A Personal Experience of Working with Classical Grounded Theory: From Beginner to Experienced Grounded Theorist

In this article the authors offer an example of the application of principles of classical grounded theory (Glaser) in data collection and analysis and present how they generated a substantive grounded theory named Preparative Waiting for patients who underwent the diagnostic phase at a gastric ward. They demonstrate how patients’ main concern emerged by constant comparison of data in open coding and how the core category of the theory and related concepts developed through selective coding. The authors offer examples of memos, the fitting of concepts to their data set, and the process of theoretical coding to illustrate how three different models were generated to improve fit, relevance, and workability of their grounded theory. They also discuss when and how to search and read the literature during a grounded theory study

A Personal Experience of Working with Classical Grounded Theory: From Beginner to Experienced Grounded Theorist

In this article the authors offer an example of the application of principles of classical grounded theory (Glaser) in data collection and analysis and present how they generated a substantive grounded theory named Preparative Waiting for patients who underwent the diagnostic phase at a gastric ward. They demonstrate how patients’ main concern emerged by constant comparison of data in open coding and how the core category of the theory and related concepts developed through selective coding. The authors offer examples of memos, the fitting of concepts to their data set, and the process of theoretical coding to illustrate how three different models were generated to improve fit, relevance, and workability of their grounded theory. They also discuss when and how to search and read the literature during a grounded theory study.publishedVersio

Mental health staff perspectives on spiritual care competencies in Norway: A pilot study

Spirituality and spiritual care have long been kept separate from patient care in mental health, primarily because it has been associated with psycho-pathology. Nursing has provided limited spiritual care competency training for staff in mental health due to fears that psychoses may be activated or exacerbated if religion and spirituality are addressed. However, spirituality is broader than simply religion, including more existential issues such as providing non-judgmental presence, attentive listening, respect, and kindness (International Council of Nursing [ICN], 2012). Unfortunately, healthcare personnel working in mental health institutions are not well prepared to address spiritual concerns or resources of their patients (Cone and Giske, 2018). Therefore, a mixed-method pilot study was conducted using a self-assessment survey tool to examine spiritual care competencies of mental health staff in Norway and to understand the perspectives of mental health staff in the Scandinavian context (Stockman, 2018). Five questions and comments related to survey items provided rich qualitative data. While only a small pilot with 24 participants, this study revealed a need for spiritual care educational materials targeted specifically for those who work in mental health, materials that address the approach of improving attitudes, enhancing skills, and increasing knowledge related to spirituality and spiritual care of patients.publishedVersio

Nursing students’ longitudinal learning outcomes after participation in a research project in a hospital

Background: Policy documents challenge educational institutions to involve students in research so they learn more about practice development attitudes and skills. There is limited research on longitudinal learning outcomes of undergraduate nursing students who take part in research. Aim: To gain insight into the long-term outcomes for third-year student nurses after active participation in research during their second year, and what influenced such learning. Settings: All 52 nursing students who had taken part in a research study in a hospital setting were invited to share their thoughts and comments about their learning outcomes after a year. Methods: A total of 30 pages of comments from 36 students were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings: The theme of this study was ‘Reflection as a guide to quality in nursing’. Four categories described students’ learning outcomes: increased awareness and attentiveness in practice; being constructively critical to their own and others’ clinical practice; increased contextual awareness; and becoming a novice researcher. Conclusions: Supervised active participation in a research project increased student awareness and attentiveness to the subject of study. They found themselves being more constructively critical of their own and other nurses’ practice related to the subject matter, as well as more aware of contextual influences. Participation supported and enthused them to become more familiar with research.publishedVersio

Comparing nurses’ and patients’ comfort level with spiritual assessment

This paper presents and compares similarities and differences between nurses’ and patients’ reports on comfort levels with spiritual assessment. Spiritual care is a part of nurses’ professional responsibilities; however, nurses continue to report that they are poorly prepared for this. There is limited research on patients’ expectations or perspectives on spiritual care. For the original mixed-method, two-phased study, a 21-item survey with 10 demographic variables, and some open-ended questions related to the comfort level of assessing/being assessed in the spiritual domain were distributed to 172 nurses and 157 hospitalised patients. SPSS was used to analyse and compare the results from nurses and patients; thematic analysis was used to examine the open-ended questions. Nurses reported a higher high degree of comfort with spiritual assessment than patients reported towards being assessed spiritually. Both nurses and patients saw respect and trust as key to building a relationship where open questions related to spirituality can be used as a helpful way to assess patients spiritually. Increased understanding of the best approach toward a patient must be based on the beliefs, values, and practices of that patient so that spiritual care can be individually tailored, and nurses can help patients move along the path to healing.publishedVersio

Hope that provides strength in illness– patients’ perspectives: Nursing students’ narratives after conversation with patients.

