The Practice Facilitator Role: ‘The everything facilitator’ within pre- registration nurse education in practice

Background The importance of ensuring student nurses being well prepared to deliver healthcare in a constantly changing environment has been a policy priority. A new practice facilitator role was introduced in the early 2000s in response to specific national policy initiatives which aimed to enhance pre-registration nurse education. The literature demonstrated a few similar roles were introduced in the UK. Limited research has been undertaken in respect of these roles and none explored role development over time. Aim This study’s aim was to explore the way the practice facilitator role evolved in a real-world context over time and its impact on pre-registration nurse education. Methodology and methods A pragmatic epistemological perspective informed the research which used a qualitative, multiple case study methodology (Yin, 2009). Study participants (n= 57) comprised key actors engaging with the practice facilitator role (9 practice facilitators, 3 Trust education leads, 3 HEI heads of department, 26 mentors and 16 link lecturers). Data was collected through one-to-one semi-structured interviews (n = 15) and focus groups (4 mentor and 3 link lecturer). Data analysis The data was analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) model of thematic analysis. Results Three major themes and an overarching theme were identified which broadly reflect the way the practice facilitator role evolved over time. Firstly, in the frontline describes a managerial focus centred on establishing systems to control access to and management of practice resources. Secondly, everybody knows them and they know everybody whereby practice facilitators have assumed a critical frontline decision-making role influencing student outcomes and at the same time displacing the link lecturer role. Thirdly, de facto gatekeepers to the profession where practice facilitators have developed a close reciprocal relationship with mentors through whom they exercise a quality assurance function to ensure robust assessment of students’ practice and transition to qualified status. These were encapsulated in an overarching theme the everything facilitator. Discussion Lipsky’s (2010) concept of street-level bureaucrats provided an analytic framework to interpret the results where practice facilitators were found to possess the characteristics of street-level bureaucrats. Crucially, they were found to occupy a unique spatial location across, between and within the Trusts and HEI at frontline strategic and operational levels, conceptualised as interstitial spaces (Furnari, 2014). This allowed practice facilitators to have a significant impact on pre-registration nurse education. It is argued this is a development of Lipsky’s street-level bureaucracy. Conclusions The results indicate that practice facilitators function at both strategic and frontline operational levels, working uniquely within the ‘interstitial spaces’ (Furnari, 2014) of pre-registration nurse education. Their current way of working is significantly expanded from the original policy intentions. Moreover, the development of the role has been accumulative rather than sequential. The implementation of policy initiatives and the way the role has evolved is explained by the application and development of Lipsky's (2010) street-level bureaucracy with occupying the interstitial spaces (Furnari, 2014)

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Tissue-specific regulation of sirtuin and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide biosynthetic pathways identified in C57Bl/6 mice in response to high-fat feeding

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Service users experiences of a therapeutic group programme in an acute psychiatric inpatient unit.

Psychiatric nurses have been facilitating therapeutic groups in acute psychiatric inpatient units for many years; however, there is a lack of nursing research related to this important aspect of care. This paper reports the findings of a study which aimed to gain an understanding of service users' experiences in relation to therapeutic group activities in an acute inpatient unit. A qualitative descriptive study was undertaken with eight service users in one acute psychiatric inpatient unit in Ireland. Data were collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews and analysed using Burnard's method of thematic content analysis. Several themes emerged from the findings which are presented in this paper

Young students' use of the internet for mental health information and support

It is recognized that young people experience difficulties in accessing mainstream mental health services particularly because of the stigma that remains associated with mental health problems. One potential solution is to use the many websites available offering information and support for mental health problems, such support and information could be offered by Psychiatric Nurses. However, young peoples' usage and views on using the Internet for this purpose has yet to be examined. This quantitative descriptive study aimed to elicit the views of 922 University students, aged between 18 and 24 years, on using the Internet for mental health information and support. Data were collected using a 30-item self-designed questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings indicated that 72.4% of participants used the Internet several times a day. In addition, 30.8% had previously searched for mental health information online, predominantly on depression. While it was found that 68% of participants indicated that they would use the Internet for mental health support if they needed to, 79.4% would still prefer face to face support. It is concluded that young people are willing to use the Internet for mental health information and that it represents a viable source of support for this age group