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Background: Undergraduate nursing students are at a high risk for mental health challenges, suicidal behaviors, and risk factors. High stress levels and personal and academic pressure may lead to mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder in undergraduate nursing students. Nursing students experience barriers to mental health such as lack of support, academic burnout, and stigma., Aim: This paper presents the components for a comprehensive suicide prevention plan that nursing faculty can implement into pre-licensure nurse education., Method: The acrostic "PLAN TO TALK" can be used to create a comprehensive suicide prevention plan that can be implemented by undergraduate nursing faculty. "PLAN" emphasizes creating a trusting environment for students. "TO" focuses on active involvement in suicide prevention education and awareness. "TALK" suggests strategies for faculty to implement within their curriculum., Conclusion: Addressing nurse suicide during pre-licensure nurse education is essential. By implementing the "PLAN TO TALK" strategy, faculty can create a safe environment, equip faculty and students with suicide prevention resources and crisis intervention skills, and contribute to the overall mental health of students., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this paper, we review the progress on developing sustainability-related content in the Bachelor of Nursing curriculum in Aotearoa New Zealand and engage with Planetary Health. Sustainability in nurse education is explored and the concept of sustainability-practising graduates is promoted. THE ISSUE: We have seen ambivalence towards sustainability persisting amongst nurse educators and students, and sustainability-related content discarded. Despite this, we continue to recognise that sustainability is closely related to climate change which is the greatest threat to planetary, human, and animal health and as such is an essential component of nurse education and practice. Never has there been a timelier reminder of nurses' responsibility to recognise we are ideally placed to contribute to, and help lead, the health response to climate change and champion sustainability. A SYSTEMS-THINKING APPROACH: This response includes a systems-thinking approach to understanding climate change and the impact on health, nursing's responsibility to address climate change, promote health, and respond to health needs. As we revise our current Bachelor of Nursing curriculum, it is timely to review how our sustainability content and thinking has progressed since our previous review in 2017. We are mindful of the need to continue championing this topic, ensuring it is situated at the forefront of nurse education. We propose that a gradual and purposeful shift towards a Planetary Health focus will help to counter the sustainability fatigue and ambivalence we have noted amongst our colleagues and students, ensuring our revised Bachelor of Nursing curriculum is future proofed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests that could influence this paper. Jean Ross was the second author in Collins et al. (2018) cited in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study assesses changes and challenges within the nursing curriculum in the Brazilian context, focusing on addressing contemporary professional and societal demands., Design: A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to identify and analyze the changes in Brazil's nursing curricula over time., Data Sources: Articles published between 1987 and 2023 were selected from Scopus and Web of Science databases for the systematic review., Review Methods: A hybrid review approach was employed, integrating Systematic Literature Review (SLR), Bibliometrics, and metanarrative. The study adhered to the SPAR-4-SLR (Scientific Procedures and Rationale for Systematic Literature Reviews) protocol, involving three main stages: (i) aggregation, (ii) organization, and (iii) evaluation. The analysis primarily focused on identifying emerging trends and evaluating curricular changes over the specified timeframe., Results: Analysis of the selected literature identified four principal thematic groups that emerged during the review period: (i) longitudinal curriculum assessment, (ii) biological and health sciences, (iii) human and social sciences, and (iv) nursing sciences. Noteworthy trends included the integration of emerging topics like mental health and care for victims of violence, coupled with a notable increase in emphasis on transformative and competency-based education. Nevertheless, significant gaps were observed in the existing literature, particularly concerning the absence of perspectives from students and recent graduates and limited research on vulnerabilities within the curriculum structure., Conclusions: This study underscores the imperative for flexible and adaptable nursing curricula that effectively address Brazil's diverse regional and social realities. It emphasizes the significance of adopting a holistic and inclusive approach to nursing education, preparing professionals to confront contemporary health challenges in a nation characterized by extensive cultural diversity and vast geographical dimensions. Further research and input from students and recent graduates are indispensable to rectify the gaps and ensure the continuous evolution of nursing education in Brazil., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests or personal relationships that could influence the findings reported in this paper. Hence, the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To examine and consolidate literature regarding the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing ChatGPT in healthcare education and research., Design/methods: We searched seven electronic databases (PubMed/Medline, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, and Web of Science) from November 2022 until September 2023. This scoping review adhered to Arksey and O'Malley's framework and followed reporting guidelines outlined in the PRISMA-ScR checklist. For analysis, we employed Thomas and Harden's thematic synthesis framework., Results: A total of 100 studies were included. An overarching theme, "Forging the Future: Bridging Theory and Integration of ChatGPT" emerged, accompanied by two main themes (1) Enhancing Healthcare Education, Research, and Writing with ChatGPT, (2) Controversies and Concerns about ChatGPT in Healthcare Education Research and Writing, and seven subthemes., Conclusions: Our review underscores the importance of acknowledging legitimate concerns related to the potential misuse of ChatGPT such as 'ChatGPT hallucinations', its limited understanding of specialized healthcare knowledge, its impact on teaching methods and assessments, confidentiality and security risks, and the controversial practice of crediting it as a co-author on scientific papers, among other considerations. Furthermore, our review also recognizes the urgency of establishing timely guidelines and regulations, along with the active engagement of relevant stakeholders, to ensure the responsible and safe implementation of ChatGPT's capabilities. We advocate for the use of cross-verification techniques to enhance the precision and reliability of generated content, the adaptation of higher education curricula to incorporate ChatGPT's potential, educators' need to familiarize themselves with the technology to improve their literacy and teaching approaches, and the development of innovative methods to detect ChatGPT usage. Furthermore, data protection measures should be prioritized when employing ChatGPT, and transparent reporting becomes crucial when integrating ChatGPT into academic writing., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s)., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

