Norwegian nurse educators' self-rating of competencies: a nationwide cross-sectional web-survey.

BACKGROUND: Nurse educators' competencies play a crucial role in the educational quality of nurses. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate how Norwegian nurse educators self-rated their competence domains, and how these competencies were associated background variables. METHODS: The study was designed as a cross-sectional web-survey, and n=154 participated and filled out the Evaluation of Requirements of Nurse Teachers (ERNT) instrument. Educators' mean working experience was 12.9 years (SD 9.2); 86.3 % were permanently employed and 76.8 % had formal supervision training. RESULTS: The nurse educators rated their competence as good on all competence domains and single competence items, and ERNT total mean score was 4.62 (SD 0.28), with relationship with the students rated highest and personality factors rated lowest. The ERNT total mean score was significantly related to academic degree. CONCLUSIONS: Educational leaders in nursing education are recommended to establish a mentoring and supporting team for their educators.

Usefulness of pedagogical design features of a digital educational resource into nursing home placement: a qualitative study of nurse educators' experiences.

BACKGROUND: The rapid advancement of technology-enhanced learning opportunities has resulted in requests of applying improved pedagogical design features of digital educational resources into nursing education. Digital educational resources refers to technology-mediated learning approaches. Efficient integration of digital educational resources into nursing education, and particularly into clinical placement, creates considerable challenges. The successful use of digital educational resources requires thoughtful integration of technological and pedagogical design features. Thus, we have designed and developed a digital educational resource, digiQUALinPRAX, by emphasizing pedagogical design features. The nurse educators' experiences of the usefulness of this digital educational resource is vital for securing improved quality in placement studies. AIM: To obtain an in-depth understanding of the usefulness of the pedagogical design features of a digital educational resource, digiQUALinPRAX, in supporting nurse educators' educational role in nursing home placements in the first year of nursing education. METHODS: An explorative and descriptive qualitative research design was used. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with six nurse educators working in first year of a Bachelor's of Nursing programme after using the digital educational resource, digiQUALinPRAX, during an eight-week clinical placement period in nursing homes in April 2022. RESULTS: Two main categories were identified: (1) supporting supervision and assessment of student nurses and (2) supporting interactions and partnerships between stakeholders. CONCLUSION: The pedagogical design features of the digiQUALinPRAX resource provided nurse educators with valuable pedagogical knowledge in terms of supervision and assessment of student nurses, as well as simplified and supported interaction and partnership between stakeholders.

Exploring stakeholders' experiences in co-creation initiatives for clinical nursing education: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Co-creation is an emerging approach in nursing education, wherein academics engage in multi-stakeholder collaborations to generate knowledge, ideate solutions, promote sustainability, and enhance educational quality. However, knowledge on stakeholders' experiences in participation in co-creation initiatives for nursing education is scarce. This study aimed to explore the experiences of student nurses, nurse educators, and e-learning designers in co-creation initiatives to design and develop a digital educational resource for clinical nursing education. METHODS: The study adopted an exploratory qualitative design. Data were collected via three separate semi-structured focus group interviews with student nurses (n = 7), nurse educators (n = 8), and e-learning designers (n = 3) who participated in co-creation workshops. Collected data were then thematically analyzed. RESULTS: Three themes related to the participants' experiences emerged: (1) The co-creation workshops were enjoyable, useful, and instructive; (2) power imbalances influenced the students' engagement; and (3) contextual factors influenced the participants' overall engagement. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that co-creation through workshops is a novel, enjoyable, and instructive approach that facilitates knowledge exchange. It also highlights the needs and experiences of stakeholders, especially student nurses. However, the use of co-creation in nursing education presents some challenges. Recognizing and managing power differentials are essential for successful co-creation in clinical nursing education, alongside a mindset of collaboration and mutuality. Future research is required to systematize knowledge about the benefits and impacts of the processes and outcomes of co-creation initiatives, including stakeholders' motivation, barriers, and facilitators to participation in co-creation, to improve the quality of clinical nursing education.

Nurse educators' suggestions for a digital educational resource suitable for undergraduate student nurses' placement studies: Qualitative empirical research.

