learning in nursing students so they gain the characteristics needed for student-centered nursing curricula and practice

Healthcare Professionals’ Perspectives of Barriers to Cancer Care Delivery for American Indian, Rural, and Frontier Populations

Objective: This descriptive qualitative study sought to understand the barriers affecting cancer care delivery from the perspective of healthcare professionals (HCPs) serving American Indian (AI), rural, and frontier populations. Methods: One-on-one, semi-structured interviews with multidisciplinary HCPs (N = 18) who provide cancer care to AI, rural, and frontier populations were conducted between January and April 2022. Interviews were conducted via Zoom. Data were analyzed following thematic content analysis methodologies. Results: Thematic content analysis revealed three major themes: (a) Access, (b) Time, and (c) Isolation. The themes represent the HCP perspectives of the needs and barriers of persons with cancer to whom they provide cancer care. Furthermore, these themes also reflect the barriers HCPs experience while providing cancer care to AI, rural and frontier populations. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence for the need and strong multidisciplinary support for an early palliative care intervention in rural and frontier South Dakota (SD). This intervention could support the needs of persons with advanced cancer as well as the HCPs delivering cancer care in rural settings. Innovation: This study is the initial step to develop the first culturally responsive, nurse-led, early palliative care intervention for AI, rural, and frontier persons with advanced cancer in SD

Red Alert

Red Alert is an app using voice recogni3on so people can call for help. The app is similar to “Hey Siri” present in iPhones and the Cortana feature in Androids. When a person uses his or her first preset keyword, the phone’s voice recogniton software accesses the app, which starts an audio recording, and when the second keyword is used, the app alerts the police. The primary consumer for Red Alert is high school to middle-aged women, with a secondary focus on those who live in urban areas. The technology exists, so the only needed recourse is programming. The risks associated with Red Alert include a possible failure to recognize a person’s voice and the high competition from other security apps

New Ways to Impact Primary Palliative Care Practices Using Online Continuing Education

Background: Healthcare professionals trained in palliative care (PC) improve satisfaction and decrease healthcare overutilization for patients with serious illness and their families. A continuing education (CE) series on primary PC aligned to the National Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality PC was developed by local, interdisciplinary experts for a target audience of rural, primary care healthcare professionals. The modules were accessed on an online learning management system platform. Objective: The study objectives were to assess differences in participants’ knowledge, competence, performance, and ability to improve patient care as well as commitment to change practice after taking each of the CE modules. Design and Methods: To achieve these objectives, a descriptive design was used with a convenience sample of healthcare professionals who registered for the CE series and completed at least one module. Participants completed demographic questions and an evaluation survey after completing each module. Results: So far, 158 healthcare professionals have registered for the series with the majority being nurses and social workers. Although the professionals reported having extensive healthcare experience, they did not report having the same level of PC experience. The professionals represent nine different states. All the CE modules increased teamwork skills for most participants. The CE modules on cultural aspects and self-care had the biggest influence on participants’ ability to improve patient outcomes. Cultural aspects, care of the actively dying, and advance care planning had the greatest impact on participants’ knowledge, competence, and performance. Conclusion: The primary PC education series improved self-reported skills in teamwork, practice habits, and meeting goals of healthcare professionals from a variety of disciplines and settings. These enhanced primary PC skills will improve the incorporation of PC into a variety of practice settings, by multiple disciplines to enhance access to PC outside of, and potentially referrals to, specialty PC programs. Palliative care (PC) is an emerging field of healthcare aimed at positively affecting patients living with serious illness and their families. An important factor that influences a health professional’s successful delivery of PC may be their knowledge, experiences, and confidence. PC training provided to healthcare professionals improves patients’ and healthcare professionals’ satisfaction and reduces healthcare expenditures through cost savings and cost avoidance

