Journal for Nurses in Professional Development

Spring is here...or at least according to the calendar. The reality is a bit different! Snow is falling and so are the temperatures in many parts of the US.

It's a good time to curl up in front of a roaring fire and enjoy this issue of JNPD. The CE feature is on writing multiple choice questions that assess learning and avoid the usual item-writing flaws. Although many nursing professional development specialists eschew written tests, in those instances where they are needed, it's essential to ensure that the test actually measures learning, not the extent to which the learners are savvy test takers.

The remainder of the issue also offers practical, applicable strategies in nurse residency programs (Remillard), assessing learning needs (Foy, Carlson, and White), evaluating effectiveness of education (Sweeney, Kenny, and Schubert), and developing a calendar to coordinate education throughout an institution (Rus, Cheesebro, Nagra, and Neff).

In this issue, we introduce a column on Nurse Residency Programs, written by Editorial Board member Jim Hansen. In his first column, Jim relates nurse residency programs to recommendations in the Institute of Medicine Future of Nursing report. Joyce Johnson, column editor for the Administration column, relates educational objectives to business outcomes, an essential approach in today's cost-conscious healthcare institutions.

I'm certain you'll find something both interesting and applicable in this issue.

Happy Spring!

Belinda E. Puetz, PhD, RN
Editor-in-Chief, JNPD

Spring is here...or at least according to the calendar. The reality is a bit different! Snow is falling and so are the temperatures in many parts of the US.

It's a good time to curl up in front of a roaring fire and enjoy this issue of JNPD. The CE feature is on writing multiple choice questions that assess learning and avoid the usual item-writing flaws. Although many nursing professional development specialists eschew written tests, in those instances where they are needed, it's essential to ensure that the test actually measures learning, not the extent to which the learners are savvy test takers.

The remainder of the issue also offers practical, applicable strategies in nurse residency programs (Remillard), assessing learning needs (Foy, Carlson, and White), evaluating effectiveness of education (Sweeney, Kenny, and Schubert), and developing a calendar to coordinate education throughout an institution (Rus, Cheesebro, Nagra, and Neff).

In this issue, we introduce a column on Nurse Residency Programs, written by Editorial Board member Jim Hansen. In his first column, Jim relates nurse residency programs to recommendations in the Institute of Medicine Future of Nursing report. Joyce Johnson, column editor for the Administration column, relates educational objectives to business outcomes, an essential approach in today's cost-conscious healthcare institutions.

I'm certain you'll find something both interesting and applicable in this issue.

Happy Spring!

Belinda E. Puetz, PhD, RN
Editor-in-Chief, JNPD

This section lists articles that will be published in upcoming issues of JNSD.  Note the Volume and Issue Number in parentheses (e.g., 29.1 means Volume 29, Number 1, or 2013 (Volume), the January/February issue).

An Exploration of the Workplace Bullying Experience: Coping Strategies Used by Nurses (29.5)

The Nursing Research Idea Fair: Fostering Research Interest and Activity Among Nurses (29.5)

The Language of Data: Tools to Translate Evidence for Nurses in Clinical Practice (29.6)

Five Generations in the Nursing Workforce: Implications for Nursing Professional Development (29.6)

Financial, Performance, and Organizational Outcomes of a Nurse Extern Program (29.6)

A Solution to the Problem of First-Year Nurse Turnover

In this white paper you will learn how an evidence-based nurse residency program that meets national accreditation standards advances safe, high-quality nursing practices while saving participants millions of dollars in recruiting, training, and other nurse replacement costs.

Provided by UHC-AACN Nurse Residency Program^TM

The idea for a national specialty organization for staff development educators originated exclusively in 1985 when Belinda Puetz founded the Journal of Nursing Staff Development, then a quarterly publication of the J.B. Lippincott Co. The success of the journal led a group of nursing staff development educators to convene in Minneapolis in 1988 to discuss starting a specialty nursing organization for themselves and their colleagues in this specialty area of practice. 

Read about the National Nursing Staff Development Organization's 20 year history.