The student clinical experience is rich, yet challenges arise in providing experiences where leadership skills can be developed and used in nursing practice. To increase student confidence and enhance student ability to safely and effectively prioritize, delegate, and implement care for numerous patients, a simulation-based learning (SBL) experience was developed. The SBL experience involves multiple patient simulators, case study analysis, and a debriefing session. Ninety-seven senior nursing students participated in this program. Students reported through Likert surveys to either "agree" or "strongly agree" that the SBL was well organized (87%, n = 84), prompted realistic expectations (59%, n = 57), the scenarios were believable (73%, n = 71), case studies increased understanding (66%, n = 64), and that the SBL experience increased understanding of prioritizing and delegating care (69%, n = 67). Seventy-eight percent (n = 76) reported "more confidence in ability to work as a team" and 55% (n = 52) reported "more confidence in prioritizing and delegating care."

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The authors describe their experiences in using the poster presentation to develop undergraduate nursing students in the scholarly role of professional nursing practice. The posters were used as a means for students to communicate their accomplishments in implementation and evaluation of an innovative clinical project. Methods for development, exhibition, and evaluation of the poster project are described.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of sociodemographic characteristics, patient perceptions, and patient characteristics including spirituality, self-reported adherence, and highly active antiretroviral therapy. The convenience sample consisted of 120 English-speaking adults (60% male, 35% female, 5% transgendered) with HIV/AIDS from two HIV service agencies in a large metropolitan city in the southeastern United States. The mean self-reported adherence was 83.1% (SD = 15.7%). Adherence was significantly correlated with perceived support and absence of barriers, strong intentions to adhere, perceived effectiveness of the medications, higher levels of perceived general health, fewer years of HIV disease, and fewer years on antiretroviral medications. Existential well-being (e.g., viewing life as positive and having meaning) was a weak significant correlate. Backward regression analysis was conducted to identify a parsimonious model of predictors of adherence. The final model included presence of support and absence of barriers, fewer years of HIV infection, no current alcohol use, perceived severity of HIV, existential well-being, and male gender. This model explained 19.4% of the variance in adherence (observed F[6, 100] = 5.6, p < .0001).

Trends in healthcare delivery toward community-based care challenge nurse educators to design nursing curricula and learning experiences that prepare students for practice in community settings. The authors describe how faculty used student projects to enhance community learning experiences. The projects were designed to help students gain skill in the process of program design and evaluation and an appreciation and enthusiasm for community-based nursing practice.