Reconciling professional identity: a grounded theory study of nurse academics' role modelling

The findings of this grounded theory PhD study into role modeling by nurse academics provide new insight into the concept of clinical currency. Reconciling professional identity, the core category of this grounded theory, encompasses three categories: creating a context for learning, creating a context for authentic rehearsal and mirroring identity. The category of creating a context for authentic rehearsal includes elements of safe-zoning and clinical currency, which is the focus of this presentation. These findings indicate that clinical currency differs from clinical legitimacy, clinical credibility and currency of nursing knowledge. Clinical legitimacy and clinical credibility refer to others' perceptions of individual nurse academics; looking from the outside in. The two key components of clinical currency that this study has identified: confidence and clinical presence are nurse academics' perspectives of their professional selves. Confidence refers to the nurse academics' self-assessment of their ability to provide clinical nursing care. Clinical presence refers to the time nurse academics spend in clinical settings in addition to, and complementary to, their time in academia. Nurse academics that are clinically present achieve this in a number of ways. They conduct research with clinical partners, provide support or guidance to students on clinical placement, liaise with clinical partners to develop policy, and contribute directly to the provision of patient care. Academics who allocate time to working with clinical partners report higher levels of clinical confidence than academics that allocate little or no time to this part of their role. Nurse academics that sustain a presence in the clinical setting have a greater awareness of clinical practice and procedures, policy, technology and equipment, report higher levels of clinical confidence and resultant currency. It is this clinical currency that these nurse academics draw on in creating a context for authentic rehearsal

Reconciling professional identity: a grounded theory study of nurse academics' role modelling

The findings of this grounded theory PhD study into role modeling by nurse academics provide new insight into the concept of clinical currency. Reconciling professional identity, the core category of this grounded theory, encompasses three categories: creating a context for learning, creating a context for authentic rehearsal and mirroring identity. The category of creating a context for authentic rehearsal includes elements of safe-zoning and clinical currency, which is the focus of this presentation. These findings indicate that clinical currency differs from clinical legitimacy, clinical credibility and currency of nursing knowledge. Clinical legitimacy and clinical credibility refer to others' perceptions of individual nurse academics; looking from the outside in. The two key components of clinical currency that this study has identified: confidence and clinical presence are nurse academics' perspectives of their professional selves. Confidence refers to the nurse academics' self-assessment of their ability to provide clinical nursing care. Clinical presence refers to the time nurse academics spend in clinical settings in addition to, and complementary to, their time in academia. Nurse academics that are clinically present achieve this in a number of ways. They conduct research with clinical partners, provide support or guidance to students on clinical placement, liaise with clinical partners to develop policy, and contribute directly to the provision of patient care. Academics who allocate time to working with clinical partners report higher levels of clinical confidence than academics that allocate little or no time to this part of their role. Nurse academics that sustain a presence in the clinical setting have a greater awareness of clinical practice and procedures, policy, technology and equipment, report higher levels of clinical confidence and resultant currency. It is this clinical currency that these nurse academics draw on in creating a context for authentic rehearsal

How are the dietary needs of pregnant incarcerated women being met? a scoping review and thematic analysis

© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Introduction: The number of incarcerated pregnant women is increasing globally. With many having complex health and social backgrounds, incarceration provides opportunities for health interventions, including the chance to have their nutritional needs met. Despite the additional nutritional requirements of pregnancy being well documented, how these are being met within the correctional setting is currently poorly understood. Methods: A scoping review of the literature was conducted to identify the literature published between January 2010 and April 2023 related to the provision of nutrition for pregnant women in the international prison systems. Sixteen papers met the criteria for inclusion in the review. The relevant key findings were charted and thematically analysed. Results: Two themes were identified: ‘the inconsistent reality of food provision’ and ‘choice, autonomy and food’. There is a clear disparity in the way in which diet is prioritised and provided to pregnant incarcerated women across several countries. Discussion: The findings highlight the need for a consistent approach to diet on a macro, global level to ensure the health of women and their infants in context.Peer reviewe

Promoting nurses’ and midwives’ ethical responsibilities towards vulnerable people : An alignment of research and clinical practice

