Interdisciplinary practice--a matter of teamwork: an integrated literature review

The aim of this literature review is to explore the development of interdisciplinary practice. The terms interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and inter-professional are problematic. Definitions must be viewed carefully, as interpretations tend to reflect historical, socialization patterns that are now out of kilter with contemporary understandings. Changing inter-professional interactions, teams and teamwork are examined; findings indicate that explanations of interdisciplinary teamwork should be all-inclusive of the particular cultural conditions and contextual determinants that affect team practice. Findings need to be viewed with caution because what is applicable in one country may not be automatically transferable to another, where particular socio-political contexts shape interdisciplinary practice.     

The impact of clickers in nursing education: a review of literature

Learner participation and engagement has proven effective and essential across educational settings. Clickers, also known as classroom response systems (CRS), are widely used across disciplines, and their effectiveness has been demonstrated in higher education. However, few studies have been conducted on clicker use in nursing education. The purpose of this article is to examine the literature on how clickers can best be used to promote learner engagement among undergraduate nursing students and to better classroom education. This literature review addresses three key characteristics of clicker use in nursing, medical, pharmacy, and paramedic education found in fifteen empirical studies: interactivity and participation; satisfaction and learning outcomes; and formative assessment and contingent teaching. Nurse educators must take advantage of the latest technology such as clickers to provide more effective and efficient education.     

The impact of ageing simulation education on healthcare professionals to promote person-centred care towards older people: A literature review

AimThis review aimed to explore the impact of ageing simulation for healthcare professional education to promote person-centred care towards older people.BackgroundAgeing simulation is an emerging educational approach to facilitate the learning of healthcare professionals on ageing and older people. However, there is limited evidence available exploring its use and impact on the person-centred care of older people.DesignAn integrative review approach was used.MethodsFour databases were searched from January 2010 to April 2020 including CINAHL, MEDLINE, Web of Science and PsychINFO, 21 papers were identified and analysed.ResultsThree interrelating themes were identified to outline the findings across the reviewed studies: ageing simulation use (theme 1), characteristics (theme 2) and impact (theme 3). Results showed literature available on ageing simulation is varied, ranged in study quality and applied several ageing simulation iterations making comparisons across the studies difficult.ConclusionsDespite these challenges it was clear ageing simulation is a promising educational approach currently being used to promote person-centred care for older people in healthcare professionals. Ageing simulation successfully improved the ageing knowledge, empathy levels and attitudes towards older people of healthcare professionals.     

Patient education: a literature review

The literature review has been carried out to examine the role of nurses as patient teachers. It attempts to determine why patient education is necessary and why it should be part of the nurse's role. Included is an account of the abilities required by the nurse in order to function in that role. It is generally agreed that it is part of the nurse's role to educate patients but this is often not carried out in reality. Where it is done it is mostly unplanned and haphazard in manner and the effectiveness uncertain. There are many reasons cited why this is the case and many of these reasons relate to the inadequate education and training of nurses for this role. Registered nurses are responsible for the nursing care of patients which should include their education. In order to be able to provide the necessary education nurses must have the opportunity to be taught to develop the appropriate skills during basic training. As a result, a study is now underway to attempt to determine the extent to which student nurses are being prepared for their role as patient educators during basic training.     

