Education Special Issue 2022

EDUCATION SPECIAL ISSUE

BY:

Table of Contents

Education

Articles

4

Peering into the Post-COVID Nursing Curriculum

By Louis Pilla

8

Career Moves: From Shift Nurse to Leadership

By Michele Wojciechowski

10

14

Tips on Passing the NCLEX Exam

By Shannon Rosen and Kristyn Smith

How an RN-to-MSN Program Can Advance Your Career

By Julia Quinn-Szcesuil

Editor’s Notebook

Let Us Never Consider Ourselves Finished Nurses...We Must Be Learning All of Our Lives

“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” These words spoken by Nelson Mandela have even more significance in our post-COVID world.

Nursing is a lifelong learning process for dedicated professionals playing an essential role in our society today, advocating for health promotion, educating the public and patients on preventing injury and illnesses, participating in rehabilitation, and pro viding care and support.

This month, Minority Nurse takes you on a nursing education journey.

The first stop is “Peering into the Post-COVID Nursing Curriculum” with Louis Pilla as he previews what nursing education looks like after COVID, our reliance on tech nology and digital tools, and the new AACN Essentials.

Next up are “Career Moves: From Shift Nurse to Leadership” with Michele Wojciechowski as she shares insight for the nurse thinking about making the shift and responding to a higher calling: nurse leadership.

Before you think about advancing your nurse education, first, you must pass your NCLEX exams. Recent graduates Shannon Rosen and Kristyn Smith share tips to help you reach your goal of passing the NCLEX exam and becoming a nurse with a healthy work-life balance.

The final stop on our journey is with Julia Quinn-Szcesuil as she answers the question: “How an RN-to-MSN Program Can Advance Your Career.”

In the spirit of Florence Nightingale, let us never consider ourselves finished nurses.... we must be learning all of our lives. And our nursing education journey continues!

-Reneé Hewitt

CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS/ EDITORIAL OFFICE

11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor New York, NY 10036 212-431-4370 n Fax: 212-941-7842

SPRINGER PUBLISHING COMPANY

EDUCATION SPECIAL ISSUE

Andrew Bennie 212-845-9933 abennie@springerpub.com

For editorial inquiries and submissions: editor@minoritynurse.com

For subscription inquiries and address changes: admin@minoritynurse.com

2022 Springer Publishing Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction, distribution, or translation without express written permission is strictly prohibited.

CEO & Publisher Mary Gatsch

Vice President & CFO Jeffrey Meltzer

Editor-in-Chief Koren Thomas

Creative Director Kevin Kall

Production Manager Diana Osborne Digital Media Manager Andrew Bennie

National Sales Manager

Peering into the Post-COVID Nursing Curriculum

BY LOUIS PILLA

Nursing students need to be educated to own their competency.

Nursing education after COVID will rely more on tech nology and digital tools than ever. Simulation and online learning will be part and parcel of the curriculum for nursing students. It will also be more competency-based as the new AACN  Essentials further integrate into nursing curriculums.

But what about the content of the curriculum?

Nursing education, accord ing to Mary Dolansky, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Sarah C. Hirsh Professor, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and Director, QSEN Institute at the school, may include instruc tion on telehealth, an empha sis on systems thinking, stress on leadership, and a focus on innovation and design thinking.

“We want to prepare our students that you will be a leader and you will be on TV talking about how you are innovat ing and adapting to the changing needs of the health of our population. And COVID was a great example for that,” says Mary Dolansky, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Sarah C. Hirsh Professor, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and Director, QSEN Institute.

Telehealth

Understanding how to use telehealth in nursing is key, according to Dolansky.

The Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, developed a series of four modules on telehealth so that all students received a basic foundation in telehealth nursing, including telehealth presence. It included teaching using Zoom or the phone to assess and evaluate patients. She notes that interactive prod ucts that give students a feel for how such interactions occur and practice them can provide an excellent education.

Systems Thinking

Another aspect of postCOVID nursing education involves systems thinking, says Dolansky. This involves “ really getting students to think beyond one-to-one patient care delivery and about populations. We need to cre ate more curricula for nurses out in primary care sites and nurses out in the community, and that has not been a strong emphasis in schools of nursing. Instead, we focus mainly on acute care.”

More specifically, students should learn, for instance, how to use data registries to look at areas of patient need. One COVID example, notes Dolansky, would be to use reg istries to identify long-term COVID patients. Another could be to use a registry or database to discover what patients have followed up on their chronic disease since, during COVID, many patients stopped visiting healthcare providers.

