Acceptability of a nurse-led non-pharmacological complex intervention for knee pain: Nurse and patient views and experiences

Objectives The overall purpose of this research programme is to develop and test the feasibility of a complex intervention for knee pain delivered by a nurse, and comprising both non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions. In this first phase, we examined the acceptability of the non-pharmacological component of the intervention; issues faced in delivery, and resolved possible challenges to delivery. Methods Eighteen adults with chronic knee pain were recruited from the community. The intervention comprised holistic assessment, education, exercise, weight-loss advice (where appropriate) and advice on adjunctive treatments such as hot/cold treatments, footwear modification and walking aids. After nurse training, the intervention was delivered in four sessions spread over five weeks. Participants had one to one semi-structured interview at the end of the intervention. The nurse was interviewed after the last visit of the last participant. These were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Themes were identified by one author through framework analysis of the transcripts, and cross-checked by another. Results Most participants found the advice from the nurse easy to follow and were satisfied with the package, though some felt that too much information was provided too soon. The intervention changed their perception of managing knee pain, learning that it can be improved with self-management. However, participants thought that the most challenging part of the intervention was fitting the exercise regime into their daily routine. The nurse found discussion of goal setting to be challenging. Conclusion The nurse-led package of care is acceptable within a research setting. The results are promising and will be applied in a feasibility randomised-controlled trial.

Evaluating intentional quality rounding for undergraduate student nurse training during COVID-19

Nursing’s body of knowledge is ever expanding, incorporating new theoretical constructs such as quality and safety and care transitions we now consider central to the domain of nursing, and to nursing clinical education. The purpose of this article is to describe an educational quality improvement project, an alternative clinical learning experience during COVID-19 that enabled the implementation and evaluation of Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students in an intentional quality rounding process. We designed and implemented a retrospective, observational quality improvement educational project. Programmatic evaluation was used to obtain feedback from 273 pre-licensure students using a 10-item Likert scale evaluation tool in June 2020. Students averaged a 4.33 rating on the evaluation of the intentional quality rounding clinical experience as something they should incorporate into future nursing practice. A critical role for nursing education is the development of innovative teaching strategies and learning experiences that facilitate the student in the translation and application of complex constructs from nursing’s expanding body of knowledge, a task made more difficult by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Training of volunteer nurses during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939): A historical study

Background The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) is an example of a historic event involving nurses, with the participation of professional and volunteer nurses from Spain and other countries. In this context, nurses were trained over short periods of time and recruited to work at hospitals serving the two warring camps. Objectives To identify the characteristics of the training received by volunteer nurses on both sides in the Spanish Civil War and compare it with previous experiences in the history. Design Historical research. Methods Heuristic and hermeneutical analysis of nurse training manuals and news articles from 1936 to 1939. Spanish primary sources were consulted at the Red Cross Documentation Centre Archive in Madrid, the General Military Archive in Ávila, the Municipal Newspaper Archive in Madrid, and the archives of Spanish daily newspapers ABC and La Vanguardia. The following variables were analysed: duration, entry requirements, and theoretical content of the training courses. Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) has been used. Findings Both sides in the conflict offered a varied training programme, which was supported by official institutions and private initiatives. The courses lasted between one week and two months. Entry requirements were influenced by education level, age, moral conduct, health status, and social and political background. Training content focused on the techniques needed in conflict settings and covered specific moral values. Conclusions Despite the different social and political characteristics of the two warring factions, the variety of training programmes on offer, the entry requirements, and the theoretical content of volunteer nurse training were similar on both sides. At the end of the Spanish Civil War, volunteer nurses on the Republican side suffered reprisals or had to go into exile. We now know that some countries involved in World War II provided training courses for volunteer nurses. It would therefore be interesting to ascertain whether Spanish volunteer nurses contributed their experience to these courses.

Undergraduate Nursing Students Endorse Education Standards in Blended e-Learning Theory Teaching during COVID-19 Pandemic

