From caring practices to nursing sciences

Summary of the thesis: Nurse training was born in the 1870's spurred on by doctors from the Red Cross and in the state-owned hospitals of Paris. Leonie Chaptal played a fundamental role in the elaboration of the first curriculum, a curriculum based on the knowledge which is useful for the nurse to assist the doctor. However, school based in France from Florence Nightingale's trend emphasize the professional autonomy of the nurse. Nursing training and profession therefore evolve in an ambivalence which leads to develop either "caring techniques" close to medical techniques, or a financial autonomy claimed by the "appropriate role" and the nursing clinical approach. Today the nursing profession finds itself in the heart of reforms: transfer of competence, validation of the acquired knowledge from experience, reform of the curriculum with a possible connection with the university. Having defined the criteria of the science by taking example on the model of the sciences of education, the study of nursing research published in the ARSI from 1985 in 2005 shows that nursing research exits and gives a general idea of investigated subjects, often referred to human sciences; hence a first approach of reference sciences, on which nursing sciences can establish and develop, knowing that the title nursing sciences is only used in Quebec.     

Undergraduate psychiatric nursing education at the crossroads in Ireland. The generalist vs. specialist approach: towards a common foundation

This paper provides a critical overview of undergraduate educational preparation for psychiatric nursing and proposes the use of a model, which may equip psychiatric nurses to adapt to current and future directions in psychiatric nursing practice. It contends that mental health nursing is a distinct scope of practice and as such requires specialty undergraduate education. A major difference between educational preparation for psychiatric nursing in the Republic of Ireland and the UK, and distinct from most other developed countries, is the existence of separate, specialized pre-registration programmes that, upon graduation, allow the nurse to register as a psychiatric nurse. In other countries such as, Australia, the integration of pre-registration nurse education into the university sector resulted in the wide-scale adoption of a generalist approach to nurse education. In light of the recent changes in pre-registration nursing education in Ireland, and the integration of nursing into higher-level education, this paper examines the generalist vs. specialist approach to nurse education. It contends that neither the generalist nor the specialist model best serve the nursing profession in preparing safe and competent practitioners. Rather, it argues that the use of a model which incorporates both generalist and specialist perspectives will help to redress the imbalance inherent in both of the existing approaches and promote a sense of unity in the profession without sacrificing the real strengths of specialization. Such a model will also facilitate psychiatric nurses to adapt to current and future directions in psychiatric nursing practice.     

Preparation of academic nurse educators

Nursing practice is diverse, with nurses serving in both direct and indirect patient care roles. For nurse educators, the realm of nursing practice extends beyond direct patient care to include preparing students for nursing practice. Academic nurse educators must be prepared to serve as educators, researchers, and to have experience in a clinical specialty area. For many nurse educators, advanced academic preparation often relates to a clinical area of practice rather than pedagogical practice. Graduate-level knowledge of evidence-based research and practice, teaching methods, and curriculum design and development form the foundation for academic practice. Because education and nursing are two distinctive disciplines, clinical expertise does not naturally result in teaching expertise. Lack of consensus regarding the educational preparation of nurse educators adds to the complexity of the nursing profession. The purpose of this article is to advocate for pedagogical preparation for academic nurse educators. Additionally, this article contains recommendations for pedagogical competencies indicative of academic nurse educator preparation.     

Widening the entry gate--an excellent research opportunity

Widening the entry gate does not mean lowering the standard of nurse education and nursing practice. The concept has been applied by the Open University for over 10 years based on the 'first come first served' principle irrespective of educational attainment, whilst maintaining its standards as an academic institution. This paper asks, whether the nursing profession wish to introduce the same system? The question of learning and teaching strategies is raised by the author who urges nurse educators to take the opportunity to develop research. The outcome of nurse education is to ensure practitioners possess the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes, creativity and the ability to apply them in clinical, educational and management practice. Research data is required by the profession to plan and develop nurse education in the 1990's and beyond.     

