Final Academic Year Research Articles

Responding to disruptive behaviors in nursing: A longitudinal, quasi-experimental investigation of training for nursing students

ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to determine the impact of a cognitive rehearsal intervention on nursing students' self-efficacy to respond effectively to disruptive behaviors. DesignThis quantitative study was part of a longitudinal, quasi-experimental program of research. SettingInterventions were conducted on site at facilities provided by participating pre-licensure nursing programs. ParticipantsA total of 129 nursing students enrolled in their final academic year in three traditional format, pre-licensure nursing programs in the Midwestern United States were recruited to participate in this study. MethodsA cognitive rehearsal intervention was delivered to increase self-efficacy to respond to disruptive behaviors in the nursing workplace. Data were collected in writing immediately prior to and following the intervention. Three months later, data were collected in electronic format through a link sent by text message to their mobile phones. Study data were collected on the Self-efficacy to Respond to Disruptive Behaviors Survey, a 10-point Likert scale measuring self-efficacy and its dimensions: knowledge, previous behavioral engagement, affect, and motivation toward responding effectively to disruptive behaviors. Results129 students completed the surveys at pre and post-test; 109 completed the survey three months later. Measures of overall self-efficacy and knowledge (p < 0.000), and both measures of situational self-efficacy (p = 0.002; p = 0.020) remained significantly increased three months after the intervention, compared to pre-test. Past behaviors increased on post-test but returned to baseline at the three-month follow-up. The intervention did not significantly impact affect scores. Changes in motivation toward effective responses were mixed between measurements immediately following the intervention and three months later. ConclusionCognitive rehearsal interventions can increase self-efficacy to respond to disruptive behaviors with sustained effects up to three months later. Further research is needed to determine the effects of self-efficacy to respond once participants have entered the nursing workplace.

The relationship between critical thinking and emotional intelligence in nursing students: A longitudinal study

BackgroundEmotional Intelligence and critical thinking are regarded as important traits that nurses have which may influence the quality of their work including clinical decision-making and reasoning ability and adoption of evidence-based practice and practice-based knowledge. ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to investigate nursing students' critical thinking dispositions and emotional intelligence as an essential skill, over the course of the undergraduate nursing program. DesignA longitudinal design.Setting and Participants.The research study was conducted as a longitudinal design. The target group of this study consists of 182 students studying at the faculty of nursing. Asymmetrical cluster sampling method has been applied to select the sample group and all students in their first academic year were included in the study. MethodInformation Form, California Critical Thinking Disposition Scale and Emotional Intelligence Assessment Scale were used in order to collect data. The data was analyzed by using frequency, standard deviation, Kruskal Wallis and Bonferroni test. ResultsThere was no relationship between sub-dimensions of emotional intelligence respectively; awareness of emotions, empathy, social skills in the first academic year and critical thinking disposition and the end of academic year. A moderate correlation was found in the positive direction between the self-motivation at the beginning of the academic year and critical thinking disposition at the end of the final academic year. ConclusionIt is recommended that the nursing scholarship investigates the current issues on the subjects of emotional intelligence and critical thinking in detail, discuss different aspects of the subjects and debate over the criticisms. Briefly, the discussion should go beyond the scope of nursing and include different aspects.

A century of teaching veterinary parasitology in South Africa – Lessons learnt

Finding a healthy balance between classical parasitology and clinical veterinary medicine remains a challenge. Veterinary parasitology, of vital interest in sub-Saharan Africa, has always featured prominently at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria (founded in 1920). The faculty was initially an integral part of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute (OVI), and parasitology was taught by specialist researchers from OVI – a cult of total coverage prevailed. Presenting three separate courses – ectoparasitology, helminthology and protozoology – continued for many decades. From 1949 to 1973 an attendance course in veterinary parasitology was presented in the final academic year. This was revived in 1995, with a “refresher” in parasitology for final-year students (during their clinic rotation), including diagnostic parasite identification and problem-solving group discussions (prepared and led by students). Student contact time (including practical classes and assessments), initially 80 h/discipline/year, was gradually reduced. A species-based approach (introduced in 1998) had a major impact - an introductory course in general parasitology was followed by fragmented lectures in the subsequent 2 years on key parasitic diseases in the species-based subjects. In 2013 the curriculum reverted to being discipline-based, i.e. all aspects of parasitology and parasitic diseases covered during one academic year. The 3 sub-disciplines are included in a 2-semester course, with a total contact time of 100 h, which barely meets the minimum recommended by the WAAVP. Various lessons learnt are discussed.

