Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence

The essays for the Ascona Balint Award give a deep impression of the students’ experiences, reflections and conclusions. And they show an insight into medical education in different countries. “As a medical student, I was confronted with the importance of understanding and respecting the diversity of patients’ life experiences, recognizing that individual choices and beliefs can significantly influence health care decisions. The ethical dilemma that Eliza faced in relation to her faith and her health condition highlighted the complexities that healthcare professionals can encounter when dealing with religious issues. Throughout our conversation, I realized that Eliza was looking not just for a listener, but for someone who understood the multiplicity of challenges she faced.” Mateus Menezes dos Santos “Based on the realization of the great potential that can be found in involving oneself with one’s feelings in a treatment relationship and the awareness of having to meet the requirements of both a problem solver and an accompanying insight helper, I believe that new spaces for this emotional reflection are needed in everyday clinical practice. Just as a physical and psychopathological examination of the patient is part of the standard toolkit, a kind of mini-emotional status of the practitioner seems to me to be an enrichment in order to professionalize a more empathic attitude in the treatment relationship.” Julian Neugebauer “That day, Edna recounted a vibrant timeline of her life’s events. From college, to family, love, parenthood, illness and age, I learnt many things about the magnificent tapestry that had been her life; the rich and royal hue with which her 87 years had been woven. The lucidity of her recollections served as a poignant reminder that patients at the end of life are still living. Whilst a component of their individuality becomes lost the minute we exchange their clothes for a hospital gown, and their name for a room number; they are still individuals with stories, identities and emotions.” Dikshya Parajuli With contributions by Sophia Babnigg, Vivian Lu, Mateus Menezes dos Santos, Laura Mota Vieira Lima, Julian Neugebauer, Dorothée Otte, Dikshya Parajuli, Tuyen Pham, Morgan W. See, Sarah Tavares Araújo Santos, Taneka Tezak, Megan Torpey and Ramila Tostes

The nursing faculty shortage will have a fundamental impact on the ability to produce nurses. For most nursing schools and states, however, concerns about the relative merits of different solutions to the nursing faculty shortage are misplaced. Without significantly increased visibility and definition, accompanied by a clear public, private, and health care organization return on investment (ROI), proposing solutions to the nursing faculty shortage is at best premature and at worst irrelevant. There is simply too much competition for resources to expect that a vaguely defined and invisible problem with no rationale for increased investment will receive sufficient support from critical decision makers and constituencies. First must come problem definition, visibility, and ROI. Only then can the case be made for implementing solutions to the nursing faculty shortage.

Competency validation for nursing licensure is an evolving regulatory issue in Kentucky. Societal and professional forces are driving the shift from mandatory continuing education requirements for relicensure to a competency-based evaluation paradigm. The Kentucky Board of Nursing has issued a working position paper, Accountability and Responsibility of Licensees to Assure Nursing Competence (October 1997), as the basis for a dialogue about shaping Kentucky nursing regulation in the twenty-first century. While the position paper explores new models for both initial and continuing licensure requirements, this article focuses on continued competence issue.