Beware of predatory publishers
We'd like to thank Linda Laskowski-Jones for her thoughtful editorial on predatory publishers ("Don't fall for predatory publishers," Editorial, October 2017). As senior nursing students, we've conducted research and written scholarly papers throughout our nursing school career and heard limited information on this topic. This is a problem not only for those trying to get published, but also for all those researching and evaluating the literature. We understand that it's a challenge for RNs to decipher the quality of research, but it's even more difficult for nursing students to make this distinction. Including information on predatory publishers and source quality in the nursing curricula will help create nurses with a better understanding of evidence-based practice.
-ELAINE MAHON and MEGAN HARPER
Saint Louis, Mo.
Editor's note: For another warning about predatory practices, read Linda's December editorial on predatory conferences on page 6 of this issue.
Learning is for everyone
Nicki is 16 years old. Arriving on the unit along with six other high school students for the first time, she finds herself fearful yet excited and full of anticipation. She's part of a vocational school program that provides students with on-the-job experience for part of each day. This will be her first experience with long-term-care (LTC) patients. I was in her shoes over 40 years ago. Now, as the clinical instructor for these students, I'm seeing things from a fresh perspective.
Some of these students will go on to become RNs. Some will be employed at this facility as unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP). All will learn valuable lessons as they complete their program at our facility, but none will grow more than I will through my association with these aspiring healthcare professionals.
When I talk with my nursing colleagues at the LTC facility (all of whom are younger than I am), I find that very few of them ever held a UAP position. Yet here they are, responsible for many patients who receive day-to-day care from UAP. As nurses supervising UAP, they must communicate with and delegate appropriate tasks to UAP while appreciating that experienced UAP can bring valuable knowledge to the team too.
As I patiently help these students bathe, feed, and ambulate their first patients, I hope I'm demonstrating to my nursing peers that it's okay to continue to learn from other members of the healthcare team. Don't know how to use the ceiling lift system? Let your UAP help you train new personnel. Let them know you recognize they've gained an expertise of their own. There's great value in stepping back to look at patient care from a new perspective now and then. That's the most important lesson I've learned in the last 40 years.
-KAREN LAGIOIA, MPS, BSN, RN
Mt. Morris, N.Y.