The shortage of nursing faculty has contributed greatly to the nursing workforce shortage, with many schools turning away qualified applicants because there are not enough faculty to teach. Despite the faculty shortage, schools are required to admit more students to alleviate the nursing shortage. Clinical groups in which preceptors are responsible for student learning extend faculty resources.Purpose.To determine the effectiveness of an alternative clinical experience (preceptorship).Methods.quasi-experimental, randomized, longitudinal design. Students were randomized to either the traditional or precepted clinical group. The clinical experience was a total of 12 weeks. Groups were compared according to several variables including second semester exam scores, HESI scores, and quality and timeliness of clinical paperwork.Sample.Over a two-year period, seventy-one undergraduate nursing students in the second semester medical-surgical nursing course participated. 36 were randomized to the experimental group. The preceptors were baccalaureate-prepared nurses who have been practicing for at least one year.Setting.Two hospitals located in the Texas Medical Center.Statistical Analysis.Descriptive statistics and independentt-test.Results.There was no difference between the groups on the variables of interest.Conclusion.Students in the precepted clinical group perform as well as those in a traditional clinical group.

Meeting the challenges of the nursing shortage appears to be daunting for schools of nursing across the nation as they struggle to meet educational capacity needs with limited resources. A statewide grant program was developed and implemented through legislative initiatives providing opportunities for schools of nursing to respond to the need for innovation in nursing education. This article shares some of the successes and challenges identified through the process of implementing and evaluating this grant program. Insights into the political and regulatory process are provided as a model for other states to consider. Examples of educational strategies that were successful in improving the recruitment and retention of students and faculty are discussed. Nursing and other health care leaders across the nation should look to policy initiatives such as grant programs to infuse innovation into educational programs and to address educational capacity issues compounding the nursing shortage.

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Background/Objective: The two most common reported barriers to nursing education are limited faculty and clinical resources. This study evaluated a new curriculum designed to immerse students in full-time clinical experiences in their final semester. Methods:This was a randomized controlled trial with a repeated-measures design. Students entering a BSN program were randomly assigned to either the new Pacesetter curriculum (50 students) or the traditional curriculum (92 students). Students in the traditional curriculum had didactic and clinical experiences each semester for four semesters. Pacesetter students completed didactic courses in the first three semesters and were in clinical 36 to 40 hours/week for the entire fourth semester. Outcome variables included course grades, HESI scores, NCLEX pass rates, graduation rates, first-year job retention rates, and PBDS performance. The data were analyzed by use of t-tests with a significance level of p < .05. Results:Pacesetter students had significantly higher HESI scores (936) in the psychiatric nursing course than the traditional students (873) (p < .05), and the traditional students had significantly higher HESI maternity nursing scores (1002) than the Pacesetter students (932) (p < .05). There were no significant differences in course grades, graduation rates, or NCLEX pass rates. First-year job retention rates were 63% for traditional students and 100% for Pacesetter students (p < .05). Conclusions:The Pacesetter students' clinical experiences allowed immersion in a clinical agency for an entire semester. Implications for nursing education include the redesign of nursing curriculum to allow total immersion in the clinical agency in the last semester.

Cervicofacial actinomycosis is an uncommon infection and in most cases odontogenic in origin. Pharyngeal and/or laryngeal lesions, usually occurring secondary to mucosal trauma, are very rare and may mimic a malignant tumor. In such cases, which represent less than 1% of all cases, the differential diagnosis with upper aerodigestive tract malignancy remains challenging. We report a case of actinomycosis in a 56-year-old male patient who presented with an extensive, centrally necrotic mass in the oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx region suspected to be a tumor. The lesion was diagnosed 6 months following accidental ingestion of an ear of corn and ultimately proved to be cervicofacial actinomycosis. The clinical and pathological features and current aspects of the diagnosis and treatment of cervicofacial actinomycosis are discussed.