This quasi-experimental study used a convenience sample of nursing students (n = 49) to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation on anxiety. Students participated in mindfulness meditation sessions and completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. A statistically significant reduction in trait anxiety was found in the intervention group (p = .000); state anxiety decreased but not significantly. In contrast, anxiety increased significantly in the comparison group, but progression was not significantly different between groups. Trait anxiety may decrease with mindfulness meditation.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine baccalaureate nursing (BSN) students’ perception of spirituality and spiritual care as a component of holistic nursing practice. Aim: The specific aim of this study was to determine the perception levels of spiritual care, religiosity, and spirituality in first- and last-semester BSN students. Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study used a convenience sample of BSN students. Participants ( n = 150) completed demographics with self-reflected levels of religiosity and spirituality, the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (SCGS), and the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS). Findings: First-semester and last-semester BSN students were predominately single, female, Caucasian, and Christian. First-semester BSN students completed the SCGS and SSCRS upon entrance and exit in the first semester of the nursing program with no significant differences found. However, the last-semester BSN students scored significantly higher than the first-semester BSN students on the SCGS and the SSCRS. Conclusion: Over the course of the nursing program, the last-semester BSN students gained insight into spiritual care placing a higher emphasis on spirituality and less on religiosity. This supports the threading of spiritual nursing care throughout the nursing curriculum. Further study validation is needed.

BackgroundEffectiveness of end-of-shift patient handover between nurses may be impacted by poor communication. This can be improved with the use of information tools, either electronic or paper-based. Few studies have investigated the activities that support patient handover, and fewer have explored how several of these tools used together affects the handover process.PurposeThe aim of this study was to understand coordination challenges in end-of-shift patient handover between nurses and the influence of multiple information tools used in that context.MethodologyA qualitative methodology to investigate phenomena in an acute care hospital in the United States was used in this study. Semistructured interviews were used to elicit insights from 16 nurses. Data were analyzed by coding three types of task dependencies (prerequisite, simultaneous, and shared) and three information tools (electronic medical records [EMRs], Kardex, and printouts of EMR data).ResultsIn preparation for a handover, nurses were burdened by ensuring that information in the EMR was correct and complete. A one-sheet Kardex was the tool nurses in the study preferred, because the essential information was at hand and it provided structure to the communication. Printouts of EMR data were often physically cumbersome and not useful in their current form, although they may be useful for communicating anomalous data.ConclusionThis study provides insights regarding the challenges of care coordination in end-of-shift patient handover between nurses and the usages of a variety of information tools in preparation for handover, as well as the actual handover process.Practice ImplicationsMultiple interrelated information tools may be used to support patient handover. Health leaders should focus efforts on further advancing protocols for end-of-shift nurse handovers. Health system designers should design information tools to align them with their defined purpose in the handover process. Future work should consider both the information needs of nurses and the goal of improving nurse workflows.