Doctoral snobbery: Justified, or just elitism?

[Extract] Doctoral snobbery exists. It is a thing (Parnell, 2016). It is an extension of “academic snobbery” (Martin & Sorensen, 2014) more generally, and probably originates from “title snobbery” (Valverde, Mueller, Paciotti, & Conway 2016). Successfully completing a doctoral qualification is no small achievement and so some degree of elitism is probably reasonable. But is it reasonable for there to be an elitist division between the traditional PhD and the relative newcomer, the professional doctorate? And what about the doctorate in nursing practice (DNP) now apparently overtaking the PhD in the USA? Our recent participation in a round table on doctoral education in Hong Kong prompted us to explore the issue further and, by implication, to invite further comment

Risky business? Addressing the challenges of historical methods in the 'digital age'

Background: The 'digital age' has led to a renaissance in historical methods. The way in which nurse historians can search, collate and analyse sources has changed exponentially over the past two decades. The mass digitisation of books, newspapers and other documents has resulted in the removal of many long-standing barriers to performing historical research, such as budgetary and access restrictions. Despite these expanded opportunities, the nurse historian now faces new challenges when performing historical research. Aim: This paper aims to stimulate discussion on the risky business of conducting nursing historical research in the 'digital age'. In this paper, we examine the technology-born challenges encountered by nurse historians with the objective of proffering potential solutions to address such issues. Discussion: Three contemporary challenges faced by nurse historians are: not knowing how to contain and articulate online searching; being unable to reduce the number of optical character recognition inaccuracies with digitised archaic sources; and being unsure of how to safely incorporate technological tools into historical analysis. Conclusion: Used correctly, new technologies can augment and strengthen traditional historical methods. Nurse historians need to be mindful that the way in which technologies are used is controlled by the user, rather than the technology itself

Inclusive Practice for Health Professionals

Inclusive Practice for Health Professionals equips students with knowledge of the social, political and cultural factors that influence health care in Australia, to prepare them to be well informed, considerate health professionals. It embraces the multidisciplinary nature of work in the health professions, and applies the term inclusive practice to focus attention on its relevance to all healthcare professionals and improving health outcomes. The book considers the interface between health care delivery, health care professionals and population groups, and examines the key concepts, influences and strategies of inclusive practice to help students develop best practice skills for working in complex and diverse healthcare settings

Reconciling professional identity: a grounded theory study of nurse academics' role modelling

The findings of this grounded theory PhD study into role modeling by nurse academics provide new insight into the concept of clinical currency. Reconciling professional identity, the core category of this grounded theory, encompasses three categories: creating a context for learning, creating a context for authentic rehearsal and mirroring identity. The category of creating a context for authentic rehearsal includes elements of safe-zoning and clinical currency, which is the focus of this presentation. These findings indicate that clinical currency differs from clinical legitimacy, clinical credibility and currency of nursing knowledge. Clinical legitimacy and clinical credibility refer to others' perceptions of individual nurse academics; looking from the outside in. The two key components of clinical currency that this study has identified: confidence and clinical presence are nurse academics' perspectives of their professional selves. Confidence refers to the nurse academics' self-assessment of their ability to provide clinical nursing care. Clinical presence refers to the time nurse academics spend in clinical settings in addition to, and complementary to, their time in academia. Nurse academics that are clinically present achieve this in a number of ways. They conduct research with clinical partners, provide support or guidance to students on clinical placement, liaise with clinical partners to develop policy, and contribute directly to the provision of patient care. Academics who allocate time to working with clinical partners report higher levels of clinical confidence than academics that allocate little or no time to this part of their role. Nurse academics that sustain a presence in the clinical setting have a greater awareness of clinical practice and procedures, policy, technology and equipment, report higher levels of clinical confidence and resultant currency. It is this clinical currency that these nurse academics draw on in creating a context for authentic rehearsal

Profiling risk factors of patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes awaiting outpatient diabetes specialist consultant appointment, a narrative review

