Equity and inclusivity in the faculty ranks: Our experience with a clinical track

BACKGROUND

The evolution of nursing education requires a combination of strong academic faculty and expert clinicians. Different professional growth and development pathways are necessary to build a robust faculty with clinical and research expertise. Some schools have implemented a formal clinical track (CT) to complement the traditional tenure track for the professional advancement of CT.

METHODS

The article presents a case example of how one institution maintains and advances a strong CT using the Kotter Change Model and discusses future directions.

RESULTS

The school's infrastructure for promotion, which follows a similar structure and guidelines as Tenure Track (TT) Promotion and Tenure Guidelines, has led to an increase in the school's scholarly productivity among CT faculty across ranks. Increasing poster and podium presentations as well as publications to a national and international audience results in greater reach and improved reputation for the school, both nationally and internationally.

CONCLUSIONS

While there is still work to be done to advance equity and inclusion for nursing CTs, developing and maintaining a CT with system-level structures holds significant value and provides a clear path to promotion, invests in clinical scholarship, and includes clinical faculty as full citizens in academia.

Re-envisioning Youth Sexual Health Care: Supporting Sex Positivity in a Digital World

INTRODUCTION

Youth in a digital world face challenges to the healthy development of their sexuality from exposure to sexting, pornography, and other sexually explicit media. School-based sexual health education does not cover digital sexual content and its impact on sexuality and sexual relationships. Youth often avoid discussing sexual health with parents or other trusted adults, thus often relying on peers, making them ill-prepared to navigate the complexities (e.g., socially, emotionally, and romantically) of sexually explicit content.

METHOD

A review of emerging evidence for application into clinical practice.

RESULTS

This paper provides nurse practitioners with resources and information to incorporate this re-envisioned approach to sexual health care into practice to provide current, timely, and holistic youth sexual health care.

DISCUSSION

Youth sexual health care must be re-envisioned. Nurse practitioners can improve youth sexual health by incorporating pornography and sexual media literacy, safe sexting, and concepts of consent into care using a sex-positive lens.

Evaluating an intervention of telehealth education and simulation for advanced practice registered nurse students: A single group comparison study

As healthcare delivery continues to evolve and expand, nurse educators must prepare advanced practice registered nursing (APRN) students to use telehealth technology safely, effectively, and confidently. The aims of this study were to describe APRN students' beliefs and confidence regarding the delivery of care via telehealth in their future practice. To evaluate these aims, a single group comparison study was conducted. APRN students received an intervention comprised of multimodal telehealth instruction, which involved the simulated application of telehealth with standardized patients. Students' beliefs regarding telehealth did not significantly change between the pre- and post-intervention, in which all areas were rated high pre-intervention. Students reported an increase in their perception and confidence post-intervention. Integration of telehealth into the APRN curriculum is essential to instil knowledge and confidence as healthcare technology advances.

Examining the Influence of Academic Degree Level on Health Care Providers' Perceptions of Interprofessional Collaboration: A pilot study

Purpose: Health care provider perceptions of interprofessional collaboration (IPC) have been well documented, however barriers to provider participation persist. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine differences in health care providers' perceptions of IPC based on the academic degree level.Methods: Licensed health care providers with faculty appointments at a four-year university-based setting were invited to participate in an electronic survey. Attitudinal questions in the survey instrument were based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Social Cognitive Theory and assessed perceptions, attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy toward IPC. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.Results: Respondents (n=179) included faculty in medicine (29%), dentistry (23%), nursing (13%), dental hygiene (11%), physical therapy (8%), and pharmacy (7%). Ninety percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that IPC is important for improving patient health outcomes. Respondents across all degree levels were significantly more comfortable taking recommendations on patient treatment from another health care provider with a doctoral degree as compared to a health care provider with an associate degree, with mean scores declining from 5.58 to 4.58 (p=0.000).Conclusion: While all respondents valued IPC in improving patient outcomes, their perceptions of other health care providers' level of academic degree may play a role in their willingness to truly collaborate with them. Despite an institution's positive culture of IPC, bias and stereotypes regarding the level of academic degree need to be addressed. Results indicate that while health care providers with lower academic degrees may be valuable contributors to the IPC team, their academic degree could be a barrier to their meaningful inclusion.

Faculty, Preceptor, and Students' Perceptions of the Need for Trauma-Informed Education: Recommendations for Implementation

BACKGROUND

The widespread physical, mental, and emotional health impacts of trauma are well established. Trauma-informed care (TIC) is an approach that uses knowledge about trauma and its effects to create safe care environments.

PURPOSE

Using a concurrent mixed-methods design, this study assessed faculty, preceptor, and students' perceptions about the need for TIC content in nursing education.

METHODS

Semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 faculty, and cross-sectional survey data were collected from a nonprobability sample of 99 nursing students at a large Midwestern university to evaluate the need for education on TIC.

RESULTS

Faculty and preceptors stressed the importance of education on TIC and discussed barriers and facilitators to implementation. Nursing students reported that it is important to learn about TIC, yet do not feel prepared to provide TIC.

CONCLUSIONS

The results illustrate the need for nursing content on TIC and provide recommendations for trauma-informed educational practices.

Trauma-informed education: Creating and pilot testing a nursing curriculum on trauma-informed care

BACKGROUND

Trauma is a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality. Trauma-informed care (TIC) provides a safe and supportive healthcare environment for patients who have experienced trauma. Educating healthcare providers improves knowledge, attitudes, and skills related to TIC. However, nursing programs do not systematically integrate TIC education.

PURPOSE

To create, implement, and evaluate nursing content on TIC at the graduate and undergraduate levels at one university.

METHOD

A pretest-posttest survey was utilized to assess changes in TIC knowledge, attitudes, and skills related to the delivery of content on trauma and TIC to students in three courses at one large Midwestern university in January 2019. Safety, acceptability, and transferability were also measured.

FINDINGS

The content improved nursing students' knowledge and skills related to providing TIC. Further, content on TIC is acceptable to both undergraduate and graduate students and is transferrable to non-nursing students.

DISCUSSION

The current study provides a trauma-informed nursing education model that is safe, appropriate, acceptable, and efficacious.

Adolescent vulnerability, sexual health, and the NP's role in health advocacy

PURPOSE

To describe adolescents as a vulnerable population with unique healthcare needs, especially in relation to their sexual risk-taking behaviors; and to explicate the necessity of nurse practitioners (NPs) advocating for youth-friendly services and policies to meet adolescents' sexual and reproductive healthcare needs.

DATA SOURCES

CINAHL, Medline, PsychInfo, and PsychArticle databases were searched to identify theoretical and empirical literature regarding adolescence, vulnerability, sexual health outcomes, barriers to accessing reproductive health services, what it means to be youth friendly, and health advocacy to meet the health needs of adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents' health needs may not be fully met in traditional healthcare settings. Lack of access to youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services increases adolescents' risks for poor health outcomes including sexually transmitted disease and unplanned pregnancy. Clinic, state, and national policies can create barriers for adolescents in obtaining sexual health services.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

NPs are philosophically and educationally prepared to be leaders in improving adolescent health outcomes. NPs can directly provide youth-friendly care as well as advocate for youth-friendly practices within their health system. In addition, NPs are well positioned to be leaders in advocating for state and national policies that improve adolescents' access to appropriate sexual and reproductive health care.