Considerations for nursing research after the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted on nursing in a variety of ways. Many parts of the world experienced long-term lockdowns and what work could be done remotely was undertaken that way. For those nurses engaged in research activities, particularly clinical nursing research, it presented immense challenges. Questionnaire-based research had to be moved exclusively online, while interview-based research was managed using videoconference facilities and making some qualitative research approaches requiring participant observation more difficult. Being able to recruit participants for research was further challenged as researchers were unable to recruit in person and needed to resort to a multitude of online approaches such as using social media platforms. As a result of impacted recruitment, many researchers needed to report their research as being unable to meet quality measures such as sample size calculations or data saturation. This particularly impacted research students with time pressures to complete, and report on, their studies. Similarly, they needed to acknowledge in their study limitations how the pandemic had impacted on their research

Counselor Education Online Curriculum Design: Social Justice Considerations

Drawing from a combined 25 years of experience as faculty, curriculum designers, and leaders in online CACREP-accredited counselor education programs, the presenters share best practices in curriculum design and assessment for online counselor education programs. The frameworks that guide the presenters\u27 approach are the competency-based education model and the backward-design model for curriculum. The importance of a systematic assessment process to support data-driven modifications is discussed and illustrated in a brief example. The curriculum design models are applied in a hypothetical course aimed at promoting and assessing student competency development as social justice advocates

Development and evaluation of Entrustable Professional Activities embedded in an e-portfolio for work-based assessment in community and public health dietetics

Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) is a recent concept that helps operationalise competency-based education. In this paper, we report on the development of EPAs and incorporation into an e-portfolio for work-based assessment of final year dietetics students in a community and public health professional placement. We aimed to determine the utility of the EPAs for work-based assessment in this context. We used action research methodology to conduct broad consultation with students and supervisors using anonymous surveys and focus groups to understand their beliefs and attitudes towards work-based assessment. Consequently, 40 EPAs with an accompanying four-point entrustment scale were developed and mapped to the National Competency Standards for Dietitians in Australia. The EPAs and assessment tool were piloted and evaluated via an anonymous online user survey across three cohorts of students (n = 133) and supervisors (n = 67). Following mediocre pilot year evaluation results, EPAs were revised and reduced in number. While students positively evaluated the e-portfolio, their appraisal of the EPAs and entrustment scale was less positive compared to supervisors. Supervisor evaluation of the EPA-based e-portfolio supported the validity, feasibility and acceptability of this novel assessment method in a community and public health setting. Assessment using EPAs, and the resulting educational data collected by the tool, offers potential for individual learners to identify areas needing development during placement, as well as potential to inform curriculum improvements and increase understanding of learning opportunities and outcomes for dietetic students in community and public health settings

An Analysis of Evidence-Based Practice Curriculum Integration in Australian Undergraduate Nursing Programs

Evidence-based practice (EBP) remains a relatively new concept to nursing, creating many challenges in relation to curriculum evaluation. Most of the available literature on EBP focuses to a great extent on clinical practice. There is limited literature available addressing the incorporation of EBP into nursing curricula, particularly at the undergraduate level. Existing literature highlights discrepancies in how EBP is implemented into nursing curricula, and reveals ambiguity in defining the concepts of EBP, appropriate place in the course in which to initiate EBP skills training, and in merging EBP with the research process. In the Australian context and internationally, EBP is variably addressed within undergraduate nursing education

When a Mechanical Model Goes Nonlinear

This paper had its origin in a curious discovery by the first author in research performed with an undergraduate student. The following odd fact was noticed: when a mechanical model of a suspension bridge (linear near equilibrium but allowed to slacken at large distance in one direction) is shaken with a low-frequency periodic force, several different periodic responses can result, many with high-frequency components

Mothering : An unacknowledged aspect of undergraduate clinical teachers' work in nursing

Clinical education is an important component of undergraduate nurse education, in which clinical teachers facilitate students' application of theoretical classroom knowledge into the clinical practice setting. Mothering as part of clinical teachers' work was a major finding from a larger study exploring clinical teaching work to identify what shaped their work and barriers to their work in clinical settings. The study used semi-structured interviews, informed by the work of Foucault. Maternal discourses emerged as a predominant one as participants presented their relationships with students describing examples of nurturing, protecting, supporting, guiding and providing discipline. The unexpected finding contradicted the dominant view of students at adult learners, and potentially positions them as dependent in their learning in clinical environments. Exploration of this discourse in the context of the study forms the basis of this paper. It is argued that the overall impact of maternal discourses on clinical teaching and learning is unclear but warrants more detailed investigation. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Discursive influences on clinical teaching in Australian undergraduate nursing programs

