The answer sheets of 122 nursing students showed that 119 changed at least 1 answer; 93.3% of those who changed answers either gained or did not lose points by changing; changing answers on psychiatric nursing exams made more difference than on medical-surgical tests. However, those who made the smallest number of changes tended to have higher…

Notes that there is little consistency among review processes of nursing journals. Recommends a standardized peer review system, establishment of guidelines for referees, and introduction of open rather than anonymous reviewing. (SK)

The master's degree in nursing offered via distance education by the University of Tennessee requires educators to design instruction carefully. The most successful students are risk takers, assertive, and responsible for their own learning. Compressed interactive video has proven the most effective medium. (JOW)

Provides guidelines for planning for a sabbatical. Includes the planning phase, the disengagement phase, the actual leave, and the reentry process. Offers advice and information to increase the likelihood of personal and professional success during a sabbatical. (JOW)

Inquiry-based learning (IBL), a flexible holistic adaptation of problem-based learning, was implemented in a nursing curriculum. Comparison of critical thinking test scores for 228 students in their first and 257 in their last semester showed that those with the lowest scores initially benefitted most from IBL; middle and high level scorers did…

Education for caring in nursing replaces the teacher-student hierarchy with a community of scholars. Story telling is a prime learning method. The approach helps students learn how to experience and provide caring nursing, identify uncaring nursing, and recognize the effect on the caregiver. (SK)

The International Society of Nurses in Genetics is working to incorporate genetics into nursing education and practice so that nurses will be recognized for their ability to deliver genetic services in collaboration with other disciplines. The society is pursuing certification for advanced practice genetic nurses. (JOW)

Illuminates the debate about nursing as an academic discipline by examining arguments of critics, investigating the distinction between pure and applied disciplines, and considering how the view of nursing as an applied discipline guides what should be taught. Commentaries by Peter Ashworth, Mike Walsh, and Beverly Whelton follow. (SK)

Ten trends affecting nursing are as follows: changing demographics, technology, globalization, educated consumers, population-based care, health care costs/managed care, health policy and regulation, need for interdisciplinary education and collaboration, nursing shortage, and advances in nursing science and research. (SK)

Responses from 300 accredited nursing schools indicated that they used eclectic conceptual frameworks for curriculum; the most common component was the nursing process. Associate degree programs were more likely to use simple-to-complex organization. Diploma programs were more likely to use the medical model than baccalaureate programs. Frameworks…

Describes a multimedia toolkit for teaching palliative care in nursing, which contains modules on end-of-life topics: comfort, connections, ethics, grief, impact, and well-being. Other contents include myths, definitions, pre- and postassessments, teaching materials, case studies, learning activities, and resources. (SK)

Sophomore nursing students (n=162) examined scenarios depicting typical and atypical signs of heart attack. Examples were structured to include essential and nonessential symptoms, enabling pattern recognition and improved performance. The method provides a way to prepare students to anticipate and recognize life-threatening situations. (Contains…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to estimate the longitudinal relationship between transitions in the use of long-term care and older adults' depressive symptoms and to investigate whether this relationship could be explained by markers of older adults' underlying health, or other variables including demographics, personality, and partner…

This study describes how medical and nursing students develop their conceptions and understanding of science during 3 years of study at the academic level. The point of departure is the students' commonsense conceptions at the start of the undergraduate programme, which are seen as alternative ways of thinking to the more theoretical explanatory…

Nursing homes as clinical sites for student learning have the potential to produce negative attitudes toward aging. The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to determine the impact of the Eden Alternative on the attitudes of students toward elders residing in nursing homes. Prior to beginning implementation of the Eden Alternative, 61…