An integrative review: Developing and measuring creativity in nursing

Sparking nurses' creativity: the roles of ambidextrous leadership and psychological safety

BACKGROUND

The leadership practices of nurse managers significantly impact the creativity of staff nurses; however, the effects of ambidextrous leadership on nurses' creativity are not yet clear. Additionally, the underlying mechanism of this relationship remains to be identified.

AIM

The study aimed to examine the effect of ambidextrous leadership on nurses' creativity, directly and indirectly through psychological safety.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from October 2023 to January 2024 involving 241 nurses working at three hospitals in Port Said, Egypt. The Ambidextrous Leadership Scale, Psychological Safety Scale, and the Individual Creativity Scale were employed. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling were conducted.

RESULTS

Nurse managers' ambidextrous leadership was positively associated with nurses' creativity. Psychological safety fully mediated the association between ambidextrous leadership and nurses' creativity.

CONCLUSION

The study suggests that enhancing the ambidexterity of nurse leaders can foster a sense of psychological safety, which, in effect, contributes to increased creativity among nurses.

IMPLICATION FOR NURSING POLICYMAKING

There is a need for healthcare policies and strategies that are supportive of the implementation of ambidextrous leadership practices and promote psychological safety among nurses.

Relationships between professional identity, motivation, and innovative ability among nursing intern students: A cross-sectional study

Objective

To explore the relationships among motivation, professional identity, and innovative ability of nursing intern students.

Background

Professional identity and innovative ability are important for nursing students' core competitiveness and care quality. During the internship, nursing students integrate theoretical knowledge and practice, and have a rapid growth. Motivation is positively associated with professional identity and innovative ability. However, there are limited studies examining the professional identity, motivation, and innovative ability of nursing intern students.

Design

A descriptive cross-sectional online study.

Methods

Students in the nursing schools in southwest and central of China were included in this study and conducted from June to July 2022. A total of 474 nursing intern students were recruited from 16 nursing schools. Research data were collected with "Participants' Demographics Form", "the Professional Identity Questionnaire for Nursing Students", "the Revised Life Goals Questionnaire", and "the Revised Multidimensional Innovative Questionnaire". Independent-sample t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, correlation coefficients, and structural equation modeling were used in data analysis. This study adhered to the STROBE guidelines.

Results

A significantly positive correlation was determined among the professional identity (67.55 ± 8.42), motivation (53.38 ± 5.54), and innovative ability (47.99 ± 5.46) of nursing students (r > 0.4, P < 0.001). Motivation had a mediating effect on professional identity and innovative ability (P = 0.003), accounting for 10.9% (0.075/0.689) of the total effect.

Conclusions

There was a positive correlation among professional identity, motivation, and innovative ability. Developing motivation and professional identity can enhance nursing intern students' ability to innovate.

Insights from the pandemic: an autoethnography of nursing clinical placement teams

BACKGROUND

Designated placement staff, including academics, professional clinical support teams and stakeholder clinical teams, are responsible for organising students' clinical placements. Disciplines have reported sustained innovations in the way placement staff work following the pandemic. There are few published reports from nursing placement staff. Aim: Understand how challenges during the pandemic, may have led to disrupting the status quo for nursing placement staff.

DESIGN

Nine academic, professional and industry nursing placement staff reflected on their daily work practices and team culture post the pandemic disruptions. The reflections were analysed using a descriptive thematic approach.

RESULTS

Staff described "a double-edged sword" balancing fatigue from the dynamic situation increasing their workloads with wanting to seize opportunities to challenge the status quo. Three themes were identified.

CONCLUSION

Clinical placement staff shared reflections are useful for identifying workplace initiatives that may enhance nursing and other disciplinary placement staff team culture and ways of working.

Direct and indirect effects of self-directed learning on creativity in healthcare undergraduates: a chain mediation model of openness to challenge and diversity and creative self-efficacy

Background

Creativity and self-directed learning (SDL) are prominent for undergraduate healthcare students to provide quality patient care in an increasingly complex healthcare environment. Research suggested that SDL is linked with creativity, yet the mechanism underlying the relationship between SDL and creativity has not been fully understood.

Objective

This study examined the relationship between SDL and creativity and constructed a chain mediation model to identify the mediating effect of openness to diversity and challenge (ODC) and creative self-efficacy (CSE).

Methods

Through convenience sampling, 575 healthcare undergraduates (average age = 19.28 years, SD = 1.124 years) were surveyed from Shandong Province in China. Creativity, SDL, ODC, and CSE were assessed using corresponding scales. Pearson's correlation analysis, hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, a serial multiple mediation analysis, and bias-corrected percentile Bootstrap method were conducted by using structural equation modeling by AMOS 26.0.

Results

The direct path between SDL and creativity was significant. SDL can positively predict both ODC and CSE, and the latter two variables can significantly and positively predict creativity. ODC and CSE played a significant partial mediating role in the relationship between SDL and creativity. The mediating effect consists of three indirect effects: SDL → ODC → creativity (the mediating effect value is 0.193, p = 0.012), SDL → CSE → creativity (the mediating effect value is 0.096，p = 0.001), and SDL → ODC → CSE → creativity (the mediating effect value is 0.035, p = 0.031).

