Exploring compassion in U.S. nurses: results from an international research study

Nurses in the United States value their role in providing compassionate care to their patients, the family and community. This article discusses an international survey that explored key issues of compassion in nursing, specifically qualitative findings from a sample of nurses from the United States of America. Fifteen countries participated in this survey, with a total of 1,323 completed questionnaires. The article presents the background; study methods and analysis; and results and discussion. Qualitative data from the United States nurses revealed the following findings: compassion was defined caring with listening, developing a relationship, alleviating suffering, touch, and going beyond the normal role of the nurse.Findings of this study provide some understanding of the ways in which nurses in the United States provide compassionate care

Racially minoritized people's experiences of racism during COVID-19 in Australia : a qualitative study

Objective: Drawing from a broader study exploring how New South Wales community members from racially minoritized backgrounds experienced living through a pandemic, this paper reports specifically on experiences of racism during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Methods: Using an in-depth, qualitative interpretive approach, 11 semi-structured interviews and one focus group hosting three participants (n=14) were held via an online videoconferencing platform from September to December 2020. Inductive thematic analysis was undertaken using QRS NVivo as a data management tool. Results: Racism was heightened during the pandemic and experienced in various ways by racially minoritized peoples in New South Wales. All participants in this research cited experiences of racism that impacted their wellbeing during COVID-19. These experiences are represented by the following four themes: experiencing racism is common; how racisms are experienced; increased fear of racism during COVID-19; and ways of coping with racisms. Conclusions: Racism was heightened during the pandemic and generated fear and anxiety that prevented racially minoritized peoples from participating in everyday life. Implications for Public Health: Messaging from broader public platforms must be harnessed to stop the spread of moral panic so that during times of pandemic, public health strategies need only confirmation, not creation

Interdisciplinary approach to clinical placements within Charles Sturt University School of Nursing Midwifery and Indigenous Health. A Practice Report

The clinical placement environment can be challenging for many students, and for students enrolled in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health (SNMIH) subject NRS194, Indigenous Cultures, Health and Nursing, being placed in an Aboriginal facility can be daunting and increase anxiety within a cohort.  A pilot project within the SNMIH for NRS194 sought to engage the local Aboriginal Health Service through Aboriginal staff and utilising the skills, knowledge and expertise of the Aboriginal Health workers as a conduit to the community.  The cross cultural engagement within the SNMIH and the community has meant the cohorts of discipline-specific programs are being exposed to a breadth and depth of diversity within the Australian Health context, with a specific focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their communities.  This Practice Report discusses the core elements of this first year placement initiative and the outcomes from the academic lens.</p

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander subjects in a Graduate Diploma of Midwifery: A pilot study

Background: Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council prescribes midwifery accreditation standards that support students’ development in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and cultural safety to be deemed practice ready. However, the impact of training programmes are not widely explored. Aim: This study aimed to assess the impact of a mandatory 8-week online subject focussed on the development of culturally safe practices among midwifery students. Methods: The Ganngaleh nga Yagaleh cultural safety assessment tool was used to collect online quantitative data from post graduate midwifery students at the commencement and completion of an online subject. Results: Through a purposive sample (n = 10) participant perceptions of culturally safe practices remained relatively unchanged, except for three items of the Ganngaleh nga Yagaleh cultural safety assessment tool. Discussion: Findings demonstrate that when post graduate midwifery students are exposed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives of Australia’s colonial history it impacts their sense of optimism, personal values and beliefs about the healthcare they will provide to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. However, midwifery students who self-identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, reported a decline in optimism when imagining a healthcare system free of racism. Conclusion: The subject did not impact on cultural safety scores. This may be due to prior learning of student midwives. Educators should consider building on prior knowledge in post graduate midwifery to ensure the content is contextualised to midwifery

I am Looking for My Truth: a Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Focusing on Undergraduate Nursing Students\u27 Journeys in Indigenous Australian Cultural Competence