مستوى أداء عضو الهيئة التدريسية بجامعة السودان للعلوم والتكنولوجيا في ضوء معايير الجودة من وجهة نظر الطلبة في الجامعة

Abstract This study aims to identify the real Faculty member's performance in Sudan University of Science and Technology from the students perspective in a accordance with National Standards to ensure the Higher education Quality. Moreover ,the paper attempts to detect the differences among the students' responses to the questionnaire ,depending on variables of gender and their (GPA). The study has been conducted during the first and the second semester of the academic year (2011-2012). The questionnaire includes the following basic domains:- 1) Skills of teaching . 2) Organizing teaching plan. 3) Personal traits. 4) The Faculty member's relation with his students. 5) Evaluation and tests. According to the National Standards Guidance of ensuring the Quality of Higher Education in relation to human resources , focusing on Faculty members ,the index VII states: (can the performance of faculty members be evaluated ). And who can participate in this evaluation ? A sample (250) students ,males and females in the final academic year ,were selected as target population to represent the total numbers; (2450) students. The findings of the study are summed up as follow: 1- The students' Evaluated of character's traits ,organizing teaching plans as were in the top of the echelons. 2- There was a general average trend among the students regarding ;teaching skills ;Faculty member's relation with his students ,continuous evaluation and tests. 3- There were no statistically significant differences among the Gender of variables of students and their opinions as related to the five domains . 4- There were statistically significant differences among the (GPA) of the students and their opinions as related to the five domains.

An exploratory study of the relationship between resilience, academic burnout and psychological health in nursing students

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between resilience, academic burnout and psychological health in a sample of nursing students.Method/Design: A descriptive and cross-sectional design was applied, with questionnaires as tools.Participants: The convenience sample consisted of 113 nursing students in their final academic year, who voluntarily participated in the study.Results: The results indicated a statistically significant relationship between resilience and both emotional exhaustion (r = −.55; p < .01) and psychological health (r = −.62; p < .01), as well as between all three dimensions of burnout and psychological health. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that high scores for resilience and low scores for emotional exhaustion predict better perceived psychological health [F(2.96) = 17.75; p < .001].Conclusions: Resilience was associated with lower levels of psychological discomfort and academic burnout. These findings highlight the importance of developing resilience and integrating it as an element in the nursing educational programme.

Salivary Stress Biomarkers-Are They Predictors of Academic AssessmentExams Stress?

Purpose: The present study was conducted on undergraduate dental students to asses and compare the levels of salivary stress biomarkers including cortisol, immulnoglobulin-A and α-amylase enzyme during periods of academic assessments and nonassessments and to relate these biomarkers to students' academic performance. Methods: Saliva samples were collected from undergraduate dental students; one before taking a final assessment exam and another during non-assessment period. Salivary stress biomarkers concentrations were obtained using Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Results: The level of salivary stress biomarkers including s-cortisol, α-amylase, and immulnoglobulin-A significantly increased during periods of assessment exams as compared to non-assessment (p=0,000, 0.001, and 0.003 consecutively). The study found a significant correlation between salivary α-amylase and academic performance especially among male students (p=0.008) and those in their final academic year (p=0.040). Conclusion: We conclude that the stress of academic assessment can markedly increase the level of salivary stress biomarkers. Students who show less academic performance generally depict higher levels of salivary α-amylase, especially male students and those in their final academic year.

Aches, Pains, Sprains, and Strains: Incorporating Online MP3 Media in Medical Screening for Patient Referral Physical Therapy Curricula

Background and Purpose. Online media player 3 (mp3) media has the potential to be a user-friendly method for improving student learning of medical screening and patient referral in physical therapy curricula. The purpose of this case report is to describe educational multimedia innovations used in the “Medical Screening for Patient Referral” course at the Mount Saint Mary's University (MSMU), Los Angeles Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program. Case Description. Physical therapist (PT) students in their final academic year accessed 3 consecutive years of archives from a monthly online national public radio (NPR: The Larry Meiller Show) mp3 media program titled “Aches, Pains, Sprains and Strains - Talk to Your Physical Therapist.” Based on information provided by the callers, PT students determined whether callers required further medical screening in a writing assignment. Upon completion of the assignment and classroom group discussions, a face-to-face videoconferencing between one of the PTs from the NPR program and PT students was conducted to discuss the challenge of screening callers for patient referral and relevance to clinical practice. Outcomes. The archived online mp3 media program was incorporated into a medical screening course with minimal faculty resources and positive student feedback. Overall, PTs on the mp3 media program noted 12.3% of 608 callers in 3 years required a physician referral. In addition, the majority of the callers were not examined by a physician prior to speaking with PTs. Discussion and Conclusion. An online mp3 media program that screens callers with aches, pains, sprains, and strains may provide an additional educational strategy to reinforce decision-making skills necessary for medical screening and patient referral in physical therapy curricula. Classroom discussion with PT students and faculty are warranted to discern medical screening cases from online mp3 media requiring a physician referral.