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Professional formation through personal involvement and value integration

. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/)Formation is an important part of nursing education, and it is the responsibility of nurse educators to facilitate learning situations that provide students with opportunities for personal discovery. Studies have shown that awareness of one's own vulnerability can be a source of professional maturation and courageous action. The study setting is a Christian university that emphasises its value base through the perspective of diakonia in the nursing programme. Diakonia is understood as the provision of caring. Two hundred and forty-five pages of reflective journals from 124 third-year students were analysed with qualitative content analysis. The main theme of the study was Professional formation through personal involvement and value integration. Four categories emerged: 1) Diakonia as a guide to professional compassion; 2) Consciousness of one's own values; 3) The urge to act courageously; and 4) Choosing to spend the time available. The article discusses how students can integrate values in their professional lives by using all senses when learning in real-life situations and by using systematic reflection alone and together with others. Professional formation is an ongoing process, and we have found that mandatory participation, reiteration and progression are important conditions for such formation to occur.publishedVersio

The art of oral handover: a participant observational study by undergraduate students in a hospital setting

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.Aims and objectives: To explore the conditions for oral handovers between shifts in a hospital setting, and how these impact patient safety and quality of care. Background: Oral handovers transfer patient information and nursing responsibilities between shifts. Short written summaries of patients can complement an oral handover. How to find the balance between a standardised protocol for handovers and tailoring variations to specific patients and situations is debated in the literature. Oral handovers provide time for discussion, debriefing and problem solving, which can lead to increased team cohesiveness. Design: This study used a participant observation design. Method: Fifty-two undergraduate nursing students conducted 1100 hr of participant observation in seven different units in a hospital in Western Norway from 2014–2015. Field notes were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Six themes emerged from the data: (i) content and structure of the handover, (ii) awareness of nurses’ attitudes during oral handover, (iii) verbal and nonverbal communication, (iv) distractions, (v) relaying key information accurately, (vi) ensuring quality through oral handovers. Conclusion: Developing a familiar structure for oral handovers and minimising the use of abbreviations and unfamiliar medical terms promote clarity and understanding. Limiting disturbances during handovers helps nurses focus on the content of the report. Awareness of one’s attitudes and the use of verbal and nonverbal communication can enhance the quality of a handover. Time allocated for an oral handover should allow for professional discussions and student supervision. Involving nurse leaders in promoting the quality of oral handovers can impact the quality of care. Clinical implications: Oral handovers serve many purposes, such as the safe transfer of patient information between shifts and staff education and debriefing, which enhance team cohesiveness.acceptedVersio

Educational interventions and strategies for spiritual care in nursing and healthcare students and staff: A scoping review

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.Aims and objectives: To map existing evidence about educational interventions or strategies in nursing and allied healthcare concerning students’ and staffs’ spiritual care provision. Background: Spiritual care is an important part of whole person care, but healthcare staff lack competence and awareness of spiritual issues in practice. To rectify this, it is important to identify what educational approaches are most helpful in supporting them to provide spiritual care. Design: A scoping review using the PRISMA-ScR checklist. Method: Searches in the databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, ATLA and ERIC were conducted for papers spanning January 2009–May 2020. Search terms were related to spirituality, spiritual care, education and clinical teaching. Appraisal tools were used. Results: From the 2128 potentially relevant papers, 36 were included. The studies were from 15 different countries and involved nurses, physicians and other healthrelated professions, and both quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods were used. The results are presented in three themes: Understanding of spirituality, Strategies in educational settings, and Strategies in practice settings. The review points to great diversity in the content, lengths and setting of the educational interventions or strategies. Conclusions: Courses in spiritual care should be implemented in curricula in both undergraduate and postgraduate education, and several studies suggest it should be mandatory. Courses should also be available for healthcare staff to raise awareness and to encourage the integration of spiritual care into their everyday practice. There is a need for greater consensus about how spirituality and spiritual care are described in healthcare settings. Relevance to clinical practice: Spiritual care must be included both in monodisciplinary and multidisciplinary educational settings. The main result of spiritual care courses is in building awareness of spiritual issues and self-awareness. To ensure the provision of spiritual care for patients in healthcare practices, continuing and multidisciplinary education is recommendedpublishedVersio