In this paper we propose that the concepts guiding concept-based curricula should be threshold knowledge concepts. We briefly discuss some of the hurdles of current concept-based curricular designs and describe how the concepts themselves, paradoxically, might perpetuate the continued emphasis on content in nursing courses. Until now, threshold concept theory has not been part of the mainstream conversation about concept-based curricula. Threshold concepts act as portals to professional identity development and are recognized by their troublesome and transformative potential to enhance knowledge acquisition and change worldviews. This feature differentiates them from the core concepts often described within concept-based curriculum literature. The identification of threshold concepts in existing nursing courses might help structure curricular revision with the goal of enhancing transfer of learning and decreasing faculty resistance to the concept-based curricular approach., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: There has been a global call for a more collaborative workforce to combat the complex healthcare challenges experienced in societies. As a result, health professions education has amended their curricula to include interprofessional education as a strategy to allow students to learn from, with and about each other across disciplines during their training. It is imperative to review the learning environment of these interprofessional modules. To determine the learning environment for the acquisition of the interprofessional core competencies, there needs to be an understanding of the changes to the module, and the impact it has on student performance over a selected period., Objective: This study aimed to determine how have the changes to the material dimension of the learning environment for first-year students in an IPE curriculum promoted student learning., Methods: A document analysis research design was used to extract data over a two-year period. An adaptation of the Context, Input, Process, Product and Outcomes evaluation model was to determine how changes to the learning environment of students registered for a first year interprofessional module, promoted learning., Results: The findings reveal that curriculum changes made to the location and setting can yield improvements in the development and enhancement of the selected interprofessional education core competencies., Conclusion: This study concludes that in alignment with the learning styles of the 21st century student, curriculum development should include an enhanced form of deeper learning in the light of the fourth industrial revolution., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Communication errors are a leading cause of adverse events in the acute and ambulatory healthcare setting. We now understand that communication within and across professions and patients is a complex achievement with numerous barriers, including cultural, educational, and structural hurdles. Improvisation has been identified as an approach with great potential to develop communication skills for multi-disciplinary healthcare students., Objective: We report on the interdisciplinary conceptualization, operationalization, and effectiveness testing of a novel educational healthcare improvisation communication workshop., Design: Prospective pre-post test experimental., Setting: University of California, Irvine., Participants: Total of 158 nursing, medicine, and population health students., Methods: We conceptualized improvisation through the constructs of presence, trust, and acceptance to develop workshop activities, then used the Kirkpatrick Learning Framework to test the workshop's feasibility, learning outcomes, and preliminary behavior changes., Results: Participants rated the feasibility of the workshop highly. Pre-post workshop effectiveness testing showed significant increases in communication and collaboration competencies. Qualitative data suggested workshop activities were powerful learning modality because they were premised by introducing their conceptual underpinning and providing tangible examples via the video and debrief. Qualitative data also suggested preliminary behavior changes post workshop., Conclusions: We have developed and tested a communication teaching modality with strong conceptual grounding and empirical evidence of its efficacy in engaging healthcare students in collaborative communication, with documented evidence of learning that health educators can use in their courses. Future research is needed (and currently underway) to generate the evidence that the workshop can be adopted and sustained within a multi-school curriculum, which includes testing the feasibility of cross-school curriculum logistics (i.e. cross-listing the course to meet different school registrar policies, teaching workload sharing across faculty, etc.), as well as continued effectiveness testing., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

For Nurse Education in the UK, pre-existing challenges already included the need to develop curricula to align with new Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) educational standards; and increased numbers entering pre-registration Nurse Education programmes in order to address workforce deficits. Further disruption due to COVID-19, forced Nurse Educators overnight to rapidly adopt and to innovatively use current and emerging technologies to maintain engagement with, and to continue delivering education to, students during the pandemic. Although the full extent of these enforced changes is unknown at this time, this paper argues that online delivery is a necessary and inevitable transition, addressing some of these pre-existing challenges, and that the pandemic has hastened this. It is therefore crucial that Nurse Educators lead the way in navigating this period of uncertainty, viewing the pandemic as an opportunity to plan for the future, to establish how online teaching and learning can continue to benefit Nurse Education in a post-COVID-19 world, not just in the UK, but across the globe., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: In the Arab and Islamic world, data on palliative and end-of-life (PEOL) care education are minimal., Objectives: The current study's primary aim was to identify what PEOL care education is delivered to undergraduate nurses in Egypt and the teaching strategies used to deliver this education. A secondary aim was to assess the feasibility of using online surveys in nursing research in Egypt., Design: This is a cross-sectional survey., Settings: Ten randomly selected faculties of nursing across Egypt., Participants: Nursing educators who were working at three academic departments; Medical-Surgical Nursing, Critical Care Nursing, and Gerontological Nursing; in the participating faculties., Methods: After face-to-face recruitment of participants, data were collected using an online questionnaire with an adjunctive use of paper questionnaires. The questionnaire assessed participants' and courses' characteristics, the inclusion of the PEOL Care Index content in the surveyed courses, and teaching strategies used to deliver this content., Results: A total of 95 nursing educators were involved in the current study (response rate = 86.4%). All participants were female, and 87.4% responded via online questionnaires. The overall coverage of the PEOL care content ranged from 76% to 100%. End-of-life care and spiritual care were the least frequently reported PEOL care topics; on average, by 19.6% and 36% of the educators, respectively. Lecture was the most frequently used teaching strategy, followed by clinical field practice (mean percentages of utilization: 77.7% and 53.6%, respectively)., Conclusions: In Egypt, most PEOL care topics are covered in undergraduate nursing curricula. Yet, educating these topics is predominantly theoretical. End-of-life care and spiritual care are the least frequently covered PEOL care topics. Online surveys are feasible for multisite curricular assessment, and this feasibility may be augmented by face-to-face recruitment of participants and adjunctive use of paper questionnaires., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Attrition rates among nursing students are a global issue, and a possible factor in current nursing shortages. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine why students drop out of nursing programmes. The limitations of previous studies have included overly small sample sizes, being largely descriptive, and not focusing on attrition as an outcome. The aim of this study is to review the issue of attrition among undergraduate nursing students in relation to curriculum design. Five electronic databases, namely CINAHL, Medline, Cochrane Library, British Nursing Index, and PsycINFO, were adopted. Using the Population-Intervention-Comparison-Outcome model, search terms were identified, such as 'student nurse', 'undergraduate programme', 'curriculum design', and 'attrition'. Mixed Method Appraisal Tools were used to evaluate the methodological quality of the identified research papers. A total of 16 publications were reviewed and four themes were identified: pre-enrolment criteria for recruiting nursing students; curriculum content; clinical placement-related policies; and student support services. Institutional-level risk factors that could be reduced were identified, including academic failure, poor clinical performance, stress, and unrealistic expectations of nursing. This review gives insights into how a curriculum for undergraduate nursing programmes can be designed that will engage students and increase the nursing workforce., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Health care professionals are frequently one of the first points of contact in