Confronting the social mandate for nursing scholarship – One school of nursing’s journey.

The move to advance the qualification of nurses has necessitated the expansion of baccalaureate degree level nursing education to colleges and other less research-intensive post-secondary institutions in Canada and beyond. Shifts in the post-secondary institutional contexts of nursing education necessitate a re-thinking of the mandate and purpose of scholarship in nursing and how it can be sustained. Over a span of forty years, Thompson Rivers University School of Nursing has evolved from a community college program to one situated in a university college, and most recently within a new university. In this paper, we describe the purpose and process of developing our faculty scholarship within these distinct institutional forms. We offer our retrospective and perspective on how faculty in different types of institutions must contribute to the research mandate of the discipline of nursing and bring renewed strengths to other forms of scholarship required to advance the profession in the 21st century. We also describe how scholarship as a way of being is integral to sustaining quality academic environments for nursing education. This reflection adds to the growing literature describing challenges of renewal, resources, and relevance within nursing education around the world. A deeper understanding and examination of these challenges brings the promise of strategic direction in policy arenas for the sustainability of the professoriate and its capacity for both educating the nursing workforce and developing the discipline. _________________ Dans la foulée du renforcement des compétences des infirmières, la formation de niveau baccalauréat en sciences infirmières a nécessité la participation des collèges et d’autres établissements postsecondaires moins axés sur la recherche, au Canada et ailleurs. En raison des changements de contextes de la formation en sciences infirmières, dans des institutions postsecondaires, il importe de s’attarder au mandat social des corps professoraux face à l’avancement des connaissances en sciences infirmières, au but de ce mandat et à sa pérennité. Sur une période de quarante ans, notre école de sciences infirmières d’un collège communautaire est passée vers un collège universitaire pour être, tout récemment, située dans une nouvelle université. Dans cet article, nous décrivons le but et le processus de notre développement comme corps professoral quant à l’avancement des connaissances à travers ces formes institutionnelles distinctes. Nous offrons une rétrospective et notre perspective sur la manière dont les corps professoraux des différents types d’établissement, doivent contribuer au mandat de recherche de la discipline infirmière tout en renforçant d’autres formes d’avancement de connaissances essentielles au développement de la profession au 21e siècle. Nous décrivons également comment la participation à l’avancement des connaissances, comme façon d’être, fait partie intégrante du maintien de la qualité des milieux académiques universitaires pour la formation en sciences infirmières. La présente réflexion s’ajoute aux écrits de plus en plus nombreux qui portent sur les défis liés au renouvellement, aux ressources et à la pertinence du corps professoral dans le domaine des sciences infirmières dans le monde entier. Une meilleure compréhension et un examen plus approfondi de ces défis permettent d’entrevoir une orientation stratégique sur le plan des politiques visant la pérennité du corps professoral et sa capacité à la fois de former la relève infirmière et de développer la discipline

“100 Years of University Nursing Education”: The Significance of a Baccalaureate Nursing Degree and Its Public Health Origins for Nursing Now