The development of the program of voluntary blood donation promotion in students population of the University of Belgrade

Given that in each country students represent the most progressive population group, as of 2001, the Blood Transfusion Institute of Serbia (BTIS) has been carrying the program of voluntary blood donation promotion and education of volunteers at the University of Belgrade (UB). In 2011, the BTIS intensified all activities at the UB. The aim of this study was to present activities performed from 2001 at the Blood Donors' Motivation Department (DMD) of the BTIS related with increasing the level of awareness on voluntary blood donation in the Belgrade students' population, enhancing their motivation to become voluntary blood donors (VBDs), increasing the number of blood donations at faculties of the UB, and increasing the number of blood donations in the UB students population compared with the total number of blood units collected by BTIS in Belgrade, with the emphasis on the year 2013. Initially, the applied methodology was based on encouraging students to donate blood through discussions and preparatory lectures, followed by organized blood drives. Appropriate selection of volunteers at each faculty was crucial. Besides their recognisable identity, they had to have remarkable communication skills and ability to positivly affect persons in their environment. The applied principle was based on retention of volunteers all through the final academic year, with the inclusion of new volunteers each year and 1,000 preparatory lectures on the annual basis. The activities were realized using two Facebook profiles, SMS messages and continuous notification of the public through the media. There was an increase in the average number of students in blood drives at the faculties from 2011, when the average number of the students per blood drive was 39, followed by 43 in 2012 and 46 in 2013. The number of students who donated blood in 2013 increased by 21.3% compared with 2012 data. The applied concept highly contributed to generation and retention of future VBDs willing to regularly donate blood in the coming years, with a minimum risk of transmission of transfusion transmissible diseases markers.

Project Based Learning Methodologies Applied to Large Groups of Students: Airplane Design in a Concurrent Engineering Context

This article presents a college course experience taught in the final academic year of the Aerospace Engineering program at the University of Seville, in which students design an airplane taking the specification submitted by the instructor, following the Project Based Learnig (PBL) methodology. Students are organized into groups forming “companies” that have to defend their proposed design with the “client". The article presents the usual steps of the PBL methodology showing the feasibility of applying this methodology to large workgroups.The complete design of an aircraft is the result of a compromise between knowledge, experience and teamwork in a collaborative environment. The students need to understand that each of the different areas are necessary pieces of the larger puzzle of aircraft design, and they need to find the key that solves this puzzle. The main objective of this course it to provide instructions to complete that puzzle by introducing concurrent engineering and PBL methodologies.

Nursing students' prosocial motivation: does it predict professional commitment and involvement in the job?

This study investigated how prosocial motivation reported by nursing students in their final year of academic studies relates to career commitment and job involvement three years after graduation. Most studies investigating nurses' prosocial motivation for choosing the nursing profession examine only their prosocial motivation for entering nursing training; they do not investigate whether this motivation is associated with job involvement or commitment to the profession. A longitudinal survey design was used. The present longitudinal study included 160 nurses. In their final academic year of spring 2007, the nurses received a questionnaire about their motivation for entering nursing. Three years after graduation, spring 2010, they received another questionnaire about their level of job involvement and career commitment. The results showed that prosocial motivation measured in their last academic year was related to career commitment three years after graduation, but unrelated to job involvement. The results indicated that prosocial motivation is important in identifying with the profession but not necessarily for personal involvement in the job. The study gives important knowledge on how a commonly reported motivation for entering nursing relates to the nurses' attitudes about their work life.

Competence Development for Cohabitation in the Primary Education Degree: The Students’ Voice

Learning centers, in their role as socializing agents, among their priorities include the empowerment of interpersonal relationships and conflict resolution competences to boost cohabitation inside and outside the classroom. Therefore, the development of certain competences in order to renew and improve them in the community scene proves to be essential in the education of those professionals that will actively be part of learning centers. In this paper we intend to discover and compare the development, command, and relevance of the primary education degree competences related to school cohabitation through the student's point of view in their final academic year.

The impact of individual factors on the academic attainment of Chinese and UK students in higher education

This study investigates the academic performance differences between Chinese and UK students in a UK university using two undergraduate cohorts by uniquely exploring academic performance patterns among Chinese and UK students across a full degree study period (3 or 4 years). The results reveal a dramatic drop in performance among Chinese students from year 1 to year 2 and increasingly significant performance gaps between Chinese and UK students in the final academic year by gender, prior academic performance, degree programme, prior academic qualification and enrolment year. Among Chinese students, their final degree mark is not influenced by gender, prior academic performance, prior academic qualification or degree programme. The distinctive nature of Chinese students in higher education is clearly demonstrated here and such uniqueness warrants further work focusing on learning approaches, curriculum design and the contents of assessments, in the context of academic achievement.