Does vicarious traumatisation affect oncology nurses? A literature review

It is widely documented that nurses experience work-related stress [Quine, L., 1998. Effects of stress in an NHS trust: a study. Nursing Standard 13 (3), 36-41; Charnley, E., 1999.Occupational stress in the newly qualified staff nurse. Nursing Standard 13 (29), 32-37; McGrath, A., Reid, N., Boore, J., 2003. Occupational stress in nursing. International Journal of Nursing Studies 40, 555-565; McVicar, A., 2003. Workplace stress in nursing: a literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing 44 (6), 633-642; Bruneau, B., Ellison, G., 2004. Palliative care stress in a UK community hospital: evaluation of a stress-reduction programme. International Journal of Palliative Nursing 10 (6), 296-304; Jenkins, R., Elliott, P., 2004. Stressors, burnout and social support: nurses in acute mental health settings. Journal of Advanced Nursing 48 (6), 622-631], with cancer nursing being identified as a particularly stressful occupation [Hinds, P.S., Sanders, C.B., Srivastava, D.K., Hickey, S., Jayawardene, D., Milligan, M., Olsen, M.S., Puckett, P., Quargnenti, A., Randall, E.A., Tyc, V., 1998. Testing the stress-response sequence model in paediatric oncology nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing 28 (5), 1146-1157; Barnard, D., Street, A., Love, A.W., 2006. Relationships between stressors, work supports and burnout among cancer nurses. Cancer Nursing 29 (4), 338-345]. Terminologies used to capture this stress are burnout [Pines, A.M., and Aronson, E., 1988. Career Burnout: Causes and Cures. Free Press, New York], compassion stress [Figley, C.R., 1995. Compassion Fatigue. Brunner/Mazel, New York], emotional contagion [Miller, K.I., Stiff, J.B., Ellis, B.H., 1988. Communication and empathy as precursors to burnout among human service workers. Communication Monographs 55 (9), 336-341] or simply the cost of caring (Figley, 1995). However, in the mental health field such as psychology and counselling, there is terminology used to captivate this impact, vicarious traumatisation. Vicarious traumatisation is a process through which the therapist's inner experience is negatively transformed through empathic engagement with client's traumatic material [Pearlman, L.A., Saakvitne, K.W., 1995a. Treating therapists with vicarious traumatization and secondary traumatic stress disorders. In: Figley, C.R. (Ed.), Compassion Fatigue: Coping with Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder in Those Who Treat the Traumatized. Brunner/Mazel, New York, pp. 150-177]. Trauma not only affects individuals who are primarily present, but also those with whom they discuss their experience. If an individual has been traumatised as a result of a cancer diagnosis and shares this impact with oncology nurses, there could be a risk of vicarious traumatisation in this population. However, although Thompson [2003. Vicarious traumatisation: do we adequately support traumatised staff? The Journal of Cognitive Rehabilitation 24-25] suggests that vicarious traumatisation is a broad term used for workers from any profession, it has not yet been empirically determined if oncology nurses experience vicarious traumatisation. This purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of vicarious traumatisation and argue that it should be explored in oncology nursing. The review will highlight that empirical research in vicarious traumatisation is largely limited to the mental health professions, with a strong recommendation for the need to empirically determine whether this concept exists in oncology nursing.     

Clinical education facilitators: a literature review

Aims and objectives. The aim of this literature review, set within an Irish context, is to present a broad overview of former and existing clinical support personnel, explore the concept of facilitation and examine what is known about the role of the clinical education facilitator. Background. The importance of providing a supportive clinical environment to enhance clinical teaching and learning is strongly portrayed in the literature. While the past two decades have borne witness to various clinical support personnel, the literature identifies conflicting demands that these personnel face. No suggestions are advanced as to how to overcome these difficulties, which inevitably influence the quality and quantity of their clinical teaching role. An identifiable gap exists over who has prime responsibility for clinical teaching. It is timely that alternative possibilities for organizing clinical teaching are investigated. A new post emerging in practice settings is that of the clinical education facilitator who is meant to be the key linchpin in clinical areas for reducing the theory–practice gap. Method. Relevant literature for this review was sourced using the computerized databases CINAHL, Medline and Synergy. Manual searching of relevant nursing journals and sourcing of secondary references extended the search. Government reports and other relevant documents were obtained through pertinent websites. Results. Papers that explicitly examined the concept of facilitation and explored the posts of clinical education facilitators were included; six research papers were accessed and reviewed. In addition seven non‐empirical papers were included. Conclusions. It is clear that considerable lack of role clarity resides over what constitutes clinical facilitation and the role of the clinical facilitator. Thus, it is paramount to strengthen this support role with Irish empirical evidence. Relevance to clinical practice. A major advantage in having a ward‐based clinical education facilitator is the benefit of having access to someone who can concentrate solely on clinical education and support with attempts to narrow the theory–practice divide.     