episodes of intimate partner violence (IPV). This paper presents qualitative data from a larger research project on IPV-related content in undergraduate curriculum for Australian health care professionals. IPV is a serious public health issue with findings from this paper supporting the proposition that key health care workers such as nurses, midwives and paramedics are ill prepared to respond to the challenges it poses., Objective: This study sought to better understand the barriers and facilitators to the inclusion of IPV-related content into undergraduate curricula for nurses, midwives and paramedics., Design: A multiple-phase, mixed method case study design was the overarching research framework., Setting: This is the first national study on the topic in Australia., Participants and Methods: Guided conversations with 18 academics teaching into undergraduate nursing, midwifery and paramedicine courses across Australia., Results and Conclusions: There is a paucity of IPV-related content, with curriculum crowding being a major barrier to its inclusion. Additionally, the qualitative data suggests that IPV is not accepted by academics as being central to the role of a health care professional generally, and nursing more specifically. When contrasted to the emergent needs of those who experience IPV the findings from this study suggest that greater priority should be placed on increasing IPV-related content and academic's capability to teach that content., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: This study explores patterns of writing self-efficacy fluctuation across three academic years in a baccalaureate nursing program. The goal was to assess if writing self-efficacy predicted program grades., Design: Longitudinal exploratory design., Setting: Three-year accelerated nursing program in a college setting in Canada., Participants: Follow-up cohort included 49 students; 32 (65.3%) synchronous in program progression and 17 (34.7%) had become asynchronous between first and third year., Methods: Data was collected five times between August 2013 and May 2016 at program admission, the start of their discipline-specific first-year writing course, the end of the writing course, start of third-year, and the end of third-year. Variables assessed included writing self-efficacy (two measures), writing anxiety, entrance degrees of reading power (DRP) scores, final college cumulative grade point average (GPA), and grades earned on first, second, and third-year papers., Results: Writing self-efficacy statistically significantly improved from the start of the nursing program to the finish (p < .001). Writing self-efficacy fluctuated decreasing from post first-year writing course to the start of the third-year, returning to or exceeding end of writing course levels by the end of the third year. Students who progressed normally through the program (synchronous) were academically stronger (paper grades, DRP, GPA scores) and had higher writing self-efficacy scores than asynchronous students. Using hierarchical regression, DRP scores and synchronous/asynchronous status in the program made a larger contribution to the prediction of final program GPA and paper grades, while the inclusion of writing self-efficacy in the models made a minor contribution to overall variance., Conclusions: Writing self-efficacy will fluctuate based on context and complexity of writing demanded in academic programs. Second and third-year students require continued support with writing beyond an introductory course. Programs should attend to developing reading comprehension in students as part of their across-the-curriculum writing plans., (Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Critical care nurses have been involved in Rapid Response Teams since their inception, particularly in medically led RRTs, known as Medical Emergency Teams. It is assumed that critical care skills are required to escalate care for the deteriorating ward patient. However, evidence to support critical care nurses' involvement in METs is anecdotal. Currently, little is known about the educational requirements for nurses involved in RRT or METs., Objectives: We aimed to identify and describe what nurses involved in a MET consider the most vital areas of knowledge and skill when delivering care to the deteriorating ward patient., Methods: An exploratory descriptive design was used and data was collected at a session of the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Rapid Response Team (ANZICS-RRT) Conference held at The Gold Coast, Australia in July 2015. All conference delegates were eligible to take part. Conference delegates totalled 293; 194 nurses, 89 doctors and 10 allied health professionals. Data collection took place in three phases, over a 90-minute period. First, demographic data were collected from all participants at the start of data collection. These data were collected using paper-based surveys. Second, extended response surveys; that is, paper-based surveys that asked open-ended questions to elicit free text responses, were used to collect participants' individual responses to the question: "What are the specific theoretical knowledge, skills and behavioural attributes required in a curricula to prepare nurses to be high functioning members of a MET?" Demographic, educational and work characteristics were descriptively analysed using SPSS (version 22). Participants perceptions of what knowledge, skills and attributes are required for nurses to recognise and respond to clinical deterioration were thematically analysed., Results: Participants were predominantly female (88.3%, n = 91) with 54.4% (n = 56) holding a Bachelor of Nursing. Participants had a median of 20 years (IQR 16) experience as RNs, and a median of 14 years (IQR 13) experience in critical care. Participants formed part of METs frequently, with nearly half the cohort seeing clinically deteriorating patients more than once per day (37.9%, n = 33) or daily (10%, n = 9). Thematic analysis of survey responses revealed four main themes desired in Rapid Response Team Curricula: Clinical Deterioration Theory, Clinical Deterioration Skills, Rapid Response System Governance, and Professionalism and Teamwork., Conclusions: We suggest that a curriculum that educates nurses on the specific requirements of assessing, managing and evaluating all aspects of clinical deterioration is now required., (Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The purpose of this integrative review was to identify and synthesize key concepts that inform curriculum which increase nursing students' competence, skills and strategies when addressing bullying. Specifically, the authors sought to examine the concepts informing educational interventions, skills, and strategies, which addressed the bullying of nursing students., Design: Integrative literature review., Data Sources: A search of the electronic databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, ERIC, PsycINFO, Proquest, and PubMed was conducted in January 2016 using search terms such as 'bully' 'nursing student' 'education' and 'curriculum'., Review Methods: Articles were screened for relevance and eligibility and extracted onto a table. Critical appraisal was conducted using multiple tools. Papers were analysed using constant comparison and concept mapping., Results: 61 articles were included in the synthesis. Concepts identified included: empowerment, socialization, support, self-awareness, awareness about bullying, collaboration, communication, and self-efficacy. All concepts linked to empowerment. Social Cognitive Theory was used by many studies. Active teaching methods which gave students opportunities to practice skills were the most effective., Conclusions: Empowered nursing students have the potential to address bullying more effectively and competently. Empowerment of nursing students is a powerful concept that educators must consider when developing curriculum and educational interventions to address bullying., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: An inclusive health curriculum within undergraduate and continuing professional development programmes (CPD) should include issues related to people whom identify as LGBT+., Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to examine the education and training requirements of undergraduate students and health professionals regarding the inclusion of LGBT+ health issues., Design: A systematic review of the available published empirical studies., Data Sources: A systematic literature search was undertaken of the following databases: CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase and Sociological Abstracts. All papers reviewed were from the years 2007 to 2017 and written in English., Review Methods: Three research questions informing the literature review were: (i) What are the education and training requirements of undergraduate students and health professionals regarding the health needs of LGBT+ people? (ii) What are the approaches utilized in the education and training of undergraduate students and health professionals regarding the health needs of LGBT+ people? (iii) What are the best practice examples of the education and training of undergraduate students and health professionals? Following the application of definitive criteria, 22 papers were included in the review. Quality appraisal and data extraction was undertaken by the two authors., Results: The 22 papers were reviewed in detail in the final data analysis and synthesis where four main themes were identified: (1) Cultural competence and inclusivity. (2) Existing knowledge of LGBT+ health-related issues. (3) Curriculum developments and outcomes. (4) Evidence of best practice in education delivery., Conclusion: The review highlights the importance of the inclusion of LGBT+ health-related issues within the health curriculum and continuing professional development programmes and the implications for education and training, clinical practice and research., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Despite the increase in simulators at nursing schools and the high expectations regarding simulation for nursing education, the unique features of integrating simulation-based education into the curriculum are unclear., Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the curriculum development process of simulation-based educational interventions in nursing in Korea., Design: Integrative review of literature used., Data Sources: Korean Studies Information Services System (KISS), Korean Medical Database (KMbase), KoreaMed, Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), and National Digital Library (NDL)., Methods: Comprehensive databases were searched for records without a time limit (until December 2016), using terms such as "nursing," "simulation," and "education." A total of 1006 studies were screened. According to the model for simulation-based curriculum development (Khamis et al., 2016), the quality of reporting on the curriculum development was reviewed., Results: A total of 125 papers were included in this review. In three studies, simulation scenarios were made from easy to difficulty levels, and none of the studies presented the level of learners' proficiency. Only 17.6% of the studies reported faculty development or preparation. The inter-rater reliability was presented in performance test by 24 studies and two studies evaluated the long-term effects of simulation education although there was no statistically significant change in terms of publication years., Conclusion: These findings suggest that educators and researchers should pay more attention to the educational strategies to integrate simulation into nursing education. It could contribute to guiding educators and researchers to develop a simulation-based curriculum and improve the quality of nursing education research., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Human trafficking is a crime resulting in serious negative health outcomes for the victims. To provide optimal care, thus improving health outcomes, healthcare providers must be able to identify victims as they seek care for acute and chronic physical illness, communicable diseases, sexually transmitted infections, and mental health disorders (Lederer and Wetzel, 2014; Oram et al., 2012). Unfortunately, healthcare providers lack appropriate knowledge of clues that would lead to victim identification. This may result in a failure to identify victims (Beck et al., 2015; Ross et al., 2015; Konstantopoulos et al., 2013; Chisolm-Straker et al., 2012). Increasing the number of healthcare providers able to identify, treat, and refer victims of trafficking for further care is imperative., Objectives: The study evaluated the knowledge level of student nurse practitioners enrolled in an adult, family, or pediatric clinical course. Knowledge domains included the definitions, laws, prevalence, identification, treatment, and community and social service resources., Design/setting/participants: The study was designed as a non-probability sampling of adult, family, and pediatric nurse practitioner students (n=73). Participants included students enrolled in the Adult & Older Adult I or the Primary Care of the Child & Adolescent I course at a large public university., Methods: The study was designed as a one hour educational intervention intended for presentation in a lecture-style format. The educational intervention included a PowerPoint lecture and embedded videos. The pre-survey, designed as a paper survey, contained a demographic section followed by six survey questions covering the six domains of interest. Following the intervention, participants completed the post-survey prior to leaving the classroom., Results: Pre-survey results pinpointed knowledge gaps across all six domains under investigation. Post-survey results revealed an increase in knowledge across all six domains of interest., Conclusions: The educational intervention increased knowledge of human trafficking among students enrolled in a nurse practitioner program. Informed nurse practitioners have the ability to identify, treat, and refer victims of trafficking. As an integral part of the health care team, nurse practitioners should receive trafficking education as part of the standard course curricula., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Role modelling by experienced nurses, including nurse academics, is a key factor in the process of preparing undergraduate nursing students for practice, and may contribute to longevity in the workforce. A grounded theory study was undertaken to investigate the phenomenon of nurse academics' role modelling for undergraduate students. The study sought to answer the research question: how do nurse academics role model positive professional behaviours for undergraduate students? The aims of this study were to: theorise a process of nurse academic role modelling for undergraduate students; describe the elements that support positive role modelling by nurse academics; and explain the factors that influence the implementation of academic role modelling. The study sample included five second year nursing students and sixteen nurse academics from Australia and the United Kingdom. Data was collected from observation, focus groups and individual interviews. This study found that in order for nurse academics to role model professional behaviours for nursing students, they must reconcile their own professional identity. This paper introduces the theory of reconciling professional identity and discusses the three categories that comprise the theory, creating a context for learning, creating a context for authentic rehearsal and mirroring identity., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

People with disabilities (PWD) constitute 26 % of the U.S. population yet no nursing schools have compulsory clinical education specific to PWD. Inadequate education and negative attitudes lead to lack of preparedness for working with PWD. To meet the needs of this highly underserved population, nursing students need training and experience in the care of PWD. The objective of this paper is to report three themes from the qualitative evaluation of two immersive clinical experiences with PWD for undergraduate nursing students designed to evaluate competencies for working with PWD. Curriculum evaluation using qualitative methods. During and after the clinical experience, qualitative data (reflection papers, debriefing responses, and group interviews) were collected with a volunteer sample of senior nursing student participants of the clinical experiences with PWD. Thematic analysis was used to identify changes in students' attitudes, perceived competence, and motivation for working with PWD. Three major themes are reported in this paper: A positive shift in perspective of PWD (attitudes), impact of the experience on students' practice with PWD (comfort, confidence, awareness and motivation), and revelations from the experience (attitudes and resource awareness). A comprehensive immersive clinical experience caring for PWD provides a real-world laboratory with important experiential learning activities that help students acquire and apply knowledge about the healthcare needs of PWD. Reflection activities facilitate synthesis of that knowledge. Results from this study suggest that this clinical experience can transform students' attitudes toward PWD, enhance their clinical skills, and motivate them to consider a nursing career with this highly under-served population. • People with disabilities suffer more disparities with health and longevity yet nursing school's do not require core curricula. • Deficient nursing education for this prevalent population contributes to negative attitudes and lack of care competence. • Clinically immersive disability education shifts nursing students' perspectives, transforming their attitudes, skills and care. • After immersive disability education, student's unanimously report impact on attitudes, knowledge, advocacy and care strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invasive procedures are an integral component of the time sensitive management of the acute and critically ill patients. Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) students aspiring to be employed in their roles in the acute care settings cannot be autonomous in their practices unless they have a minimum level of proficiency to perform life sustaining invasive procedures. Offering additional level of benefits of safety and quality in healthcare, simulation as a teaching method has grown in popularity among various levels of education among variety of disciplines. Therefore, offering this opportunity to ACNP students in a controlled environment of simulation laboratory can be a win-win for the practitioner, the consumer as well as the health care industry at large. The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of the role of simulation as a teaching method for invasive procedures such as Central Venous Catheterization (CVC), Arterial Catheters (AC), Thoracentesis, Paracentesis, Lumbar Puncture (LP), and Endotracheal intubation for ACNPs. One such simulation program was launched for teaching ACNP students the CVCs and ACs under ultrasound guidance. The launch of the program was overwhelmingly effective and the results of the survey of participating students showed significant improvement in their knowledge, skills and attitudes., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: In the last decade literature, inquiries and reports into the short comings in health services have highlighted the vital role of leadership in clinical practice and the impact on patient care and effective workplace culture. Whilst there is an abundance of literature on leadership and the registered nursing workforce, an international literature review revealed there is very little known on leadership development in pre-registration nursing programmes., Objective: To identify what the profession's views are on proposed indicative curriculum content suggested for clinical leadership development in a pre-registration nursing degree in Australia., Design: This is a multi-method research study. This paper presents the development and results of one aspect of the study, a national online survey., Participants: Nurses: clinicians, managers and academics., Methods: In the absence of a strong evidence base in the literature review, additional pre-requisite curriculum content was augmented from the work of two published frameworks of leadership and management. From this a 67-item survey was designed to ask the profession whether the aggregated content is a reasonable view of what should be included in a pre-registration programme to develop clinical leadership. The survey sought the views of nurses on whether the proposed content was relevant (yes/no) and their opinion on whether it is significant via a 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive and chi-square analyses were performed in SPSS v.19., Results: A total of 418 nurses completed the survey; there was consensus amongst the profession on what is considered relevant and important in a pre-registration nursing programme., Conclusions: The content identified could be considered indicative and pre-requisite to include in a pre-registration nursing programme. Members of the nursing profession in Australia have clear views about this. The next step is to design and evaluate a purposeful pedagogical approach and curriculum, leading to the development of clinical leadership knowledge, skills and behaviours in newly graduating nurses., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Chronic Care Model developed by Wagner is recognised to provide a systematic approach to managing chronic care. It has been adapted by the World Health Organization to become the Innovative Care for Chronic Conditions Framework. Together these have been demonstrated to provide an effective framework for chronic care management in a variety of settings. In order to prepare Australian nursing graduates for a changing health system it is important to recognise global issues and to prepare them to work within well recognised models. This paper examines the publically available documentation of pre-registration nursing degrees in Australia for their alignment with the Chronic Care Model and the Innovative Care for Chronic Conditions Framework. Those aspects of each which are well addressed are identified along with those which could be improved., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aims: To present an integrative review of literature on the teaching of nursing history in pre-registration adult nursing education., Background: Despite successive reconfigurations in healthcare systems and education policy, the teaching of the history of nursing remains contested in pre-registration curricula. Recent curriculum reviews acknowledge the need for systematic study of nursing education. To date in the UK, there has been no systematic review of the literature on the teaching of nursing history in pre-registration training programmes., Design: An integrative review of the literature., Data Sources: A search of the electronic databases of CINAHL (1982-2013), HMIC (1979-2013), BNI (1994-2013) and MEDLINE (Pub Med) (1966-2013) was concluded in January 2014, using the keywords 'adult nursing', 'history' 'pre-registration', 'education' and 'teaching'., Review Methods: An integrative literature review was conducted. Identified titles and abstracts were screened separately by researchers for relevance and eligibility and papers were independently assessed for inclusion. Data were abstracted from included papers and quality evaluation of included papers was conducted. The papers were analysed and reported in a narrative synthesis., Results: Twelve papers were selected for review. The majority of articles were discursive papers and there was a paucity of empirical reports. Content indicated concerns for teaching nursing history in regard to curriculum policy and methods of teaching and assessment., Conclusions: Substantial support exists for mandatory inclusion of the teaching of historical literacy in nursing centred on the themes of health and disease, hegemony, nursing work and image and ideology. Due to space and teaching expertise issues this could ideally be achieved through the use of nursing museum visits, the usefulness of which could be critically explored in future research., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Climate change and resource scarcity pose challenges for healthcare in the future, yet there is little to raise awareness about these issues in the nursing curriculum and nurses are poorly equipped to practice in a changing climate. The aims of this paper are to describe how an evidence-informed 'sustainability and health' scenario based on two sustainability issues (resource depletion and waste management) was introduced into a nursing clinical skills session, and to report the evaluation of the session., Methods: Based on evidence from our own research on waste management, sustainable procurement and resource scarcity, a practical hands-on skill session was delivered to 30 second year student nurses as part of a scheduled clinical skills day. The session was observed by one of the facilitators and interactions recorded and this was followed by a brief questionnaire completed by participants., Findings: Observations of the group sessions and discussion found that students demonstrated limited knowledge about natural resources (such as oil) used in the production of items used in healthcare; they engaged in discussions following the use of Internet resources, and were able to segregate waste appropriately. Thirty (100%) students completed the evaluation questionnaire, found the resources used in the skill session helpful, and thought that the scenarios were realistic. Nineteen reported being more aware of peak oil; 30 were more aware of risks to patient experience and service delivery if resources become unavailable; 30 reported greater awareness of the management of waste in healthcare. Comments on the questionnaire indicated a high level of engagement and interest in the subject., Conclusion: The problem of climate change and resource scarcity can too easily be seen as a distant or intractable problem. However one way to make this topic real for students is through the use of clinically relevant scenarios in skill sessions., (© 2013.)

