Nursing education and definition of the professional nurse role. Expectations and knowledge of the nurse role

The aim of nursing education is a development of the nursing profession. One way to promote development is to clarify the professional role. The role definition for nursing is mostly transmitted through tacit knowledge. We consider that the professional development of the nursing profession in Sweden requires a clear and well-defined nurse role. Stated goals of professional programmes for nursing do not include the entire body of tacit knowledge. The overall development requires recognition of a professional status together with a clear and well-defined role. We have found a significant change in the distribution of role-conceptions which occurred after the nurses had experienced their first year as registered nurses, and which did not occur during the educational process. This indicates that the conceptions of the need for a more clearly defined nursing role are assimilated during work experience. This confirms the necessity and importance of role modelling, role repetition and interactions with a professional group as part of the educational process.     

Nursing students' changing orientation and attitudes towards nursing during education: A two year longitudinal study

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that nursing students' perceptions of nursing change over time. Little research has been undertaken in the Netherlands of students entering nursing programmes and of how they progress.ObjectivesThe aims of this study were to explore whether nursing students' orientation and attitudes towards nursing changed over time, when these changes occurred, and what factors influenced the changes. We also aimed to identify the factors which prompted them to consider leaving their programmes, and what factors affected their motivation to stay.DesignThe study used a longitudinal quantitative design.ParticipantsQuestionnaires were administered to all students enrolled in a Bachelor's of Nursing programme at four nursing universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands (n = 1414). The data for this study were collected during the first two years of the programme, from September 2011 to June 2013. A total of 123 respondents completed the survey each year and this group was used to examine changes over time.MethodsAt four time intervals respondents completed a survey consisting of 1) the Nursing Orientation Tool, 2) the Nursing Attitude Questionnaire and 3) background characteristics. Non-parametric tests were used to explore changes in factor scores over time.ResultsThe results showed an improvement in the students' orientation and attitudes towards knowledge, skills and the professional roles of nurses, while empathic behaviour decreased over time. Although the changes showed non-linear patterns over time, the results showed clear effects between the different time points. The reasons for attrition (24%) proved to be related both to problems with the educational programme and to personal problems. An important motivator for students to stay in the course was their passionate desire to become nurses, suggesting that the positive aspects of a nursing career dominated the problems they encountered.ConclusionsTutors and mentors should pay more attention to the individual perceptions and problems of first and second-year students, both in the classroom and during clinical placements. Knowledge of the students' perceptions from the very beginning could be vital to study success.     

Nursing education and importance of professional status in the nurse role. Expectations and knowledge of the nurse role

Development of the nursing profession is an essential goal of nursing education. One way to reach the goal is by clarifying professional status, a status which for the most part is transferred through tacit knowledge. The goals of any nursing education do not include the entire body of tacit knowledge. The development requires recognition of professional status. Over time, significant changes in distribution of nurses' conceptions about professional status are described. The authors contend that conceptions of the importance of professional status are assimilated during work experience. The necessity and importance of role modelling, role repetition and interactions with a professional group are supported by findings from the literature and the authors' current research.     

Academic administrators' attitudes towards interprofessional education in Canadian schools of health professional education

Interprofessional education is an approach to educating and training students and practitioners from different health professions to work in a collaborative manner in providing client and/or patient-centred care. The introduction and successful implementation of this educational approach is dependent on a variety of factors, including the attitudes of students, faculty, senior academic administrators (e.g., deans and directors) and practitioners. The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes towards interprofessional teamwork and interprofessional education amongst academic administrators of post-secondary health professional education programs in Canada. A web-based questionnaire in English and French was distributed via e-mail messaging during January 2004 to academic administrators in Canada representing medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work, occupational therapy and physiotherapy post-secondary educational programs. Responses were sought on attitudes towards interprofessional teamwork and interprofessional education, as well as opinions regarding barriers to interprofessional education and subject areas that lend themselves to interprofessional education. In general, academic administrators responding to the survey hold overall positive attitudes towards interprofessional teamwork and interprofessional education practices, and the results indicate there were no significant differences between professions in relation to these attitudinal perspectives. The main barriers to interprofessional education were problems with scheduling/calendar, rigid curriculum, turf battles and lack of perceived value. The main pre-clinical subject areas which respondents believed would lend themselves to interprofessional education included community health/prevention, ethics, communications, critical appraisal, and epidemiology. The results of this study suggest that a favourable perception of both interprofessional teamwork and interprofessional education exists amongst academic administrators of Canadian health professional education programs. If this is the case, the post-secondary system in Canada is primed for the introduction of interprofessional education initiatives which support the development of client and patient-centred collaborative practice competencies.     

Student nurse attitudes towards homeless clients: a challenge for education and practice

The purpose of this research was to describe attitudes of nursing students (and paramedic officers) towards marginalized clients. Convenience quota sampling in a major health faculty was employed. Students participated on a voluntary basis. A 58-item Likert scale, developed by the authors, assessed the student nurses' attitudes. In general, attitudes towards homeless clients were neutral; detailed analyses, however, revealed that student nurses would decline to care for homeless clients in various situations. Personal experience with homeless patients and positive attitudes of nurses significantly contributed to increased quality of care and equality of treatment for homeless clients. Certain student nurse behaviors warrant immediate attention to prevent marginalized patients from being exposed to unfair, inaccessible and biased nursing care. Based on our results, we recommend that further research attention be paid to the role of ethics education and faculty behaviors, as faculty members serve as role models for professionalization.     