Aim To stimulate discussion and debate about the inclusion of vulnerable populations in primary research to inform practice change and improve health outcomes. Background Current research practices to safeguard vulnerable people from potential harms related to power imbalances may in fact limit the generation of evidence-based practice. Evaluation The authors draw on their experience working and researching with a recognized group of vulnerable people, incarcerated pregnant women, to provide insight into the application of ethics in both research and clinical practice. In a novel approach, the ethical principles are presented in both contexts, articulating the synergies between them. Suggestions are presented for how individuals, managers and organizations may improve research opportunities for clinical practitioners and enhance the engagement of vulnerable people to contribute to meaningful practice and policy change. Key Issues Ethical practice guidelines may limit the ability to create meaningful change for vulnerable populations, who need authentic system change to achieve good health outcomes. Conclusion Inclusive research and practice are essential to ensuring a strengths-based approach to healthcare and addressing health needs of the whole population. Health systems and models of care recognizing the diverse lives and health needs of the broader population demand practical, sustainable support from clinical managers. Implications for Nursing Management Practical suggestions for clinical managers to support point of care research is provided, embedding vulnerable voices in policy, practice development and care provision

A Long Goodbye: Ed and Mary's Journey with Lewy Body Dementia

This book, built around Ed’s journal, chronicles Ed’s experiences as a carer following his wife Mary’s diagnosis with Lewy body dementia. Students and experienced health professionals are rarely afforded such an insight into how their words and actions are interpreted by, and impact upon patients, families and friends. Ed’s Story provides information and education resources related to dementia care. Although specifically focusing on Lewy body dementia, the resources are transferable to caring for people with any type of dementia. The freely available resources are suitable for use by students in the health professions, educators, formal and informal carers

Unsupervised compositionality prediction of nominal compounds

Nominal compounds such as red wine and nut case display a continuum of compositionality, with varying contributions from the components of the compound to its semantics. This article proposes a framework for compound compositionality prediction using distributional semantic models, evaluating to what extent they capture idiomaticity compared to human judgments. For evaluation, we introduce data sets containing human judgments in three languages: English, French, and Portuguese. The results obtained reveal a high agreement between the models and human predictions, suggesting that they are able to incorporate information about idiomaticity. We also present an in-depth evaluation of various factors that can affect prediction, such as model and corpus parameters and compositionality operations. General crosslingual analyses reveal the impact of morphological variation and corpus size in the ability of the model to predict compositionality, and of a uniform combination of the components for best results

Concepts of growth and development

For years Kozier & Erb’s Fundamentals of Nursing has been the gold standard in helping students embarking on their nursing careers. This first Australian edition retains many of the features that have made this textbook the number-one choice of nursing students and lecturers. To further enhance this popular fundamentals textbook and ensure its appropriate application for Australian students, nursing academics from across Australia were invited to review and comment on each of the 52 chapters. Their detailed feedback has ensured that Kozier & Erb’s Fundamentals of Nursing: First Australian Edition is a current, engaging and uniquely Australian textbook that will help students succeed in their nursing studies. Kozier and Erb’s Fundamentals of Nursing, First Australian Edition presents the fundamentals of nursing care within the framework of the nursing process. This text offers an accessible writing style; a focus on practical application with real-world Australian examples and case studies; appropriate Australian terminology, policies and procedures, Australian visuals; an integrated approach to Australian Indigenous health issues; and up-to-date references, research and codes of practice, with reference to ANMC guidelines. The text is supported by a state-of-the art technology package to enhance the learning process. Chapter 20: The terms growth and development both refer to dynamic processes. Often used interchangeably, these terms have different meanings. Growth is physical change and increase in size. It can be measured quantitatively. Indicators of growth include height, weight, bone size and dentition. The pattern of physiologic growth is similar for all people. However, growth rates vary during different stages of growth and development. The growth rate is rapid during the prenatal, neonatal, infancy and adolescent stages and slows during childhood. Physical growth is minimal during adulthood. Development is an increase in the complexity of function and skill progression. It is the capacity and skill of a person to adapt to the environment. Development is the behavioural aspect of growth (e.g. a person develops the ability to walk, to talk and to run). Growth and development are independent, interrelated processes. For example, an infant's muscles, bones and nervous system must grow to a certain point before the infant is able to sit up or walk. Growth generally takes place during the first 20 years of life; development takes place during that time and also continues after that point. Principles of growth and development are shown in Box 20.1. LEARNING OUTCOMES - Differentiate between the terms growth and development. - Describe essential principles related to growth and development. - List factors that influence growth and development. - Explain the concept of temperament. - Describe the stages of growth and development according to various theorists. - Describe characteristics and implications of Freud's five stages of development. - Identify Erikson's eight stages of development. - Identify developmental tasks associated with Havighurst's six age periods. - Compare Peck's and Gould's stages of adult development. - Explain Piaget's theory of cognitive development. - Compare Kohlberg's and Gilligan's theories of moral development. - Compare Fowler's and Westerhoff's stages of spiritual development

