A Descriptive Study of a Clinical Evaluation Tool and Process: Student and Faculty Perspectives

Clinical evaluation tools are designed to assess nursing students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to program and course outcomes and professional nursing standards. Students, faculty, administrators, and the public rely on the effectiveness of the tool and process to determine progression within the curriculum and validate competency. In May 2012, a revised clinical evaluation tool was implemented in a baccalaureate nursing program. This study was undertaken to evaluate the revised clinical evaluation tool by exploring the perspectives of students and faculty who use the tool and engage in the evaluation process. Findings revealed the tool was user friendly and instructions were clear, with sufficient grading criteria to determine clinical competency. Findings also revealed areas for improvement in the evaluation process, including orientation to the tool, connecting program outcomes to clinical performance, and meaningful participation in evaluation. Recommendations are made for improving the clinical evaluation proces

EPUAP classification system for pressure ulcers: European reliability study

‘The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.com .' Copyright Blackwell PublishingPeer reviewe

Qualitative theory testing as mixed-method research

While the concept of mixed-methods research is more usually associated with combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, this paper outlines a study that mixed methods by undertaking qualitative theory testing and derivation when examining the relationship between health promotion theory and hospital nursing practice. Thus, it is concerned with relating the metatheoretical aspects of the debate and not with the pragmatic aspects of the research and concomitant methods. A deductive–inductive–deductive design, based on the theory–research–theory strategy of Meleis (1985), tested, revised and developed for nursing established health promotion theory using theory-testing criteria. To complement the methodological mix, the study also used the theory (i.e. a health-promotion taxonomy) as a framework to contextualise the findings rather than generate theory in the way associated with interpretative inquiry. While inconsistent with the traditional view linking theory testing with quantitative, objective epistemology, the process enabled a theoretically robust health-promotion taxonomy to be synthesised and advanced for use in nursing in relation to a paradigm of social thought

Older parents of people who have a learning disability : perceptions of future accomodation needs

The aim of this qualitative study was to provide an insight into the perceptions of older parents of learning disabled people on the future accommodation needs of their adult children. Semi-structured interviews were used to seek parental awareness of residential options available, concerns in relation to future accommodation and the preferred accommodation options for their offspring. Four couples who shared the family home with an adult who has a learning disability took part in the study and data was analysed using a step by step form of content analysis as described by Burnard (1991). Emergent themes from transcripts were then organised into main categories The results of this study suggest that older parents are dissatisfied with both statutory and private services, that they have concerns for their non-disabled children and their own ageing. Being a parent to a person who has a learning disability is seen to be a difficult task and yet parents may want to provide support at home for as long a possible. Of the parents who participated in this study, three couples wanted to maintain their adult child at home for as long as possible and the parents who were actively seeking accommodation outside the family home expected to be involved in all aspects of their daughter�s care for the long term future

Micro-Ethical Decision Making Among Baccalaureate Nursing Students: A Qualitative Investigation

Nursing students frequently encounter micro-ethical nursing practice problems during their clinical experience. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of senior-level baccalaureate students faced with making micro-ethical clinical decisions in practice settings. A descriptive qualitative design was used, and five central themes emerged. A dominant finding was the experience of unapplied and forgotten ethics education revealing a mismatch between what faculty perceived was taught and students’ experiences of that education. When faced with micro-ethical decisions, participants trusted and deferred to staff nurse recommendations, even if the advice contradicted best-practice standards. Contextual naivete was brought out of concealment, contributing to the experience of moral disequilibrium (i.e., students felt conflicted about what they learned in school as best practice and what they observed being role modeled in the clinical environment). This study resulted in theory-guided implications for nursing education and recommendations for future study

Healthy-Eater Self-Schema and Dietary Intake

The types and amounts of foods consumed have been shown to influence the health risks of individuals. Empirical evidence has documented a link between high dietary fat and low fiber intake and the risks for cardiovascular disease, some types of cancer, and obesity. Dietary surveys of Americans show higher fat and lower fiber intake than stipulated in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, despite the noted increase in public awareness regarding the importance of adopting healthy eating habits. The lack of congruence between the availability of dietary knowledge and behavioral adherence to dietary recommendations suggests a need to further understand the predictors of dietary intake. In this study, the authors used the schema model of the self-concept to explore the role of self-beliefs in predicting dietary intake in community-dwelling, working-class, middle-aged adults.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66463/1/Healthy-Eater Self-Schema and Dietary Intake.pd