AIMS: To explore and describe nurse educators' suggestions regarding a digital educational resource addressing quality in placement studies for first-year student nurses in nursing homes. DESIGN: A qualitative, explorative, and descriptive research design. METHODS: Focus group interviews with eight nurse educators and individual interviews with six nurse educators. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim; subsequently, data were analysed in lines with content analysis as described by Graneheim and Lundman. RESULTS: The analysis revealed three main categories: 'Suggestions for a digital educational resource to strengthen and support nurse educators' role in follow-up students', 'Suggestions for a digital educational resource to complement and support interaction between stakeholders in placement', and 'Suggestions for a digital educational resource to facilitate student nurses' learning processes'. The categories were captured by the overarching theme, 'A digital educational resource facilitating interaction between stakeholders and students' learning processes. CONCLUSION: This study revealed nurse educators' suggestions regarding design elements, content, and use of a digital educational resource addressing placement studies for first-year student nurses' in nursing homes. Implications for the profession and/or patient care: Nurse educators should be involved in designing, developing, and implementing digital educational resources aiming to support student learning in nursing education placement studies. IMPACT: This study explored nurse educators' suggestions for a digital educational resource. They suggested a digital educational resource to strengthen and support their role, support interaction between stakeholders, and facilitate student nurses' learning processes. Further, they suggested a digital educational resource to be used as a supplement rather than as a replacement for nurse educators' physical presence in placements. REPORTING METHOD: The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research reporting guidelines were used. No Patient or Public Contribution.

Nursing students' clinical judgment skills in simulation and clinical placement: a comparison of student self-assessment and evaluator assessment.

BACKGROUND: Clinical judgment is an important and desirable learning outcome in nursing education. Students must be able to self-assess their clinical judgment in both the simulation and clinical settings to identify knowledge gaps and further improve and develop their skills. Further investigation is needed to determine the optimal conditions for and reliability of this self-assessment. AIMS: This study aimed to compare the same group of students' self-assessment of clinical judgment with an evaluator's assessment in both simulation and clinical settings. The study further aimed to investigate whether the Dunning-Kruger effect is present in nursing students' self-assessment of clinical judgment. METHODS: The study applied a quantitative comparative design. It was conducted in two learning settings: an academic simulation-based education course, and a clinical placement course in an acute care hospital. The sample consisted of 23 nursing students. The Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric was used to collect data. The scores were compared using a t-test, intraclass correlation coefficient, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and Bland-Altman plots. The Dunning-Kruger effect was investigated using linear regression analysis and a scatter plot. RESULTS: The results showed an inconsistency between student self-assessment and evaluator assessment of clinical judgment in both simulation-based education and clinical placement. Students overestimated their clinical judgment when compared to the more experienced evaluator's assessment. Differences between students' scores and the evaluator's scores were larger when the evaluator's scores were low, indicating the presence of the Dunning-Kruger effect. CONCLUSION: It is vital to acknowledge that student self-assessment alone may not be a reliable predictor of a student's clinical judgment. Students who had a lower level of clinical judgment were likely to be less aware that this was the case. For future practice and research, we recommend a combination of student self-assessment and evaluator assessment to provide a more realistic view of students' clinical judgment skills.

Nurse Educators' Pedagogical Approaches Addressing Student Nurses' Mental Health Care Competence: A Qualitative Study.

Nurses' mental health care competence is vital for addressing the current mental health care crisis' demand for quality in mental health care and services. These challenges also involve educational institutions. In the mental health course of the bachelor's nursing curriculum, nurse educators face multiple tasks and challenges concerning preparing students for their clinical placement. This study aimed to explore and describe nurse educators' pedagogical approaches across three universities. The study applied a qualitative and descriptive design, and data were collected from individual qualitative interviews with 13 experienced nurse educators. A content analysis approach in lines with Graneheim and Lundman was used to analyse the data. The content analysis resulted in one theme and three categories, and each category was characterised by three subcategories. The theme intentionally preparing student nurses for mental health care competence served as an overarching theme describing the educators' overall reflections and descriptions. The three categories were: activating students for the mental health context; caring for students on a personal level; and supporting students in grasping the scope of nursing within the mental health context. These categories described the varieties and complexity of nurse educators' pedagogical approaches addressing student nurses' mental health care competence.

