Purpose: Obesity is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood.Many studies offer a variety of explanations for the alarming increase in childhood obesity; however, none discuss why an apparent disconnect exists in parental perceptions of their child's weight status. The purpose of this article was to review the current research literature on parental perceptions about their children's weight.Data source: The articles included in this review were retrieved through a literature search using PubMed. Key words used to obtain relevant articles include childhood obesity, childhood overweight, and parental perception.Conclusions: Several studies looked at parental perceptions of childhood obesity generated from the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, and the United States. Universally, parents were more likely to misperceive their child's weight. This was especially true for parents who were themselves overweight. Implications for practice: If parents do not recognize their child as at risk for overweight or overweight, they cannot intervene to diminish the risk factors for pediatric obesity and its related complications. More research is needed to identify why this phenomenon occurs. Only then can effective interventions be initiated.

AbstractInterviewing standardized patients (SPs) trained to model psychiatric disorders can promote student nurses’ interview skills and therapeutic communication, while at the same time increasing their confidence and decreasing anxiety. From a constructivist view of education and Kolb’s (1984; Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Edgewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall) theory of experiential learning, this article describes the development and use of SPs as a learning strategy. The use of SPs helps faculty in overcoming some of the challenges of competing for clinical sites and meeting objectives in limited clinical time. In this simulation, baccalaureate nursing students had the opportunity to interact with SPs, who had been trained to demonstrate symptoms of bipolar disorder, anxiety, and schizophrenia. During debriefing, students critiqued their performances, identifying strengths and weaknesses. The advantage to nursing students was the ability to improve their interviewing skills in a safe educational environment before encountering these patients in a clinical experience. Both faculty and student evaluations of this experience support its integration into psychiatric undergraduate courses.

AbstractSocial justice is a fundamental value of the nursing profession, challenging educators to instill this professional value when caring for the poor. This randomized controlled trial examined whether an interactive virtual poverty simulation created in Second Life® would improve nursing students’ empathy with and attributions for people living in poverty, compared to a self-study module. We created a multi-user virtual environment populated with families and individual avatars that represented the demographics contributing to poverty and vulnerability. Participants (N = 51 baccalaureate nursing students) were randomly assigned to either Intervention or Control groups and completed the modified Attitudes toward Poverty Scale pre- and post-intervention. The 2.5-hour simulation was delivered three times over a 1-year period to students in successive community health nursing classes. The investigators conducted post-simulation debriefings following a script. While participants in the virtual poverty simulation developed significantly more favorable attitudes on five questions than the Control group, the total scores did not differ significantly. Whereas students readily learned how to navigate inside Second Life®, faculty facilitators required periodic coaching and guidance to be competent. While poverty simulations, whether virtual or face-to-face, have some ability to transform nursing student attitudes, faculty must incorporate social justice concepts throughout the curriculum to produce lasting change.

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Structured simulation research designs using published guidelines for best practice implementation are needed. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2018;49(2):91-96.