Registered Nurse To Bachelor Of Science In Nursing Research Articles

Avoiding bad connection: Orientation phone calls foster student-faculty connection in an RN-BSN program.

Studies show that the primary reasons registered nurses (RNs) withdraw from registered nurse to bachelor of science in nursing (RN-BSN) programs are related to the challenge of sustaining work and family obligations while in school and having unclear expectations. It has been shown that nontraditional students facing these types of challenges benefit from programs that give strong sense of faculty connection and orient students to coursework by providing clear information. The purpose of this project was to see if conducting one-on-one, script-guided orientation phone calls with individual students provided valuable programmatic information and established a sense of connection to faculty. Six RN-to-BSN faculty conducted a combined 108 orientation telephone calls to individual, newly enrolled online RN-to-BSN students. The purpose of the orientation was to introduce general program expectations required to successfully complete courses, and provide students with a sense of connectedness with faculty. Faculty developed and distributed a survey (3, 6-point Likert scale response items and 2 open-ended questions) to understand the degree to which RN-to-BSN students valued the orientation phone call. Ninety-four percent (n = 101) of participating students agreed that the RN-BSN program orientation phone call resulted in feeling a "sense of connectedness" with the online program faculty member. Additionally, 95% (n = 102) agreed that the orientation phone call provided them with the necessary information to support success in their first course within an RN-BSN online program. One-on-one orientation telephone calls provided valuable program overview information and the personal conversational format conveyed to remote students faculty availability and an enhanced sense of connectedness.

Implementing a Comfort Care Cart

The field of critical care nursing is multidimensional and filled with opportunities to bring change to current practice. In the United States, nearly 13% of patients (range, 8%-24%) admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) die during or after the admission (https://www.dartmouthatlas.org/interactive-apps/end-of-life-care/). Critical care nurses provide care at every stage of acute and chronic illness. Often this includes care of the patient and family at end of life, guided by palliative care principles supported by the national guidelines including the American Association of Critical Care (Dimens Crit Care Nurs 2017;36(2):110-115). While enrolled in the final registered nurse-to-bachelor of science in nursing (RN-to-BSN) course, students are challenged to complete a quality improvement (QI) project. The project leader noted a clinical problem in the ICU. The landmark Dying in America report, as well as published theories on comfort, and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Open School Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model were used as the theoretical foundation for a clinical practice change. This assignment was the impetus to provide items at the bedside using a comfort cart. Description of this nurse-driven pilot project initiative includes a replicable guide of implementing a comfort care cart, transforming the patient's room into a home-like atmosphere for the families at the bedside.

Measuring learning outcomes in a RN-to-BSN program

There are many tools for evaluating the learning outcomes measurements of the prelicensure nursing programs, but not for the postlicensure Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-to-BSN) programs (Farmer et al., 2017; Rodriguez, McNiesh, Goyal, & Apen, 2013). Despite the unprecedented growth in RN-to-BSN programs, including community college-based programs, there are limited learning outcome measurement tools available. This study presents the theoretical framework for designing, implementing, and evaluating an RN-to-BSN survey instrument.

Student Expectations of an RN-to-BSN Program: A Qualitative Analysis of Student and Faculty Perspectives.

The expansion of RN-to-BSN (registered nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing) education is addressing the need for nursing workforce development. However, little is known about what RNs expect from their RN-to-BSN education experience. Lack of understanding of student expectations could lead to student-perceived gaps in service quality. The aim of this study was to explore students’ expectations of the RN-to-BSN program compared with the faculty’s perceptions of what students expect. A descriptive qualitative research study using structured interviews was conducted at a school of nursing in the Midwest region of the United States. Student and faculty reports revealed the common themes of workload, flexibility, coursework, and support. Congruencies were noted in the areas of workload and coursework, and differences were identified in the areas of flexibility and support. Conducting a gap analysis can be a worthwhile endeavor for educators seeking to understand the needs of their student population. Acknowledging RN-to-BSN student expectations and addressing gaps between their expectations and reality early in the program could improve student perceptions of program quality.

Effects of Auricular Acupressure on Sleep Quality, Anxiety, and Depressed Mood in RN-BSN Students With Sleep Disturbance.

