Nurses routinely report using intuition to guide decisions about patient care, although they use it covertly because of difficulty explaining the sources of their intuitions to colleagues. To help nurse educators guide students toward open discussion and appropriate use of intuition, this study compared personal, interpersonal, and professional experiences suggested by past research for their association with the use of intuition by nurses. A questionnaire completed by 323 novice nurses measured use of intuition with an 18-item subscale identified by Miller from the Miller Intuitiveness Instrument. Measures of personal experience included age, gender, hospitalizations, self-esteem, and religiosity. Interpersonal experience included parenthood and social support from family and friends. Professional experience included grade point average and months of on-the-job experience. Multiple regression revealed that novice nurses use intuition more to guide patient care if they are older, have had more hospitalizations, and experience more social support.

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to determine the meaning and use of intuition in novice nurses with an above-average self-perception of intuitiveness in their 1st year of practice. Sixteen novice nurses from a variety of hospitals and specialty areas were interviewed to discover the meaning of intuitive knowing and to explore how intuitive knowing is manifested in their practice. Data interpretation revealed three dimensions. First, prior experiences were influencers to novice nurses; second, connections were central to making meaning through intuition; and third, dimensions of time, space, and touch proved to be significant in facilitating intuition. Based on the findings that emerged, implications for nursing education and practice and the wider field of adult education are presented.

Experienced classroom educators are familiar with students commonly thought of as introverted or shythe noticeably quiet students who are reluctant to speak in class, and generally shun the spotlight. Many educators find such students perplexing and frustrating because they rarely raise their hands in class, or engage in conversation afterward. It is difficult for educators to discern whether they are reaching such students or whether they are engaged or bored. Introverted students differ from their more extroverted peers in terms of information processing, classroom behavior, and preferences regarding assignments and activities. As educators, we often ask ourselves whether we are doing all we can, as educators and advisers, to foster such students' learning and personal development, and this question is highly relevant in contemporary education. Introverts are thought to comprise approximately 40 percent of the student body. In addition, cultural background may foster behaviors similar to those observed in shy and/or introverted individuals. In this article, introversion, extroversion and shyness are compared and contrasted conceptually, as well as in terms of related social and academic behaviors and processes. The questions of whether introversion and shyness confer problematic traits, whether students should be helped to overcome or signature strengths, and whether they might be guided to develop further, are also addressed. Best practice guidelines intended to help nurse-faculty respond more helpfully to quiet students as educators and advisors are offered.

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological research study was to assess the lived experience of seeking tenure while teaching and practicing at the bedside and to identify how a sense of balance was maintained throughout the process. Six nursing faculty were interviewed while actively seeking tenure or within 2 years after seeking tenure. Four themes were identified and will be discussed. The process of tenure is a stressful time for faculty and even more stressful when the faculty try to balance the demands for academe with clinical scholarship. These participants felt that their clinical practice was recognized or valued only when it was of benefit to the academic institution. In many institutions, creativity must be utilized to enhance the tenure portfolio.