Nursing leadership and management in home care: A qualitative scoping review.

AIM: The purpose is to identify and synthesize the challenges of first-line nurse managers in home care concerning their managerial and leadership role, as described in current qualitative research literature. BACKGROUND: Increased responsibilities and shifting tasks in home care lead to challenges for first-line nurse managers. These challenges must be identified and evaluated to ensure quality care provision. EVALUATION: A scoping review mapped current qualitative research on first-line nurse managers in home care, focusing on their managerial and leadership role. A systematic search was conducted in CINAHL, Medline, EMBASE, and SweMed+. A thematic analysis was conducted on the four included studies. KEY ISSUE(S): First-line nurse managers' role in home care involves multiple responsibilities. Four themes emerged: "professional responsibilities," "relational responsibilities," "economic and organizational responsibilities," and "juggling responsibilities-a demanding balance." CONCLUSION(S): Findings provide new knowledge on how first-line nurse managers balance responsibilities in their role in the home care context-a complex context different from institutional settings like hospitals and long-term care. A focus on first-line nurse managers' support needs is necessary. Furthermore, an extensive research gap concerning first-line nurse managers' leadership and management role in home care indicates a need to increase knowledge from a range of perspectives. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: To develop sustainable and robust nursing leadership and management in home care, there is a need to (a) clarify first-line nurse managers' role and set boundaries around their responsibilities and (b) strengthen support from superiors, which will help empower first-line nurse managers in their daily work.

Effects of an individualized training course on technical quality and periapical status of teeth treated endodontically by dentists in the Public Dental Service in Norway: An observational intervention study.

AIM: To investigate the effect of a continuing education course on technical quality and treatment outcome for root filled permanent teeth in Møre and Romsdal County, Norway. METHODOLOGY: Fifty-two dentists employed in the Public Dental Service in Møre and Romsdal county, Norway, completed a two-day continuing education course in root canal treatment. Periapical radiographs of root filled teeth treated before and after the course, with at least one-year follow-up were identified and scored for technical quality and periapical status. Technical root filling quality was assessed by density and length and the treatment outcome by PAI scores. Treatment information was achieved from the county's electronic dental record system. Information regarding the dental practitioners' background and treatment procedure routines was collected by a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics analyses and mixed-effect logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the effect of the course. RESULTS: Radiographs were available for 224 teeth root filled before and for 221 teeth after the course. The proportion of teeth with adequate root filling quality was significantly lower after the course (p = .006), associated mainly with short root fillings (p < .001). No significant differences were observed in treatment outcome. There were, however, large differences in treatment outcome amongst subgroups of dentists. Further, there was evidence of effect modification by the continuing education course on periapical outcome by patient's age (pinteraction  = .0023) suggesting that teeth in patients ≤18 years healed relatively better post-course compared to patients >18 years. CONCLUSIONS: A two-day continuing education course in root canal treatment attended by Public Dental Service dentists in Norway did not improve the technical quality of root fillings or periapical status associated with root filled teeth.

Effects of an individualised training course in endodontics on the knowledge and insights of dentists in Public Dental Service in Norway.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the knowledge and insights of general dental practitioners regarding endodontic diagnosis and treatment principles before and after attending a 2-days continuing education course. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-seven dentists employed in the Public Dental Service in Møre and Romsdal county, Norway, were invited to a continuing education course in endodontics. Before and after the course, they answered a questionnaire weighing the importance of factors influencing the prognosis of endodontic treatment. The same questionnaire was answered by specialists in endodontics (n = 56; Spec Group) and a reference group consisting of general dental practitioners from both private and public practice (n = 21; Ref Group). The Test Group answered both before and after the course, while the Spec and Ref Groups completed the questionnaire once. The responses were compared using the Wilcoxon Sign test and Mann-Whitey U test. RESULTS: Of the 67 dentists in the Test Group, 49 (73%) completed the course and answered both questionnaires. Before attending the course, the Test Group differed significantly from the Spec Group in 18 out of 27 prognostic factors (p ≤ .05). After the course, there was only moderate improvement in the Test Group responses. On only three factors, they agreed significantly more with the specialists than before attending the course (p ≤ .05). After the Test Group participants had attended the course, their responses were comparable to the responses of the Ref Group. CONCLUSIONS: A two-days continuing education course only marginally improved dentists' level of knowledge and insights regarding the influence of prognostic factors in endodontics.

Masculinity and nursing care: A narrative analysis of male students' stories about care.

Nursing education programmes and the nursing curriculum have been criticised for presenting an outdated and feminised description of care, which has had the effect of marginalising men, as well as hindering a more modern outlook for the profession. This article uses interview-based data from a qualitative study on Norwegian students' experiences in the first year of training. Using a narrative analysis method, the paper explores how male nursing students use stories to describe care and shows how their storytelling illustrates a way for men to negotiate their role in a feminised profession. The paper aims to deepen our understanding of the ways in which male students can challenge this historically female profession to broaden itself by including male-based caregiving as part of nursing care. In addition, the paper highlights the potential of stories and storytelling as a teaching and learning strategy in nursing education.

Periapical status of root-filled teeth in Norwegian children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To study the periapical status of root-filled permanent teeth of 9-17-year-olds in Møre & Romsdal county, Norway. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All permanent teeth with endodontic treatment in patients born in 1994-2001 were identified in the dental records of the Public Dental Service. The data collected consisted of chart entries and radiographs. Of 1182 teeth, 174 teeth in 155 patients met further inclusion criteria, i.e. completed endodontic treatment and a follow-up with a readable radiograph of at least 1 year. Periapical status was assessed with the Periapical Index (PAI) and the technical quality of the root fillings was also quantified on a 4-grade visual scale. RESULTS: Apical periodontitis was found on follow-up radiographs in 25% of all teeth and in 48% of the teeth with pre-operative apical periodontitis. Forty-two per cent of root fillings were of adequate technical quality. Adequate technical quality of the root filling was significantly correlated with radiographic success. CONCLUSIONS: About one fourth of all root-filled teeth and almost half of the teeth with pre-operative apical periodontitis showed clear signs of the disease at recall.