The interactionism among nursing educators, preceptors and newly graduate nurses related to role transition: An exploratory study

Background and objective: The role transition remains a barrier in the ability of nurses to adjust from the role of student to professional nurse where the interactive mentoring attributes portrayed by nurse educators and clinical preceptors that may influence the role transition of new graduate nurses has not been thoroughly assessed. This study was conducted to explore the interactive mentoring attributes of nursing educators and clinical preceptors that influence new graduate nurses’ ability to successfully adjust from the role of student to that of professional nurse.Methods: Convergent parallel mixed method of research was used in this study, where both quantitative and qualitative data were simultaneously collected, analyzed, merged, compared and interpreted. The quantitative data came from purposively sampled first batch graduates of Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Oman College of Health Sciences A.Y. 2017-2018 (N = 33;n = 27) through survey using researcher-made survey questionnaire in 5-point-Likert scale format based on the five attributes of beginning theory of Faculty Attributes for Confidence, Equilibrium, and Success (FACES) by Sparacino L. (2016). The qualitative exploration focused on the most significant influential interactive mentoring attributes of nursing educators and preceptors solicited through interview. Quantitative data were statistically treated and interpreted using percentage, weighted mean, t test and Pearson’s correlation. Qualitative data representing each participant’s point of view were analyzed using open coding, transcribed, analyzed, compared, and categorized.Results: Quantitative findings revealed that the respondents strongly agreed on the influential effect of interactive mentoring attributes portrayed by their preceptors in terms of professionalism while they agreed with their nursing educators (composite mean: 4.1; 3.9) respectively. Respondents also agreed with the influential effect of knowledge and experiences as well as in terms of care and rigor attributes. However, the t test values and correlation analysis showed no significant relationship (p > .05) between the profile of the respondents in terms of GPA and department with the interactive mentoring attributes portrayed by nursing educators and preceptors during role transition. Qualitatively, caring, rigor and professionalism were the significant interactive mentoring attributes of nursing educators and preceptors most influenced newly graduate nurses on their ability to successfully adjust from the role of student to that of professional nurse.Conclusion and recommendation: The interactive mentoring attributes portrayed by nursing educators and preceptors have a positive influential effects in transition process, although the respondents’ profile were not significantly related nor the relationship between the role portrayed by nursing educators and preceptors to role transition. Therefore, it is recommended to use these findings in curriculum revision and in the modification of clinical orientation or training policy.

Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Willingness of Providing Care for Older Adults With Dementia as Their Future Work

This study examines how undergraduate nursing students’ knowledge of dementia care are associated with their willingness of providing care for older adults with dementia across care settings as nurses in urban China, controlling for factors such as their socio-demographic characteristics, willingness of being a nurse, and years of studying nursing. We surveyed 320 undergraduate students from Shanghai, China and found that students with a better knowledge of dementia care, a longer year of nursing study, have no experience of being cared for by grandparents during childhood, and being the only child at home tended to be less willing to provide care for older adults with dementia in their future work. In order to prepare high-quality future dementia care workforce, nursing educators not only need to disseminate knowledge of dementia care, they should also tailor teaching to students’ characteristics and motivate students to take the leadership in dementia care across settings.

An innovative and qualitative research methodology course in graduate master nursing program of Southern Taiwan

Background: A quantitative worldview has long dominated nursing research, causing it to lack the humanized inspiration of a qualitative worldview. This study sought to develop and evaluate an innovative and qualitative research methodology course in one graduate master nursing program of Southern Taiwan.Methods: Qualitative research design was to develop the innovative and qualitative research methodology course with training the Listening, Empathy, and Presence (LEP) skills and the qualitative worldview of master nursing students. This study was approved by the improved teaching project grant from a University (FYU1008-109-04) during March 1 to October 31, 2020.Results: The results identified that first, the innovative and qualitative research methodology course incorporated the course objectives, teaching content, and innovative strategies in two elective credits with content validity as .86. Additionally, the nine master nursing students reported that the quantitative worldview was closely associated with numbers, statistics, and measurement, whereas the qualitative worldview had a greater tendency to entail aspects of humanism with conversations, communication, and caring among nine master nursing students.Conclusions: The innovative and qualitative research methodology course could train master nursing students to master qualitative research skills and help nursing educators achieve balance with mutual coexistence and understanding between qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Development of the Spirituality in Palliative Care Scale for nursing students in the context of Thai culture

