There is a need to develop similar programmes to improve the leadership skills of Unit Charge Nurses, and to make it mandatory for nurses assigned to positions of Unit Charge Nurse to attend this kind of leadership programme.

Aims  Rate and number of successful cases in open heart surgery has been increasing due to the advances in medical technology and surgery. To improve patient convalescence results and reduce rate of post-discharge readmission to hospital and unplanned post-discharge rehospitalization, home-care and follow-up process of patients should be managed successfully. To evaluate the effectiveness of Nurse Led Transitional Care Model on the functional autonomy, quality of life, readmission, and rehospitalization rates of elderly patients undergoing open heart surgery. A randomized controlled trial was conducted from November 2017 to December 2018 and performed according to the CONSORT Guidelines. Methods and results  Sixty-six elderly patients were randomly allocated to the intervention (n: 33) and control (n: 33) groups. Patients in intervention group were given care based on the Transitional Care Model until the post-discharge 9th week starting from date of hospitalization. Patients in control group were given standard care services. Functional autonomy, quality of life levels, and repeated admission/re-hospitalization rates to the clinic were evaluated. The Functional Autonomy Measurement System and SF-36 Quality of Life Scale scores of the intervention group were higher than that of the control group at the 9th week (P < 0.05). In addition, rate of readmission and rehospitalization during the follow-up period (6 months) of patients in the intervention group was found to be lower than the patients in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion  Care services offered under the Transitional Care Model improved functional autonomy and quality of life and decreased post-discharge hospital readmission and rehospitalization rates of patients. Trial registration The study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT04384289).

The purpose of this study was to determine nursing students' leadership and emotional intelligence. The study was conducted as a descriptive study in a nursing school in 2008. The sample comprised 69 junior and 85 senior nursing students and was based on voluntary participation. Data were collected through a data sheet, a leadership style questionnaire, and the Bar-On Emotional Intelligence Quotient Inventory. There were no statistically significant differences in leadership orientations and emotional intelligence between junior and senior students (p > 0.05). Although there was a significant relationship between emotional intelligence and task-oriented leadership (r = 0.427, p = 0.001), there was no significant relationship between emotional intelligence and people-oriented leadership (r = 0.076, p = 0.367). Students' emotional intelligence score was average, and their people-oriented leadership score was approximately half of the total score. It is recommended to develop strategies for improving nursing students' people-oriented leadership skills during their nursing education.

Aim: The aim of this paper is to share the initial experiences on a European Union (EU) Lifelong Learning Programme Leonardo Da Vinci Transfer of Innovation Project related to the use of simulation-based learning with nursing students from Turkey. The project started at the end of the 2010 involving 7 partners from 3 different countries including Turkey, England, and Italy. Methods:This project is divided into 7 work packages (WP). In this paper, experiences from the first three WPs (WP1: Preparation and dissemination of the project. WP2: Regulation of the project management. WP3: Development of the evaluation tools used to evaluate the impact of the innovative practice within the coordinating partner's institution) are shared. Results:In the WP1 and WP2: the kick-off meeting was organized in Turkey, the coordinating partner's country. During the meeting project-related events were planned and the steering committee of the project was formed. A strong team spirit within the partnership was established. For the dissemination of the project, a poster and flier of the project were prepared and placed on corporate boards visible to students and teaching staff and put on the partners' institutional websites. Regular bulletins of the project were also prepared and posted on the project website. In the WP3, student data sheet, items for students' satisfaction questionnaire and confidence scale were created based on the literature. Trauma patient scenarios (abdominal trauma, thoracic trauma, pelvic fracture and traumatic amputation) were created to test the target group's knowledge. Ethical approval was obtained from the coordinating partner institution. A pilot study to test the cases was conducted. Following the pilot study, the final version of the student data sheet and scenario cases was created. The second meeting was organized in Italy. In this meeting, the results of the pilot study, the scenario cases, and the Patient Intervention Self Confidence /Competence Scale were evaluated. Conclusion:The work on this EU project is still in progress. Considering that learning from experience is an important part of nursing education, sharing experiences on such a project related to using simulation as an innovative teaching strategy in nursing education in Turkey should provide an example to others who want to develop other EU projects in nursing education.

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