Abstract The 100-year milestone of university nursing education at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2019 offers a pause for reflection and inquiry. History assists us to illuminate current issues and debates in light of past events. An examination of the legacy of Ethel Johns and others who held the vision of why nursing education should enter the university in 1919 sheds light on its historical significance, then and now. The first Director, Ethel Johns, referred to the establishment of the University of British Columbia Department of Nursing and the degree program it offered as “the experiment” (Johns, 1936). Reflections on “the experiment” provides a standpoint to consider how this courageous and visionary leader might have viewed the way “the experiment” is faring within the 21st century landscape of Canadian university nursing education. This reflection on the history of university nursing education and its public health origins is all the more pressing in the World Health Organization (WHO) declared International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife and, unprecedented over the last century, the emergence of a global COVID-19 pandemic and related public health crisis. The initiation of university education in 1919 was in part spurred by the Influenza epidemic of 1918 amidst a realization of the need for a breadth and depth of nursing education in public health and leadership, which was argued to be best situated within the regular post-secondary education system. We contend that this reflection is once again needed in nursing education programs. We offer a critique of how the pandemic of 2020 can illuminate current shortcomings in the baccalaureate preparation of nurses. The present context of the pandemic might prompt efforts to ensure nursing capacity is sufficient to engage with a public health crisis and provide the leadership – needed now, as it was then. Résumé Les 100 ans de formation universitaire en sciences infirmières à la University of British Columbia (UBC) en 2019 ont permis un temps de pause pour une réflexion et une évaluation. L’histoire nous aide à éclairer les problèmes et les débats actuels à la lumière des évènements passés. Un examen de l’héritage d’Ethel Johns et d’autres qui ont partagé une vision de la raison pour laquelle la formation en sciences infirmières devrait être offerte à l’université en 1919 fait la lumière sur son importance historique passée et présente. La première directrice, Ethel Johns, fait référence à la création du département des sciences infirmières de la University of British Columbia et le programme alors offert comme étant « l’expérience » (Johns, 1936). Les réflexions sur « l’expérience » offrent un point de vue pour considérer comment cette chef de file courageuse et visionnaire pourrait avoir vu la façon dont « l’expérience » se porte dans le contexte de la formation en sciences infirmières dans les universités canadiennes au 21e siècle. Cette réflexion sur l’histoire de la formation universitaire en sciences infirmières et ses origines de santé publique est d’autant plus pressante depuis que l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS) a déclaré cette année comme l’Année internationale des sages-femmes et du personnel infirmier, et suite à l’émergence d’une pandémie mondiale de COVID-19 et la crise de santé publique qui y est liée. Le commencement de la formation universitaire en 1919 a été en partie stimulée par l’épidémie de grippe de 1918 et la constatation du besoin d’une formation en sciences infirmières en santé publique et leadership, dont le meilleur endroit a été déterminé comme étant dans le système régulier d’études supérieures. Nous maintenons que cette réflexion est nécessaire une fois de plus dans les programmes de formation en sciences infirmières. Nous offrons une critique de la façon dont la pandémie de 2020 peut éclaircir les lacunes actuelles dans la préparation des infirmières au baccalauréat. Le contexte actuel de la pandémie pourrait susciter des efforts pour s’assurer que la capacité des services infirmiers est suffisante pour gérer une crise de santé publique et offrir le leadership qui est maintenant nécessaire, comme il l’a été à cette époque

From Pilot to Established Practice: Reflecting on the 20-Year Journey of Implementing a Collaborative Learning Unit practice education model in Victoria, British Columbia