Changes in nursing students' self-reported professional competence in simulation-based education and clinical placement: A longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: A primary learning outcome for nursing students is to achieve the professional competence necessary to provide safe and high-quality care in complex and specialized health services. Simulation-based education (SBE) and clinical placement are two educational settings in which nursing students' professional competence can be facilitated as a learning outcome. OBJECTIVES: The study objectives were to investigate changes in nursing students' self-reported professional competence in SBE and clinical placement and the transfer of this competence from SBE to clinical placement. We also aimed to investigate which competence areas were highest and lowest rated. DESIGN: A quantitative longitudinal survey design was applied. SETTINGS: The study took place from May 2019 to January 2020 in a simulation center at a Norwegian university and clinical placement in hospital units. PARTICIPANTS: Bachelor nursing students (N = 38) in their second and third year of a four-year part-time Norwegian nursing bachelor's degree program. METHODS: The Nurse Professional Scale Short Form (NPC Scale-SF) consisting of six competence areas was used to measure nursing students' self-reported professional competence across four time points. Paired sample t-test and descriptive statistics were used to analyse data. RESULTS: For changes in the longitudinal perspective, students' self-reported professional competence increased significantly. In the transfer perspective, from SBE to clinical placement, four competence areas declined significantly. Value-based nursing care were scored highest, whilst Development, leadership, and organization of nursing care were scored lowest score at all time-points. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that nursing students' self-reported professional competence increased in the longitudinal perspective. Supporting students in transfer of professional competence should be addressed in SBE and clinical placement, whilst nursing education should be strengthened concerning development, leadership, and organization of nursing care.

Adaption and Cultural Validation of the Quality in Psychiatric Care-Outpatient Staff (QPC-OPS) Instrument to a Norwegian Community Mental Health Context.

The aim was to culturally adapt and validate the Swedish Quality in Psychiatric Care-Outpatient Staff (QPC-OPS) instrument for use in a Norwegian community mental health service context. The translated and culturally adapted instrument was named Quality in Psychiatric Care-Community Outpatient Staff (QPC-COPS). Three expert panels of mental health staff (n = 9) assessed the face and content validity. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability were assessed on a sample of community mental health staff (n = 64). The QCP-COPS had adequate face and content validity, and the full instrument showed excellent internal consistency (alpha = 0.90) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.87:0.94). In conclusion, the QPC-COPS is a valid and reliable instrument suitable for measuring staff's perception of the quality of care they deliver in community mental health services.

Citizenship matters: Translating and adapting the Citizenship Measure to Norwegian.

Citizenship is considered intertwined with recovery, and may be a useful perspective for advancing quality of life among marginalised groups. Yet, matters of citizenship among persons with co-occurring substance use and mental health problems are underrepresented both in research and practice. Aims: In order to measure citizenship among persons with co-occurring problems in a Norwegian study, a measure of citizenship was translated from English to Norwegian. The aims of the study were to 1) translate and adapt the Citizenship Measure, developed by Rowe and colleagues at the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health, to Norwegian, and 2) to assess the internal consistency and convergent validity of the Norwegian translated measure. Methods: The translation process was carried out using forward and back translation procedures. To examine measurement properties, a convenience sample of 104 residents with co-occurring problems living in supported housing completed the measure. Results: Two factors were identified, related to rights, and to relational citizenship. The Norwegian translation of the Citizenship Measure showed high internal consistency and adequate convergent validity. Conclusions: We argue that the measure can be useful in assessing perceived citizenship, and in initiating efforts to support citizenship among persons with co-occurring problems.

Student nurses' experiences participating in a peer mentoring program in clinical placement studies: A metasynthesis.

AIM: The aim of this metasynthesis was to identify, analyze and synthesize the qualitative findings from original research studies addressing student nurses' experiences with a peer mentoring program in their clinical placements. BACKGROUND: Students' positive experiences from clinical placement studies, are often associated with quality of clinical mentoring and learning environments. However, nurse mentors struggle to find sufficient time for mentoring student nurses. Establishing a peer mentoring program, may provide additional mentoring and strengthen clinical placement as learning environment. A peer mentoring program entails, that senior student nurses at one level act as a supportive mentor and serve as role models for fellow novice student nurses at a lower level. DESIGN: A flexible descriptive design was applied for this metasynthesis. METHODS: By using the same search strategy, systematic searches were made in the following electronic databases: CINAHL, MEDLINE OVID, Embase, ERIC, Scopus, Oria and SveMed+ . Ten articles met the eligibility criteria, reporting findings from altogether 203 student mentors and 446 student mentees. Extracted information (data) from the articles were analyzed in lines with Graneheim & Lundmans' five phases of thematic analysis of data. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in two overarching themes characterizing students' experiences. Student mentors experienced that participating in peer mentoring had been Strengthening the road to becoming a professional nurse. Student mentees experienced that participating in peer mentoring had been Strengthening the studying and learner role in clinical placement. The themes covering student mentors experience were: Understanding and integrating nursing competence; Realizing the need to be mentored and supported as mentors; Understanding the content and complexity of clinical mentoring. The themes covering student mentees experience were: Reaching further for clinical competence and self-confidence; Taking advantage of mentoring and learning situations; Understanding the importance of learning conditions and their own learning responsibility. All themes were further characterized with sub-themes. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this metasynthesis are in general positive for both student mentors and mentees and both student groups experienced to benefit from participating in the peer mentoring program.