Nurse education in English universities in a period of change: expectations of nurse academics for the year 2008

In England, the education of nurses in the academic arena has a relatively short history arguably representing recent advancement of the nursing discipline. Until we undertook this study, however, expectations for the next decade were unknown. The current investigation replicates a similar study of Australian nurse academics (Sellers & Deans, 1996) which found discrepancies between how nurse academics perceived the future development of the profession, compared to how they actually expected it to develop. In order to provide information concerning the future of nursing education in England and related professional and social factors, a random sample of nurse academics was surveyed. Findings indicate that although advances have been made, there are a number of concerns regarding the development of nursing as a discipline. These include parity of status with other academic areas, resource issues, the workload of nurse academics and the perception that there is lack of cohesiveness amongst nurses as a professional group. Findings in this study closely mirror results in the Australian study indicating similarities in how the nursing profession copes with the transition from a predominantly hospital based education program to a program grounded in academic institutions.     

Nurse Education Tomorrow Conference 1990. Reforming nurse education. 1--The reorganisation of nursing knowledge

With the development of Project 2000, nurse education is being increasingly drawn into higher education with the expansion of diploma and degree courses. This paper explores the implications of these new relationships, drawing on the sociology of the curriculum and education in its analyses. It examines the impact of these changes on the professional standing of nurses and nursing and the reorganisation of the curricular codes that underpin nurse education. A movement towards higher education will introduce a new educational culture into nurse training and the wide multi-disciplinary base of nursing knowledge and practice will offer new challenges to nurse educators. The changes in nurse education add a new dynamic to the old tensions between academic and vocational training and raise new questions about the relationship of nurse education to the academic tribalism of higher education.     

Academic learning for specialist nurses: A grounded theory study

The aim was to explore the major concerns of specialist nurses pertaining to academic learning during their education and initial professional career. Specialist nursing education changed in tandem with the European educational reform in 2007. At the same time, greater demands were made on the healthcare services to provide evidence-based and safe patient-care. These changes have influenced specialist nursing programmes and consequently the profession. Grounded Theory guided the study. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire with open-ended questions distributed at the end of specialist nursing programmes in 2009 and 2010. Five universities were included. Further, individual, pair and group interviews were used to collect data from 12 specialist nurses, 5–14 months after graduation. A major concern for specialist nurses was that academic learning should be “meaningful” for their professional future. The specialist nurses’ “meaningful academic learning process” was characterised by an ambivalence of partly believing in and partly being hesitant about the significance of academic learning and partly receiving but also lacking support. Specialist nurses were influenced by factors in two areas: curriculum and healthcare context. They felt that the outcome of contribution to professional confidence was critical in making academic learning meaningful.     

临床护理专家对高职护理教育的看法与建议

目的调查临床护理专家对高职护理教育的看法和建议,为构建基于岗位胜任力的高职护理课程体系提供依据。方法应用行为事件访谈法,对浙江省8所三级甲等医院的15名临床护理专家进行访谈。结果专家认为毕业1⁵年的低年资护士存在工作责任心不强、主动学习意识欠缺、专科护理知识缺乏等问题。与本科生相比,高职护理毕业生的优点是操作技能强、培养成本低,但理论知识不强、可持续发展能力不足。临床护理专家从师资队伍建设、教学内容、教学方法和考核方法等方面对护理教育提出了建议。结论临床护理专家对护理教育的意见和建议不仅为高职护理专业课程体系设置提供了依据,对护理教育教学改革也具有借鉴意义。     

Nurse education in higher education: understanding cultural barriers to progress

Nurse education is established in higher education but nurse academics remain concerned about nursing's lack of equal status within the academy. This paper reports findings of a small study of nurse lecturers' views which support other published studies. It argues that cultural factors which contribute to nursing's problems gaining equal status include anti-intellectualism within nursing and academic denigration of practice. These cultural factors are linked to the history of women in higher education, the separation between intellectual education and practical, skill-based training, the low status of caring courses and the resulting mutual denigration of culturally opposed groups. Anti-intellectualism in nursing can be seen as a defensive reaction against an academic culture that defines practical activity as inferior to abstract thinking skills. This can lead to limited educational opportunities to examine the structural and cultural context of nursing. In Freire's view, this is a necessary part of education for freedom. Current cultural change, in nursing and higher education, including an emphasis on learning outcomes and transferable skills, provides new opportunities for nursing to contribute to educational change. Removing cultural barriers to the educated nurse is a responsibility shared by universities and by the nursing profession.     

