Meaningful Ethical Encounters:The Lived Experience of the Genetics Nurse

Meaningful Ethical Encounters: The Lived Experience of the Genetics Nurse Abstract Discoveries of the Human Genome Project, while beneficial to improving health, are accompanied by new and unique ethical concerns. The aim of this study was to describe and gain an understanding of the lived experience of genetics nurses as it relates to encountered ethical concerns. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach using van Manen’s thematic analysis was the method for this investigation. A sample of eight genetics nurses participated in the study. Seven essential themes emerged from the texts: (a) caring over time, (b) shared pain and suffering, (c) my job is to educate, empower, and equip, (d) not my decision, (e) fight for the patient, (f) anger surrounding misinformation, and (g) the complexity and conflicts of maintaining confidentiality. The findings of this study will increase the knowledge of caring for patients with genetic disorders

Scavenger Hunt: A Creative Teaching Strategy To Introduce Pharmacological Concepts and Ethical Concerns

The sheer volume and number of errors in medication administration obliges nursing educators to facilitate a higher level of student understanding in foundational pharmacological concepts. The focus of this manuscript was the use of a faculty created teaching strategy to introduce foundational pharmacological concepts and ethical concerns in an undergraduate nursing pharmacology course. The use of the Scavenger Hunt facilitated active learning and student engagement as students were responsible for and active in their own learning.The intent of the Scavenger Hunt was to introduce students to complex pharmacological concepts and ethical principles by using routine items from the students\u27 daily lives such as common over-the-counter medications. The Scavenger Hunt used five tasks the student completed in order to find information . The information obtained by the students was the basis of discussion on the second class day. Students were asked to (a) compare the cost of generic, trade and brand name medicine (b) compare an adult medication to the same child/infant medication including dose and form; (c) compare and contrast the various forms drugs come in; (d) locate three different medications which contain diphenhydramine (e) list 5-7 fillers that were found with the ingredients listed on the label. Using this information students were introduced to complex pharmacological concepts and ethical principles.Overwhelmingly, students wrote positive comments on the evaluation administered at the end of class. On the annual course evaluations, many students made positive comments about the value they saw in participating in the Scavenger Hunt and encouraged the nursing faculty in the course to continue to use this strategy in future pharmacology courses. © 2014 National Organization for Associate Degree Nursing

Reflective Test Review: The First Step in Student Retention

Test review is an often overlooked strategy for student retention. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide the reader with a step-by-step process of the reflective test review method. Test review is an opportunity for students to review and reflect on their thought processes during the examination and to improve understanding and future decision making. Students have indicated that this method was instrumental in successfully completing the course and, ultimately, graduating

Evaluation of vSim for Nursing in an Adult Health Nursing Course: A Multisite Pilot Study

Virtual simulation technology is the next step in using simulation as an accepted teaching-learning pedagogy in nursing. The purpose of this multisite, quasi-experimental, three-group, posttest-only design was to evaluate the effectiveness and participant satisfaction of vSim for Nursing in an Adult Health Nursing course. Although the quantitative findings (examination scores and postsimulation scores) were not statistically significant, participants overwhelmingly found vSim for Nursing to be a positive experiential learning endeavor. Ninety-one percent of the participants (n = 61) indicated that vSim for Nursing helped them understand adult health concepts and that vSim for Nursing was beneficial to learning. vSim for Nursing warrants further investigation, using other methods to measure effectiveness to ascertain whether knowledge acquisition is indeed improved as indicated by participant data in this study

A Pragmatic Approach to the Application of the Code of Ethics in Nursing Education

The code of ethics for nurses was written for nurses in all settings. However, the language focuses primarily on the nurse in context of the patient relationship, which may make it difficult for nurse educators to internalize the code to inform practice. The purpose of this article is to explore the code of ethics, establish that it can be used to guide nurse educators\u27 practice, and provide a pragmatic approach to application of the provisions

Scavenger hunt: A creative teaching strategy to introduce pharmacological concepts and ethical concerns

The sheer volume and number of errors in medication administration obliges nursing educators to facilitate a higher level of student understanding in foundational pharmacological concepts. The focus of this manuscript was the use of a faculty created teaching strategy to introduce foundational pharmacological concepts and ethical concerns in an undergraduate nursing pharmacology course. The use of the Scavenger Hunt facilitated active learning and student engagement as students were responsible for and active in their own learning.The intent of the Scavenger Hunt was to introduce students to complex pharmacological concepts and ethical principles by using routine items from the students\u27 daily lives such as common over-the-counter medications. The Scavenger Hunt used five tasks the student completed in order to find information . The information obtained by the students was the basis of discussion on the second class day. Students were asked to (a) compare the cost of generic, trade and brand name medicine (b) compare an adult medication to the same child/infant medication including dose and form; (c) compare and contrast the various forms drugs come in; (d) locate three different medications which contain diphenhydramine (e) list 5-7 fillers that were found with the ingredients listed on the label. Using this information students were introduced to complex pharmacological concepts and ethical principles.Overwhelmingly, students wrote positive comments on the evaluation administered at the end of class. On the annual course evaluations, many students made positive comments about the value they saw in participating in the Scavenger Hunt and encouraged the nursing faculty in the course to continue to use this strategy in future pharmacology courses. © 2014 National Organization for Associate Degree Nursing