Nursing students’ experiences and perceptions of an innovative graduate level healthcare grand challenge course: a qualitative study

Nursing leaders are increasingly required to create and implement innovative solutions to address challenges in the workplace. However, the present-day education of graduate nurses may not adequately prepare them for entrepreneurial approaches to problem solving required in today’s complex healthcare environments. To fill this gap, we designed, implemented, and evaluated a Healthcare Grand Challenge course for graduate nurses interested in developing their leadership skills. Following the course, students were invited to participate in a qualitative research study to explore their experiences and perceptions of the course and identify how they used the knowledge and skills developed through the course in their leadership practices. This study provides key lessons for future offerings of grand challenge courses while highlighting the influence of grand challenge courses on current and future nursing leadership practice.

Challenging Assumptions: Examining Fundamental Beliefs That Shape Challenge Course Programming and Research

In recent years there has been a growing call for introspective examinations to uncover the unquestioned assumptions that ground our areas of study. In this paper, we reflectively examine one area of leisure studies—challenge (ropes) courses. By revealing the assumptions that shape practice and research in this field, we also reveal hidden biases that have inadvertently restricted our understanding of challenge courses. When made visible, these assumptions can be openly tested to provide stronger support for, or perhaps meaningful refinements in, the use of challenge courses. This article: (a) describes typical features that comprise a challenge course, (b) offers examples of traditional research methods used to study challenge courses, (c) details two central assumptions found in the research (risk—real or perceived—leads to positive outcomes, and benefits are transferable), and in light of the assumptions presented, (d) provides suggestions for future research and practice.

Exploration of Challenge Courses’ Long-Term Effects on Members of College Student Organizations

This study examined the long-term effects of participation in a half-day, low-element challenge course on the group functioning of members of college student organizations. Seventy-six participants completed measures of group cohesion, group effectiveness, and individual effectiveness within the group at four points in time: (a) one week prior to the course (baseline), (b) immediately prior to the course (pretest), (c) immediately following the course (posttest), (d) and two months after the course (follow-up). Results showed no change in group functioning from baseline to pretest, significant increases in group functioning from pretest to posttest, and a return to pretest levels of group functioning at follow-up. Implications of these results and ideas for extending the longevity of challenge course gains are discussed.

What is Wilderness Therapy?

Despite a growing number of programs operating in the United States under the guise of “wilderness therapy,” a consistent and accepted definition is lacking. Rehabilitative, outdoor-based approaches, such as “challenge courses,” “adventure-based therapy,” or “wilderness experience programs,” are often used interchangeably to describe “wilderness therapy.” This paper attempts to shed light on this issue by presenting an integrated and consistent definition of wilderness therapy to guide program design and future research efforts. Three trends in the industry are also explored which support the notion that wilderness therapy programs are searching for recognition by state agencies, national accreditation agencies, insurance companies and mental health professionals. These trends support the idea that consistent wilderness therapy practices may be emerging which support the use of a consistent definition.