Practice-based, or workplace-integrated, learning is a fundamental component of Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs. The Dedicated Education Unit (DEU) model has been implemented widely in a range of contexts over the past two decades as an alternative to traditional faculty-led and preceptorship models. In Victoria, British Columbia, academic and practice nursing partners adapted and piloted the DEU in 2003 as a Collaborative Learning Unit (CLU) model. As with other DEU initiatives/innovations, the CLU was proposed primarily as a solution to increasing demands on student placement capacity and reduced preceptor availability. Over the past 17 years the CLU approach has been expanded to the point where over 85% of BSN students now complete their final practice courses within this model. As part of a larger program of study evaluating the CLU model, we employed Bowen’s document analysis methodology to explore the unique contextual issues that shaped development of this model and to critically reflect on historical and political influences on expansion and sustainability. We located printed and electronic documents developed by academic-practice partner teams from the time of early interest about the model in 2001 to 2020. Data were extracted about authorship, purpose, process and key recommendations, in particular related to the characteristics and processes of CLUs that supported development, implementation, and sustainability. Supplementary strategic documents were also reviewed for provincial health system, national nursing, and nursing education contexts. Overall, we noted a pattern of substantial initial collaboration, investment and expansion, leading to the CLU model becoming established practice for the majority of senior practice placements. However, multiple economic and system influences across healthcare and post-secondary education sectors contributed to a gradual reduction in infrastructure during the past ten years. We suggest that limited intentional focus on sustainability in and between academic and healthcare organizational contexts over time contributed to some erosion of nursing education infrastructure and potentially dilution of the positive impact of this practice education model. Despite these challenges, student placement data patterns in Victoria indicate that without the CLU model, it would be significantly more challenging to return to relying on the preceptorship model for senior practice education courses, particularly as many of the initial contextual factors endure. Résumé L’apprentissage basé sur la pratique ou intégré au lieu de travail est une composante fondamentale des programmes de baccalauréat en sciences infirmières. Le modèle d’unité dédiée à la formation (UDF) a été largement mis en œuvre dans une gamme de contextes au cours des deux dernières décennies comme alternative aux modèles traditionnels de supervision par une professeure ou une préceptrice. À Victoria, en Colombie-Britannique, les partenaires infirmières universitaires et cliniques ont adapté et piloté le modèle d’UDF en 2003 en tant que modèle d’unité collaborative d’apprentissage (UCA). Comme avec d’autres initiatives/innovations de l’UDF, l’UCA a été proposée principalement comme solution aux demandes croissantes de places de stage pour les étudiantes et à la disponibilité réduite des préceptrices. Au cours des 17 dernières années, l’approche de l’UCA a été élargie au point où plus de 85 % des étudiantes au baccalauréat en sciences infirmières terminent maintenant leurs derniers stages en milieu de pratique dans le contexte de ce modèle. Dans le cadre d’un programme de recherche plus vaste évaluant le modèle d’UCA, nous avons utilisé la méthodologie d’analyse de documents de Bowen pour explorer les enjeux contextuels uniques qui ont façonné le développement de ce modèle et pour réfléchir de manière critique aux influences historiques et politiques liées à l’expansion et à la pérennité. Nous avons retracé des documents imprimés et électroniques élaborés par des équipes partenaires universitaires-pratiques depuis qu’on a commencé à s’intéresser au modèle, soit en 2001, jusqu’à 2020. Des données ont été extraites sur les auteurs, l’objectif, le processus et les recommandations clés de ces textes, en particulier en ce qui concerne les caractéristiques et les processus des UCA qui ont soutenu le développement, la mise en œuvre et la pérennité. Des documents stratégiques supplémentaires ont également été examinés pour considérer des éléments de contexte du système de santé provincial, des soins infirmiers nationaux et de la formation en sciences infirmières. Dans l’ensemble, nous avons noté une configuration initiale de collaboration, d’investissement et d’expansion substantiels qui a permis au modèle d’UCA de devenir une pratique établie pour la majorité des stages en milieu de pratique des étudiantes de dernière année. Cependant, de multiples influences économiques et systémiques dans les secteurs de la santé et de l’enseignement postsecondaire ont contribué à une réduction graduelle des infrastructures au cours des 10 dernières années. Nous suggérons qu’une intention limitée de se centrer sur la pérennité dans et entre les contextes organisationnels académiques et de soins de santé au fil du temps a contribué à une certaine érosion de l’infrastructure de la formation en sciences infirmières et potentiellement à la dilution de l’impact positif de ce modèle de formation pratique. Malgré ces défis, le profil des données sur le placement des étudiantes en stage à Victoria indique que sans le modèle d’UCA, il serait beaucoup plus difficile de s’appuyer à nouveau uniquement sur le modèle de préceptorat pour les stages en milieu de pratique des étudiantes de dernière année, d’autant plus que bon nombre des facteurs contextuels perdurent

Mixed-conducting oxygen permeable ceramic membranes for the carbon dioxide reforming of methane

This is the published version. Copyright 2007 Royal Society of ChemistryDue to the high economic, environmental, and safety costs associated with pure oxygen, mixed-conducting oxygen-permeable ceramic membranes are being explored as an alternative oxygen source for hydrocarbon conversion reactors. This work reports a dramatic improvement in catalyst performance when an oxygen-permeable SrFeCo0.5Ox ceramic membrane is used in conjunction with a conventional powder Pt/ZrO2 catalyst for the CO2 reforming of CH4. Experiments comparing catalyst performance with up to 2% co-fed oxygen to catalyst performance with oxygen from the ceramic membrane demonstrated a conversion three times higher with the membrane than with any amount of co-fed oxygen. The results suggest that membrane oxygen is more beneficial for catalyst activity and stability than molecular gas-phase oxygen

Ethnicity and the Writing of Medieval Scottish history

Historians have long tended to define medieval Scottish society in terms of interactions between ethnic groups. This approach was developed over the course of the long nineteenth century, a formative period for the study of medieval Scotland. At that time, many scholars based their analysis upon scientific principles, long since debunked, which held that medieval 'peoples' could only be understood in terms of 'full ethnic packages'. This approach was combined with a positivist historical narrative that defined Germanic Anglo-Saxons and Normans as the harbingers of advances of Civilisation. While the prejudices of that era have largely faded away, the modern discipline still relies all too often on a dualistic ethnic framework. This is particularly evident in a structure of periodisation that draws a clear line between the 'Celtic' eleventh century and the 'Norman' twelfth. Furthermore, dualistic oppositions based on ethnicity continue, particularly in discussions of the law, kingship, lordship and religion