This paper will present the initial findings of a study aimed at creating meaning from students\u27 lived experiences and journey towards Indigenous Australian cultural competence across a three-year Bachelor of Nursing degree. The participants of this study were undergraduate students who enrolled in a cultural competency subject within the Bachelor of Nursing Course and the subsequent journey of students in this cohort through their second and third year of university. Truth seeking was a major overarching theme found in the data of year one students. This paper will explore this theme and how the interdependent sub themes of previous truths, new knowledge, critical thinking and confirming the new truth, played a role in students\u27 journey of Indigenous Australian cultural competence

Impact of the learning context on undergraduate healthcare students’ Evidence-Based Practice confidence and attitudes

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a complex process of enquiry and reasoning undertaken by practitioners to ensure defensible healthcare decisions are made. This study investigated the impact of different learning contexts on undergraduate healthcare students’ EBP confidence and attitudes. Within a broader project, 231 third- and fourth-year students in 20 undergraduate healthcare degrees in one Australian university completed an online survey. Students were asked to indicate: the context(s) in which they could remember learning EBP skills (in a research-focused subject, in a non-research-focused subject, and/or during workplace learning); their frequency of exposure to research articles in different learning contexts in the past year; and their levels of EBP confidence and other attitudinal target variables. There was no association between learning EBP skills in a research subject and any target variable. Learning EBP skills in a non-research (e.g., clinically focused) subject or during workplace learning was associated with higher levels of EBP confidence (p 0.05) and pro-EBP attitudes. In addition, there was a positive relationship between exposure to research articles and EBP confidence, found to be strongest when exposure to the research occurred in the context of practice-based learning (r = 0.42, p 0.001). The findings show that the curricular context in which EBP skills are taught impacts on students’ EBP confidence and attitudes. Teaching EBP skills in research-focused subjects may be necessary, but it is insufficient for maximising confidence and attitudes conducive to EBP. These findings are relevant to curriculum designers and educators seeking to enhance the effectiveness of undergraduate EBP education

Peripherally Inserted Central catheter iNnovation to reduce Infections and Clots (the PICNIC trial): a randomised controlled trial protocol

Introduction Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are vital for the delivery of medical therapies, but up to 30% of PICCs are associated with complications such as deep vein thrombosis or infection. The integration of antimicrobial and hydrophobic catheter materials, and pressure-activated valves, into polyurethane PICCs are innovations designed to prevent infective and/or thrombotic complications.Methods and analysis A multicentre, parallel group, superiority randomised controlled trial with two experimental arms ((1) hydrophobic PICC (with pressure-activated valve); (2) chlorhexidine gluconate-impregnated PICC (with external clamp)) and one control group ((3) conventional polyurethane PICC (with external clamp)). Recruitment of 1098 adult and paediatric patients will take place over 2 years at three tertiary-referral hospitals in Queensland, Australia. Patients are eligible for inclusion if their PICC is to be inserted for medical treatment, with a vascular size sufficient to support a 4-Fr PICC or larger, and with informed consent. The primary outcome is PICC failure, a composite of thrombotic (venous thrombosis, breakage and occlusion) and infective complications (PICC-associated bloodstream infection and local infection). Secondary outcomes include: all-cause PICC complication; thrombotic complications; infective complications; adverse events (local or systemic reaction); PICC dwell time; patient/parent satisfaction; and healthcare costs. Differences between both intervention groups and the control group will be compared using Cox proportional hazards regression. Effect estimates will be presented as HRs with corresponding 95% CI.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval from Queensland Health (HREC/QCHQ/48682) and Griffith University (Ref. No. 2019/094). Results will be published.Trial registration number ACTRN12619000022167

Exploring nurses' meaning and experiences of compassion: an international online survey involving 15 countries

Purpose: In recent years, there has been much focus on compassion in nursing care, and concern has been raised in a number of reports and media stories regarding decreased compassion. The aim of this study was to explore similarities and differences in the understanding and demonstration of compassion in nursing practice across 15 countries. Design: A total of 1,323 nurses from 15 countries responded to questions in relation to compassion, via an international online survey. Results: The data revealed the impact of sociopolitical influences on perceptions of compassion, and the conscious and intentional nature of compassion. Discussion and Conclusion: The study demonstrated shared understandings of the importance of compassion as well as some common perceptions of the attributes of compassionate care. The differences reported were not as significant as had been expected. Implications for Practice: Further research is needed to explore the country and culture differences in the enactment of compassion