Nursing

Flanders, S. A. and K. A. Baker (2019). “Regulation and accreditation of pre-licensure education of registered nurses: a scoping review protocol.” JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep Nov 26. [Epub ahead of print].

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OBJECTIVE: The objective of the scoping review is to examine and map the literature that reports outcomes of the regulation and accreditation of pre-licensure education of registered nurses (RNs). INTRODUCTION: Pre-licensure nursing education is the basic education that a person must complete before becoming an RN. Regulation and accreditation of nursing education vary by country and may vary within a country. The intended purpose of regulation and accreditation is to protect the public and ensure the quality of education programs; however, there is a gap in published evidence on the outcomes of such regulation and accreditation. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Published and unpublished studies worldwide of any pre-licensure RN students or any pre-licensure graduates of RN programs will be considered. Concepts of interest for the proposed review are reported outcomes related to regulatory activities or accreditation requirements affecting any pre-licensure education programs preparing students to become RNs. The context is pre-licensure regulation or accreditation of RN education in any country or setting. This review will consider quantitative research designs, qualitative research designs, economic evidence evaluations, and textual evidence/gray literature. METHODS: Databases to be searched include CINAHL Complete, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Directory of Open Access Journals, Education Source, Health Policy Reference Center, MEDLINE Complete, Epistemonikos, JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports and Ovid Nursing. Articles published in English will be included. No date limits will be set. Selected studies will be reviewed and data extracted by two independent reviewers. Extracted data will be placed in a table and synthesized in narrative format.

Rossler, K. L., K. Hardin, M. Hernandez-Leveille and K. Wright (2018). “Newly licensed nurses’ perceptions on transitioning into hospital practice with simulation-based education.” Nurse Educ Pract 33: 154-158.

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Highlights: 1) Transition into practice with simulation-based education was explored; 2) Themes of Gaining Comfort with Relationships and Talking It Out were evident; 3) Newly licensed registered nurses need guidance with role socialization; 4) The simulated environment encouraged the development of collective competence.

Rossler, K. L., G. Sankaranarayanan and A. Duvall (2018). “Acquisition of Fire Safety Knowledge and Skills With Virtual Reality Simulation.” Nurse Educ. May 25. [Epub ahead of print].

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Prelicensure nursing students seeking to enter perioperative nursing need preparatory fire safety knowledge and skills training to participate as a member of an operating room (OR) team. This pilot study examined the effectiveness of the Virtual Electrosurgery Skill Trainer (VEST) on OR fire safety skills among prelicensure nursing students. An experimental pretest-posttest design was used in this study. Twenty nursing students were randomized to a control or an intervention group. Knowledge and skills acquisition of OR fire safety were assessed. There were no statistically significant findings in knowledge for either group. Fisher exact test demonstrated significant relationships between the skills performance criteria of following emergency procedures for a fire and demonstrating PASS (pull-aim-squeeze-sweep) technique (P = .001). Academic and hospital educators may consider incorporating virtual reality simulation to teach fire safety education or reinforce general fire safety practices to nursing students and novice nurses.

Chamblee, T. B., S. Smith, M. H. Shuster and K. Haight (2017). “Looking beyond the first impression: Malnutrition in the hospital setting.” Clin Nurse Spec 31(5): 235-236.

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In the United States, the increased focus on cost and quality of care is bringing the issue of malnutrition in hospitalized patients to the forefront. To address this issue, in 2014, the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) convened a task force to investigate malnutrition and recommend key clinical nurse specialist (CNS) practices that focus on promoting nutrition and/or preventing malnutrition among hospitalized adult patients. In addition, the task force was charged with clarifying the role of the CNS as a member of the interdisciplinary clinical team related to assessment, planning, and management of the nutrition care of malnourished hospitalized adults or those at risk for developing malnutrition.

Smith, S. H. (2017). “Using albumin and prealbumin to assess nutritional status.” Nursing 47(4): 65-66.

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To better understand why the role of these lab values in the assessment of nutritional status has changed, first consider some basic physiology about proteins. Albumin is the most abundant plasma protein. Its essential role is to regulate passage of water and solutes through the capillaries by maintaining colloidal phase response occurs as a result of inflammation. Inflammation and illness increase vascular permeability, and hepatic protein synthesis is reprioritized. Synthesis of C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, calcitonin, and other proteins also occurs. As a result, albumin and prealbumin levels are reduced, not necessarily from poor nutrition but because of acute pathophysiologic events. Consequently, measuring serum albumin and prealbumin levels may not give clinicians an accurate picture of the patient’s nutritional status.