Background and objective: Nursing students often experience inadequate sleep duration and poor sleep quality, which can negatively impact their academic performance and overall well-being. Addressing these challenges through structured interventions may help improve sleep health. The aim of this study was to determine how the implementation of a Sleep Toolkit focused on improving sleep hygiene impacts students’ sleep patterns and quality.
Methods A quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test design was used with 29 participants between March and April 2025. The Sleep Toolkit, adapted from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, was administered to promote better sleep hygiene. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26, with descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results There was no statistically significant difference in average sleep hours (p =.350) or feelings of restedness (p = 1.00) after the intervention. Sleep-related habits also showed no significant change.
Conclusions The Sleep Toolkit did not significantly improve sleep quality or duration. Longer interventions and behavioral reinforcement may be needed to achieve measurable improvement in students’ sleep outcomes.
Nurse preceptors are essential to the success of senior baccalaureate students' learning in clinical placements. Although nurse preceptors are often expert bedside nurses, their effectiveness as nurse teachers is influenced by a variety of factors that can either facilitate or hinder their teaching. These factors are multifaceted and may be attributed to the preceptor, the student, the nursing faculty, or the hospital organization. How these factors affect the preceptor's effectiveness is not well understood, leaving a gap in the literature: preceptors' own descriptions of effectiveness when working with students are not available. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore how clinical nurse preceptors perceive their effectiveness when working with senior baccalaureate nursing students. The study aimed to examine the lived experience of being a nurse preceptor to senior baccalaureate nursing students to foster potential strategies and policy implications for both nursing faculty and hospital administrators to best support preceptors in their roles. Data were collected from semi-structured virtual interviews, field and journal notes, and a demographic survey. Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis was used to identify four central themes within the data: (a) preparation essential for preceptor success, (b) student readiness for clinical engagement, (c) the need for faculty communication, and (d) administrative challenges. Overall, preceptors desire training for their roles, better communication with faculty, clear expectations, a scope of practice for students, and genuine recognition for their work. This knowledge can foster practical and policy change initiatives for both nursing faculty and hospital administrators. Both of which may contribute to a more successful clinical learning experience, impacting students’ satisfaction, competence, and retention in the nursing profession.
Background/objective: Nursing incivility is a widespread issue experienced by more than 85% of nurses in the U.S. Approximately 30%-71% of nursing faculty consider incivility a moderate to severe problem. Incivility is commonly known as “horizontal violence” or “bullying” and can include behaviors such as minor annoyances, distractions, or acts of violence. Incivility has negative effects on faculty well-being, including physical/emotional distress, reduced job satisfaction, and increased turnover. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to explore faculty perspectives on incivility and evaluate the effects of a multifaceted educational intervention in reducing nursing faculty-perceived frequency of student incivility behaviors.
Methods A descriptive, pre-post design was used to assess changes in faculty-reported incivility using the Incivility in Nursing Education-Revised (INE-R) survey. Multifaceted interventions, incorporating multiple strategies such as increasing awareness, cognitive rehearsal, and reflective learning, were integrated into the educational intervention. The intervention was completed with nursing faculty, and the INE-R survey was utilized to measure faculty perceptions of the severity/frequency of student incivility behaviors before and after the intervention. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected and evaluated using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and other descriptive statistics.
Results The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test comparing the median of the differences between pre- and post-composite scores revealed a statistically significant reduction in frequency (Z = -2.10, p =.03). The mean INE-R frequency scores decreased from 2.3 (SD = 2.3) pre-intervention to 1.9 (SD = 1.9) post-intervention, reflecting a 17.4% reduction in the perceived frequency of student incivility.
Conclusions Nursing programs should sustain civility initiatives through ongoing multifaceted educational interventions integrated into faculty development and institutional policies. Expanding these interventions across programs and institutions can strengthen the culture of civility and promote positive change in nursing education.
