Background: RNs in North Carolina were surveyed to determine their current knowledge and to determine if educational preparation, practice setting, or clinical specialty influenced their knowledge levels and attitudes. Method: A stratified random sample of 1,000 practicing RNs in North Carolina were surveyed using the Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Instrument developed by McCaffery and Ferrell. Results: The mean score was 64.58 based on the percentage of correct responses from the 260 subjects who participated. No statistically significant difference was found in scores based on educational preparation, practice setting, or clinical specialty. Conclusion: The findings of this study support the concern of inadequate knowledge and inappropriate attitudes regarding pain management. It reveals the need for intensive continuing education and staff development.

In today's healthcare environment, the potential for conflict among healthcare providers exists as changes are occurring at a supersonic pace. The outcomes of conflict may affect patient care and are directly related to the effectiveness of the resolution. Clinical educators and staff development educators are essential in resolution if they assess strategies that are currently being used in managing conflict and then offer more effective resolution strategies.

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What characteristics should adult education nursing faculty use to get and maintain the attention and interest of learners? There is a dearth of research or literature available to guide nursing faculty in "grabbing" the learner's interest or attention. Thus, the outcome of this project identified 20 attributes as effective teacher characteristics perceived by learners. Further, these attributes were used to generate a checklist to enhance an educator's ability to hone in on salient characteristics desired by nursing continuing education learners. This checklist, "Be Prepared to Teach," will assist the educator to utilize both professional and personal characteristics perceived as effective by adult learners.