RESUMEN
The consequences of each war present themselves in many ways and differently within a veteran's lifetime. For civilian nurses to give applicable, vital care to the older veteran, they need to deeply appreciate the military culture, the strength of the ethos, as well as the various health concerns connected with the individual war/conflict. Attentiveness to the evolving health issues of older veterans are a priority at a time when many personal developmental changes are also creating life stressors for the Vietnam veterans and they are often presenting to civilian health facilities for their care. This article explores the controversial war within Vietnam (1955-1973), and the use of the universal question of "Have you ever served in the military?" An incremental veteran health assessment is discussed in order to care for the specific, prior-era physical/behavioral issues of post-traumatic stress disorder, Agent Orange, military sexual trauma, hepatitis C, and homelessness that are discussed for these men and women veterans, along with a rationale for their long-term presence, which is still evident today. Other relevant nursing interventions for veterans are suggested such as reminiscing, and art/animal-assisted therapy to supplement their medical care.
Asunto(s)
Competencia Clínica , Trastornos de Combate/enfermería , Rol de la Enfermera , Relaciones Enfermero-Paciente , Atención Dirigida al Paciente/métodos , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Trastornos de Combate/psicología , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Veteranos , Salud de los VeteranosRESUMEN
Nursing's future depends on continuing to seek, create, and launch innovative nursing programs. Successful innovation can improve nursing education delivery and make optimal use of available resources while tapping into the imagination and creativity of faculty and students; in addition, it can create an optimistic environment and encourage beneficial change with the faculty and staff. Innovation has been described as an art, a process of diffusion, and a process of transforming ideas into real value. The purpose of this article is to explore the concepts surrounding innovation, steps in development of an innovation, and share pearls, perils, and lessons learned so that others can explore the process within their nursing education programs.
Asunto(s)
Bachillerato en Enfermería/organización & administración , Bachillerato en Enfermería/tendencias , Investigación en Educación de Enfermería/tendencias , Desarrollo de Programa/métodos , Bachillerato en Enfermería/economía , Humanos , Innovación Organizacional/economía , Desarrollo de Programa/economíaRESUMEN
Military licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) provide nursing care for the ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled persons. Those who have deployed both for humanitarian and wartime situations have a tremendous experiential base in stabilization of life-threatening frontline injuries and critical care intense facilities. An educational program was created called Returning Enlisted Veterans-Upward (to) Professional Nursing for retired/discharged U.S. Army LVNs to acknowledge their special military education and experiences. This educational model represented one step in the right direction to increase men and minorities in the professional nursing workforce, yet the program had to be dissolved. "Lessons learned" are presented so others might consider a similar project.
Asunto(s)
Bachillerato en Enfermería/organización & administración , Reentrenamiento en Educación Profesional/organización & administración , Enfermería Militar/organización & administración , Enfermería Práctica/organización & administración , Veteranos/educación , Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Personal Militar/educación , Investigación en Evaluación de EnfermeríaRESUMEN
Increased cost of chronic illnesses in United States is an urgent call to develop a cost effective approach to improve chronic disease self-management, especially among vulnerable populations. An emerging role for professionals and paraprofessionals is the patient navigator. We present an example of a conceptual framework, Transformation for Health, developed to underpin the training of certified community health workers (CHW) to deliver health care, preventive services, and health education for underserved populations to promote chronic disease self-management. Transformacion Para Salud (TPS), a patient navigation model for chronic disease self-management, was a two year demonstration program to develop a culturally sensitive intervention to facilitate patient behavior changes. Patients involved in the TPS intervention showed improvements in clinical and behavioral outcomes after twelve months of intervention. This article describes the conceptual basis and implementation of the TPS and discusses program evaluation, specific intervention outcomes, and implications for practice. Use of CHWs in the patient navigator role demonstrated a cost effective method to improve access to quality, cost-effective, primary health care services as well as to facilitate chronic disease self-management.