Nursing students' expectations regarding effective clinical education: A qualitative study

This study aimed to describe the expectations of Bachelor of Science nursing students regarding what constitutes an effective clinical education. In this study, a semistructured interview process was utilized with 17 nursing students studying in sophomore, junior and senior years in training units of hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Content analysis was employed to analyse the data. Data analysis led to identification of three main themes: (i) appropriate communication and interaction between instructors and students; (ii) incorporation of both theory and practice in clinical education, with two subthemes, one being the presence of the instructor as a factor for reducing the gap between theory and practice and the other being evaluation based on appropriate criteria; and (iii) having specialized instructors, with a specific emphasis on the instructor's knowledge and motivation as important factors in learning. The findings reveal the significant role of mentors in providing effective educational and clinical experiences. Therefore, mentors must strive to develop their knowledge and clinical behaviours according to students' needs in clinical settings.     

The effects of nursing education on professional values: A longitudinal study

BackgroundIt is considered to be extremely important to ensure that nurses adopt professional values during their education in order to improve nursing practices and develop a professional identity.ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to investigate the effects of nursing education on development of professional values.DesignThis study was designed as a longitudinal study.SettingsThe study was conducted in a nursing department at a nursing school in the western Turkey.ParticipantsThe population of the study consisted of nursing students who were enrolled in the nursing department in academic year of 2011–2012. The data of the study were collected from 59 first-year students in 2011 and 83 fourth-year students in 2015.MethodsThe data of the study were collected using Personal Information Form and Nursing Professional Values Scale-NPVS. The participants responded to the same questionnaire in their first and fourth years in the department.ResultsThe scale mean score of the students in their first year was 3.44 ± 0.635. The highest scores were obtained from the subscales of responsibility, security, and autonomy. Their scale mean score in their fourth year was 3.93 ± 0.727. The highest scores were obtained from the subscales of dignity and autonomy. The difference between the mean scores was statistically significant (p = 0.001).ConclusionsIt was concluded that nursing education had a significant effect on development of professional values.     

在职继续护理教育对护士能力培养作用的比较

目的 :探索在职继续护理教育 (大专 )对护理人员能力培养的作用。方法 :用简单相关系数t检验比较接受在职继续护理教育人员的考试成绩、小讲课成绩和实际工作成绩。结果 :接受在职继续护理教育人员的考试成绩、小讲课成绩和实际工作考核成绩成正相关。结论 :在职继续护理教育对护理人员能力的培养作用非常明显     

The attitudes of nurse tutor students towards behavioural objectives: background and method of study

Since behavioural objectives are rooted in behaviouristic psychology there is a brief discussion of some notable behaviourists. This is followed by reference to some key characters in the behavioural objectives movement. The strengths and weaknesses of behavioural objectives are discussed with reference to the relevant literature. Behavioural objectives in nursing education are considered and the tensions which their use may give rise to are noted. Finally, details are given of how a small-scale empirical study relating to behavioural objectives was conducted.     

A quantitative study of Iranian nursing students' knowledge and attitudes towards pain: Implication for education

Rahimi‐Madiseh M, Tavakol M, Dennick R. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2010; 16 : 478–483
A quantitative study of Iranian nursing students' knowledge and attitudes towards pain: Implication for education It is well documented that pain management and pain assessment is an indispensible part of the nursing care of patients. This study sought to quantify the current knowledge and attitudes of nursing students in Iran about pain management. We conducted a cross‐sectional study using a well‐validated questionnaire entitled the ‘Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Pain Tool’, previously used to evaluate undergraduate nursing students. Results from the survey questionnaire showed that there was a severe deficit in knowledge relating to pain and its management. It is argued that there is a real need for improving the content of pain and its management in the undergraduate nursing education curriculum, which might improve the delivery of optimal nursing care of patients. The limitations of the study are discussed and some recommendations are made for reforming pain management education for future practice.     

Nursing attitudes towards recording of religious and spiritual data

Poor recording of patients' religious and spiritual information is known anecdotally and occasionally referred to in publications. Chaplains in particular encounter lack of data entries or errors in records on a routine basis. While novel forms of spiritual assessment have been discussed, the only previously published United Kingdom research on nurses' responses to patients' spiritual needs uses the approach of critical incident analysis. This article reports on the findings of a nurse focus group used to generate issues likely to resonate with staff as to why poor assessment and recording occurs. Apart from clinical factors, nurses cited the intrusiveness of questions about spirituality and the feeling that assessment was 'unnecessary' as major reasons for non-recording. The most significant finding was the correlation between clinical area and the incidence of assessment. Nurses who admitted patients and always asked for religious and spiritual information were three times more likely to work in complex clinical areas. Further training is indicated as most likely to enhance accurate recording. More research is needed to establish whether these findings are matched in practice, and to identify whether the results found in one teaching hospital are equally true for other types of hospital in the UK.