男性护士教育培养现状与对策

南丁格尔创立现代护理以来,护理一直以女性为主导,男性在护理队伍中所占比例很小。人们的健康需求需要男性护士提供护理服务,所以,教育培养一定数量的男性护士势在必行。在培养男性护士的过程中面临生源少且专业思想不端正、心理状况较差、角色适应难度大等问题。提出解决对策:教育者和学习者应该认清护理发展史上男性护士曾经扮演的重要角色,从社会需求和人类健康需要的角度认识男性护士在健康服务中的必须性,认清男性护士在护理职业中的优势,加强对男性护士的宣传,并针对男性护生的学习特点和社会需求开展教育培养。     

Reforming the Swiss nurse education system: a policy review

BACKGROUND: Western Europe has been swept in the last three decades by ongoing reforms within the nurse education systems. Within the Western European region, Switzerland is one of the last countries initiating the integration of nursing programs into higher education institutions. OBJECTIVES: This article examines the nurse education reforms recently enacted in Switzerland. The specific aims of the analysis were to: (a) examine modes of reform implementation and the current status of the Swiss nurse education system; (b) compare between two new Swiss nurse education models developed in the various linguistic regions. METHOD: A documentary search for policy documents, reports and studies related to the implementation processes of reforms was conducted through websites of various legal institutions and the Swiss university library system. FINDINGS: The analysis indicated that although a fit between environmental pressures and the reform agenda exists, the implementation of the nursing reform varied considerably between the various Swiss linguistic regions. This variation resulted in two newly created models of nurse education programs revealing a high level of variability and inconsistency. As such, the development of a unified system of nurse education, which was set as the primary goal of the reformed system, was not achieved. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, Switzerland is contributing to the widening heterogeneity rather than to the aspired homogeneity across Western European countries.     

使用行为事件访谈法构建高职护理专业毕业生质量评价体系

目的构建高职护理专业毕业生质量评价体系,为高职护理专业毕业生质量评价提供量化标准,为高职护理教学改革提供依据。方法使用行为事件访谈法对浙江省8所三级甲等医院的15名临床护理专家进行访谈并填写评价体系函询表。结果 80%的护理专家认为,目前高职护理与本科护理分层次培养很有必要;与本科护理毕业生相比,67%的护理专家认为高职护理毕业生理论知识相对薄弱。根据社会对高职护理的评价构建了高职护理专业毕业生质量评价体系。结论使用行为事件访谈法构建了高职护理专业毕业生质量评价体系,该体系为高职护理专业毕业生质量评价提供了量化标准,也为高职护理专业课程设置等教学改革提供了依据。     

Academic nursing education guidelines: tool for bridging the gap between theory,research and practice

Abstract The aim of the present study was to develop educational guidelines to be used as a tool for the integration of theory, research and practice to ensure that nursing knowledge and practical skills form the basis of academic nursing education. An additional aim was to describe the nursing competence expected of the students at four academic levels: introductory, intermediate and advanced levels I and II. Clinical nursing education plays a crucial role in assisting nursing students to integrate the theory and practice of nursing at the baccalaureate level, as well as in further specialization and in‐depth nursing studies at the advanced level. A research group consisting of lecturers from the Institute of Nursing, Göteborg University, Sweden, was given the objective to formulate educational guidelines for clinical practice within nursing education. The study took the form of a literature search. In addition, the Delphi method, aimed at reaching a consensus of opinion among colleagues, was used. Based on the literature review and the collegial discussions, four core concepts emerged: professional stance, reflective processes, problem‐solving processes, and practical skills, from which the educational guidelines were developed. Guidelines were formulated both in general and abstract form. They were not connected to a specific care context, specific patient group or specific nursing problems. The most important objective of academic education is that the student develops abilities and techniques necessary for life‐long learning. Students will, in their professional life as nurses, continuously meet situations where they are challenged to take appropriate decisions and actions. This demands training in problem‐solving, reflection, decision‐making and the ability to use both deductive and inductive learning strategies. The guidelines describe what is expected of the students in terms of nursing competence and personal qualifications to ensure that they will be ready to meet the demands of their future profession.     

A critical discourse analysis of British national newspaper representations of the academic level of nurse education: too clever for our own good?

