The clinical component of undergraduate clinical education is a critical area in nursing programs. Faculty shortages have made recruitment of clinical faculty and clinical teaching more challenging. As such, alternate models of clinical faculty assignments are being explored to address faculty shortages. This article contains an extensive literature review conducted to survey models of clinical education and student satisfaction with the clinical environment. The purpose of this paper is to examine student satisfaction in the clinical learning environment using articles employing the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) along with examining the use of alternate clinical staffing models in differing levels of undergraduate nursing students. A literature search focusing on studies published between 2002 and 2015 was conducted from 5 electronic databases. Thirty-five articles were reviewed and 22 were selected for this literature review. The studies reviewed concluded that students favored a more positive and favorable clinical environment than they perceived as being actually present. A supportive clinical learning environment is of paramount importance in securing positive teaching learning outcomes. Nurse educators can apply the results of this review in order to develop and maintain quality clinical teaching and to promote a positive, student-centric, clinical learning environment.

The purpose of study was to examine relationships between social support and anxiety in pregnant and postpartum women. Hypotheses were that there will be an inverse relationship between social support and anxiety in pregnancy and the postpartum. The sample consisted of 177 women. The Personal Resource Questionnaire (PRQ) 85—Part 2 and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used. The STAI demonstrated coefficient alphas from 0.90 to 0.93; 0.87 and 0.93 for the PRQ. All five hypotheses were supported—social support and state anxiety in pregnancy (r = −.308, p = .000) and trait anxiety (r = −.420, p = .000) and postpartum (r = −.497, p = .000) and social support and state anxiety in the postpartum (r = −.375, p = .000) and trait anxiety (r = −.276, p = .013). Findings are relevant to advance nursing theory, science, and practice. Nurses must understand these complex processes to effectively intervene.

The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between functional status after childbirth and related concepts. The sample consisted of 177 women. The Personal Resource Questionnaire (PRQ) 85—Part 2, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Inventory of Functional Status After Childbirth (IFSAC) were used to measure variables. Data were collected during the third trimester of pregnancy and at 6 weeks postpartum. Overall, this group had relatively low levels of anxiety and high levels of social support and functional status after childbirth. The STAI demonstrated coefficient αs from .90 to .93, the PRQ 85-Part 2 .87 to .93, and the IFSAC .90. The relationship between state anxiety in the postpartum period and FSAC (r = -.204, p = .008) was significant. Additional significant findings between social support, anxiety, and subscales of the IFSAC were found. Nurses must understand these relationships to develop and implement effective interventions. This study is clinically relevant to nurses involved in caring for pregnant and postpartum clients.

In this descriptive study, graduates of a traditional baccalaureate nursing program were compared with graduates of an accelerated baccalaureate program at the same university between 1991 and 2006. A survey was sent to a random sample of two groups: traditional baccalaureate graduates and graduates of the accelerated program who had previous degrees in another major and completed the nursing curriculum in a shorter time frame than the traditional students, resulting in a total sample of 73 graduates. Outcome variables included demographics, NCLEX passing rates, transitioning to the professional role, employment, professional development, certifications and self-reported reasons the respondents entered the nursing profession and why they remained. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups on these variables. Results of a t-test revealed that the GPA of the accelerated group was significantly higher than the traditional group. Future considerations include the impact that accelerated program development may have on both the current and projected nursing shortage.

Clinical learning is a critical component of a nursing curriculum. Student satisfaction in clinical environment is crucial to foster a positive learning experience. Faculty shortages have made clinical teaching more challenging; as such, alternate models of clinical teaching must be explored by nursing programs. The purpose of this study was to measure the perception of student satisfaction in regard to the effectiveness of shared clinical teaching in nursing. Utilizing Chan's Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI), this quantitative comparative study examined nursing students' preferred and actual clinical learning environment. The CLEI contains 42 questions in six subscales: Individualization, Innovation, Involvement, Personalization, Task Orientation, and Satisfaction in both the actual and preferred clinical learning environment. The sample consisted of 202 nursing students in two groups: the first group had 91 students who experienced shared clinical teaching with two faculty, whereas the second group had 111 students who experienced the traditional, single faculty model. The results were analyzed using independent sample T-tests. The preferred learning environment was rated highest in all six subscales. Scores of the Satisfaction subscale and the Innovation subscale for Actual Learning Environment, and the score of the Innovation subscale for Preferred Learning Environment of students experiencing shared clinical teaching with two faculty were higher than the scores of students experiencing traditional, single faculty model, with statistically significance (P＜0.05). The results indicated students preferred the shared clinical teaching model with two faculty over the single faculty model. Nursing programs can utilize this model and apply these results to develop and maintain quality clinical teaching.

Access to urban green space has been linked to positive health outcomes including enhanced perinatal health. The purpose of this article was to review, summarize, and synthesize what is known about the relationship between urban green space and perinatal health and outline implications for practice, policy, education, and research. Nineteen articles were included in this state-of-the-science review. Overall, it was found that limited access to green space is significantly related to adverse birth outcomes. These findings present an important opportunity for childbirth educators and other clinicians involved in the provision of prenatal and reproductive health care. Through education and intervention, poor perinatal outcomes may be mitigated. Clinical screening and education about the importance of access to and use of urban green space during pregnancy should be an essential component of preconception counseling and antenatal screening for at-risk populations. Policy makers should be made aware of these findings so that impactful change can be made in order to reduce disparities and promote health equity.