Adolescent reading skill and engagement with digital and traditional literacies as predictors of reading comprehension

This study investigates the concurrent predictors of adolescent reading comprehension (literal, inferential) for fiction and non-fiction texts. Predictors were examined from the cognitive (word identification, reading fluency), psychological (gender), and ecological (print exposure) domains. Print exposure to traditional and digital texts was surveyed using a diary method of reading habits. A cross-sectional sample of 312 students in early (11–13 years) or middle adolescence (14–15 years) participated from a range of SES backgrounds. Word identification emerged as a strong predictor of reading comprehension across adolescence and text genres. Gender effects favouring female students were evident for reading frequency but not for reading skill itself. Reading habits also differed, and comprehension advantages were observed among females for fiction and males for non-fiction. Age effects emerged for reading frequency, which was lower in middle adolescence. Although more time was spent on digital than on traditional texts, traditional extended text reading was the only reading habit to predict inference-making in comprehension and to distinguish skilled from less skilled comprehenders. The theoretical and educational implications of these results are discussed

Case-control study developing Scottish Epilepsy Deaths Study score to predict epilepsy-related death

This study aims to develop a risk prediction model for epilepsy-related death in adults. In this age- and sex-matched case-control study, we compared adults (aged ≥16 years) who had epilepsy-related death between 2009-2016 to living adults with epilepsy in Scotland. Cases were identified from validated administrative national datasets linked to mortality records. ICD-10 cause-of-death coding was used to define epilepsy-related death. Controls were recruited from a research database and epilepsy clinics. Clinical data from medical records were abstracted and used to undertake univariable and multivariable conditional logistic regression to develop a risk prediction model consisting of four variables chosen a priori. A weighted sum of the factors present was taken to create a risk index - the Scottish Epilepsy Deaths Study Score (SEDS Score). Odds ratios (OR) were estimated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). 224 deceased cases (mean age 48 years, 114 male) and 224 matched living controls were compared. In univariable analysis, predictors of epilepsy-related death were recent epilepsy-related accident and emergency (A&E) attendance (OR 5.1, 95% CI 3.2-8.3), living in deprived areas (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.6-4.0), developmental epilepsy (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.7-5.7), raised Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.2-5.2), alcohol abuse (OR 4.4, 95% CI 2.2-9.2), absent recent neurology review (OR 3.8, 95% CI 2.4-6.1), and generalised epilepsy (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2-3.0). SEDS Score model variables were derived from the first four listed above, with CCI ≥2 given 1 point, living in the two most deprived areas given 2 points, having an inherited or congenital aetiology or risk factor for developing epilepsy given 2 points, and recent epilepsy-related A&E attendance given 3 points. Compared to having a SEDS Score of 0, those with a SEDS Score of 1 remained low risk, with OR 1.6 (95% CI 0.5-4.8). Those with a SEDS Score of 2-3 had moderate risk, with OR 2.8 (95% CI 1.3-6.2). Those with a SEDS Score of 4-5 and 6-8 were high risk, with OR 14.4 (95% CI 5.9-35.2) and 24.0 (95% CI 8.1-71.2), respectively. The SEDS Score may be a helpful tool for identifying adults at high risk of epilepsy-related death and requires external validation

Holocene Settlement History of the Dundas Islands Archipelago, Northern British Columbia

As this article demonstrates, the Dundas Islands have been home to humans for at least eleven thousand years. This occupation was at times very extensive; this relatively small group of islands was likely home to a population of several thousand people by about two thousand years ago. While geographically on the “outer shores” of Northern Tsimshian traditional territory, these islands were in no way marginal as locations for settlement. We outline the settlement history of the archipelago by presenting the results of the Dundas Islands Archaeological Project, including the radiocarbon dating program results combined with data from three previous small-scale surveys (Archer 2000; Haggarty 1988; Inglis 1975). We discuss different types of habitation sites and chronological trends in their occupation to argue that the Dundas Islands have been near-continuously occupied for at least the entire Holocene and that this was central, not peripheral, to the broader history of human occupation in the region