GILLETT K. Nursing Inquiry 2012; 19 : 297–307
A critical discourse analysis of British national newspaper representations of the academic level of nurse education: too clever for our own good? This critical discourse analysis examines articles about the academic level of nurse education that appeared in British national newspapers between 1999 and 2009. British newspaper journalists regularly attribute problems with recruitment into nursing and nursing care to the increasing academic nature of nurse education. It is impossible to separate discourse about nurse education from the wider nursing discourse. Many journalists laud a traditional and stereotypical construct of nurse identity and suggest that increasing nurse education produces nurses who are ‘too clever to care’. This article argues that whilst nurses lack a voice in the National press, they have little input into the construction of newspaper discourse about nurse education and subsequently, limited influence on resulting public opinion, government policy and the morale of nurses.     

The academic writing experiences of a group of student nurses: a phenomenological study

AIMS: To investigate the academic writing experiences of a group of preregistration nursing students. To explore issues surrounding how academic writing skills were developed, integrated and received into the student's educational programme and how these skills impacted on various aspects of their educational and clinical experience. BACKGROUND: The development of an academic writing style is seen to be an integral skill that the student must be willing to learn and undertake within higher education settings. Academic styles of writing have been imported into nursing education as a consequence of its integration into higher education. I wanted to investigate the experiences of learning an academic style of writing for students early on in their nursing career. There is little, if any, research that seeks to investigate or measure these experiences of nursing students. METHODS: A phenomenological approach to investigate the academic writing experiences of a group of preregistration students. FINDINGS: There is an expectation that preregistration students will quickly acquire academic writing skills when most will have had little or no prior experience. There appeared to have been little emphasis placed on facilitating the development of these skills in the educational programme. The lack of emphasis and support proved to be problematical for these nursing students. The emergence of a theory-practice divide also figured strongly. Students were, however, able to appreciate the need and place for academic writing skills and most were able to identify the structural processes that were integral to acquiring such skills. CONCLUSION: A plethora of anecdotal evidence, supported by the findings in this study, suggests that most nursing students' struggle with the demands placed upon them when writing academic assignments. The need for greater emphasis and support throughout the whole period of training are highlighted in the findings of this study. It is known that nursing loses large numbers of its students to the academic rigors of its educational programmes. Where this is the case, the findings of this study support the need for nurse educationalists and curriculum planners to revise and reform the way that they approach and deliver the demands of an academic style of writing with their students.     

Reforms in nursing education across Western Europe: implementation processes and current status.

The aim of this review was to provide a comprehensive outlook on nursing education reforms enacted in Western Europe in the last three decades. Specifically, this analysis aimed to describe major trends in the implementation processes of nursing education reforms and the current academic status of nursing programs across Western Europe. A critical analysis of the scientific literature and policy documents was conducted. The results indicate that two major phases of reform were initiated in nursing education over the last three decades. The first phase was geared at creating a unified European platform of solid preregistration programs. The second phase was predominantly geared at integrating nursing programs into higher education institutions. In contrast to the first stage of reform, which yielded unity, the second phase resulted in a notable variation among existing structures, levels of education, duration of studies, and the titles (degrees) awarded. As a result, Western Europe today represents a myriad of arrangements for preregistration nursing programs. Nursing has viewed these reforms in the education system as vital in promoting the profession and crucial for responding to the reforming health care system. This research indicates that nursing goals have only been partially obtained.     

From scientific discovery to health outcomes: A synergistic model of doctoral nursing education

Across the globe, health system leaders and stakeholder are calling for system-level reforms in education, research, and practice to accelerate the uptake and application of new knowledge in practice and to improve health care delivery and health outcomes. An evolving bi-dimensional research-practice focused model of doctoral nursing education in the U.S. is creating unprecedented opportunities for collaborative translational and investigative efforts for nurse researchers and practitioners. The nursing academy must commit to a shared goal of preparing future generations of nurse scientists and practitioners with the capacity and motivation to work together to accelerate the translation of evidence into practice in order to place nursing at the forefront of health system improvement efforts and advance the profession.     

Developing scholarship in nursing - steps within a strategy

This paper seeks to share with the reader some of the mechanisms currently being used to generate scholarship in academic nursing, both at the institutional and individual levels. It then goes on to explore other ways in which educational managers might encourage scholarly activity. Finally, it presents the crystallization of ideas generated during discussions conducted with lecturers focusing on their selection of a workable path towards a future of scholarship, for them as an academic. It is intended as food for thought for managers of educational programmes and individual nurse academics as they scan the horizons of the future in an attempt to make the 'best' decisions for the profession of nursing and individuals within it.