Aim: The aim of this study was to survey student learning perspectives as measured by ‘student satisfaction’ following the rapid introduction of remote blended e-learning into the existing undergraduate nursing curriculum at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia. Background: National legislation resulting from the spread of Covid-19 required all theoretical and practical nurse training to move immediately to online provision using an unfamiliar e-learning environment and associated tools. Objective: The objective of this study was to use a validated satisfaction questionnaire developed elsewhere, but within a similar educational context involving both theoretical and practical components, for the purpose of checking that educational objectives were being satisfactorily achieved across five relevant domains of educational enquiry, and to use survey findings to improve the online delivery of the nursing program in future academic years. Methods: A validated 35 item questionnaire was circulated online to all male and female nursing students in their 2nd, 3rd and 4th years of study. The questionnaire content was subdivided into the five domains of ‘Interaction’, ‘Instruction’, ‘Instructor’, ‘Course Management’ and ‘Technology’. Descriptive and comparative statistics were used to compare levels of satisfaction between genders and among undergraduate years of study, and against findings from undergraduate information technology undergraduates. Results: 199 female and 84 male students completed the questionnaire (response rate 59.2%). Mean satisfaction scores for male and female nursing undergraduates were significantly greater than 3 (neutral score) in all domains of enquiry, indicating good satisfaction with blended e-learning (p<0.001). However, multivariate regressions of domain satisfaction scores taking gender and year of study as explanatory variables had poor resolving power. Domain scores were also significantly greater than those of a comparator study in three of the five domains (p<0.030) and similar in the domains of course management (p=0.717) and technology (p=0.677). Levels of satisfaction in males and females were similar in 80% of the survey questions, but in females, satisfaction was significantly lower in some questions concerning technology (p<0.003), willingness to interrupt the instructor (p=0.021), comparison of blended learning and face-to-face teaching (p=0.002) and timely feedback on tests and assignments (p=0.031). Fourth-year students showed the highest levels of satisfaction across all five domains. Conclusion: Undergraduate nursing students reported above-average satisfaction levels across all five domains of education provision. Despite an unfamiliar blended e-learning curriculum environment, they demonstrated compatible technological skills, satisfactory interaction with teachers and other students and engagement in the learning process. A number of recommendations identified in the literature as underlying a successful program of blended e-learning are recorded for the benefit of readers.

Duties and Responsibilities of Staff Nurse- A Study

Nursing has come a very, very long way in the past century. However, some of the challenges highlighted by nurse leaders in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, still face the profession a century later even though their exact nature might be somewhat different. Throughout the history of nursing, most of the challenges can be linked to the gender and class barriers faced by women in society and the ever-present economic demands of the healthcare industry.The Staff Nurse is the first level professional Nurse in the hospital set up. Therefore by appearance and by word she will be professional at all time. Taking a walk through the history of nursing, the shortage of nurses appears to have been a problem from the time when the value of trained nurses in hospitals and the community was recognized. From the mid-1800’s, when scientific developments in Western medicine increasingly led to successful treatment, hospitals changed from places where the sick and destitute were cared for to institutions where the ill were admitted for treatment. The time was ripe when Florence Nightingale introduced formal training of nurses, and since then, it appears that the demand for qualified nurses increased exponentially. The objective of obtaining state registration for nurses was the priority issue for nurse activists from the 1880’s. At the Chicago World’s Fair, British nurses introduced the nurse leaders from all over the world to the idea of state registration for nurses as well as the issue of standards for nurse training schools, which would satisfy a requirement to introduce registration. The struggle for state registration was at the time also the main driving force behind the establishment of nursing organizations in various countries. Keywords: Staff Nurse, Hospital Stress, Tolerance Adjustment, Florence Nightigale. Demand, Shipt System.

How Can Nursing Teams Respond to Large-Scale COVID-19 Screening?

The COVID-19 virus has devastated lives and economies worldwide. The responses of nursing teams to large-scale COVID-19 screening have rarely been addressed or described. The aim of this study is to introduce an efficient response strategy for nurses in large-scale COVID-19 screening. A new COVID-19 case was confirmed on Jan 14, 2021 in Nanning, China. Immediately, a large-scale COVID-19 screening was launched and ran from Jan 14 to Jan 17, 2021. Our nurse team responding to the screening included three major components: (1) establishing a leadership group and a nucleic acid sampling emergency team; (2) defining, conducting, and evaluating nurse training; (3) implementing efficient sampling schemes (10 in 1 mixed sample technique). A total of 500 nurse volunteers were recruited and divided into three echelons. A total of 353 trained nurses were sent to 65 sampling stand stations. In cooperation with nurses from other health institutions, samples were collected from a total of 854,215 people in only 4 days for 2019-nCOV nucleic acid screening. The preparation and efficient response strategies used to conduct this screening may provide a baseline reference for future large-scale COVID-19 screening worldwide.

The Impact of Distress, Personal Meaning & Training on the Delivery of Support to Grieving Students by School Nurses

Supporting grieving students is part of a school nurse’s role which can provide meaning or special purpose in their career. This was verified by an online survey completed by 648 school nurse members of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN). A majority of respondents felt personal distress as a result of their work with grieving students which was predicted by a lack of access to work/community resources available and a lower level of educational background of the school nurse. Training to support grieving students and a higher level of educational background of the school nurse, however, appeared to predict a greater level of personal meaning found in school nurses’ support of grieving students. Level of support by school leadership provided to school nurses in their support of grieving students was also found to be related to both the personal distress experienced and the personal meaning derived by school nurses.