An Examination of Student Performance in Pre-Requisite Coursework and Upper Division Nursing Coursework

Admission and retention of qualified nursing students are essential in meeting the demands of a rapidly changing health care environment and nursing shortage. The purpose of this exploratory correlational study was to determine the relationship between student performance in quantitative pre-requisite coursework and student performance in upper division nursing coursework in order to identify students at-risk for attrition. A series of descriptive and correlational analyses were conducted using pre-existing institutional data. A moderate relationship existed among the chemistry II and first-year upper division nursing courses (r = .21 to r = .40). These results suggest that prerequisite chemistry course performance could be a reliable predictor of academic success

Morse Code, Da Vinci Code, Tax Code and ... Churches: An Historical and Constitutional Analysis of Why Section 501(c)(3) Does Not Apply to Churches

This article is about the United States federal tax code and churches. In particular, it discusses the interplay between section 501(c)(3) and churches in America. Section II presents a background of the history of the tax exemption for churches and the judicial holdings relative to that exemption. Section III explores the historical development of the separation between church and state, tax exemptions, and section 501(c)(3). Section V analyzes section 501(c)(3) under the Constitution\u27s free speech and religion clauses. Section V proposes a recommendation, and Section VI is the conclusion

The Color of Pain: Blacks and the U.S. Health Care System--Can the Affordable Care Act Help to Heal a History of Injustice?, Part I

Discrimination in its various forms has contributed to the exclusion of blacks and other people of color from the field of medicine both as health care providers and as patients in the United States. Dr. Robinson\u27s story is but one example. Racism has significantly harmed the health care of black people in the U.S. Generally speaking, those with the poorest health and the greatest need have had the poorest access to medical care, as well as lower quality health care than their white counterparts. To understand this, we must consider the historical context of blacks in America and in America\u27s health care system. Whether as enslaved persons or free, blacks have had little to no access to medical care in the United States. The call for universal healthcare sounded over a century ago, but as political forces united against it, including powerful medical societies, the push to provide health care access to America\u27s citizens failed. Blacks rallied to open their own hospitals and medical schools, often with the help of white individuals and churches, to obtain the education and opportunities to provide health care to blacks and others with limited access. Civil rights advocates utilized the enforcement provisions of the civil rights laws to open the doors to America\u27s selective health care system. While ambitious, those activists could not often bring about the results sought. With the inclusion of more women and minorities in the health care system, the political machinery of America\u27s most powerful medical society finally swung around to supporting universal health care. Health reform was passed in Congress under the first black president of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama II-without a single Republican vote. In 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, along with the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act. These two pieces of groundbreaking legislation comprise America\u27s new health care system. Because of the sordid history of anti-black racism and the lack of adequate health care in the United States, this legislation has particular significance for blacks. America\u27s new health care system has received a largely positive reception from blacks and others. The benefits of the new health reform cannot be overstated, especially for people who have been so heavily excluded from the health care system. Even though the ACA creates unprecedented healthcare access for many citizens, and strives to correct many historical wrongs, it is not a perfect plan. Rather, it is an evolving plan that seeks to encourage suggestions and solutions toward a healthier America for all citizens

Credit Cards, Attorney\u27s Fees, and the Putative Debtor: A Pyrrhic Victory? Putative Debtors May Win the Battle But Nevertheless Lose the War

This Article addresses the current credit card industry and its detrimental impact on society, and it discusses the history and purpose of attorney\u27s fees, as well as the pitfalls in attorney\u27s fee legislation. It analyzes the case study under various state laws, with heavy emphasis on Florida and California law, then recommends a legislative change or judicial intervention to ensure that creditors incur financial responsibility when they erroneously sue consumers. With these changes, consumers are made whole when they must defend themselves against small claims lawsuits erroneously filed against them, so as not to become victims of needless debt

Historically Black Colleges & Universities: A Model for American Education

Hungry for freedom and knowledge, enslaved Blacks engaged in a massive general strike against slavery by transferring their labor from the Confederate planter to the Northern invader, and this decided the Civil War. In 1865, the North conquered the South, and slavery officially ended. Having been starved of the opportunity to learn to read or write, the recently emancipated Blacks were eager to learn. Within a year after slavery ended, however, Florida and other Southern states enacted laws to ensure the continuation of the vestiges of slavery in the United States. The legacy of slavery and racism evolved into an equally insidious system by controlling opportunities available to Blacks. Although the South seemed to guide the construction of the development of this new system to control Blacks, the North was complicit as well. This legacy was particularly evident in education. Even after slavery, white-dominated political bodies enacted laws to prevent or interfere with the opportunities for Blacks to obtain an education. White obstruction to Black education existed at all levels, including in higher education. Driven to learn, newly freed Blacks, often with the help of others, founded their own higher educational institutions, which are now called historically Black colleges and universities. From their inception to the present, these schools have embraced educating all who knocked on their doors, including whites, without regard to race or color. This should be modeled in American education where race and color continue to slam doors to Black education

Mortgage Foreclosures, Mortgage Morality, and Main Street: What’s Really Happening?

The American economy is in the tank. Millions of citizens are without jobs, overwhelmed with credit card debt, and losing their homes. The brighter side is that as a result, America has finally embraced financial reform, and the unstable economy is stabilizing marriages. Nevertheless, the United States remains in the midst of a housing crisis, and the ending remains uncertain. There has been a media blitz about the housing crisis and Wall Street - corporate interests, but much less about the actual impact of the housing crisis on Main Street - America\u27s working class people and small business owners. This article will also provide insight into what is really happening with the mortgage crisis and to Main Street America, why it is happening, and what can be done to save Main Street

Rationed Justice

In the United States, equal justice under law is at the very forefront of our American justice system. Equal justice is meant to guarantee equal access to the justice system. Equal access to the judicial process is the sin qua non of a just society. Many Americans, however, do not have any access to the justice system, never mind that of equal access. Equal justice has not reached the nation\u27s indigent, or even many of our moderate-income citizens

Consumer preferences for scanning modality to diagnose focal liver lesions

Objectives: Differences in the process of using liver imaging technologies might be important to patients. This study aimed to investigate preferences for scanning modalities used in diagnosing focal liver lesions. Methods: A discrete choice experiment was administered to 504 adults aged 25 years. Respondents made repeated choices between two hypothetical scans, described according to waiting time for scan and results, procedure type, the chance of minor side-effects, and whether further scanning procedures were likely to be required. Choice data were analyzed using mixed-logit models with respondent characteristics used to explain preference heterogeneity. Results: Respondents preferred shorter waiting times, the procedure to be undertaken with a handheld scanner on a couch instead of within a body scanner, no side-effects, and no follow–up scans (p .01). The average respondent was willing to wait an additional 2 weeks for the scan if it resulted in avoiding side-effects, 1.5 weeks to avoid further procedures or to be told the results immediately, and 1 week to have the scan performed on a couch with a handheld scanner. However, substantial heterogeneity was observed in the strength of preference for desirable imaging characteristics. Conclusions: An average individual belonging to a general population sub–group most likely to require imaging to characterize focal liver lesions in the United Kingdom would prefer contrast–enhanced ultrasound over magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography. Insights into the patient perspective around differential characteristics of imaging modalities have the potential to be used to guide recommendations around the use of these technologies