Systematic review of the literature on simulation in nursing education

Simulation-based learning is an educational intervention which creates an environment that is conducive to experiential learning. Despite the prevalence of research on the influence of simulation on nursing education, there is a dearth of literature on the effectiveness of simulation-based learning. This systematic review examines literature on simulation outcomes in nursing education from the years 2000-2010. The electronic databases reviewed for the systematic review of the literature included: CINAHL Plus, Medline, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Education, Google Scholar, and Digital Dissertations and Theses through ProQuest. The MeSH search terms included "simulation outcomes measurement" and "nursing education". Seventeen studies were included in the review of the literature. The literature was categorized into three themes; internal outcomes, external outcomes, and clinical evaluation. The available literature on simulation and nursing education provides evidence that that simulation is useful in creating a learning environment which contributes to knowledge, skills, safety, and confidence. This systematic review of the literature revealed a gap in the literature pertaining to the transfer of these outcomes to the clinical setting, and lays a foundation for further research on outcomes specific to simulation and nursing education.     

The impact of international placements on nurses' personal and professional lives: literature review

AIM: This paper presents a critical review of research literature on the impact of international placements on the lives and practice of nurses. BACKGROUND: Health care institutions are progressively more aware of the need to respond to diverse patient populations and cultivate leaders to enrich the nursing profession, both locally and globally. One response has been to establish international exchange programmes for nursing students to give them experience of different cultures and health care systems. METHODS: A search of the literature from 1980 to 2003 using electronic databases was undertaken using the databases CINAHL, ERIC, British Nursing Index, Web of Science, the BIDS Social Science Citation Index and Medline. The keywords used were 'international exchange experience', 'international studies', 'international education', 'international placement(s)', 'exchange programme(s)', combined with 'nurses/nursing', combined with 'evaluation', 'practice', 'education' and/or 'policy'. The papers retrieved used both qualitative and quantitative approaches and were scrutinized for recurring themes. FINDINGS: Nurses reported significant changes in their personal development, perspectives on nursing practice and critical appraisal of health care systems. They also indicated an increased appreciation and sensitivity towards cultural issues and cross-cultural care. Moreover, differences in placement programmes, such as duration, preparation and debriefing were found to have affected the reported overall international placement experience. However, the primary effects of international placements were identified as personal development and transcultural adaptation. CONCLUSION: Students should be exposed to a variety of nursing experiences within the host country. This would give them a broad spectrum for comparisons between cultures, nursing practice and health care delivery in those cultures. Therefore, educational institutions are strongly encouraged to provide opportunities for students to participate in nursing care and education in another country.     

Clinical education: a review of the literature

In 2005, the University of Sheffield was commissioned to research the role, function and perceived impact of the clinical nurse educator role in a National Health Service Primary Care Trust. This paper presents the results of Phase I of the study, a review of the literature on clinical education and the series of research questions that were indicated. The importance of clinical education for quality nursing care has long been agreed but has gained increasing attention over the last two decades. This increased attention is the result of policy directives that place work based learning at the centre of health and social care practice. The literature is less equivocal, however, concerning the responsibility for clinical education and asserts various roles including; the lecturer employed by the University; joint appointments; mentors; ward sister; specialist and advanced practitioners including the nurse consultant; and more recently the clinical nurse educator. Clinical educators have reported to have been introduced to meet the professional educational needs of the workforce but there is little empirical or theoretical evidence to support or refute this. This paper is an attempt to begin to address this.     

