The lived experiences of registered nurses caring for people with intellectual disability in the acute care hospital context in Australia

Background People with intellectual disability (ID) experience poorer health outcomes than the general population. One of the barriers to quality healthcare is lack of knowledge and understanding of ID by nurses (Trollor et al., 2017). The near absence of ID content in pre-registration nursing curricula plays a part in the poor understanding of the varied and complex healthcare needs of this vulnerable population leading to negative attitudes and subsequent shortfalls in the provision of quality care (Howie et al., 2021). Rationale/Justification It is important to understand the experiences of acute care RNs when providing care in the absence of any meaningful ID education, given the recognised extra skills required to facilitate appropriate and quality nursing care. An extensive search of the literature determined no studies have been conducted concerning the lived experience of RNs caring for people with ID in the acute care hospital context, both internationally and in Australia, which provided a rationale for this study to be undertaken. Expected Outcomes Knowledge generated from this proposed study will provide new insights and understanding available to clinicians and health care services. Through an evidenced-based approach, such knowledge has the potential to guide nursing practice, nurse educators and curriculum designers, and policy makers at all levels of health service provision, including the Council of Deans for Nursing and Midwifery. Aims/objectives/research question The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of registered nurses (RNs) in caring for people with ID in the acute care hospital context in Australia. The study research objectives were: i) to understand the lived experience of RNs, as described by them, in caring for a person with ID, and ii) to describe how individuals made sense of their experience in caring for a person with ID. The research question posed was: What is the lived experience of registered nurses caring for people with intellectual disability in the acute care hospital context in Australia? Research design and methods The methodological approach chosen to best answer the research question was descriptive phenomenology informed by the works of Husserl (1859-1938) and adopting Colaizzi’s (1978) seven-step data analytical framework. Participant details The number of participants is expected to be between 10 to 15. The inclusion criteria are Registered nurses who: •were involved in the direct care of a person with ID in the past four years. •have worked in a private or public hospital, or who have worked in community settings involving admissions and discharges of people with ID in an acute care facility in any State or Territory of Australia. Participants will be asked to attend two interviews. The first interview will take one hour or more. The second interview is to confirm that data analysed from the first interview is true and correct and will take about 30 minutes. Interviews will be conducted face-to-face, on Skype, or by phone at a mutually agreed place and time. Interviews will be audio recorded and later transcribed by a professional transcriber. Process of Recruitment An advertisement will be placed in a number of nursing magazines or journals that have a national circulation inviting interested potential participants to be part of the study. The advertisement will contain information about the study, level of expected involvement, and contact details of the researcher, inviting interested registered nurses to make contact by phone or by email. Results/outcomes/future plans Participants will be sent a summary of the written report if consent is given. Dissemination of findings will be through a thesis, publications in peer reviewed journals, and at national and international conferences

Teaching on the edge : exploring the lived experience of academics teaching undergraduate nursing at satellite campuses

With the completion of the final Hospital based Nursing training courses in Australia in 1993, came the necessity for Registered Nurses in Australia to be educated in Universities. While there are many valid arguments as to the virtues of this form of education, there were some areas of concern. Rural, regional and outer urban areas did not have the access or equity of a Higher Education Institution close to home. Thus potential Registered Nurses living in outer urban, regional and rural areas, needed to attend Universities that were commonly situated in metropolitan areas, some distance from their home. Satellite campuses have become the answer to this dilemma by providing Higher Education to these areas. The emergence of satellite campuses in outer urban, regional and rural areas of Australia has brought challenges and opportunities for students and academics teaching at these campuses. Students that enrol at these campuses have different characteristics to their urban counterparts. These students are more likely to be mature age, from lower socio-economic status and may be academically challenged. Academics that work at satellite campuses are an essential component in the success of students who enrol at these campuses and thus the success of education programs in those regions. This presentation will explore the challenges and opportunities that face nurse academics teaching at satellite campuses

What is it like to teach on the edge? : Experiences of nurse academics teaching at satellite campuses of Australian universities

