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Introduction: Clinical competence is a pre-requisite for every student nurse to showcase their proficiency in providing quality nursing care. Effective clinical experience during the study period plays a pivotal role in developing clinical competence among nursing students. Hence, the purpose of the study was to find the effectiveness of high fidelity simulation (HFS) on clinical competence among nursing students. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine the impact of HFS on level of clinical competence among nursing students, to find the association between selected demographic characteristics of nursing students with their level of clinical competence and also, to find the association between academic performances of nursing students with their level of competence. Method: The current study employed a quasi-experimental study design. Sixty-five nursing students from second year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program were selected using consecutive sampling technique. The data was collected using demographic data form, objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) grade performa, and academic score sheet. SPSS version 24 was used to analyze data. Results: The study revealed a significant impact of HFS on clinical competence of nursing students. Majority (52.3%) of the nursing students obtained high level clinical competence following the HFS. The findings showed a significant association between gender and medium of instruction with the level of clinical competence of nursing students. Further, there was a significant correlation between academic performance and level of clinical competence of the nursing students. Conclusion: HFS served as a useful pedagogical approach in fulfilling the clinical learning outcomes. It further facilitated readiness of nursing students in second year BSN in terms of developing competence and confidence for clinical placement at the hospital for the third year of their study. However, further research is required to determine if HFS can be used in developing clinical reasoning skills in nursing students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Current musculoskeletal pain management guidelines encourage utilizing nonpharmacological pain measures. Despite their positive effect in alleviating musculoskeletal pain, nurses reported negative attitudes toward utilizing nonpharmacological pain measures. Therefore, assessing nurses' perception of nonpharmacological pain measures is essential to promote patient comfort. Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the nurses' experience and perceived challenges in using nonpharmacological pain measures in caring for patients with musculoskeletal pain. Materials & Methods: A descriptive qualitative design was carried out. Face-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted among 11 nurses. Colaizzi's method was employed in analyzing the data. Results: Four themes emerged, namely, constant monitoring and observation, selection of nonpharmacological pain measures, and various barriers related to patients and nurses. One of the ways to overcome these barriers or challenges, we should promote interprofessional teams in planning patient-centered pain management care. Also, defining the role of the pain management nurse would be pivotal to ensuring effective pain management measures. Conclusion: The nursing workforce needs to initiate and utilize these measures as a common practice in managing musculoskeletal pain and in turn create a culture that strongly supports the utilization of nonpharmacological pain measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cervical cancer screening needs to be considered as an integral part of maintaining women's health including the healthcare providers. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the barriers and facilitators, women health professionals face, when accessing the cervical cancer screening services. Research Method: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional , mixed method study. The participants of the study were female nurses from selected tertiary level hospital from Tamilnadu, India. For quantitative method, standardized validated tool was used with author's permission. The participants participated were 125 in number. Qualitative interviews were conducted. Results: The result showed that the common perception about the pap-smear procedure was being uncomfortable, anxiety provoking and painful as expressed by (35.2%, 33.6 and 33.6%) respectively. This overall poor attitude and carelessness of the female nurses may greatly hamper the screening program. Major barriers for cervical cancer screening among the nurses were found to be as follows: 31.2% said Taking off Clothes for the screening procedure is considered as a barrier, 20% said they do not prefer the presence of male staff during the procedure and 20% said its time consuming. Conclusion: To conclude, if health care providers lack health awareness, they cannot motivate their patients to do the same. Thus, the initial step in breast and cervical cancer screening is health care providers should focus of their own health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]