Student Perception of Clicker Usage in Nursing Education

Nurse educators must explore innovative ways to engage students and stimulate learning. Student response system (SRS) technology is one tool educators can use to increase participation, provide immediate feedback, and encourage critical thinking. This study evaluated perceptions of first-year nursing students using SRS technology. The findings support the use of SRS technology as a positive pedagogical approach to incorporate in teaching associate degree nursing students

Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy of Neurofeedback

Decreases in overall well-being and daily functioning result from unpleasant and uncomfortable symptoms associated with physical health and mental health disorders. Neurofeedback training, rooted in the theory of operant conditioning, presents the possibility of increasing brain wave regulation, decreasing symptoms experienced from abnormal brain wave activity, and increasing overall well-being and daily functioning. The efficacy of neurofeedback for physical and mental health outcomes is unclear, contributing to confusion about the treatment and any potential benefits. In order to assess the efficacy of neurofeedback in the alleviation of physical health and mental health symptoms, a systematic review and meta-analysis of neurofeedback using a random effects model to generate the effect sizes was conducted on 21 studies with 22 comparisons that used neurofeedback to treat patients. The results showed that neurofeedback can be effective for physical and mental health outcomes, including for autism with an effect size of 0.29, tinnitus with an effect size of 0.77, schizophrenia with an effect size of 0.76, depression with an effect size of 0.28, insomnia with an effect size of 0.52, obesity with an effect size of 0.40, intellectual disability with an effect size of 0.73, and pain with an effect size of 0.30. Well-being and daily functioning for those with physical and mental health disorders can be improved. These findings have implications for clinical practice to help patients in treatment for physical and mental health problems, and also for social change by providing evidence for alternative health care options

Digging Into Student Metacognition with a Consistent Exit Ticket

Formative assessment is a common practice in classrooms across every grade-level. The purpose of this study was to see what happens to the test grades of seventh-grade science students following the completion of a consistent exit ticket for an entire unit with the following two questions: What was your biggest takeaway from today’s material? What test question can you write using the material from today? The author collected data through student test records, classroom documents, student surveys, student interviews, and note takings. For analysis, the author used the constant comparative method, as well as descriptive statistics. The author found the following themes after data analysis: writing test questions is hard, positive perceptions of the new exit ticket, perceptions of student metacognitive levels, a slight increase in test scores, and no change in ability to write a test question

Synthetic strategies to combat antibiotic resistance

The design and synthesis of β-lactamase inhibitors is a constant area of study to overcome the growing problem of resistance to β-lactam antibiotics. Serine dependent β-lactamase enzymes, through a hydrolysis mechanism, can deactivate many traditional β-lactam antibiotics. Designing drugs to specifically target β-lactamases is of great interest because such drugs could be used in tandem with traditional β-lactam antibiotics. Aza-β-lactam molecules have been theorized to be less vulnerable to hydrolysis than the traditional β-lactams. Nucleophilic attack of the active-site serine of the β-lactamase on the aza-β-lactam ring would lead to a carbamoyl-enzyme intermediate, which would be partially stabilized due to the neighboring nitrogen atom and thus is expected to be more hydrolytically stable than the corresponding acyl-enzyme intermediate of a β-lactam. The initial attempt to synthesize the aza-carbacepham 1 utilized a rhodium catalyzed N-H insertion as the key step to form the substituted piperidine ring fused to the aza-β-lactam ring. With the use of aldehyde 8, a Wittig reaction was conducted to extend the carbon chain, but problems arose with the removal of the N-acetyl group. Multiple pathways were attempted but all were unsuccessful in cleaving the N-acetyl group, so a different synthetic approach was explored that utilized an aldol reaction to form the respective ring. The synthesis of aza-carbapenam 33 originally proceeded via enol-ether 34a/b followed by acid catalyzed conversion to the corresponding alcohol 35. But due to low yields, a different approach involving hydroboration of alkene 47 was explored. With the use of a model system, the Wittig conditions were optimized and applied to aldehyde 8 to form alkene 47. Traditional hydroboration conditions were then attempted with the formation of unexpected product 48. Rapamycin has been found to potentiate oxacillin activity against several strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but its mechanism of action is unknown. The interaction of rapamycin with oxacillin and MRSA are going to be studied with a photoaffinity labeling process. Diazirine linker 49 was synthesized and initial steps to alkylate rapamycin were attempted. NMR data of rapa-linker 50 is still inconclusive due to low isolated yields

The Influence of Age, Employment, and Ethnicity on Associate Degree Nursing Students\u27 Perception of Instructor Caring

The aim of this study was to explore ADN students’ perceptions of instructor caring, including the relationships between age, employment, and race/ethnicity, utilizing the Nursing Students’ Perception of Instructor Caring (NSPIC) instrument. Understanding some of the unique needs and what behaviors demonstrate caring to students can help nurse educators develop and utilize more of these caring behaviors in various interactions with students. Standard multiple regression, multiple correlations, and one open-ended question were used to analyze the data. Age, employment status, and race were not statistically significant predictors of students’ perceptions of instructor caring for any of the scales. Each of the five scales had moderate to high levels of internal consistency. Inter-item correlations demonstrated most items were moderately to highly correlated within each scale. Common themes regarding behaviors that students wanted changed or improved included feedback, communication, availability, support, respect, and understanding. Implications for nurse educators and administrators include increasing the awareness of students’ perceptions of instructor caring behaviors and incorporation of quality teaching practices that reflect these behaviors. This can help build the instructor-student relationship, help students develop their caring efficacy, and potentially help students succeed in nursing school and in the profession