Background: The learning of biosciences is well-documented to be problematic as students find the subjects amongst the most difficult and anxiety-provoking of their pre-registration programme. Studies suggest that learning consequently is not at the level anticipated by the profession. Curriculum innovations might improve the situation but the effectiveness of applied interventions has not been evaluated., Objective: To undertake an integrative review and narrative synthesis of curriculum interventions and evaluate their effect on the learning of biosciences by pre-registration student nurses. Review methods A systematic search of electronic databases CINAHL, Medline, British Nursing Index and Google Scholar for empirical research studies was designed to evaluate the introduction of a curriculum intervention related to the biosciences, published in 1990-2012. Studies were evaluated for design, receptivity of the intervention and impact on bioscience learning., Results: The search generated fourteen papers that met inclusion criteria. Seven studies introduced on-line learning packages, five an active learning format into classroom teaching or practical sessions, and two applied Audience Response Technology as an exercise in self-testing and reflection. Almost all studies reported a high level of student satisfaction, though in some there were access/utilization issues for students using on-line learning. Self-reporting suggested positive experiences, but objective evaluation suggests that impacts on learning were variable and unconvincing even where an effect on course progress was identified. Adjunct on-line programmes also show promise for supporting basic science or language acquisition., Conclusions: Published studies of curriculum interventions, including on-line support, have focused too heavily on the perceived benefit to students rather than objective measures of impact on actual learning. Future studies should include rigorous assessment evaluations within their design if interventions are to be adopted to reduce the 'bioscience problem'., (© 2013.)

All curricula vary in the way that it is constructed, implemented and experienced. Regardless of the context, ongoing evaluation of learning objectives, processes and content within curriculum is critical. Based primarily on the work of Glatthorn (1987), Print (1993) and Reid (2005), this paper describes a case study of an undergraduate nursing curriculum. The analysis described in this paper forms the basis of a process incorporating four key steps: benchmarking, evidencing, knowing and applying (BEKA). By critiquing the literature, and explaining the merge of others' processes and models of curriculum analysis, it is argued that the BEKA framework of curriculum analysis forms a useful and powerful tool enabling understanding of the actual process of teaching, coverage of curriculum content and assessment, and demonstrating linkages between theory and practice., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The constraints influencing the development of nurse education are widely debated and discussed within the academic, professional and public arena. In order to challenge these constraints it is proposed that nurse education should promote every opportunity for students to engage in critical dialogue with a range of influential sources. This paper will report on an integrated educational model for graduate entry curriculum design. The model capitalises on the skills and attributes students bring to the course, which are collectively termed "graduateness," by utilising a range of teaching and learning approaches which compliment and build upon each other to foster the characteristics of a capable practitioner. It is envisaged that this will better enable those graduating from this programme to respond to the changing context of healthcare., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The implementation framework outlined in this paper has been developed from feedback of a trial across three different nursing and midwifery programmes and is designed to assist educators to incorporate OSCEs within their curricula. There is value in flagging the pedagogical principles embodied in the framework and alerting educators to their importance for more meaningful student learning. For each step practical advice is provided contributing to the utility of this approach. Considerations are systematic ensuring that the use of OSCEs in health care curricula assures judicious use of resources to achieve desired student outcomes.

This paper addresses the imperative to address sustainability and climate change in nurse education. This will be done by outlining the socio-political and policy context and a discussion of a 'triad' of sustainability-climate change-health. However this is not about introducing new content. The form of education itself has to change and to address goals other than the transmission of skills and knowledge to prepare graduate nurses for a role in the NHS. Key concepts and propositions for a sustainability education within nursing will be outlined. This is offered in the spirit of stimulating argument and debate., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Although e-learning is an innovation that is worth making generally available, it is not always accepted by nursing students. Many researchers state that voluntariness is closely related to the individual level of adoption of innovations. Hence, we hypothesized that voluntariness moderates the effect of perceived attributes of innovations (e.g. relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability), which determines the acceptance of e-learning. To test the hypothesis a survey involving two groups of nursing students was carried out. For the first group the usage of e-learning was mandatory, for the second group it was optional. The results confirm our hypothesis. Institutions, interested in e-learning initiatives, should consider the effect of voluntariness when implementing e-learning. This paper provides a useful reference that can help e-learning providers to develop guidelines that can improve the acceptance of e-learning., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper reports on a survey of attitudes to mental illness that was completed with a cohort of pre-registration nurses in 2007 in a large university in Essex. The background literature highlights the effects of attitudes on stigma, disadvantage and discrimination and presents a brief review of the literature on cultural variations in attitudes. It also briefly reviews the attitudes of health professionals to mental illness. A survey using the Community Attitudes to Mental Illness questionnaire was completed and ethnicity proved to be an important factor in accounting for variations in attitudes to mental illness. The Black and Black British group displayed less positive attitudes across all nursing branches when compared to the white group. The differences raised questions about how best nurse training can prepare nurses to practice in culturally sensitive ways that acknowledge the beliefs of patients whilst avoiding stereotyping and discrimination. Personal contact with someone with mental illness was also found to be a significant factor and the importance of user involvement in training is discussed. The paper concludes with some recommendations for nurse training that include greater use of teaching strategies that challenge beliefs and assumptions and promote a commitment to multicultural mental health practice., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The use of blended learning to develop the clinical knowledge and skills of healthcare professionals is increasing. This paper reports the qualitative findings from an evaluation of a blended learning course designed to equip registered nurses with the knowledge and skills required to practice competently in cardiac nursing. The aims of the study were to explore whether a cardiac care course could be successfully delivered mainly online and it had any impact on the students' clinical practice. The sample consisted of course members and their mentors. Data were obtained through focus groups and interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. All students felt they had benefited from undertaking the course. Mentors identified higher levels of confidence and greater depth of knowledge and skills amongst their students. Areas identified for further development by both groups were firstly, the preparation of mentors for their role in supporting the students undertaking an online course and secondly, the expected level of competence that students needed to display in