Emphasizing Leadership

In the post-COVID curric ulum, developing leadership skills may become more criti cal. “What we observed in the COVID crisis,” says Dolansky,

“was an opportunity for nurses to stand up and speak out more. We were the ones at the frontline and had the poten tial to be more innovative and responsive. Many great nurses did step up and speak up, but we need to ensure that every nurse can speak up for patients in future crises or even advocate for our patients now. Nurses can be the biggest advo cates for patients.”

Every school of nursing probably has a leadership course, Dolansky notes. But ensuring that there are case studies from COVID as to how nurses did stand up and speak out and how that made a dif ference would be a fundamen tal curriculum change.

“We want to prepare our stu dents that you will be a leader and you will be on TV talking about how you are innovating and adapting to the chang ing needs of the health of our population. And COVID was a

“What we’re trying to advocate is shifting the lens of a nurse from direct patient care deliv ery, which has been the focus of nursing, to shift ing a little bit to systems thinking,” says Dolansky.

delivery, which has been the focus of nursing, to shifting a little bit to systems thinking.”

Critical thinking, notes Dolansky, focuses on making decisions for an individual patient. Design thinking and innovation are more about “looking at the system in which we work and empowering the nurses to fix the systems. This is key to quality and safety, but it’s also key to the need for our nurses to contribute strongly to the health of the future popu lation. They have to be at the table to respond to these cri ses. We need them to have the skill set of being a leader, stand ing up, being at the table and when they’re at the table, hav ing ideas, being creative, and knowing how to test them. And having the technical skills to use the technology is probably where most of the solutions will be for the future.”

QSEN and Competencies

With the latest AACN Essentials, there is a drive for competencies in nursing edu cation, notes Dolansky. The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education, approved by the AACN in April 2021, calls for a tran sition to competency-based education focusing on entrylevel and advanced nursing practice.

great example for that.”

Innovation

Post-COVID, nursing edu cation needs to help students with innovation and design thinking, notes Dolansky. Over the past 10 years with QSEN, “what we’re trying to advo cate is shifting the lens of a nurse from direct patient care

While revising the Essentials began before the pandemic, the experiences and learnings from the pandemic greatly impacted the work, notes a recent article in Academic Medicine As a result, the Essentials includes population health competencies that specifically address disaster and pandemic response and will better prepare the next generation of nurses to

www.minoritynurse.com www.dailynurse.com www.springerpub.com

respond safely in future events, the article says.

N ow, a crosswalk has developed between QSEN competency statements and the 2021 AACN Essential Statements, notes Dolansky. However, she notes that the AACN is taking the QSEN foundation and moving it forward, stating to the public that “the nursing profession

has these competencies that are providing safe quality care to the public.” Since 2012, the QSEN effort has been based on the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing.

“Students will see that competency develop ment is part of their lifelong professional development,” says Dolansky.

“Own Their Competency”

In the culture of nursing education, students now need to be educated to “own their competency,” says Dolansky. “Students will see that com petency development is part

of their lifelong professional development.”

Louis Pilla is a seasoned pub lishing expert with over 20 years of experience providing content and digital products to healthcare audiences.

Career Moves: From Shift Nurse to Leadership

BY MICHELE WOJCIECHOWSKI

Nurses in leadership positions explain what it takes to get there.

You’ve been working as a shift nurse for a few years. You love it, and you love caring for patients.

But there’s always been something else calling to you: leadership.

How do you start? What steps should you take? Do you need more education?

Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered.

Making the Shift

“Think about how you want to influence the health care system at large,” says Rachel Neill, MSN, RN, CPPS, Founder of InnovatRN Consulting, Chief Clinical Advisor for HealthEdGlobal, and a Clinician Advocate at Vivian Health. “Leadership roles often provide opportu nities to affect change at higher levels and support health care teams across disciplines.”

“Think about how you want to influence the health care system at large,” says Rachel Neill, MSN, RN, CPPS, Founder of InnovatRN Consulting, Chief Clinical Advisor for HealthEdGlobal, and a Clinician Advocate at Vivian Health.

Overlook Medical Center, and Associate Chief Nurse Executive, Atlantic Health System says “it’s important to gain knowledge that will inform decision-making.” Read nurse leadership textbooks, journal articles, and books by or including nurse lead ers. She suggests Fast Facts for Making the Most of Your Career in Nursing, edited by Dr. Rhoda Redulla.