Education has been deemed a priority for measurable community health and wellness. The value of university education as a crucial pathway for employment, culture, values and personal autonomy is also recognised. In the past, access to tertiary level education was often difficult for people who live in regional areas. To address that difficulty, the delivery of higher education in satellite campuses has become an increasing phenomenon in the international and Australian landscape. Satellite campuses of universities in regional areas have enabled access, research, economic development and local services to improve community outcomes. Consideration should be given to the fact that the cohort of students at satellite campuses starts their university journey with different attributes to their urban counterparts. They are predominantly mature age, first in family to attend university and low socio-economic status with family and time commitments. Academics who teach these students at satellite campuses provide a significant contribution to successful student outcomes. However, the role of an academic at a satellite campus is often misunderstood. It is multi-dimensional and frequently undervalued and poorly resourced. This research provides a new and essential insight into the experiences of nursing academics who teach at satellite campuses of Australian Universities. Using a phenomenological approach, 21 nursing academics from universities around Australia were interviewed to provide a detailed, descriptive explanation of this phenomenon through the eyes of those academics that live it

Can active learning principles be applied to the bioscience assessments of nursing students? A review of the literature

Objectives: To explore if active learning principles be applied to nursing bioscience assessments and will this influence student perception of confidence in applying theory to practice? Design and Data Sources: A review of the literature utilising searches of various databases including CINAHL, PUBMED, Google Scholar and Mosby's Journal Index. Methods: The literature search identified research from twenty-six original articles, two electronic books, one published book and one conference proceedings paper. Results: Bioscience has been identified as an area that nurses struggle to learn in tertiary institutions and then apply to clinical practice. A number of problems have been identified and explored that may contribute to this poor understanding and retention. University academics need to be knowledgeable of innovative teaching and assessing modalities that focus on enhancing student learning and address the integration issues associated with the theory practice gap. Increased bioscience education is associated with improved patient outcomes therefore by addressing this "bioscience problem" and improving the integration of bioscience in clinical practice there will subsequently be an improvement in health care outcomes. Conclusion: From the literature several themes were identified. First there are many problems with teaching nursing students bioscience education. These include class sizes, motivation, concentration, delivery mode, lecturer perspectives, student's previous knowledge, anxiety, and a lack of confidence. Among these influences the type of assessment employed by the educator has not been explored or identified as a contributor to student learning specifically in nursing bioscience instruction. Second that educating could be achieved more effectively if active learning principles were applied and the needs and expectations of the student were met. Lastly, assessment influences student retention and the student experience and as such assessment should be congruent with the subject content, align with the learning objectives and be used as a stimulus tool for learning

The quandary of registered nurses untrained in adult intellectual disability nursing when caring for this diverse patient group in acute care settings: An integrated literature review

Aims and Objectives: To critically appraise relevant literature on the lived experiences of registered nurses caring for adults with intellectual disability in the acute care setting in Australia to determine current knowledge and gaps in the literature. Background: People with intellectual disability have the right to the highest attainable health care the same as everyone else. However, inequities still exist in the delivery of health care across the globe, including Australia that result in poorer health outcomes for this population group. Part of the problem is a lack of understanding of the complexities of ID care due to an absence of ID specific content in undergraduate curricula. Design: Integrative literature review. Methods: Electronic databases were searched for relevant empirical and theoretical literature. Additional articles were found by reviewing reference lists of selected articles resulting in ten articles for review. Selected articles were critically appraised using JBI critical appraisal tools. Data were analysed using comparative thematic analysis. PRISMA checklist completed the review. Results: Two main themes emerged from the data that informed the gap in knowledge: (a) Defining nursing practice; and (b) Confidence to practice. Conclusions: There was limited qualitative research published on the topic. International studies revealed that a lack of understanding of the ID condition due to inadequate education left registered nurses feeling underprepared, unsupported and struggling to provide optimal care. No studies were located on the phenomenon within the Australian context. A study exploring the lived experiences of RNs in Australia is needed to offer a deeper understanding of the phenomenon that will help inform practice. Relevance to practice: Including ID care in national undergraduate and postgraduate nursing curricula must become a nursing educational and professional priority to support nurses more fully in their practice to ensure patients with ID receive the highest attainable standard of nursing care. © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Lt

An integrative review of graduate transition programmes: Developmental considerations for nursing management