Background: Entry to seek health care services in Australia is based on a person's acuity rating as stipulated in legislation, standards and policy. In the context of diabetes Specialist Outpatient Departments, access involves a referral that is triaged by a clinician into a categorised waitlist. However, within categories, access to health care is queue based only, which omits patient centric factors determining the order of appointment allocation. Aim: The purpose of the literature review undertaken June to December 2019 was to identify which patient centric factors influence the risk of deterioration in a type 2 diabetes population waiting for an appointment. Methods: Databases searched included CINAHL, Medline and Scopus from 2011 to 2019. The first search focussed on key words, the second search focussed on a revised expression of key words emerging from the first search. The third search identified articles sourced from reference lists. Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) critical appraisal tools were used to appraise the rigour of the studies. Findings: Four key themes emerged from 29 selected articles. Duration of diabetes, comorbidity, age of patient and prescribed medication therapy significantly influenced the level of risk associated with deterioration. Discussion: Further research is needed to evidence if duration of type 2 diabetes, comorbidities, age of patient and medication therapy influence the risk of deterioration in an Australian cohort. Conclusion: The aim of this review was to discover which patient centric factors influence the risk of deterioration in a type 2 diabetes population

"Because we've always done it that way": a scoping review of manuscripts on nursing from the 1500s to 1850s

Purpose of Study: This presentation describes the findings of a scoping review of manuscripts regarding the foundations of nursing practice that were produced between the 1500s to 1850s in Europe, North America and Australia. This review identifies and describes the key content themes contained in these manuscripts. Rationale and Significance: Contemporary nursing has long been associated with the publication in 1859 of Nightingale's Notes on Nursing: What It Is, and What It Is Not. However, the discovery of a 1617 Spanish treatise Instruccions de Enfermeros (IdE) [Instructions for Nurses], highlights that highlights that at least one manuscript was written about the profession at least two centuries prior to Nightingale. IdE described the foundational cares performed by the nurse in seventeenth century Spain. Incorporated into each descriptor of care was a rationale that was supported by (then contemporary) scientific and/or clinical reasoning. Hence, the information presented in IdE is similar to the structural organization of contemporary fundamentals of nursing texts. The inclusion of such elements in IdE suggests core aspects of today's professional identity and clinical practice evolved through the transgenerational sharing of knowledge across cultures. However, as a profession we know little about the existence of such manuscripts prior to Notes on Nursing, and how, or if, they helped shape contemporary nursing practice. Description of Methodology: Data collection for this review involved several stages: locating potential sources (database and catalogue search); preliminary review (key word appraisal, inclusion/exclusion criteria applied); secondary review (confirmation of content, manual searching of reference lists, primary source located via internet search); determining the authenticity of each source; and charting the data. Additional inclusion criteria used in this review was that the manuscript could be published or unpublished. Exclusion criteria employed in this review was that the work must be non-fiction. A thematic analysis of each source was then performed and the key themes were identified. Major Primary and Secondary Sources: After searching six different databases over a period of four months, fourteen digitized primary sources were located. Findings and Conclusions: The manuscripts discovered in this review were written between 1541 and 1859, with the majority originating from Spain. Key themes that were identified included procedural considerations such as hygiene care; comfort measures; sanitation; and treatment regimens. Contemporary professional issues such as advocacy, communication and resource management were also evident. Their presence intimates that nursing identity and professional standards originated prior to Nightingale’s reformation

Conceptualising care: a historical exploration of manuscripts on nursing from the 1500s to 1850s

Background: Modern nursing has long been associated with the publication of Nightingale's Notes on Nursing in 1859. However, the discovery of a 1617 Spanish treatise Instruccions de Enfermeros (Instructions for Nurses), highlights manuscripts werewritten regarding the profession by nurses for nurses at least two centuries prior to Nightingale. Instruccions de Enfermeros described the professional standards and foundational cares performed by the nurse in 17th Century Spain. Incorporated into each descriptor of care was a rationale that was supported by (then contemporary)clinical reasoning. Hence, a structure which is similar to today's fundamentals of nursing texts is evident. The inclusion ofsuch elements in Instruccions de Enfermeros suggests core aspects of today's professional identity and clinical practiceevolved through the intergenerational sharing of knowledge across cultures. However, as a profession we know littleabout the existence of such manuscripts prior to Notes on Nursing. Aim: To explore what treatises were produced by nurses for nurses in Europe, Northern America and Australia from thecentury preceding Instruccions de Enfermeros until the 1850s. Methods: A scoping review was undertaken to identify documents regarding the practice and role of the nurse from 1500s to 1850s.The study was limited to documents originating in Europe, North America and Australia. A thematic analysis of thestructure and main themes of each document was then undertaken. Results: The findings of this study will be presented, providing new insights on what our forbearers wrote regarding nursingidentity and practice between the 16th and 19th Centuries

Case study research: foundations and methodological orientations

Im Verlauf der letzten 40 Jahre wurden für Forschung mittels Fallstudien substanzielle methodologische Weiterentwicklungen erzielt. Hieraus sind pragmatische und flexible Zugangsweisen erwachsen, die ein tiefgehendes Verständnis unterschiedlichster Themen für zahlreiche Disziplinen erlauben. Wandel und Fortschritt resultierten aus der parallelen historischen Entwicklung von Forschungsansätzen und den Design-Präferenzen, -Perspektiven und -Interpretationen individueller Forscher/innen. Letztere gehören verschiedenen Wissenschaftsrichtungen zu, sie arbeiten vor dem Hintergrund ebenfalls unterschiedlicher philosophischer Annahmen und mit einer großen Vielfalt an Definitionen und konkreten methodischen Umsetzungen. Insbesondere für Forschende, die sich neu und ohne Vorwissen für Fallstudien entscheiden, resultiert hieraus einige Konfusion. Wir befassen uns deshalb in diesem Beitrag zunächst mit der Geschichte dieses Ansatzes und mit seinen methodologischen Variationen. Anschließend skizzieren wir einige Leitlinien, die aus unserer Perspektive essenziell sind und hoffentlich für Forschende, die an der Nutzung von Fallstudien in ihrer Arbeit interessiert sind, Hilfen bei der Wahl zwischen den verfügbaren Optionen bieten.Over the last forty years, case study research has undergone substantial methodological development. This evolution has resulted in a pragmatic, flexible research approach, capable of providing comprehensive in-depth understanding of a diverse range of issues across a number of disciplines. Change and progress have stemmed from parallel influences of historical transformations in approaches to research and individual researcher's preferences, perspectives, and interpretations of this design. Researchers who have contributed to the development of case study research come from diverse disciplines with different philosophical perspectives, resulting in a variety of definitions and approaches. For the researcher new to using case study, such variety can create a confusing platform for its application. In this article, we explore the evolution of case study research, discuss methodological variations, and summarize key elements with the aim of providing guidance on the available options for researchers wanting to use case study in their work

Reconciling professional identity: a grounded theory study of nurse academics' role modelling

The findings of this grounded theory PhD study into role modeling by nurse academics provide new insight into the concept of clinical currency. Reconciling professional identity, the core category of this grounded theory, encompasses three categories: creating a context for learning, creating a context for authentic rehearsal and mirroring identity. The category of creating a context for authentic rehearsal includes elements of safe-zoning and clinical currency, which is the focus of this presentation. These findings indicate that clinical currency differs from clinical legitimacy, clinical credibility and currency of nursing knowledge. Clinical legitimacy and clinical credibility refer to others' perceptions of individual nurse academics; looking from the outside in. The two key components of clinical currency that this study has identified: confidence and clinical presence are nurse academics' perspectives of their professional selves. Confidence refers to the nurse academics' self-assessment of their ability to provide clinical nursing care. Clinical presence refers to the time nurse academics spend in clinical settings in addition to, and complementary to, their time in academia. Nurse academics that are clinically present achieve this in a number of ways. They conduct research with clinical partners, provide support or guidance to students on clinical placement, liaise with clinical partners to develop policy, and contribute directly to the provision of patient care. Academics who allocate time to working with clinical partners report higher levels of clinical confidence than academics that allocate little or no time to this part of their role. Nurse academics that sustain a presence in the clinical setting have a greater awareness of clinical practice and procedures, policy, technology and equipment, report higher levels of clinical confidence and resultant currency. It is this clinical currency that these nurse academics draw on in creating a context for authentic rehearsal

Case study research: foundations and methodological orientations

Over the last forty years, case study research has undergone substantial methodological development. This evolution has resulted in a pragmatic, flexible research approach, capable of providing comprehensive in-depth understanding of a diverse range of issues across a number of disciplines. Change and progress have stemmed from parallel influences of historical transformations in approaches to research and individual researcher's preferences, perspectives, and interpretations of this design. Researchers who have contributed to the development of case study research come from diverse disciplines with different philosophical perspectives, resulting in a variety of definitions and approaches. For the researcher new to using case study, such variety can create a confusing platform for its application. In this article, we explore the evolution of case study research, discuss methodological variations, and summarize key elements with the aim of providing guidance on the available options for researchers wanting to use case study in their work