Students in 2-year registered nurse to Bachelor of Science in nursing (RN-BSN) programs usually work full-time and study part-time. Sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depression are known to be common health problems among these students.Prior research has described the effectiveness of auricular acupressure (AA) in reducing sleep disturbance and improving mood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of using a 4-week AA program that adheres to a magnetic pellet on the shenmen acupoint on sleep quality, anxiousness, and depressed moods in nursing students with sleep disturbance. This study used a one-group, quasi-experimental design with repeated measures. Eligible students were recruited from an RN-BSN program offered by a university in northern Taiwan, and all were currently experiencing sleep disturbance. A 4-week AA intervention that applied a magnetic pellet on the shenmen acupoint was used. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Beck Depression Inventory-II were used to measure sleep quality and mood outcomes each week during the 4-week intervention. Improvements in sleep quality, anxiety, and depressed moods were analyzed using the generalized estimating equation. Thirty-six participants with a mean age of 32 years were enrolled as participants. After adjusting for confounding factors, continuous and significant improvements in sleep quality, anxiety, and depressed mood (p < .05) were observed throughout the intervention, with 4-week improvements in sleep quality, anxiety, and depressed mood averaging 26.7%, 43.5%, and 25%, respectively. This study showed the efficacy of using a 4-week AA that applies a magnetic pellet on the shenmen acupoint in terms of improving sleep quality, anxiousness, and depressed mood in RN-BSN students experiencing sleep disturbances. Especially, the emotional mood of participants improved significantly as early as the first week. The 4-week AA for reducing sleep disturbance, and improving students' anxiety, and depressed moods may be applied on primary healthcare.

Essential content in RN-BSN programs.

Currently, there are more than 600 registered nurse to bachelor of science in nursing (RN-BSN) programs in the United States, and the number of students enrolled in them is growing quickly. This growth is at least partially in response to the Institute of Medicine's recent recommendation that 80% of RNs be BSN prepared by 2020. Proliferation of RN-BSN programs suggests a need to examine them more critically, as very little information is available in the nursing literature or through accrediting bodies regarding what courses and content they should include. This study was conducted to determine what directors of RN-BSN educational programs report as being "essential" content. The findings can be used as a guide for developing new programs or revising existing programs. They may also be used as a starting place for nursing educators to dialogue on what content and competencies are truly essential for BSN-prepared nurses and where education should be focused in RN-BSN programs.

RN-to-BSN Culture of Success Model: Promoting Student Achievement at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to explore registered nurse–to–bachelor of science in nursing (RN-to-BSN) students' views of facilitators and challenges associated with successful program completion. Twelve focus groups with RNs ( n = 109), enrolled in their final nursing course at a Hispanic-serving institution, were conducted over a 4-year period. One third of the focus group members were from underrepresented ethnic/racial groups (primarily Hispanic). Initial analysis identified similar themes among underrepresented and majority groups. Themes associated with student success were organized into 3 major categories: nursing program, student attributes, and competing student needs. For each category, themes were identified as follows: transparent curriculum, explicit belief in potential for student success, commitment to respect, individual resources, family support, employment considerations, interactions, requirements, learning, and value. To provide a visual representation of the themes, we developed the RN-to-BSN culture of success model. Findings support earlier studies demonstrating the importance of positive interactions between the academic program and the student. This model adds the following themes to the body of knowledge about RN-to-BSN education: explicit belief in potential student success and competing student needs. The findings have potential nursing curriculum implications for developing effective programs to promote RN-to-BSN student success.

Psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy‐Health Profession Students

Empathy is central to a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship. Valid and reliable Chinese instruments to assess nursing students' empathy are lacking. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Profession Students (C-JSE-HPS) among Taiwanese undergraduate nursing students. A convenience sample of 613 Taiwanese nursing students participated in the study. Content validity, construct validity, internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability were examined. Content validity was confirmed by a content validity index of 0.89. Factor analysis yielded three components of perspective taking, compassionate care and standing in the patient's shoes, explaining 57.14% of total variance. Women scored higher on empathy than men. Also, students who were enrolled in the 4-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) indicated greater empathy degrees than those in the 2-year Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-to-BSN). Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the test-retest reliability were 0.93 and 0.92 respectively. A C-JSE-HPS demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties to measure empathy of undergraduate nursing students. Educators may use this instrument to assess empathic qualities among students and design effective empathy-oriented nursing curricula to improve the quality of nursing care.