Graduate transition programmes have been developed to recruit new nursing staff and facilitate an effective transition from nursing student to Registered Nurse within the clinical environment. Therefore the aim of this paper was to explore the various elements included in nursing graduate transition programmes. An integrative review was undertaken incorporating a strict inclusion criterion, critical appraisal, and thematic analysis of 30 studies. There are numerous transition programmes available yet there remains a lack of transparency regarding their aims/objectives, course content, support timeframe and the type of support provided. This inconsistency has resulted in a lack of clarity regarding efficacy or superiority of any one programme over another. Innovative multifaceted programs may assist in supporting the graduate registered nurse to transition effectively into the clinical environment. Providing these support programmes may allow nurse managers to recruit new graduates and therefore decrease the staff budget expenditure. Implications for nursing management: No graduate programme was shown to be superior to others yet graduate programmes appear to positively influence the experience of the graduate and increase staff recruitment. Comparative research is needed to ascertain the integral components of these programmes

The effects of occupational violence on the well-being and resilience of nurses

OBJECTIVE: This article reports findings from a 2016 survey exploring the working life of nurses/midwives in Queensland, Australia. Responses related to occupational violence (OV) are reported. BACKGROUND: OV is linked to high rates of burnout. It is imperative to continue efforts to understand how to avoid burnout and build nurse/midwives' resilience. METHODS: A total of 2397 nurse/midwives working in Queensland responded to the survey and were asked to answer 8 questions related to OV. RESULTS: In the last 3 months, 53% of nurses/midwives had experienced OV. Those respondents had significantly higher rates of burnout and lower resilience and rated the practice environment lower than their counterparts who had not experienced violence. CONCLUSIONS: The experience of OV significantly impacts nurse resilience and levels of burnout. To retain nurses, attention must be given to reduce OV and support nurses who have experienced it

The provision of higher education in regional areas: an integrative review of the literature

There is a great deal of literature surrounding the needs of regional Australia. This integrative review of the literature focuses on the experience of nursing academics teaching on a satellite campus, many of which are located in regional Australia. Four themes were identified: (1) challenges specific to regional satellite campuses, (2) student characteristics, (3) student experiences and (4) the academics’ experiences. These themes identified not only significant benefits but also considerable challenges to the provision of higher education on regional university campuses. The experience of nursing academics and indeed their students is remarkably different from the experience of their metropolitan counterparts, and therefore the local context needs to be considered in regional education provision. Australian regional nursing academics need to be multi-skilled to address the workload and social inequity in support service provision. © 2017 Association for Tertiary Education Management and the LH Martin Institute for Tertiary Education Leadership and Management

An integrative review of absenteeism in newly graduated nurses

Managing sickness and absenteeism in the workplace is challenging, and nurse managers must consider their various causes so they can implement effective management strategies. It is also vital to consider the factors that influence absenteeism and turnover among newly graduated registered nurses (RNs), whose retention can help to address staffshortages. This article describes a literature review that aimed to identify the potential causes of sickness absence in newly graduated RNs. It also discusses strategies that nurse managers can use to retain and maintain their workforce

Preparing nursing students for clinical placement using synchronous role-play telesimulation: A descriptive survey study

Background: Contemporary teaching modalities in nurse education include teaching clinical skills via telesimulation. The effectiveness of this modality has not been evaluated. Objective: To evaluate undergraduate nursing students' and clinical facilitators' perceptions of student preparedness for placement when clinical skills are taught via role-play telesimulation using home equipment packs. Design: A descriptive survey study was employed to measure and explore perceptions using Likert scales and open-structured questions delivered via an anonymous online survey. Setting: Clinical placement after undertaking preparation via role-play telesimulation for students at an Australian university. Participants: Data were collected from 180 undergraduate nursing students and 22 clinical facilitators. Methods: Quantitative data were analysed using statistical analysis software, SPPS. Open ended responses to survey questions were analysed through the application of Elo and Kyngas (2008) three phases of content analysis. Results: Seventy-eight percent of students felt prepared for placement, and 86 % of clinical facilitators believed that students were adequately prepared. Three major categories were identified from students' responses: sense of community, learning logistics, and sense of comfort. Three categories emerged from clinical facilitators' responses: nervous and anxious, confidence and preparedness. Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that role-play telesimulation with home equipment packs is a viable, achievable, sustainable and effective modality for teaching hands-on practical skills to prepare undergraduate nursing students for industry placement