INTRODUCTION Nursing curriculum is not always overt; it can also exist covertly in the form of a hidden curriculum. This study aims to explain the factors influencing learning through the hidden curriculum in the perspective of undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students. METHODS This qualitative study was conducted through purposeful sampling strategy on 24 undergraduate baccalaureate nursi...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to examine the effects of registered nurse (RN) education by determining whether nurse-sensitive patient outcomes were better in hospitals with a higher proportion of RNs with baccalaureate degrees. BACKGROUND The Future of Nursing report recommends increasing the percentage of RNs with baccalaureate degrees from 50% to 80% by 2020. Research has linked RN ...

Health care requires increasing the number and quality of registered nurses to the baccalaureate level to address part of the critical nurse shortage problem and need for highly qualified professionals. Two major national initiatives examining the nursing workforce issue in the United States recommend decreasing barriers, refining academic pathways and facilitating nurses return to school for h...

Errors in health care settings are common and potentially dangerous to patients. Errors will arise as novice nursing students practice skills in complex health care settings. This article describes one baccalaureate nursing program's approach toward student errors that integrates core competencies described in the Institute of Medicine's Health Professions Education report, the Quality and Safe...

BACKGROUND The nursing profession is exploring how academic-practice partnerships should be structured to maximize the potential benefits for each partner. As part of an evaluation of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Nursing Academy (VANA) program, we sought to identify indicators of successful partnerships during the crucial first year. METHODS We conducted a qualitative analysis of 1...

The creation of a curriculum blueprint appropriate to the development of a professional nurse who is practice-ready for the current and future context of health service delivery must take account of the extant context as well as an unpredictable and sometimes ambiguous future. The curriculum renewal process itself ought to challenge existing long held ideals, practices, and sacred cows within t...

Professional nursing defines its foundation of practice as embedded in the sciences and humanities of a liberal education. This liberal education is commonly alluded to with the phrase "the art and science of nursing." Yet how do we as nursing educators integrate these two concepts? This article describes a method of integrating the humanities as part of an innovative clinical experience. A def...