Background and purpose: This quality improvement project aimed to reduce anesthesia supply waste through an educational intervention, focusing on decreasing the volume of opened, unused supplies and increasing cost savings. PurposeOperating rooms generate 70% of hospital waste, with anesthesia supplies contributing 25%. Joint Commission infection control standards require disposal of opened single-use devices, adding to financial strain and environmental harm. A review of literature showed that anesthesia providers lack knowledge of waste reduction strategies and cost implications, but educational interventions improve knowledge and promote sustainable practices.
Methods: This project was granted IRB exemption in December 2024. Baseline data was collected over 10 days (2 weeks) in October 2024 across 27 ORs. Opened, unused single use items were collected, photographed and priced using department purchasing data. Findings were presented in January 2025 during Grand Rounds and post-class sessions to Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists, and anesthesiologists, incorporating photos, baseline data, and sustainability recommendations from the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ “Greening the OR” document. Reinforcement was provided through emails and flyers. Post-intervention data was collected over an identical time-period in January, using uniform methods.
Results: Results showed a 48% reduction in waste volume, from 404 to 194 items, with monetary loss decreasing from \$1,163.10 to \$414.55, yielding \$748.55 in savings. This results in an estimated yearly savings of \$18,713.75.
Conclusions: Healthcare waste is unsustainable both financially and environmentally, and this project provides a practical, replicable strategy to reduce its impact. Despite limitations such as the brief timeframe, education was associated with meaningful reductions in supply waste and supports the integration of sustainability-focused education into anesthesia practice.
Background: There is a significant lack of awareness of the various nursing specialties beyond mainstream hospital settings. This deficit has serious implications for the shortage of psychiatric nurse specialists in correctional and forensic settings. The lack of nurses with the specialized skills to care for patients with mental health needs, especially those in the correctional system, reveals a persistent disparity in caring an already vulnerable population.
Method This study used an integrative review methodology, drawing on peer-reviewed literature published from 2018 to the present, sourced from PubMed, MEDLINE, APA PsycINFO, and CINAHL Ultimate.
Results The limited literature available on these nursing specialties underscores a gap in nursing education that may be due, in part, to long-persistent but overlooked stigma associated with safety and/or challenges of working with institutionalized populations, many with psychiatric health disorders.
Conclusions Most nursing schools offer little, if any, education in these specialties, resulting in students’ limited awareness of their existence and a critical shortage of nurses in these settings. More academic training, models, and clinical partnerships are needed to reduce stigma and promote careers in these overlooked nursing specialties.
Background and objective: Nurses work in a variety of capacities and environments, including hospitals, in community health, outpatient areas, administration, and in education. Nurses’ challenges include heavy workloads and time management issues. Nurses also encounter long work hours, inadequate staffing, and hierarchical pressures that can result in workplace incivility. Workplace incivility can have a significant impact on both new and experienced nurses and lead to high turnover rates. Incivility among faculty members is disruptive and can contribute to the nursing shortage. The purpose of this study is to: (a) explore the personal lived experiences of faculty members regarding faculty-to-faculty nursing incivility, (b) identify the experiences that faculty members attribute to uncivil behavior, and (c) examine the impact of incivility on faculty wellbeing, job satisfaction, and ability to perform their duties. Additionally, this study aimed to identify commonalities in how faculty members experience workplace incivility through interactions with their colleagues.
Methods This qualitative descriptive study utilized a phenomenological framework to identify the lived experiences of faculty-to-faculty nursing incivility. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 purposefully selected members who met the inclusion criteria. The interviews were conducted during the Spring of 2024 and the data was transcribed and coded for emerging themes.
Results This study identified five major themes: a toxic work environment, lack of leadership, power imbalance, physical and psychological consequences, and decreased job satisfaction.
Conclusions Identifying and addressing contributing factors of faculty-to-faculty incivility is necessary for the future of the nursing workforce. Possible recommendations include: providing workshops on communication skills, providing a work-life balance, fostering a supportive environment and establishing a zero-tolerance policy.