Self-ratings of self-efficacy for engaging patients in health-promotion activities were made by 41 nursing and 60 medical students. Nursing students had significantly higher knowledge and ability scores for counseling patients about exercise, nutrition, and injury prevention. Confidence in knowledge was stronger than counseling ability in both…

Comparison of 30 nursing students given psychiatric nursing education and 27 controls showed that exposure to psychiatric nursing increased interest in this career option. Negative views of the specialty held by both experimental and control groups before the study remained unchanged only in the control group. (SK)

Nursing students (n=142) used either structured or unstructured formats for weekly assessments of health patterns in clinical practice. Groups showed no significant differences in knowledge acquisition or critical thinking. However, older students using the unstructured format had the greatest gains; younger students benefitted more from the…

Nursing students collaborated with urban high school students to identify adolescent health needs and to build and maintain a health information Web site. Student empowerment and ownership of the project were the keys to its sustainability. (SK)

To fulfill internship requirements, fourth-year nursing students coached novice students. Coaches served as peer teachers for novices on their first clinical rotation, developing leadership and clinical-teaching skills. (SK)

Entering nursing students in Australia (n=2,295) in 1995 were compared to 1,551 from 1987 and 1990. Students were classified as either under age 22 or over 21. Significant interactions between socioeconomic status, mothers' income, and number of siblings were found for the younger age group. (SK)

Finnish nursing students (n=85) specializing in child nursing had mainly positive attitudes about caring for children in pain, but lacked knowledge of medications and pain assessment. There were no knowledge differences between older and younger students or those with more or less work experience. (SK)

Efforts to develop nursing faculty scholarship at two universities included the leadership of new deans, an annual retreat for research-active faculty, research support as a recruitment tool, and an outside facilitator. Communication with faculty not engaged in research was recommended. (SK)

Reports a comparison of academic achievements in graduate nursing programs between those with undergraduate qualifications and those admitted using a recognition of prior learning (RPL) initiative. Results indicate that the academic achievement of the hospital-trained nurses was similar to those admitted with a formal qualification. (AEF)

The Penn School of Nursing and the Macy Foundation established a comprehensive institute and technical assistance program to help nursing schools advance academic nursing practice. The Penn School consulted with 21 participating schools, providing institutes, conferences, a listserv and a web-based knowledge center focused on integrating research,…

A study of 301 bachelor of science nursing (BSN), 188 registered nurse-BSN, and 110 allied health students and 30 nursing faculty found no significant differences between faculty and students in learning style. Faculty were more self-directed. Self-directed learning readiness was related to learning style: convergers were significantly more…

Interviews with 16 registered nurses in a distance learning baccalaureate degree program identified institutional supports for learning: orientation, technical assistance, mentors, library resources, and instructor feedback. Informal sources of support included family, friends, peers, the workplace, and students themselves as reflective learners.…

Registered nurses in a bachelor's degree program (n=56) rated the following as important clinical teacher behaviors: evaluation, professional competence, interpersonal relationship, and teaching ability. They valued teachers who were approachable, fair, open, and honest and who fostered mutual respect. (Contains 25 references.) (SK)

Preparing, organizing and planning care for patients is challenging for nursing students as they must learn to link theory to practice. Concept mapping has been suggested as an effective strategy to facilitate meaningful learning and promote critical thinking among nursing students (Baugh & Mellott, 1998; Schuster, 2003). Utilization of concept…

This two-pronged study seeks to ascertain the research psychographic characteristics of a select group of nurse professoriate (n=37) in a comprehensive university in the Philippines. The quantitative part of the study had an adapted survey questionnaire, which profiled the demographic and psychographic characteristics of the respondents. Defining…