Background The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for quality nurses and nursing education. Virtual simulation emerged as a key component of providing clinical experiences to nursing students. Problem Commercial virtual simulation products can be costly, and it is difficult to ensure the content meets student needs. In addition, there is a potential for cheating as answers are available online. Methods Faculty recorded 16 different scenarios in pre-determined segments, including patient report, assessment, provider communication, and conclusion. During the clinical experience, the students watched the videos and participated in faculty-led discussion. At the conclusion of the activity, students completed a reflection assignment providing qualitative data for review. Results Student feedback was positive. Themes identified in the comments include critical thinking, variety of scenarios, observer role, debriefing, and overall quality of experience. Conclusions Homemade virtual clinical has the potential to be a low-cost, high-impact method for virtual simulation across nursing curricula. Further research is needed.

No abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine and identify specific stressors for charge nurses at a rural Midwestern hospital.Methods: The Charge Nurses Stress Questionnaire (CNSQ) was administered to charge nurses of all units at a small Midwestern hospital. A total of 30 charge nurses completed the survey. The charge nurses completed 25 questions on four stress subscales, in addition to 11 demographic questions.Results: Study results revealed the highest stressors were primarily related to being unable to meet patient needs. This situation includes when a nurse cannot reach the provider when an urgent patient need arises; when the unit is at capacity with high acuity patients and receives notification another patient has been assigned to the unit; and when the patient is in pain or otherwise suffering, and care is delayed because orders are needed.Conclusions: Stress was noted by all charge nurses. The levels of different stressors from subscales correlate with each other, and thus an increase in one subscale of stress directly affects the level of stress of another subscale. The level of stress among charge nurses was not statistically significant among the nurses of different age, different units, different shifts, and different years of experience.

Background: Nursing education is constantly changing in order to meet the ever-changing needs of the nursing profession. Long gone are the days of lengthy lectures and rote memorization. In order to adequately meet the demands of the profession, new and innovative teaching strategies are imperative. Students must be engaged, interested, and motivated. Unfortunately, not all teaching styles work for all students. Hallin (2014) asserts that students are more motivated and engaged when lessons are consistent with their learning style. Methods: Nursing students at a small Midwestern university were surveyed regarding various teaching strategies used by faculty within the program. Demographic data were collected, and students were asked to self-report their learning style as determined by the VARK questionnaire. Students were then asked to rate a variety of different teaching strategies and activities on a five-point Likert-type scale, ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Researchers plan to use SPSS software to analyze the data to determine what strategies are most helpful to students with different learning styles.Data collection was completed in December 2019. Analysis will take place in January 2020; the data will be available for dissemination by March 2020.Implications for Nursing Educational Practice: Nursing faculty face the challenge of meeting the individual learning needs of all students. This research will help faculty to identify those methods that are most helpful to students. Different strategies can be utilized to ensure all learning styles are being addressed. Furthermore, those strategies that appeal to more than one learning style can be emphasized.Nursing faculty face the challenge of meeting the individual learning needs of all students. This presentation will review research designed to link teaching strategies to learning styles. This information will help faculty to identify those methods that are most helpful to students. Different strategies can be utilized to ensure all learning styles are being addressed. Furthermore, those strategies that appeal to more than one learning style can be emphasized.