I don’t care about your stupid mask, lady. Put the candy in the bag.
How do you spell the name of those adorable (menacing) little children (vagrants) who knock on your door asking for (demanding) candy on Halloween night? Is it “trick-or-treaters” or “trick or treaters”? Hyphens or no hyphens?
The answer is: hyphens. The correct way to spell it is “trick-or-treater.”
But what about “trick or treat,” you say? Hyphens or no hyphens there? This one is a bit more complicated.
Let’s look at the two ways you can use “trick or treat,” as a verb and as a noun.
Verb: Sally dressed up as an amoeba to trick-or-treat.
Noun: As Sally dragged her candy sack home, she thought the trick or treat was successful.
When I wrote “trick-or-treat” as a verb, I used hyphens. Hyphens are always the answer when you use it as a verb. But…
Enjoy this 2+-minute, homegrown, YouTube video about our 7-year collaborative, EBP/research project recorded per request of a presenter at the Association for Nursing Staff Development conference. (I admit it’s intimidating to watch myself.)
Key points from our efforts: EBP/research learning should be fun. Content, serious!
The related publication that records some of our fun efforts and the full collaborative picture: Highfield, M.E.F., Collier, A., Collins, M., & Crowley, M. (2016). Partnering to promote evidence-based practice in a community hospital: Implications for nursing professional development specialists, Journal of Nursing Staff Development, 32(3):130-6. doi: 10.1097/NND.0000000000000227.
For RNs wanting to pursue a doctorate, it is important to pick a degree that best matches your anticipated career path. The shortest simplest explanation of the difference in these degrees is probably:
PhD – If you want to be a nurse scientist & teach in a university & conduct nursing research.
DNP– If you want to be an advanced practice nurse, who primarily uses research in leadership, QI, patient care, etc. along with measuring project outcomes.
Of course, some DNPs teach in universities, particularly in DNP programs. PhDs may otherwise be better prepared for faculty roles. I encourage you to look carefully at the curriculum at the school where you hope to study and expectations of a university where you hope to teach. Speak with faculty, & choose wisely.
Yes.It is easier to do things the way we’ve always done them (and been seemingly successful).
Yet, most of us want to work more efficiently or improve our own or patients’ health.
So, there you have the problem: a tension between status quo and change. Perhaps taking the easy status quo is why ‘everyday nurses’ don’t read research.
Ralph (2017) writes encountering 3 common mindsets that keep nurses stuck in the rut of refusing to examine new research:
I’m not a researcher.
I don’t value research.
I don’t have time to read research.
But, he argues, you have a choice: you can go with the status quo or challenge it (Ralph). And (admit it), haven’t we all found that the status quo sometimes doesn’t work well so that we end up
choosing a “work around,” or
ignoring/avoiding the problem or
leaving the problem for someone else or
….[well….,you pick an action.]
How to begin solving the problem of not reading research? Think of a super-interesting topic to you and make a quick trip to PubMed.com. Check out a few relevant abstracts and ask your librarian to get the articles for you. Read them in the nurses’ lounge so others can, too.
Let me know how your challenge to the status quo works out.
Bibliography: Fulltext available for download through https://www.researchgate.net/ of Ralph, N. (2017 April). Editorial: Engaging with research & evidence is a nursing priority so why are ‘everyday’ nurses not reading the literature, ACORN 30(3):3-5. doi: 10.26550/303/3.5
Reliability & validity are terms that refer to the consistency and accuracy of a quantitative measurement questionnaire, technical device, ruler, or any other measuring device. It means that the outcome measure can be trusted and is relatively error free.
Reliability– This means that the instrument measures CONSISTENTLY
Validity – This means that the instrument measures ACCURATELY. In other words it measures what it is supposed to measure and not something else.
For example: If your bathroom scale measures weight, then it is a valid measure of weight (e.g. it doesn’t measure BP or stress). You might say it had high validity. If your bathroom scale measures your weight as the same thing when you step on and off of it several times then it is measuring weight reliably or consistently; and you might say it has high reliability.
Last week’s blog focused on the strongest types of evidence that you might find when trying to solve a clinical problem. These are: #1 Systematic reviews, Meta-analyses, or Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines based on systematic review of RCTs; & #2 Randomized controlled trials. (For levels of evidence from strongest to weakest, see blog “I like my coffee (and my evidence) strong!”)
So after the two strongest levels of evidence what is the next strongest? #3 level is controlled trials without randomization. (Sometimes called quasi-experimental studies.)
Here’s an example of a controlled trial without randomization: I take two groups of mice and test two types of cheese to find out which one mice like best. I do NOT randomly assign the mice to groups. The experimental group #1 loved Swiss cheese, & the control group #2 refused to eat the cheddar. I assume confidently that mice LOVE Swiss cheese…
You can be a part of documenting such stories, including your own. Can I pique your interest with these examples about historical research?
1. Artifacts:Example = http://acif.org/The American Collectors of Infant Feeders:
CREDIT http://acif.org/
The American Collectors of Infant Feeders is a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to gather and publish information pertaining to the feeding of infants throughout history. The collecting of infant feeders and related items is promoted.
2. Interviews:Example = http://www.oralhistory.org/ Want to do interviews of interesting faculty, students, leaders, “ordinary” nurses? Check out the Oral History Association In addition to fostering communication among its members, the OHA encourages standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, dissemination and uses of oral testimony.
3. Stories from the “ordinary:” Example: http://www.murphsplace.com/mother/main.htmlMy Mother’s War – “Helen T.Burrey was an American nurse who served as a Red Cross Nurse during World War I. She documented her experience in both a journal and a scrapbook which has been treasured by her daughter, Mary Murphy. Ms Murphy has placed many of these items on the Internet for people to access and it provides a first-hand account of that experience. Additionally she has a variety of links to other WWI resources.” (quoted from AAHN Resources online)
CREDIT http://e-anca.org/
4. Ethnic studies:Example=https://libguides.rowan.edu/blacknurses Black Nurses in History “This is a ‘bibliography and guide to web resources’ from the UMDNJ and Coriell Research Library. Included are Mamie O. Hail, Mary Eliza Mahoney, Jessie Sleet Scales, Mary Seacole, Mabel Keaton Staupers, Susie King Taylor, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman.” (quoted from AAHN Resources online)
Critical thinking: Don’t forget to save your own materials. Your life is history! What in your life is most interesting? Have you written it down or dictated it into your iphone voice memo? There is GREAT interest in “ordinary” men and women. Many times items are tossed because they are “just letters” or “only old records,” or “stuff.” Just Don’t Do It.
I don’t care about your stupid mask, lady. Put the candy in the bag. 
best matches your anticipated career path. The shortest simplest explanation of the difference in these degrees is probably:
