Beliefs and perceptions of mentorship among nursing faculty and traditional and accelerated undergraduate nursing students

Professional nurses supporting learners during professional socialisation in Limpopo province

Background

Professional nurses play a significant role in the professional socialisation of learner nurses during clinical placement. Clinical placements are areas of experiential learning as learner nurses come in contact with real-life experiences. Professional nurses are custodians of learners and need to offer them support.

Aim

The study sought to explore the role of professional nurses in supporting learner nurses during professional socialisation.

Setting

Four clinical health facilities in Limpopo province at different levels of care were purposely sampled to obtain information from different levels of care.

Methods

An ethnonursing approach and qualitative, explorative design was used. Non-probability purposive sampling was used to select 25 professional nurses. The criteria were professional nurses with 3 years of experience in professional socialisation and working in institutions accredited for clinical placement of learner nurses registered in the undergraduate programme. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview until data saturation was reached. Tesch's open coding system was used to analyse data.

Results

Professional nurses acknowledged that their responsibilities in supporting learners during professional socialisation are mentoring, teaching and being competent practitioners. Professional nurses were aware of their role in transferring ethical skills and knowledge to learners through professional socialisation.

Conclusion

The effectiveness of professional socialisation of learner nurses depends on the support offered during clinical placements.

Contribution

The study adds to the body of knowledge in nursing education and practice because when learners are offered support in the clinical areas, their learning journey will be of positive experience leading to competent practitioners.

Development and validation of satisfaction with clinical practice questionnaire for mentors and students

OBJECTIVES

To develop and validate a questionnaire on satisfaction with clinical practice for mentors (QSCP-M) and a questionnaire on satisfaction with clinical practice for students (QSCP-S).

METHODS

Two versions of the questionnaires were constructed: a version for mentors and a version for students. Both surveys were conducted at two time points. The first survey was completed by 252 students and 86 mentors, and the second by 291 students and 94 mentors.

RESULTS

Several exploratory factor analyses were performed on the results obtained, and two factors were identified for the QSCP-M and one factor for the QSCP-S. The coefficients of internal reliability for both questionnaires indicated stable and reliable measuring instruments.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinical practice satisfaction questionnaires for mentors and students showed good metric characteristics. The validation shows that both questionnaires are appropriate for examining general and specific satisfaction with clinical practice.

Diversity, contradictions, and distinction - A scoping review of honours programmes in nursing

BACKGROUND

There is a long-standing tradition of honours education in the field of nursing, dating back to the early 1960s in the United States. However, its adoption in European and particularly Scandinavian egalitarian educational contexts is relatively recent.

PURPOSE

This scoping review aims to provide an analysis of the global utilisation and distribution of honours education within the field of nursing.

METHOD

In this scoping review, we conducted an extensive examination of the existing literature to assess the worldwide implementation of honours education in nursing. We employed a systematic approach to identify key trends, patterns, and commonalities in the use of the honours concept across different regions.

RESULTS

Our review reveals three predominant approaches to honours education, primarily concentrated in the Anglo-Saxon world: distinction programmes, add-on-year programmes, and embedded programmes. Regardless of the approach, our findings highlight a consistent lack of robust theoretical foundations, limited documentation supporting the educational impact, and a noticeable absence of standardisation. Instead, honours education appears to serve a symbolic and distinct purpose rather than a purely pedagogical one.

CONCLUSION

As the prevalence of honours education continues to rise within continental education systems, it becomes imperative to prioritize further research to ensure the optimal allocation of resources. Addressing the lack of evidence, especially in terms of educational value and theoretical foundations, is crucial for refining and maximizing the potential benefits of honours education in nursing. A more strategic and cohesive approach to developing honours programmes is essential to enhance their effectiveness and alignment with global educational goals.

Experiences of Master of Nursing Education Students in Their Pursuit of Nursing Education

BACKGROUND

There is a growing concern in nursing education related to the shortage of nursing faculty. The experiences of nursing students, including their relationships with nursing faculty, could influence their decision to pursue graduate studies or academic nursing education.

METHOD

This phenomenological study explored the experiences of Master of Science in Nursing education students and graduates that led them to pursue nursing education. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 participants.

RESULTS

Based on participants' responses, five themes emerged: (1) faculty encouragement, mentoring, and enthusiasm; (2) teaching experience; (3) exposure to the faculty role; (4) awareness of the nurse faculty shortage; and (5) funding.

CONCLUSION

Findings from this study contribute to nursing education by highlighting strategies that could be reinforced into graduate or possibly undergraduate experiences to encourage students to pursue advanced study and academic nursing education, which potentially could help mitigate the nursing faculty shortage. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(7):393-398.].

Pandemic Adaptations to an Honors Program Inaugural Capstone Projects

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic and public health response of the US health care system and government provided unique opportunities for nursing education as it disrupted the usual mode of operation. An honors program at a private university at the epicenter of the pandemic pivoted multiple times to avoid failing to support the capstone projects of its inaugural cohort. Collaborative outreach with mentors and instructional technologists created opportunities for virtual delivery of patient and nursing student education and program evaluation. The lessons learned became part of the roster of resources for future cohorts to sustainably design and deliver their capstone projects.

Supporting the transition to practice: preceptor behaviors that foster a positive student preceptorship experience

OBJECTIVES

Preceptors support nursing students when transitioning to the professional nursing role. This study explored student perceptions of preceptor characteristics that promoted or hindered learning.

METHODS

A Likert-scale survey including two open-ended questions was sent to 571 nursing students completing a preceptorship experience. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze responses to the Likert-scale items. Qualitative analysis was completed on the two exploratory questions to extract themes.

RESULTS

Students rated the preceptor between 4=Very Good and 5=Outstanding for all items. No significant differences in scores were found when comparing results between programs. Themes assisting in learning included: increasing independence gradually and pushing out of comfort zone. Themes identified that hindered learning included: doubting self and being pushed aside.

CONCLUSIONS

Future implications include communicating preceptorship objectives and providing ways to apply research to practice. These findings can guide collaboration between academic and practice partners to assist with transition to practice.

Mentoring to engage diverse undergraduate nursing students in honors research

BACKGROUND

A diverse workforce is necessary to reflect our communities and impact the health disparities of our increasingly diverse populations. Students from ethnic minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds face many challenges and barriers to their academic success. Faculty must try new ways of supporting the engagement of this student population to positively affect quality outcomes for the entire community.

METHODS

High-performing students were recruited from undergraduate research courses to participate in a study to determine how honors research mentoring programs affect the engagement of undergraduate nursing students from ethnic minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.

FINDINGS

Study participants who were mentored for 3 years had a retention rate of 98%, compared to a rate of 73% in the year before the start of the mentoring initiative with faculty. NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination)-RN pass rates were 95% for those in the mentoring program, compared to 84% for those not mentored. Of the students completing the program and passing the NCLEX-RN, 100% are employed in the local community.

CONCLUSIONS

A competent and diverse nursing workforce is a priority for eliminating health disparities in rural and underserved communities. Supporting ethnic minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged students is valuable to bridging this gap and positively influencing our communities.

Mentoring: A vital link in nurse practitioner development

Mentoring has been recognized in the discipline since the inception of nursing as a profession. The core elements of mentoring are a formal dyadic relationship, reciprocity, mutual respect, professional growth, personal development, trustworthiness, objectives, and a pathway to meet the objectives, clear expectations, shared values, personal connection, provision of a safe place for asking hard questions, navigation of roadblocks, and using lessons learned. Mentoring is important at all stages of professional development. Given that nursing is a profession dedicated to lifelong learning, mentoring can and should be employed at many stages of a career.

PLATO: A practice education tool to support learning and professional development

It is important that nursing students are adequately supported during their clinical practice placements in order to promote effective learning and reduce student attrition. Educators have an important role and this paper offers an interactive tool, 'PLATO', (The Practice Learning and Teaching Orientations Tool) to support them to meaningfully engage with learners in the practice setting. To enable such engagement, four personal orientations are presented, (role model, advocate, legitimiser and respecter) which enable educators to explore their role, across both local and wider contexts. PLATO recognises the multiple and varied influences on practice education and supports educators to develop their practice in a positive way.