Career development programs at Landspítali University Hospital.

Restructuring nursing services following a hospital merger has an impact on retention. A career development program for nurses can be an effective retention strategy. Data were gathered from three focus groups of practicing nurses and an e-mail survey of students in the graduating nursing class. Based on their responses, a new career development structure was proposed. The structure involves three levels of development that provide an opportunity for registered nurses to grow in and expand their careers. The General Internship Program is geared toward new graduates and establishing a career. The Specialty Internship Program provides knowledge and skills in specialized nursing, and the Service Focused Cross Training Program allows nurses to expand their skills and focus their practice on one patients population.

An international collaboration in nursing education viewed through the lens of critical social theory.

Critical social theory, including the work of Jurgen Habermas, provides a valuable lens for viewing phenomena within their sociopolitical contexts. According to Habermas, the lives and experiences of individuals, groups, and societies in the western world are strongly influenced by the forces of economics and power. These influences may interfere with communication and, therefore, the transmission and regeneration of culture and its meaning. This article describes the experience of initiating an international exchange program at a university school of nursing in the eastern United States. Examined through the lens of Habermas' theory, constraints and obstacles encountered in this process are revealed. Specifically, the inhibiting influence that politics and economics may have on active communication and the potential benefits of shared meaning and understanding achieved by interaction and discourse are examined.