Asunto(s)
Enfermedad Crónica/enfermería , Enfermedad Crónica/terapia , Servicios de Salud Comunitaria/organización & administración , Navegación de Pacientes/organización & administración , Autocuidado/métodos , Reforma de la Atención de Salud/organización & administración , Humanos , Modelos Organizacionales , Evaluación de Programas y Proyectos de SaludRESUMEN
Because of the nursing shortage and a demand for maximum enrollment, a group of five baccalaureate and seven associate degree nursing programs in West Texas first met in 2007 to form the West Texas Nursing Education Consortium (WTNEC). To emphasize the importance of scale and distance, the West Texas region is larger than all of the northeastern states combined. The founding group agreed that the first mission of WTNEC should be to pool resources in order to increase admission and graduation rates for WTNEC schools. Two years later, this mission is being accomplished by the implementation of a plan designed to increase participating schools' admissions, retention, and graduation rates. A grant proposal was written and funded to develop a central regionalization of the application process for entry into WTNEC generic programs (associates degree in nursing and bachelor of science in nursing), with the goal of decreasing and possibly eliminating student vacancy rates in member schools and perhaps reducing the resources needed by each school for the admission process. The implemented centralized application system allowed prospective students to apply online to the centralized admission portal. Students maintained the freedom to choose the nursing program(s) they wanted to attend, but they were also made aware of possible openings in other participating schools. The admission portal also saved potential students time and money by submitting one centralized application, resulting in consolidation of the nursing school application process. Eleven of the 12 consortium schools participated in the centralized application system.
Asunto(s)
Graduación en Auxiliar de Enfermería/organización & administración , Bachillerato en Enfermería/organización & administración , Control de Formularios y Registros/organización & administración , Estudiantes de Enfermería , Conducta Cooperativa , Humanos , Investigación en Evaluación de Enfermería , TexasRESUMEN
Shedding light on the factors and circumstances that operate to bring about marginalization of groups can facilitate appropriate responses to the issue of health disparities among vulnerable groups in society. This is showing to be a seemingly intractable problem; however, it may well be that the approaches currently used to respond to the issues are not appropriate because we overlook the "realties" that really matter: those emanating from the people being visited by these circumstances themselves. Under normal conditions, human behavior can only be controlled by the individual. Facilitating an environment in which an individual can comprehend his or her internal and external realities is the first step toward transformative behavior.
Asunto(s)
Conductas Relacionadas con la Salud , Promoción de la Salud/organización & administración , Modelos Psicológicos , Poblaciones Vulnerables/psicología , Actitud Frente a la Salud/etnología , Participación de la Comunidad , Estado de Conciencia , Diversidad Cultural , Toma de Decisiones , Escolaridad , Conductas Relacionadas con la Salud/etnología , Educación en Salud/organización & administración , Conocimientos, Actitudes y Práctica en Salud , Necesidades y Demandas de Servicios de Salud , Disparidades en el Estado de Salud , Disparidades en Atención de Salud , Humanos , Intención , Modelos Educacionales , Pobreza , Factores de Riesgo , Asunción de Riesgos , Apoyo Social , Estados Unidos , Poblaciones Vulnerables/etnología , Poblaciones Vulnerables/estadística & datos numéricosRESUMEN
Nurse educators are challenged to implement teaching strategies that promote learners' clinical competency and critical-thinking skills. Additionally, these educators are asked to base their curriculum decisions, teaching practices, and evaluation methods on current research findings. Simulation offers a unique mode for experiential learning and evaluation, but the appropriate use of the spectrum of simulation typology requires strategic planning. Although simulation provides educators with new educational opportunities, the potential use of simulation in competency testing cannot be achieved until educators and researchers acquire the knowledge and skills needed to use this education strategy, develop realistic case scenarios, and design and validate standardized and reliable testing methods. Numerous pressures exist for clinical settings to document the competencies of their employees. Simulation could be used in the practice environment to promote and validate the clinical judgment and competency of nurses.