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The dynamic healthcare world and increased demands on nurses call for a parallel shift in nursing education that is optimally geared toward effectiveness. Just as student nurses are taught to reflect on their practice to effectively meet clients’ needs, educators also need to be well versed in self-reflection to enhance their teaching methods. Self-reflection is the deliberate consideration of experiences, which when guided by the literature helps an individual gain insight and improve practice. Educators should not only opt for personal reflection but should also seek the views of their students and peers. Self-reflection becomes critical when it goes beyond mere reflection, questioning teaching assumptions, and addressing their social and political context. Given the remarked benefits of using self-reflection in education, and the current COVID-19 global repercussions which have urged faculties to try alternative methods of teaching, a concise guide to self-reflection is hereby provided for use by nurse educators.

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INTRODUCTION Although brief smoking cessation interventions that follow the 5As algorithm (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, Arrange) can trigger smokers to quit, routine delivery remains low in Europe. This study aimed to identify the extent of smoking cessation practices of healthcare professionals interested in tobacco cessation, and their opinions and attitudes. METHODS A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was adopted. Healthcare professionals (n=133) who attended one of ten training sessions on brief interventions for smoking cessation, held every month between September 2018 and June 2019 in Malta, were recruited. Univariate logistic regression and non-parametric tests were carried out to identify associations by participants' characteristics. Potential confounders were ruled out following multivariate analyses. RESULTS Most participants were female nurses who had never smoked. While most professionals reportedly asked (76.3%), advised (83.5%) and assessed (70.5%) patients for cessation, fewer provided assistance (40.9%) and arranged followup (24.2%). Compared to other participants, doctors were more likely to have counselled patients over the previous week. Most professionals were favourably disposed towards counselling patients to quit, however, they claimed they had insufficient time to do so. Although most found it difficult to get clients to quit, former smokers were more likely to disagree when compared to those who never smoked (OR=6.86; 95% CI: 2.17-21.71; p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS While more initiatives to train healthcare professionals in providing smoking cessation interventions are recommended, lack of sufficient time, being an organisational barrier, requires healthcare management exploration and action. Given that former smokers were more confident in helping patients quit, engaging them in training activities would be of added value.

INTRODUCTION Tobacco smoking poses a significant threat to the health of individuals living with diabetes. Intensive stand-alone smoking cessation interventions, such as multiple or long (>20 minutes) behavioral support sessions focused solely on smoking cessation, with or without the use of pharmacotherapy, increase abstinence when compared to brief advice or usual care in the general population. However, there is limited evidence so far for recommending the use of such interventions amongst individuals with diabetes. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of intensive stand-alone smoking cessation interventions for individuals living with diabetes and to identify their critical features. METHODS A systematic review design with the addition of a pragmatic intervention component analysis using narrative methods was adopted. The key terms ‘diabetes mellitus’ and ‘smoking cessation’ and their synonyms were searched in 15 databases in May 2022. Randomized controlled trials which assessed the effectiveness of intensive stand-alone smoking cessation interventions by comparing them to controls, specifically amongst individuals with diabetes, were included. RESULTS A total of 15 articles met the inclusion criteria. Generally, the identified studies reported on the delivery of a multi-component behavioral support smoking cessation intervention for individuals with type I and type II diabetes, providing biochemically verified smoking abstinence rates at follow-up at six months. The overall risk-of-bias of most studies was judged to be of some concern. Despite observing inconsistent findings across the identified studies, interventions consisting of three to four sessions, lasting more than 20 min each, were found to be more likely to be associated with smoking cessation success. The additional use of visual aids depicting diabetes-related complications may also be useful. CONCLUSIONS This review provides evidence-based smoking cessation recommendations for use by individuals with diabetes. Nonetheless, given that the findings of some studies were found to be possibly at risk-of-bias, further research to establish the validity of the provided recommendations is suggested.

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Aim To compare undergraduate nursing students’ evaluations of a gamified educational webinar to a non‐gamified version. Both webinars covered the topic “Determinants of health,” part of public health education. Design A post‐test evaluation design with a comparison group, and an additional qualitative component. Methods First‐year students reading for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology were randomly allocated into two classes of 26 students each, and to the gamified and non‐gamified webinars. The revised “Students Evaluations of Educational Quality” questionnaire was sent to all participants. Participants were also asked to provide comments on their learning experience. Results A total of 40 participants who attended the gamified and non‐gamified webinars completed the questionnaire. Educational quality was perceived as “good” to “very good,” in both groups. Most participants in the gamified webinar group remarked that gamification helped to increase their engagement and interaction.