A digital educational resource to support and enhance effective mentorship practices of nursing students in nursing homes: a qualitative study

There is a grooving body of evidence emphasising the need to support and enhance effective mentorship practices for nursing students in nursing home placements, including strengthening of the pedagogical competence of registered nurse mentors. Owing to the necessity for multifaceted mentoring competence and the challenges of workload registered nurses are facing, the use of flexible digital educational resources has been suggested. However, current knowledge on the effectiveness of digital educational resources in enhancing mentorship practices in nursing homes is scarce. This study aimed to explore the perception of registered nurse mentors regarding the effectiveness of a digital educational resource, particular its usability and value-in-use in supporting and enhancing mentorship practices in nursing homes. The study applied an exploratory descriptive qualitative design. Pre- and post-mentoring semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted among a total of 23 registered nurse mentors across three Norwegian nursing homes. The transcribed interviews were thematically analysed. Standards for reporting qualitative research were followed. The analysis yielded one pre-mentoring theme: (1) predominant enthusiasm and satisfaction and three post-mentoring themes: (2) enhanced confidence and motivation, (3) enhanced mentoring competence in supporting the nursing students’ learning process, and (4) factors influencing the value-in-use of the digital educational resource. Digital educational resources support effective mentorship practices by enhancing the confidence and motivation in the mentor role and by enabling more goal-oriented supervision and assessment tailored to the learning goals of students. The implementation of digital educational resources to support and enhance effective mentorship practices is an important avenue for further research towards achieving high-quality learning environments in clinical nursing education in general and nursing homes. Based on the study findings, nursing educational institutions should consider offering digital educational resources to develop, support, and advance mentorship training, which may more effectively impact and improvepublishedVersio

Supporting the nurse educator in clinical education – A qualitative evaluation of a digital educational resource DigiVIS

Despite the increased use of technology for teaching and learning in clinical nursing education, relatively little attention seems to be directed toward the usefulness of digital educational resources (DERs) to support nurse educators’ educational role in clinical nursing education. An interpretive descriptive qualitative study design was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of a DER to support nurse educators in clinical nursing education. Data were collected through two focus group interviews with part-time and novice educators (n = 5) and full-time, more experienced educators (n = 5), after they had overseen student nurses in nursing home placements. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research guidelines were used for this study. The analysis identified three themes related to nurse educators’ experiences of the usefulness of a DER to support their educational role while overseeing first-year students on clinical placements in nursing homes: (1) Provides academic support and a sense of security (2) promotes pedagogical efficacy, and (3) represents a flexible resource for educational planning. This study shows that a digital educational resource can be an efficient and useful supplementary strategy to support the nurse educator’s role in clinical nursing education. Future research is required to systematize knowledge about the impact of DERs on orientation and training, as well as motivation and facilitators for, and barriers to, their use to enhance quality and strengthen the nurse educator’s role in clinical nursing education.publishedVersio

Autismespekterforstyrrelse i skolen - Barn med Autismespekterforstyrrelse og ansattes kompetanse i skolen

Denne oppgaven belyser kjernevanskeområder for barn med diagnoser innen Autismespekteret, og anerkjente metoder for opplæring av barn med denne formen for utviklingsforstyrrelse. Det redegjøres det for hvilke rettigheter disse barna har i møte med norske opplæringsinstitusjoner, før en teoretisk gjennomgang av hvorfor det er viktig med spisskompetanse hos de ansatte som skal jobbe med barn som har Autismespekterforstyrrelse (ASF). Den empiriske delen belyser hva slags kompetanse ansatte møter barn med ASF med, i en tilfeldig valgt norsk barneskole. Kompetansebegrepet er hentet fra Strategisk kompetanseledelse av Lai (2013). Kompetanse som blir vurdert i denne studien er formell og uformell kompetanse i forhold til barn med ASF og holdninger. Studien ble gjennomført i form av delstrukturerte intervjuer med til sammen 12 informanter ved en middels stor skole på Østlandet, inkludert helsesøster. Det kommer frem av studien at de ansatte ved denne skolen jevnt over har høy utdanning, men bare én av de har relevant videreutdanning om ASF. Skolens rektor og Spesialpedagogisk koordinator har utdanning i, blant annet spesialpedagogikk. Alle lærerne samt rektor og inspektør har erfaring med ett eller flere barn med ASF i skolesammenheng. I Norge er det ingen formelle kompetansekrav for de som skal arbeide med elever som har ASF. Resultatene fra denne studien viser at de som jobber med elevene med ASF i denne skolen ikke har noen form for kompetansegivende videre- eller etterutdanning spesielt utviklet for opplæring av barn med ASF. Det blir ikke nevnt bruk av anerkjente metoder i opplæringen, det er heller ikke tilgjengelig kompetanse i skolen for å eventuelt kunne iverksette slike intervensjoner. Det kommer også frem av denne studien at de ansatte legger litt forskjellig i de ulike begrepene knyttet til kjente vanskeområder for barn med ASF. I forhold til begreper som grunnleggende ferdigheter, muntlig, skriftlig, regning og digitale verktøy, finner jeg at lærerne er enige på en annen måte. Dette kan sees som å være en indikator på at lærerne har stor kompetanse i allmennpedagogikk men ikke den samme begrepsfestede kunnskapen om ASF. Det kommer frem at det jobbes ulikt med elevene fra lærer til lærer, det er også uenigheter om hva de tenker dekkes av spesialundervisningen, og hva som skal vektlegges ut i fra elevene med ASF sine IOP-er. De resultater som kommer frem i denne studien samsvarer i høy grad med funn fra liknende undersøkelser i andre land, og i forhold til en rapport som ser på kvaliteten av spesialundervisning generelt i Norge: Lærerne føler ikke de har nok kompetanse til å drive opplæring av barn med spesielle behov, herunder ASF. Det kommer frem at det både er et behov for og et ønske om klare spesialpedagogiske kunnskaper blant de ansatte, i forhold til elever med ASF

Registered nurse mentors\u27 experiences from co-creation in higher education targeting enhancement of mentorship practices in nursing homes: A qualitative study

Aim: To explore registered nurse (RN) mentors\u27 experiences of participating in the co-creation of a digital educational resource intended to enhance mentorship practices of first-year nursing students in clinical placement in nursing homes. Design: An interpretive, descriptive qualitative study design. Methods: Data were collected through two focus group interviews with 15 RN mentors (n = 15) participating in co-creative workshops. The co-creative process entailed four co-creative workshops conducted over a 17-month period (June 2019 to end of Oct 2020). Focus group interviews were conducted following the second and third workshops (i.e., in Dec 2019 and in Oct 2020) and data were analysed using thematic analysis. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) checklist was used to report the findings. Results: The analysis identified three themes: (1) co-creative reflective dialogues contributed to knowledge development and increased motivation among mentors; (2) the co-creative approach facilitated and validated the nursing academic-practice tripartite partnership; and (3) effectiveness of workshop structure in facilitating collaboration and mitigating power inequities. Conclusion: A co-creative process provides notable opportunities to advocate for mentorship needs and to enhance mentorship practices in nursing homes. Impact: Our study adds to the evidence on co-creation in nursing education, providing insights on the co-creative process and methodology. Higher Education Institutions are uniquely positioned to act as a co-creative arena for the academic–practice collaboration and for the development of educational resources within nursing education. Co-creation may facilitate stronger academic–practice partnership that may more effectively impact mentorship practices in nursing homes and health care system effectiveness. Public Contributions: The RNs included in the study were involved in the co-creative process as active contributors informing the digital educational resource content and design