The Relationships between Health Professionals' Perceived Quality of Care, Family Involvement and Sense of Coherence in Community Mental Health Services.

Mental health professionals have a responsibility to ensure the best possible quality of care. Family is strongly involved in the patient's everyday life. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between health care professionals' perception of the quality of care, attitudes of family involvement and their own sense of coherence. A descriptive quantitative study with fifty-six health professionals, completed "Quality in Psychiatric Care-Community Outpatient Psychiatric Staff", "Families' Importance in Nursing Care-health professionals' attitudes", "The Sense of Coherence Scale-13". The health professionals perceived quality as high and did not perceive the families as a burden.

Mental Health Professionals' Experiences with Applying a Family-Centred Care Focus in Their Clinical Work.

Family members play vital roles in supporting their young adults with mental health challenges, implying that professionals are challenged to apply a Family-Centred Care approach (FCC) in community mental health services. By applying a qualitative phenomengraphic approach, this study aimed to explore and describe professionals' experiences of applying a FCC approach. Based on data from 13 individual interviews, the descriptive categories were: Mutual understanding, Facing dilemmas and Dealing with barriers. Despite the professionals' expressed desires to involve the family, individual treatment and follow-up seemed to characterize their daily clinical practice, often due to the young adults' own wishes.

Experiences of Older Men Living Alone: A Qualitative Study.

More and more old people live alone, and living alone is reported to be a key risk factor for experiencing loneliness and developing poor health. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of living alone for older men. Systematic text condensation and hermeneutic interpretation were used in analysis of the data. Four themes emerged: lonely at times, missing and longing for a shared life, keeping active, and some kind of freedom. The findings revealed that inner and outer resources come into play and have influence on the processes of managing and solving the situation of living alone. The findings are in accordance with theoretical perspectives on loneliness, aloneness, and solitude. The findings offer nurses in any clinical context valuable information to allow them to address the core emotional and potential mental health issues old men face in coping with the situation of living alone.

Mental health rehabilitation in a care farm context: A descriptive review of Norwegian intervention studies.

BACKGROUND: C are farming is a service developed at farms for promoting mental and physical health and is increasingly used in mental health rehabilitation in Norway. OBJECTIVE: This article aims to present a descriptive review of Norwegian intervention research on care farms that provide rehabilitation for people with mental health disorders. METHODS: This literature review applied a non-systematic search strategy: all articles in the field known to the authors were selected for inclusion. The selected studies were intervention studies that were conducted on farms in Norway, that used adult participants with mental health problems/disorders, and that reported outcome measures related to mental health. The studies and articles presented quantitative and/or qualitative data. RESULTS: The findings from the published articles report improvements to mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, perceived stress, positive affect, rumination, and self-efficacy. Qualitative data describe a variety of positive experiences, such as improved coping ability, increased social support, and appreciation of the care farm activity. CONCLUSION: Participating in interventions on care farms positively influences mental health. Care farming may therefore be used as a supplementary approach in mental health rehabilitation, as it offers meaningful and engaging occupations and social inclusion.

The Lived Experience of Getting and Having a Home of One's Own: A Meta-Synthesis.

This study aimed to synthesize findings from qualitative studies that explored the lived experiences of persons with serious mental illness with regard to getting and having a home. A systematic search strategy was used. Data from 24 articles were extracted and analyzed using a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. The total number of informants was N = 769. Four main themes emerged: (1) The Turning Point: The Transition to a Home, (2) The Key to Stability and Thriving: Having and Estating a Home, (3) Home: The Mental Health Hub, and (4) Home: The Base Camp for Reconnecting and Relating.

Experiences of Tenants with Serious Mental Illness Regarding Housing Support and Contextual Issues: A Meta-Synthesis.

