Nurse education today
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Nursing history is replete with examples of heroic individuals acting courageously to meet the needs of vulnerable patients and communities. Heroism exemplifies the pinnacle of self-actualised behaviour. It fuels the plots of countless human stories, and enthrals and inspires people. Yet, heroism may be seen as an extreme behaviour that only exceptional individuals are capable of enacting, and may thus be seen as out of reach for ordinary nurses, and something that could be risky to teach and disseminate. An alternative view is that altruistic professions such as nursing are often regarded as being heroic by nature, and that nurses therefore need to be encouraged to understand, deepen and exercise their potential through a recognition of acts of heroism in nursing - whether these can be classed as exceptional or everyday acts of nursing heroism. The purpose of this article is to provide a thematic review of the literature on heroism in nursing, in order to understand how recent research in heroism science is being, or could be, applied to the nursing discipline. Heroism science is an emerging research area that is of interest to nursing leaders, educators and all those seeking to advance the social change agenda in healthcare. ⋯ Gaining a clear understanding of what constitutes a hero and heroism is essential to applying heroism to nursing and to education of students so they are inspired to act courageously.
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Nurse education today · Sep 2018
Development and psychometric testing of the nursing student mentors' competence instrument (MCI): A cross-sectional study.
Mentors require competence at a diverse array of skills to mentor students during clinical practice. According to the latest evidence, competence at mentoring includes: knowledge, skills and attributes of individual students' learning objectives, core elements of nursing, learning processes, a reciprocal and trustful relationship, feedback, evaluation, cooperation with stakeholders, and the mentor's personal qualities. ⋯ The instrument exhibited acceptable psychometric properties, thereby proving itself a valuable tool for evaluating mentors' competence at mentoring students. Further assessments of its reliability, validity and generality for measuring mentor's competence for mentoring students in different contexts and cultures are recommended.
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Nurse education today · Sep 2018
The effect of a workplace violence training program for generalist nurses in the acute hospital setting: A quasi-experimental study.
Workplace violence prevalence has attracted significant attention within the international nursing literature. Little attention to non-mental health settings and a lack of evaluation rigor have been identified within review literature. ⋯ Positive results were observed from the workplace violence training. Training needs to be complimented by a multi-faceted organisational approach which includes governance, quality and review processes.
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Nurse education today · Aug 2018
Nursing and midwifery students' perceptions of spirituality, spiritual care, and spiritual care competency: A prospective, longitudinal, correlational European study.
Nurses and midwives care for people at some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives, so it is essential that they have the skills to give care which is compassionate, dignified, holistic and person-centred. Holistic care includes spiritual care which is concerned with helping people whose beliefs, values and sense of meaning, purpose and connection is challenged by birth, illness or death. Spiritual care is expected of nurses/midwives but they feel least prepared for this part of their role. How nursing and midwifery students can be prepared for spiritual care is the focus of this study. ⋯ We have provided the first international evidence that perceived spiritual care competence is developed in undergraduate nursing and midwifery students and that students' perceptions of spirituality and personal spirituality contribute to that development. Implications for teaching and learning and student selection are discussed. The study is limited by attrition which is common in longitudinal research.
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Nurse education today · Aug 2018
Exploring Japanese nurses' perceptions of the relevance and use of assertive communication in healthcare: A qualitative study informed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour.
The hierarchical nature of healthcare environments presents a key risk factor for effective interprofessional communication. Power differentials evident in traditional healthcare cultures can make it difficult for healthcare professionals to raise concerns and be assertive when they have concerns about patient safety. This issue is of particular concern in Japan where inherent cultural and social norms discourage assertive communication. ⋯ This study identified Japanese nurses' behavioural, normative, and control beliefs in relation to assertive communication. The findings will be used to inform the development of a culturally appropriate assertiveness communication training program for Japanese nurses and nursing students.