Read nurse leadership textbooks, journal arti cles, and books by or including nurse leaders.

in your corner is truly key. I recommend having a trusted source give you a 360 evaluation, taking personality surveys, etc. We all have blind spots when it comes to communication, which allows you to recognize your bias,” she explains.

for nurses new to leadership roles that cover the basics of finance, human resources, safety, and quality, as well as the leadership skills to be successful in the role of nurse manager.”

If you’re not certain that leadership is for you, Ophelia M. Byers, DNP, APRN, WHNP-BC, NEA-BC, CPXP, CDE, Chief Nursing Office,

Once you’ve decided to move to leadership, Byers says you need to determine your track. “There are two formal leadership roles: supervisory/managerial and non-supervisory/functional. In supervisory or managerial leadership, the leader has direct and indirect reports that comprise a team and is responsible for the care of those people and the operation, e.g., staff on a clinical unit. In non-supervisory or functional leadership, the leader does not have any reporting team members but rather is responsible for overseeing a specific function (e.g., Nurse Educator) or program (e.g., Magnet Program Director),” she explains.

Find a mentor, says Desiree Hodges, MBA, RN, CCRN, NE-BC, The Vice President of Care Services at the ALS Association North Carolina. “Having someone

“Having someone in your corner is truly key. I recommend hav ing a trusted source give you a 360 evalu ation, taking personal ity surveys, etc.,” says Desiree Hodges, MBA, RN, CCRN, NE-BC, The Vice President of Care Services at the ALS Association North Carolina.

Know about the tasks you may be doing that you aren’t doing now. “You may oversee budgets, organize staff train ing, and otherwise ensure that nurses follow the right proce dures and protocols,” advises Kelly Conklin, MSN, CENP, SVP, Chief Clinical Officer for PerfectServe.

If you don’t have that experience, you may need to earn a higher degree than the one you hold and/or obtain certifications. “Know your organization’s requirements, reach out to your current leader and discuss your plans to obtain the necessary degrees or certifications,” says Hodges. “The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses has an online course designed just

Trust your instincts as well, Neill says. And don’t forget your experiences as a nurse at patients’ bedsides. “When moving into a leadership role, it is important to have a direct leader and health care sys tem that will support you as you navigate this transition. In addition, the nurse leader serves as the first-line advocate for the nurses doing the daily work. You cannot support the nurses adequately without a team/system to support you as a leader,” she says.

Trust your instincts as well. And don’t forget your experiences as a nurse at patients’ bed sides, says Neill.

Conklin says that no matter what you choose to do, “Don’t cut yourself off from oppor tunities—whatever they may be—that challenge your think ing and bring you to a higher knowledge.”

Michele Wojciechowski is a national award-winning free lance writer based in Baltimore, Maryland. She loves writing about the nursing field but comes close to fainting when she sees blood. She’s also the author of the humor book, Next Time I Move, They’ll Carry Me Out in a Box.

Tips on Passing the NCLEX Exam

BY SHANNON ROSEN and KRISTYN SMITH

The National Council Licensure Examination is a prerequisite for becoming a nurse. With increased nursing school applicants, we thought it would be worthwhile to offer tips on how best to pass the NCLEX. We each tried our techniques and utilized simi lar options to help us pass the exam in May of this year. With some guidance from our par ents on our side, we also have plenty of tips to help others pass this challenging exam with much more confidence than you otherwise might have exhibited.

Watch Tips and Tutorials on YouTube

YouTube has tons of great material on every subject, including the NCLEX. We rec ommend finding some tutori als and tips to help you pass. Shannon, in particular, used this study method for subjects she didn’t fully understand. It enables you to gain knowledge in areas where you’re lacking and is just a fun, easy way to gain more information and help you feel more confident with that material.

Give yourself a few months to take your time and practice until you feel comfortable.

Allot Yourself So Many Questions Per Day

Don’t try to push yourself to get through hundreds of practice questions when you don’t have the mental capacity. Instead, give yourself a few months to take your time and practice until you feel comfortable. It’s best to allot

yourself so many questions daily and only focus on getting through one set at a time. Shannon stuck with the 75 questions per day rule, and it helped.

You can also go with Kristyn’s technique and allot yourself so many daily topics. Then, pick two or three and work on the material until you feel like you’ve nailed it. She spent one month working this way until she felt confident she could pass the test.

in her way or disturbing her studies.

deserve. It will help give you mental clarity so you can return to your study routine afterward.

Utilize UWorld

Study and Correct Your Incorrect Answers

By only focusing on so many questions each day, you have time to go back over the answers. You can correct anything you got wrong and take the time to understand why it was wrong. Then, use your results to help you study better and refocus on the problems you’re having trouble tackling.