practice. This study indicates online learning is useful in enhancing student competence but may be wrongly seen as requiring less time commitment for both course members and mentors when compared to taught courses., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper explores positive practice change in nursing and health care practice following continuing professional development (CPD). It is derived from a commissioned evaluation study within the United Kingdom (UK). Evaluation data was gathered using semi structured discussions with CPD participants, a convenience sample of line managers and University module leaders. Findings suggest that professional peer attitudes and support, when harnessed effectively in the practice setting, strongly enhance positive change. Conversely a lack of engagement with practice peers, a lack of strategic support and not knowing how to access support hinder change. The study found that learning need was often explored through personal development planning and appraisal, however there was little systematic follow up, review and support following learning. Interestingly the individual personal drive and enthusiasm of practitioners was perceived as the strongest factor helping practice change, while policy drivers and national health targets were secondary. Possible strategies to enhance positive practice change are explored., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The different types of entrepreneurship, including social entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, and the importance of social entrepreneurship skills in the changing world of health care are discussed. The term social intrapreneurship is introduced to characterise the many nurses introducing change and enhancing care working within the NHS. The strategy for development of entrepreneurship education within one region of the UK is presented and its integration into a pre-registration nursing programme is the main focus of this paper. The process of integration of skills in the changing world of health care is discussed. The strategy for development of entrepreneurship is presented under the headings of the NICENT (Northern Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship) @ Ulster Integration Model: Awareness and Understanding; Interpretation; Contextualisation; Integration (Theoretical Content); Integration (Assessment); Validation/Revalidation; Implementation; and Review and Reflection. The most important stages were the first two in which nursing academic staff came to realise the relevance of the topic to nursing and the interpretation and translation into 'nurse-speak' of the business terminology to alleviate the initial rejection of entrepreneurship as of no relevance to nursing., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This longitudinal study evaluated a European teacher exchange programme within a UK School of Nursing and Midwifery. A cross case study design was employed over a three year period. A range of data methods were used which gave a clear, detailed and rich picture of the exchange experience. Overall analysis of the data generated two key themes, namely that of value and role identity. The study highlighted factors which were deemed to have positive and negative influences on the teacher exchange experience. It is concluded that a teacher exchange programme is of value to the School, by aiding personal and professional development and internationalisation. Recommendations from the study are included in the paper., (2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

This paper reports on findings from a qualitative study which explores why British and German nurses embarked on a Masters in Nursing Studies programme and their expectations from such a course. Semi structured interviews were undertaken with ten German and nine British nurses in venues across Germany and the United Kingdom, and interview transcripts analysed using a 'template approach'. Findings indicate that nurses sought a personal and professional challenge, with more German nurses embarking on the course for professional reasons associated with career enhancement. UK nurses attended to upgrade their knowledge and skills above that of the pre-registration student, and nurses from both countries hoped that an MSc. would increase their credibility and result in personal achievement. German nurses were attracted to learning about 'nursing science', receiving an award from a UK university and being able to access the course in Germany. Both groups of nurses expected to gain insight into the evidence base for practice and how this could be utilised to improve their work. The information gained from this study can be utilised by nurse educationalists in aiding recruitment and developing Masters curricula., (2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Summary: Introduction: In Australia, unlike other countries, programmes which lead to registration as a registered or enrolled nurse (called “entry to practice” programmes) are carried out solely in the tertiary sector. In Australian nursing and the wider community, there continues to be a debate over the place of preparation and the “work readiness” of graduates. Background: Despite several opinion papers on the preparation of registered nurses, there is a dearth of published research on the perceptions of the clinical nursing workforce on the suitability of the current preparation for practice models. Methods: Data were collected from approximately 3000 nurses in Queensland, Australia in 2007 and 2010. The aim of these studies was to ascertain issues around nursing work. This paper reports on qualitative data that were collected as part of that larger survey. Specifically this paper provides the thematic analysis of one open-ended question: “what are the five key issues and strategies that you see could improve nursing and nursing work?” as it was apparent when we undertook thematic analysis of this question that there was a major theme around the preparation of nurses for the nursing workforce. We therefore carried out a more detailed thematic analysis around this major theme. Results: The major sub-themes that we identified from comments on the preparation of the nursing workforce were: perceptions of lack of clinical exposure and the need to increase the amount of clinical hours; the design of the curriculum, the place of preparation (solely within industry or a great focus on industry), financial consideration (students to be paid for their work); and in 2007 only, the need for students to have better time management. Discussion: The findings suggest that a majority of respondents believed there should be changes to the entry to practice preparation for nurses. The major focus of these comments was the perception of insufficient clinical experience and inappropriate curriculum content. Thus, graduates are not “work ready”. Conclusion: The attitude of clinical nurses, who work closely with student nurses, influences the workplace experience of student nurses. It is apparent from the statements of respondents in this study, that there is a need for stronger industry/academic partnerships, particularly around the design and implementation of the entry-to-practice curriculum. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper reports the challenges experienced by nurse educators in changing a teacher-centred, content-driven approach to teaching and learning to a learner-centred, process-driven approach within a School of Nursing in Taiwan. While a general movement towards a learner-centred approach was achieved, the curriculum transformation process was complex and inevitably slow with many challenges. First the study is outlined, with the key challenges experienced by the participating nurse educators explicated and illuminated with excerpts drawn from the research data. This is followed by a discussion of possible reasons for the challenges and how they were overcome and the transition process from teacher-centred to learner-centred education facilitated., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Research evidence demonstrates that offering language choice to patients enhances the quality of healthcare provision. This has implications for the preparation of nurses for practice in bilingual settings, where legislation often leads to demands for health services in both languages and bilingual competence amongst healthcare providers. This paper reports on a scoping study of bilingual provision in nurse education in the bilingual context of Wales, UK, as a means of informing the evidence base for national strategic planning. The study incorporated three elements: (i) literature analysis (ii) policy review and (iii) stakeholder consultation (n=70). Six themes emerged from the stakeholder consultation, reflecting the main drivers and barriers associated with bilingual provision in course delivery. These themes aligned with findings identified from the policy and literature review that related to strategic, organisational and individual influences on bilingual educational provision. Strategic planning for bilingual provision in nurse education in Wales should take account of the factors that affect provision at different levels. These factors feature across bilingual settings outside the UK, thus giving the study international relevance and scope to inform the delivery of nurse education that meets the needs of wider diverse language communities., (Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Clinical simulation is becoming increasingly popular in pre-registration nursing education. Incorporating teaching and learning strategies that enhance learner self-efficacy will theoretically improve clinical competence (Bandura, 1986, 1997). This paper presents the findings of a study that aimed to explore the impact of clinical simulation on self-efficacy beliefs amongst pre-registration nurses. A preliminary study (Pike, 2008) used a pre- and post-test design to measure learner self-efficacy before and after a clinical simulation session. Qualitative responses to questions on the post-test questionnaire provided themes to explore in a focus group interview with a convenience sample of nine participants. Thematic content analysis of the interview highlighted two principal findings. Firstly, students described low levels of self-efficacy with regards to communication skills, an area identified as a priority within pre-registration nursing education (NMC, 2007a). Second, students highlighted the need for learning experiences within clinical simulation to be more authentic, to improve the theory to practice gap. It is argued by incorporating strategies within clinical simulation that enhance learner self-efficacy, overall clinical competence will be improved. Suggestions for how pedagogical approaches may be developed within clinical simulation are discussed, whilst acknowledging the limitations of the small scale nature of the study., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Concerns have been expressed about inadequate mental health content in generic pre-registration nursing curricula in Australia. These have led to claims new graduates are inadequately prepared to care for patients with mental health issues. The Mental Health Nurse Education Taskforce set up for the purpose of the project by the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council, carried out a national exploration of mental health content in pre-registration nursing curricula in order to develop a framework for including mental health in future pre-registration courses. This paper summarises the Taskforce's report, and presents a critical commentary on several aspects, of the Taskforce's report., Methods: The project comprised a literature review, a national survey, national consultations, and advice from an Expert Reference Group., Results: The report sets out a framework, which included the core values underpinning learning and teaching, learning outcomes, learning and teaching principles, and benchmarks for inclusion of mental health content in curricula. It recommended that a national approach needed to be taken to accreditation of curricula. This, together with greater collaboration between universities and clinical agencies, and the adoption of innovative strategies to secure clinical places, will help ensure a consistent adoption of the framework in each state and territory., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper reports on a survey of Australian Schools of Nursing that took place over an 8months period between 2007 and 2008. This study was implemented to extend understanding of effective teaching of nursing history, an area not previously researched in Australia. A critical interpretive method enabled us to problematise the issue, to highlight what was said about the importance of history teaching as well as ad hoc practices and barriers. The study found that participants value history of nursing teaching, but the crowded curriculum is erasing history's place and potential. It revealed ideological tensions shaping and constraining history of nursing teaching. In Australia, the way nursing's history is taught varies and teaching content, strategies and resources utilised are not evenly available. Pedagogical innovations are not effectively disseminated. Our recommendations for Australian Schools of Nursing that have more general applicability are: (1) Nursing curriculum needs to be developed from a set of principles and standards that define the attributes of the professional nurse, not in response to interest groups and (2) History of nursing pedagogy should be systematically developed and disseminated through a national virtual centre, linked to international centres, to enhance teachers' understanding of the discipline area and to support their teaching practice., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper describes an initiative to develop Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) in mainland China and evaluation of the outcomes of the described programme. The pioneer project was an APN postgraduate programme involving 38 students conducted in Guangzhou, China during 2004-2005. Data related to curriculum content and process, student performance, self-reported competence and programme effects were collected. Quantitative data such as demographic data, student performance were analysed using descriptive statistics and the pre and post self-reported practice of competence was compared using chi-square test. Qualitative data such as case reports and interviews were examined using thematic analyses. Reflective journals and case studies revealed the attributes of APNs in managing clinical cases at advanced level, applying theory into practice and exercising evidence-based practice. The relatively modest self-reported practice of competence suggested that the graduates were novice APNs and needed continued development after the completion of the programme. This study reports the experience of an initiative in China and suggests a useful curriculum framework for educating APNs., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper discusses a leadership program implemented in the School of Nursing at Edith Cowan University to develop leadership in fourth semester nursing students enrolled in a three year undergraduate nursing degree to prepare them for the dynamic 'changing world' environment of healthcare. Students were invited to apply to undertake the program in extracurricular time. Nineteen students applied to the program and ten were chosen to participate in the program. The numbers were limited to ten to equal selected industry leader mentors. The leadership program is based on the belief that leadership is a function of knowing oneself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues, and taking effective action to realize one's own potential. It is asserted that within the complexity of health care it is vital that nurses enter the clinical setting with leadership capabilities because graduate nurses must take the lead to act autonomously, make decisions at the point of service, and develop a professional vision that fits with organizational and professional goals Thus, the more practice students have with leadership skills, the more prepared they will be to enter the workforce. The program consists of three components: leadership knowledge, leadership skills and leadership-in-action. The leadership program focuses on the student-participant's ability to be self reflective on personal leadership qualities, critically appraise, and work within a team as well as to take responsibility for ensuring the achievement of team goals as leader. The program is practical and is reliant on the involvement of leader mentors who hold positions of leadership with the health industry in Western Australia. Students completed a pre and post program questionnaire related to abilities and skills in leadership. This paper discusses pre and post evaluation data against program outcomes. The findings demonstrate that participants of the program increased their ability to influence, persuade and motivate others; to effectively communicate; to team build and work collaboratively; to develop problem solving and perseverance skills to overcome obstacles; and to serve as agents for positive change.