Loss, grieving and death

For years Kozier & Erb’s Fundamentals of Nursing has been the gold standard in helping students embarking on their nursing careers. This first Australian edition retains many of the features that have made this textbook the number-one choice of nursing students and lecturers.\ud \ud To further enhance this popular fundamentals textbook and ensure its appropriate application for Australian students, nursing academics from across Australia were invited to review and comment on each of the 52 chapters. Their detailed feedback has ensured that Kozier & Erb’s Fundamentals of Nursing: First Australian Edition is a current, engaging and uniquely Australian textbook that will help students succeed in their nursing studies.\ud \ud Kozier and Erb’s Fundamentals of Nursing, First Australian Edition presents the fundamentals of nursing care within the framework of the nursing process. This text offers an accessible writing style; a focus on practical application with real-world Australian examples and case studies; appropriate Australian terminology, policies and procedures, Australian visuals; an integrated approach to Australian Indigenous health issues; and up-to-date references, research and codes of practice, with reference to ANMC guidelines. The text is supported by a state-of-the art technology package to enhance the learning process.\ud \ud Chapter 43: Everyone experiences loss, grieving and death at some time\ud during his or her life. People may suffer the loss of valued\ud relationships through life changes, such as moving from one\ud city to another, separation, divorce or the death of a parent, spouse or friend. People may grieve changing life roles as they watch grown children leave home or they retire from their lifelong work. The loss of valued material objects through theft or natural disaster can evoke feelings of grief and loss. When people's lives are affected by civil or national strife, they may grieve the loss of valued ideals such as safety, freedom or democracy.\ud In the clinical setting, the nurse encounters clients who may be experiencing grief related to declining health, loss of a body part, terminal illness, or the impending death of self or a significant other. The nurse may also work with clients in community settings who are grieving losses related to personal crisis (e.g. divorce, separation) or disaster (bushfires or cyclones). Therefore, it is important for the nurse to understand the significance of loss and develop the ability to assist clients as they work\ud through the grieving process.\ud Nurses may interact with dying clients and their families or\ud caregivers in a variety of settings, from a foetal demise (death of an unborn child), to the adolescent victim of an accident, to the elderly client who finally succumbs to a chronic illness. Nurses must recognise the various influences on the dying process - legal, ethical, religious and spiritual, biologic, personal- and be prepared to provide sensitive, skilled and supportive care to all those affected.\ud \ud LEARNING OUTCOMES\ud - Describe types and sources of losses.\ud - Discuss selected frameworks for identifying stages of grieving.\ud - Identify clinical symptoms of grief.\ud - Discuss factors affecting a grief response.\ud - Identify measures that facilitate the grieving process.\ud - List clinical signs of impending and actual death.\ud - Describe helping clients die with dignity.\ud - Describe the role of the nurse in working with families or\ud caregivers of dying clients.\ud - Describe nursing measures for care of the body after death

Putting the philosophy into PhD

[Extract] Novice researchers undertaking a PhD are exposed to different research methodologies, methods, and related philosophies. The emphasis is on developing knowledge and skills as they progress through the research process. Doctoral studies are usually considered research training, or an 'apprenticeship' in research. With the emphasis on investigative processes, the place of philosophy in the Doctor of Philosophy can be over - shadowed. This paper will discuss the role of philosophy in the Doctor of Philosophy, why this important consideration challenges the candidate and, through personal reflection, provides reassurance for those beginning their doctoral journey

Putting the philosophy into PhD

[Extract] Novice researchers undertaking a PhD are exposed to different research methodologies, methods, and related philosophies. The emphasis is on developing knowledge and skills as they progress through the research process. Doctoral studies are usually considered research training, or an 'apprenticeship' in research. With the emphasis on investigative processes, the place of philosophy in the Doctor of Philosophy can be over - shadowed. This paper will discuss the role of philosophy in the Doctor of Philosophy, why this important consideration challenges the candidate and, through personal reflection, provides reassurance for those beginning their doctoral journey