Let Your Family Help

You don’t have to do this alone. Sure, you’ll be the only one taking the test, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get help practicing and preparing in the meantime.

Let your family help you in any way they can—we both did. Kristyn’s mom helped her by being a pretend patient. Her aunt and uncle let her stay with them while in college to help save on costs. Shannon’s dad tried to help keep their dog occupied, so he wasn’t

Be Sure to Eat Healthily

Speaking of Shannon’s dad, Mark stresses the importance of eating well. It’s important to eat something healthy and keep your body full and your brain working to the best of its ability while studying and before you have a big exam. So, eat something healthy and keep your body full and your brain working to the best of its ability. That will go a long way toward ensuring you can pass your NCLEX without the pangs of hunger interrupting your thought process.

Also, Enjoy a Snack

You don’t have to eat all the time healthily, however. Sometimes, it’s good to get your favorite snack and reward your self a little for the hard work you’ve been doing. So, grab your favorite candy bar and savor every bite before you get back to the work at hand. That little bit of goodness in your day can be a huge motivator and help when feeling down.

Add Vitamin D to Your Day

It’s also essential to make sure you’re staying healthy over all. Adding Vitamin D to your day, especially by soaking it up outside, is beneficial for how you feel mentally. Don’t just sit and study for the entire day. Get outside. Enjoy the fresh air. Take the break you need and

One of the best things you can do for yourself (or a family member) is to purchase a pretest system that allows you to see how well you would do on your NCLEX. It’s excellent practice and shows you the areas where you need additional guidance before you take the actual test. We used UWorld, and it offers options for both RNs and PNs. It helped us gain the information and experience necessary to help us feel genuinely prepared for the exam in real life. In addi tion, the UWorld NCLEX-RNⓇ provides more than 2,000 ques tions to help prepare for your impending. If you want easyto-understand information, this program is for you.

Take Your Time

Our final piece of advice is to take your time. It isn’t nec essary to feel rushed during the NCLEX because you get five total hours for the entirety of it. Don’t rush through any questions. Please read it thor oughly so that you’re entirely comprehending what it’s ask ing. Some questions can be tricky, and you’ll misinterpret what it’s asking for if you don’t read them all the way through and give yourself time to sort through the possible answers.

A family and friends sup port network can also help make all the differ ence in reaching your goal of being a nurse with a healthy work-life balance.

www.minoritynurse.com www.dailynurse.com www.springerpub.com

Keep your body full and your brain working to the best of its ability while studying and before you have a big exam

Give yourself a few months to take your time and practice until you feel comfortable.

Why Preparing to Be a Nurse Is So Important

It takes a village to support nursing students and current nurses, particularly given the added stress of the pandemic. In addition, as current nurses are exiting the profession due to burnout or attrition in large numbers, student nurses must find the resources they need to support their academic and career goals. A family and friends support network can also help make all the differ ence in reaching your goal of

being a nurse with a healthy work-life balance.

Shannon Rosen graduated from Nova Southeastern University, passed the NCLEX in May 2022, and is an Operating Room Nurse at Naples Community Hospital in Naples, Florida.

Kristyn Smith graduated from Chamberlain University, passed the NCLEX in May 2022, and is a Pediatric ER Nurse at a hospital in Houston, Texas.

Kristyn Smith

How an RN-to-MSN Program Can Advance Your Career

BY JULIA QUINN-SZCESUIL

As the nursing industry con tinues to change, more nurses seek a master of science in nursing (MSN) to advance their careers. The path to a master’s degree varies among schools and programs, giving nurses options for how to pursue a degree and balance it with their other obligations.

Nurses considering an MSN will want to examine several programs to benchmark the basics, such as admission requirements, cost, potential funding, program length, and course delivery (online or oncampus work). The graduation rates will give you an under standing of how many nurses complete the program.

According to Tina Farrell, direc tor of the RN-MSN program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Nursing, the right RN-to-MSN program can expedite a nurse’s career goals and trajectory.

The right RN-to-MSN program can expedite a nurse’s career goals and trajectory.

MSN. “The program permits students to use some credits from the graduate programs as electives in the undergrad completion portion so that they can take fewer total cred its to get an MSN,” says Linda Kelly, JD, MSN, RN, assistant professor and coordinator of the RN Options Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing.

may choose to take one course per term or two courses per term, depending on how fast

Nurse educators are in high demand.

Nurses considering an MSN will want to exam ine several programs to benchmark the basics.