Background: Nursing students form part of the healthcare team who care for patients who are living with a terminal illness and facing physical and spiritual suffering. However, there is a lack of suitable indicators to measure a nurse's spirituality when they are providing palliative care. Aim: To develop a way of measuring the spirituality of nurses who provide palliative care. Method: The participants consisted of 312 third-and fourth-year nursing students of two nursing colleges from southern and central Thailand. Finding: The 12-item Spirituality in Palliative Care Scale had the reliability of .804. The measurement model was consistent with the empirical data and had unidimensional quality (X2=50.94, df=45, p-value=0.25, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)=0.044, Single Resolution Mechanism Regulation (SRMR)=0.044, Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI)=0.95, Corporate Finance Institute (CFI)=0.97, goodness of fit (GFI)=0.97). The items' factor loadings were in between .48 and .84. Conclusion: The spirituality in palliative care scale can measure nursing students' spirituality in palliative care and nursing educators can use the measurement to support nursing students to develop greater awareness of spirituality in palliative care.

Stress and Coping Strategies among Nursing Students in Clinical Practice during COVID-19

Stress is common among nursing students and it has been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined nursing students’ stress levels and their coping strategies in clinical practice before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A repeated-measures study design was used to examine the relationship between nursing students’ stress levels and coping strategies before and during the pandemic. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to validate the survey and a student T-test was used to compare the level of stress and coping strategies among 131 nursing students. The STROBE checklist was used. During COVID-19, there was a reliable and accurate relationship between stress and coping strategies. Furthermore, both stress and coping strategy scores were lower before COVID-19 and higher during COVID-19. Nursing students are struggling to achieve a healthy stress-coping strategy during the pandemic. There is a need for the introduction of stress management programs to help foster healthy coping skills. Students are important resources for our health system and society and will continue to be vital long term. It is now up to both nursing educators and health administrators to identify and implement the needed improvements in training and safety measures because they are essential for the health of the patient as well as future pandemics.

Development and Validation of a Self-Efficacy Scale for Nursing Educators’ Role in Sri Lanka

This study develops a scale that assesses the self-efficacy of Sri Lankan nursing educators in assuming the roles of nursing educators and validates its psychometric properties. This methodological research followed the DeVellis Scale Development Model, which involves six steps of instrument development and evaluation. Preliminary items were determined through a literature review and focus group interviews with nine Sri Lankan nursing experts. The experts, comprising five South Korean and two Sri Lankan nursing professors, tested the scale’s content validity. Moreover, 15 nursing educators participated in a pilot study, and 126 educators took part in the main survey. To evaluate the scale’s validity and reliability, the data from a preliminary questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS/IBM and AMOS 24.0. Further, construct validity was tested using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and reliability was tested by calculating Cronbach’s alpha and performing split-half testing. Finally, 39 items under four themes, “clinical mentorship” (18 items), “research” (10), “teaching” (6), and “advising” (5), explained 63.5% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis results revealed an acceptable model fit for the final scale. The developed scale achieved a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.97. Thus, the psychometrical properties of the scale measuring Sri Lankan nursing educators’ self-efficacy were comprehensively evaluated and found acceptable. The developed scale will be useful in guideline development or studies regarding the self-efficacy of nursing educators’ roles in developing countries with similar context to Sri Lanka.

Nursing Students' Experiences of Educational Discrimination: A Qualitative Study

Background: Although the need for justice and the elimination of injustice (or discrimination) is now a universally accepted principle, discrimination is still an unpleasant experience for many nursing students. This study aimed to explain the experiences of nursing students of educational discrimination and find out the main factors that cause this feeling.Methods: This is a qualitative study conducted in the nursing faculty of Shahr-e-Kord and the Iran university of medical science (IUMS) in Iran. Twelve nursing students were selected by purposeful sampling method and were interviewed. All interviews were analyzed according to the content analysis method.Results: Three main themes and ten subcategories appeared. Extracted themes include: "inappropriate behavior of nursing professors (or instructors) " with 3 subcategories (1- discriminatory behavior by nursing professors (or instructors), 2- lack of sufficient self-confidence in nursing professors and transferring it to the student, and 3- the educator role in motivating or eliminating motivation); "Strict rules" with 3 subcategories (1- inequality in implementation of rights and rules among students of different disciplines, 2- differences in compliance with laws and regulations, and 3- nurses are being strictly monitored), and " Lack of nursing professional independence " with 4 subcategories (1- lack of authority, 2- lack of supportive organizations for nurses, 3- lack of proper social status of nursing in society, and 4- the high authority and power of physicians over other disciplines).Conclusions: In our study, it was shown that nursing students feel the most discrimination in front of medical students. Feelings of discrimination reduce self-confidence in nursing students. Therefore, nursing educators and professors must think of a solution, or at least they themselves should not cause this feeling in them by inappropriate behavior and discriminatory speech and words.