This study aimed to analyze and synthesize findings from qualitative studies that explored the experiences of tenants with serious mental illness regarding housing support and contextual issues. Twenty-four articles were identified using a systematic search strategy. The total number of informants was N = 769. The reported findings were transcribed and analyzed using a systematic text condensation approach. The tenants' experiences were categorized into two main categories and subcategories (in parenthesis): Support Issues (Experience of Support Needs, Experiences with Receiving Support, Experiences with Support Approach) and Contextual Issues (Neighborhood Experiences, Community Experiences). The subcategories, with themes and subthemes, offer an in-depth understanding of the tenants' complex experiences concerning housing support and contextual issues.

Clinical use of sensory gardens and outdoor environments in norwegian nursing homes: a cross-sectional e-mail survey.

Gardens and outdoor environments offer multiple therapeutic possibilities for the residents in nursing homes. Web-based questionnaires were sent to 488 nursing home leaders and 121 leaders responded. The clinical impressions of the leaders and staff regarding the benefits of sensory gardens (SGs) to the residents were consistent with previous research. SGs facilitated taking residents outdoors, offered convenient topics for communication and facilitated social privacy for relatives. For improved clinical use of SGs and outdoor environments, systematic assessment of residents' interests, performance and experiences when outdoors, implementation of seasonal clinical programmes and educational programmes for leaders and staff are recommended.

A prospective study of group cohesiveness in therapeutic horticulture for clinical depression.

This study aimed to assess changes in psychological distress and social participation in adults diagnosed with clinical depression during and after participating in a therapeutic horticulture programme, and to investigate if the changes covaried with levels of group cohesiveness during the intervention. An intervention with a single-group design was repeated with different samples in successive years (pooled n = 46). In each year, five groups of 3-7 participants went through the intervention. Data were collected before, twice during, and immediately after a 12-week therapeutic horticulture programme, as well as at 3-months' follow up. Mental health assessments included the Beck Depression Inventory, the State Subscale of Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Positive Affect Scale from the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Therapeutic Factors Inventory-Cohesiveness Scale. The analysis of the pooled data confirmed significant beneficial change in all mental health variables during the intervention. Change from baseline in depression severity persisted at 3-months' follow up. Increased social activity after the intervention was reported for 38% of the participants. The groups quickly established strong cohesiveness, and this continued to increase during the intervention. The average level of group cohesiveness correlated positively, but not significantly, with change in all mental health outcome variables.

A prospective study of existential issues in therapeutic horticulture for clinical depression.

Two studies with single-group design (Study 1 N = 18, Study 2 N = 28) addressed whether horticultural activities ameliorate depression severity and existential issues. Measures were obtained before and after a 12-week therapeutic horticulture program and at 3-month follow-up. In both studies, depression severity declined significantly during the intervention and remained low at the follow-up. In both studies the existential outcomes did not change significantly; however, the change that did occur during the intervention correlated (rho > .43) with change in depression severity. Participants' open-ended accounts described the therapeutic horticulture experience as meaningful and influential for their view of life.

Therapeutic horticulture in clinical depression: a prospective study of active components.

AIM: This paper is a report of a study conducted to assess change in depression severity, perceived attentional capacity and rumination (brooding) in individuals with clinical depression during a therapeutic horticulture programme and to investigate if the changes were mediated by experiences of being away and fascination. BACKGROUND: Individuals with clinical depression suffer from distortion of attention and rumination. Interventions can help to disrupt maladaptive rumination and promote restoration of depleted attentional capacity. METHOD: A single-group study was conducted with a convenience sample of 28 people with clinical depression in 2009. Data were collected before, twice during, and immediately after a 12-week therapeutic horticulture programme, and at 3-month follow-up. Assessment instruments were the Beck Depression Inventory, Attentional Function Index, Brooding Scale, and Being Away and Fascination subscales from the Perceived Restorativeness Scale. FINDINGS: Mean Beck Depression Inventory scores declined by 4.5 points during the intervention (F = 5.49, P = 0.002). The decline was clinically relevant for 50% of participants. Attentional Function Index scores increased (F = 4.14, P = 0.009), while Brooding scores decreased (F = 4.51, P = 0.015). The changes in Beck Depression Inventory and Attentional Function Index scores were mediated by increases in Being Away and Fascination, and decline in Beck Depression Inventory scores was also mediated by decline in Brooding. Participants maintained their improvements in Beck Depression Inventory scores at 3-month follow-up. CONCLUSION: Being away and fascination appear to work as active components in a therapeutic horticulture intervention for clinical depression.