The impact of caring on young carer's lives. An international literature review (1990-2006)

Children growing up with chronically ill parents and those who are involved into the care of their parents are at risk to experience adverse effects on their whole development. This literature study is part of a research project that intends to work out a basis for specific support for young carers and their families in Germany. Questions concerning the impact on young carers, and also experiences of growing up with a chronically ill parent where addressed to the last 15 years' relevant literature. Children experience positive as well as negative effects, but it is difficult to distinguish between caring responsibilities and the impact of growing up with a chronically ill parent. Positive effects are a good sense of self-esteem, maturity, identity, a close relation to the parents, as well as feeling well prepared for further life. Negative effects become apparent for the child's physical, psychosocial and educational development. Not every young carer experiences negative effects, and not every child of a chronically ill parent will necessarily experience disadvantage. Nevertheless, research results refer to the need for action in order to prevent negative consequences for the child's future life. Projects of support need to integrate the whole family and besides supporting the children, the parents need to be stabilised as well.     

A review of the literature on heart failure and discharge education

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have proposed changes in the health care reimbursement for patients diagnosed with heart failure (HF) if readmission to a hospital occurs within 30 days of their discharge. The Joint Commission (TJC) has identified 6 key education topics for HF patients with their families that can result in decreased readmissions. Though the patient may be too ill, critical care nurses have an opportunity to begin the discharge education process immediately with families or caregivers. This literature review discusses studies focused on discharge education in general and then those studies specific to HF discharge education. This review reports on what is known or supported by evidence within 8 major topics. Finally, the discussion section summarizes the evidence for discharge education by answering 6 questions that address the "who and when" as well as the "what" of discharge education.     

Critical thinking in nursing education: literature review

The need for critical thinking in nursing has been accentuated in response to the rapidly changing health-care environment. Nurses must think critically to provide effective care while coping with the expansion in role associated with the complexities of current health-care systems. This literature review will present a history of inquiry into critical thinking and research to support the conclusion that critical thinking is necessary not only in the clinical practice setting, but also as an integral component of nursing-education programmes to promote the development of nurses' critical-thinking abilities. The aims of this paper are to: (i) review the literature on critical thinking; (ii) examine the dimensions of critical thinking; (iii) investigate the various critical thinking strategies for their appropriateness to enhance critical thinking in nurses; and (iv) examine issues relating to the evaluation of critical-thinking skills in nursing.     

Nurses' perceptions of phase I clinical trials in pediatric oncology: a review of the literature.

A review of literature was conducted to explore nurses' perceptions of phase I clinical trials in pediatric oncology. Specifically, nurses' perceptions of the goals and outcomes, the nurse's role, and the informed consent process in pediatric oncology phase I clinical trials were investigated. Findings on possible factors influencing the nurses' perceptions and the quality of work-life of nurses working at pediatric phase I clinical trial centers were also searched. However, despite an extensive review of published works, no studies on nurses' perceptions of phase I trials in pediatric oncology were found. Therefore, this literature review consists of findings in similar or related studies such as nurses' perceptions of experimental therapies in the adult setting, adult patients' perceptions, parents' perceptions, or oncologists'perceptions of phase I clinical trials.     

A literature review of emotional intelligence and nursing education

AimThe purpose of this study is to investigate the current state of knowledge about emotional intelligence (EI) in nursing educationBackgroundHuman relationships and emotions are an integral part of nursing care and contribute to care quality. This part of the profession must be addressed in nursing education to prepare students and deal with their emotions and the patients’s. Research on emotional intelligence (EI) in nursing has been particularly developed recently. A broad understanding of many benefits of EI is crucial to include EI in this training program.DesignSystematic literature reviewMethodsUndertaken using electronic database (Cairn; PubMed; Science Direct; Wiley online library) and specific search terms. This research covered articles published in English and French between 2007 and 2021. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines (PRISMA) directed the systematic review process.Results57 articles are included in this systematic review. The literature focuses on EI and nursing education. The findings categorized into four themes: EI and performances; EI and Physical and mental health; EI and Social Relationship; and EI program.ConclusionsThis literature review reveals that EI has many benefits in nursing students. Several training programs aimed at developing this concept have proven to be effective in nursing education. We believe that a synthesis of this knowledge will then allow us to better understand the benefits of EI for a further implementation in nursing education. Perspectives and recommendations will also be formulated to enable the implementation of emotional skill development programs in such training.