One option is the RN-toMSN program which helps accelerate studies. RN-to-MSN programs are all slightly differ ent. For example, some pro grams require an associate’s degree for admission, while others require completion of BSN studies. Within programs, nurses may need to complete prerequisite courses before beginning program work, so all students enter with the same foundational knowledge, par ticularly in math and science courses.

Find the Right Program for You

Once you have some pro grams in mind, looking at your personal and professional goals will help you whittle down the best RN-to-MSN programs.

“The big benefit is to those nurses who know they want a particular type of master’s,” she says of RN-to-MSN programs, “because it requires a commit ment to a particular track.”

For example, the University of Mississippi’s RN-MSN pro gram offers several tracks, including an FNP, a master’s in nursing education, or a mas ter’s in nursing and healthcare administration.

Farrell says RN-to-MSN programs help students save time and money. “Doing the RN-to-MSN takes the same time as it would be to com plete an RN-to-BSN,” she says, and nurses graduate with the advanced degree without hav ing to apply for, be accepted into, and complete a separate MSN program. In addition, thanks to an outreach program at the University of Mississippi, some students there can apply for early acceptance while in an associate’s program, says Farrell, offering an even more seamless approach to an advanced degree.

Other programs offer a dif ferent path. For example, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, students complete an accelerated BSN/

Students in the program often want to complete BSN requirements for work and advance their careers, so con tinuing with the MSN brings even more benefits. “It also gives them the additional information necessary for mov ing up their career ladder into education, administration, and other endeavors,” Kelly says, because the depth of learning offered through the curriculum gives an excellent foundation in pathophysiology, assess ment, organizational theory, and other key courses needed for advanced learning.

Part-time or Fulltime Program?

RN-to-MSN programs fre quently offer flexible timelines for students to complete the work, but Farrell mentions a few things nurses should consider. A full-time student is often eligible for additional potential funding and grants that a part-time student is not. Some schools also set a cap on tuition credit costs, so a fulltime student may be able to add a few extra credits without an additional cost. Part-time students have other advan tages, she says. They can work while taking courses and have more financial resources. They also have a lighter course load which can help with a school/ work/life balance. “Students

they want to move through the program,” says Kelly.

An MSN degree opens up career opportunities for nurses. According to Farrell, nurse edu cators are in high demand, and nurses could find work in areas such as diabetes hospital edu cators or as coordinators for a joint replacement program.

“There are many different roles for educators,” says Farrell, “you just need to get in and find what works for you.”

Master’s degrees are an excel lent entry for nursing health care administration where nurses are needed in leader

RN-to-MSN program often helps expand opportunities for nurses from traditionally under represented groups--increasing diversity in the nursing industry.

ship, says Farrell. Many roles that require expertise in global leadership or managing bud gets don’t require a nursing degree, but a nursing leader in one of those positions brings an entirely different set of expe riences, she says. Healthcare leaders with nursing education and experience will look at patient care, nurse support, and analytics to understand what’s required to deliver optimal care

in a realistic setting. “What’s needed,” says Farrell, “is the ability to speak the nursing lan guage and translate it to those who do not.”

Options Bring More Diversity to Nursing

And because it offers a path way for nurses, an RN-to-MSN program often helps expand opportunities for nurses from traditionally underrepresented groups--increasing diversity in the nursing industry. And many nurses can step into a nurse practitioner provider role upon completion of their degree, which can help fill the growing primary care provider shortage, particularly in under served areas where care can be challenging to access. An MSN

is also needed for faculty roles, so pursuing this advanced degree path will get more nurses into higher education. The results are broad--more faculty eases the faculty short age, allows nursing schools to accept more applicants, and brings more diverse perspec tives to students.

Assessing the balance of time, money, and goals is essential to success if you’re considering a path to an MSN. Pursuing an MSN is an excel lent option for nurses who know what they want to accomplish and how a spe cialty or generalized path will help them meet those goals.

Many nurses will find an advanced degree will help them achieve their goals faster.

“A master’s degree is a prerequisite for almost all promotions in the acute care workplace,” says Linda Kelly, JD, MSN, RN, assistant professor and coordinator of the RN Options Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing.

“A master’s degree is a prereq uisite for almost all promotions in the acute care workplace,” says Kelly, and those positions frequently come with a higher salary and more responsibility. “As with any college-level or

graduate-level program, there will be a lot of work,” she says, “but the outcome will be worth it.”

Julia Quinn-Szcesuil is a free lance writer based in Bolton, Massachusetts.