Clinical teaching is a vital, yet multidimensional component of Australian undergraduate nursing courses. Unlike other parts of curricula, clinical teaching relies on the both higher education and health care sectors to meet prescribed goals and for effective student learning to occur. As such it is influenced by discourses from within both education and health. Whilst there is considerable literature related to undergraduate nursing clinical teaching; it mainly deals with practical aspects such as effectiveness of clinical teaching or discussions of models employed. Only a small pool of literature exists that discusses the construction of clinical teaching including the factors that have influenced the development of practices both in the past and present. Using the work of Foucault, this paper examines dominant and competing discourses influencing clinical teaching through their constructions within the literature. These are discourses of academia, nursing, and economics. The discussion situates these discourses and discusses how some of the resultant issues surrounding clinical education remain largely unresolved. Crown Copyright © 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.C

Dynamic association between perfusion and white matter integrity across time since injury in Veterans with history of TBI.

ObjectiveCerebral blood flow (CBF) plays a critical role in the maintenance of neuronal integrity, and CBF alterations have been linked to deleterious white matter changes. Although both CBF and white matter microstructural alterations have been observed within the context of traumatic brain injury (TBI), the degree to which these pathological changes relate to one another and whether this association is altered by time since injury have not been examined. The current study therefore sought to clarify associations between resting CBF and white matter microstructure post-TBI.Methods37 veterans with history of mild or moderate TBI (mmTBI) underwent neuroimaging and completed health and psychiatric symptom questionnaires. Resting CBF was measured with multiphase pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling (MPPCASL), and white matter microstructural integrity was measured with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The cingulate cortex and cingulum bundle were selected as a priori regions of interest for the ASL and DTI data, respectively, given the known vulnerability of these regions to TBI.ResultsRegression analyses controlling for age, sex, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms revealed a significant time since injury × resting CBF interaction for the left cingulum (p < 0.005). Decreased CBF was significantly associated with reduced cingulum fractional anisotropy (FA) in the chronic phase; however, no such association was observed for participants with less remote TBI.ConclusionsOur results showed that reduced CBF was associated with poorer white matter integrity in those who were further removed from their brain injury. Findings provide preliminary evidence of a possible dynamic association between CBF and white matter microstructure that warrants additional consideration within the context of the negative long-term clinical outcomes frequently observed in those with history of TBI. Additional cross-disciplinary studies integrating multiple imaging modalities (e.g., DTI, ASL) and refined neuropsychiatric assessment are needed to better understand the nature, temporal course, and dynamic association between brain changes and clinical outcomes post-injury

Graduate nurse program coordinators’ perceptions of role adaptation experienced by new nursing graduates : A descriptive qualitative approach

Aims: This research explores the challenges that new nursing graduates experience whilst adapting to their new role in their first year of practice. These challenges are presented from the perspectives of Graduate Nurse Program Coordinators in the state of Victoria, Australia, previously not described in the literature. Background: Each year, thousands of new nursing graduates join the workforce in Australia, with many suffering major stressors and dissatisfaction in their first year of practice. Much has been written about challenges faced by this group from their own perspectives, yet nothing has been heard from the perspectives of those who support them; that is, the coordinators of year-long graduate nurse transition programs. Methods: This descriptive qualitative study used individual, semi-structured interviews to access information and perceptions from sixteen Graduate Nurse Program Coordinators about the challenges experienced by nursing graduates in their first year of practice. Transcripts were thematically analysed to reveal reoccurring themes and sub-themes. Results: The interviews provided an insight into various challenges that nursing graduates experience in relation to role adaptation in their first year of practice. Nursing graduates found difficulties with reality shock, work-life balancing and having unrealistic assumptions in their capacity to work, assuming they should be at a higher level despite being a beginner practitioner. Conclusions: This study reinforces the need for education providers to maintain currency in their undergraduate nursing programs and to work closely with health care services in providing a quality clinical experience to all nursing students. It also provides evidence that graduate transition programs are essential, with Graduate Nurse Program Coordinators performing a crucial role in providing appropriately planned strategies to support graduates through this vulnerable time