Case-Based Learning in Athletic Training

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Executive Committee for Education has emphasized the need for proper recognition and management of orthopaedic and general medical conditions through their support of numerous learning objectives and the clinical integrated proficiencies. These learning objectives and integrated clinical proficiencies are designed to prepare athletic training students to become competent professionals. In fact, the educational competencies and integrated proficiencies related to orthopaedic clinical assessment and diagnosis are just one of the vital links in becoming either a successful or an unsuccessful athletic trainer. However, this success is not accomplished overnight; rather, it is accomplished gradually over time, as students progress through the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.

Reflective ability and moral reasoning in final year medical students: A semi-qualitative cohort study

Background: Moral reasoning and reflective ability are important concepts in medical education. To date, the association between reflective ability and moral reasoning in medical students has not been measured.Aim: This study tested the hypotheses that, amongst final year medical students, (1) moral reasoning and reflective ability improve over time and (2) positive change in reflective ability favourably influences moral reasoning.Methods: With Institutional Ethical approval, 56 medical students (of a class of 110) participated fully both at the beginning and end of the final academic year. Reflective ability and moral reasoning were assessed at each time using Sobral's reflection-in-learning scale (RLS), Boenink's overall reflection score and by employing Kohlberg's schema for moral reasoning.Results: The most important findings were that (1) Students’ level of reflective ability scores related to medicine decreased significantly over the course of the year, (2) students demonstrated a predominantly conventional level of moral reasoning at both the beginning and end of the year, (3) moral reasoning scores tended to decrease over the course of the year and (4) RLS is a strong predictor of change in moral reasoning over time.Conclusion: This study confirms the usefulness of Sobral's RLS and BOR score for evaluating moral development in the context of medical education. This study further documents regression and levelling in the moral reasoning of final year medical students and a decrease in reflective ability applied in the medical context. Further studies are required to determine factors that would favourably influence reflective ability and moral reasoning among final year medical students.

Effect of faculty-mediated interventions on pharmacy students’ pursuit of postgraduate training

The influence of faculty-mediated interventions on the pursuit of postgraduate training (PGT) by pharmacy students was studied. Three weeks before graduation, members of the class of 2005 (control group) at a Florida pharmacy school completed a questionnaire assessing their understanding of PGT opportunities. Members of the class of 2006 (intervention group) were exposed to faculty-mediated interventions during their final academic year of pharmacy school. The interventions consisted of informational pamphlets, a PGT booth during the school's career day, and PGT-related dinner programs. These students were surveyed before and after the interventions. Seventy-three percent (120/165) of control-group students and 63% (132/211) of intervention-group students completed the survey. Of the control students, 14% (15/108) reported plans to enter PGT after graduation. Sixteen percent (21/132) of intervention-group students reported such plans; the difference was not significant. All faculty-mediated interventions were reported to be helpful to students in making their postgraduation plans. Analysis of the combined groups suggested that students' interaction with faculty and residents during advance practice experiences positively affected pursuit of PGT. Students who received faculty- mediated interventions designed to inform them about PGT were not significantly more likely to pursue such training than students who did not receive the interventions. However, students reported the information to be helpful.

Oral Health Knowledge and Self-Reported Practices among a Sample of University Students in Jordan

This cross-sectional survey gathered data on dental health knowledge from 21- to 23-year-old university students in Jordan, including self-reported dental health behaviors and factors affecting regular dental attendance. A representative random sample of 806 students in their final academic year was surveyed. A self-administered questionnaire resulted in a 93.2% response rate. The majority (51.8%) were able to correctly identify the definition of dental plaque and were aware of the periodontal diseases which could be prevented by brushing and flossing. Nonetheless, there are more participants who incorrectly believed that fluoride in toothpaste cleans and whitens teeth (78% and 65%, respectively), and only 7% recognized that fluoride can heal initial cavities. Female students have a significantly higher level of oral health knowledge than their male counterparts ( p &lt; 0.001). Tooth brushing at least once and twice a day was claimed by 57.8% and 14.1% respectively. Only 10.4% spend more than two minutes for tooth brushing which is performed before going to bed by 56.2% of the study population. Thirty-three percent of male students and 36% of female students went to the dental clinic at some time during the last year and were more likely to receive dental extraction (41.1%) or dental filling (32.2%) at their last visit to the dentist. The mass media (TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines) were found to be the number one source of dental health information while formal academic courses and extracurricular activities at the university came at the bottom of the list of the six potential sources for health awareness information. Appropriate recommendations aimed at raising the oral health awareness and increasing the demand for dental health services among university students are suggested.

Differences in attitudes among medical students towards psychiatry in one English university.

Responses of 146 medical students in the final academic year on the Attitudes Towards Psychiatry Questionnaire were obtained before and after the clerkship in psychiatry. While there were no significant differences between the 57 men and 89 women, students' image of psychiatrists did not change but several initially held attitudes about psychiatric practice and training improved following the clerkship.