Library Assessment and Data Analytics in the Big Data Era: Practice and Policies

Emerging technologies have offered libraries and librarians new ways and methods to collect and analyze data in the era of accountability to justify their value and contributions. For example, Gallagher, Bauer and Dollar (2005) analyzed the paper and online journal usage from all possible data sources and discovered that users at the Yale Medical Library preferred the electronic format of articles to the print version. After this discovery, they were able to take necessary steps to adjust their journal subscriptions. Many library professionals advocate such data-driven library management to strengthen and specify library budget proposals

A IMPORTÂNCIA DA QUÍMICA ORGÂNICA NOS MEDICAMENTOS

Os medicamentos são constituídos por diversas substâncias químicas que apresentam em sua estrutura inúmeras funções orgânicas. Função orgânica é um conjunto de substâncias que possuem sítios reativos com propriedades químicas semelhantes. Cada função orgânica apresenta um átomo ou grupo de átomos, que caracteriza a função a que o composto pertence, chamados grupos funcionais. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi expor a relação existente entre a Química Orgânica e os medicamentos, sendo realizada nos bancos de dados científicos, PubMed e Google Acadêmico. Um exemplo de fármaco de origem orgânica utilizado para o controle da dor aguda que não responde aos analgésicos tradicionais é a morfina. A morfina é um analgésico opióide derivada do ópio retirado do leite da papoula (Papaver somniferum). Possui fórmula molecular C17H19NO3. Apresenta em sua composição os seguintes grupamentos funcionais: éter, fenol, álcool e uma amina. O que determina a ação terapêutica de um medicamento é o princípio ativo. Uma substituição de uma função orgânica do principio ativo pode resultar em uma modificação da atividade biológica da molécula. Tendo-se em vista que a maioria dos medicamentos utilizados atualmente é de origem orgânica, o desenvolvimento da química orgânica tem papel central em vários processos que visam à descoberta e o aprimoramento de medicamentos, assim como o entendimento da sua ação sobre o organismo

The Project ENABLE Cornerstone Randomized Controlled Trial: Study Protocol for a Lay Navigator-led, Early Palliative Care Coaching Intervention for African American and Rural-dwelling Advanced Cancer Family Caregivers

Background: Family caregivers play a vital, yet stressful role in managing the healthcare needs and optimizing the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer, from the time they are newly diagnosed until end of life. While early telehealth palliative care has been found to effectively support family caregivers, little work has focused on historically under-resourced populations, particularly African American and rural-dwelling individuals. To address this need, we developed and are currently testing Project ENABLE (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends) Cornerstone, a lay navigator-led, early palliative care coaching intervention for family caregivers of African American and rural-dwelling patients with newly diagnosed advanced cancer.Methods: This is a 2-site, single-blind, hybrid type I implementation-effectiveness trial of the Cornerstone intervention versus usual care. Cornerstone is a multicomponent intervention based on Pearlin’s Stress-Health Process Model where African American and/or rural-dwelling family caregivers of patients with newly diagnosed advanced cancer (target sample size = 294 dyads) are paired with a lay navigator coach and receive a series of six, brief 20–60-min telehealth sessions focused on stress management and coping, caregiving skills, getting help, self-care, and preparing for the future/advance care planning. Subsequent to core sessions, caregivers receive monthly follow-up indefinitely until the patient’s death. Caregiver and patient outcomes are collected at baseline and every 12 weeks until the patient’s death (primary outcome: caregiver distress at 24 weeks; secondary outcomes: caregiver: quality of life and burden; patient: distress, quality of life, and healthcare utilization). Implementation costs and the intervention cost effectiveness are also being evaluated.Discussion: Should this intervention demonstrate efficacy, it would yield an implementation-ready model of early palliative care support for under-resourced family caregivers. A key design principle that has centrally informed the Cornerstone intervention is that every caregiving situation is unique and each caregiver faces distinct challenges that cannot be addressed using a one-size-fits all approach. Hence, Cornerstone employs culturally savvy lay navigator coaches who are trained to establish a strong, therapeutic alliance with participants and tailor their coaching to a diverse range of individual circumstances