Conclusion

SDL can positively predict creativity. ODC and CSE had significant mediating effects between SDL and creativity, including single partial mediating effects of ODC and CSE and chain mediating effects of ODC-CSE.

The effect of decorative arts course on nursing students' creativity and critical thinking dispositions

BACKGROUND

Nurses use their critical thinking skills and creativity to solve complex problems. Nursing students should access effective and appropriate educational materials to develop critical thinking skills and creativity.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the effect of the "decorative arts" course on nursing students' creativity and critical thinking dispositions.

METHOD

The study was conducted in the nursing departments of two universities between May 2021 and December 2021. The sample consisted of 141 nursing students. Data were collected using a sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale (CTDS), and the Marmara Creative Thinking Dispositions Scale (MCTDS).

RESULTS

Fourth-year students had a significantly higher mean CTDS score than third-year students (p = 0.009). Participants who took the "decorative arts" course for two semesters had a significantly higher mean CTDS score than those who took it for one semester at most (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The "decorative arts" course helped nursing students develop critical thinking skills and creativity.

Examining barriers to participation in further and continuing education in Germany: Why a regional perspective is (still) important

Further and continuing education is not only important for individual employability, but also for regional development. Therefore, improving participation in further and continuing education and removing barriers to participation are key concerns of regional education governance. The present study was conducted in a peripheral region of Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany, where the annual participation rate in continuing education is relatively low compared to other geographic areas in Germany. This quantitative study was designed to understand: (1) To what extent do adult learners engage in continuing education within their habitual lifelong learning process? (2) Which circumstantial factors influence their participation in continuing education? And (3) What are the barriers hindering their participation? The authors found that for two-thirds of adult learners, a precondition for their enrolment in a continuing education course was the satisfaction of both work-related and private life-related factors. The authors' findings point towards the need for flexible study programmes which learners can fit to the demands of their work and life.

Bibliometric analysis of core competencies associated nursing management publications

AIMS

This study aimed to identify high-impact papers on global nursing to determine and analyze the publication of articles on core competencies in nursing-related journals and the research trends in the era of globalization.

BACKGROUND

Bibliometrics has been shown to be an effective method for analyzing publications. Through bibliometrics, nursing managers and researchers can understand the trends of high-impact international nursing core competencies research, identify mainstream research directions, and obtain relevant knowledge and information, thereby facilitating the translation of research outcomes into nursing management practice.

EVALUATION

The study adopted bibliometric analysis and the VOSviewer software to explore dynamic publication trends and analyze the current situation of nursing research from a comprehensive development perspective, which was realized by searching for nursing core competencies papers in the Web of Science (WoS) database, calculating citations, and determining the trends of the most influential papers.

RESULTS

Nursing core competencies research grew rapidly between 1997 and 2022. Countries with the most core competencies publications were the United States, England, Australia, and Canada. The Journal of Nursing Management has attracted substantial attention from researchers worldwide. Education, Management, and Nurses were the most frequently used keywords in the study. A total of 534 papers were retrieved from the WoS database with the main research fields, including nursing, business economics, public environmental occupational health, and health care science services.

CONCLUSION

Equipping nursing graduates with core competencies has always been an important goal of global medical and nursing education. This study analyzed papers across 35 years, most of which were published in the Journal of Nursing Management. In addition, the study identified some of the main research topics of nursing management, such as the integration of education with nursing management and the cultivation of nurses' core competencies. The study also provides a fresh review of highly cited articles. The results of the study show that high-quality articles play the role of improving both the quality and the quantity of related research. By analyzing the trends of the research on core competencies, this study lays a bibliometric foundation for researchers regarding international journals, hot topics, and relevant fields. In addition, the highly cited articles reveal new perspectives for the nursing field, providing inspiration for nursing management and education researchers.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

This study provides scholars and managers with an overview of the current situation of nursing management research and the development of benchmark journals. The study provides researchers not only with a better understanding of various international journals, allowing them to transition out of traditional thinking in the era of science and technology, but also with innovative thinking by combining research with nursing management. The results of this study invite nursing managers to study relevant topics of core competencies and integrate information technology to education, management, and nurses, thereby contributing to nursing management and educational research.

Nursing students' perceptions of the efficacy of narrative photography as a learning method: A cross-sectional study

Although active learning methodologies promote students' creativity and motivation regarding learning objectives, traditional unidirectional teaching methods remain more common. The objective of this study was to determine nursing students' perceptions regarding the efficacy of narrative photography as a learning method, including self-perceived satisfaction. Narrative photography is an art-based technique inspired by Photovoice that promotes empathy, creativity, and reflection. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a nonprobabilistic sample of 66 nursing students from a public university in Barcelona, Spain. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected anonymously using an electronic tool. Descriptive statistics and thematic analyses were used to analyze the data. Sixty valid questionnaires were returned. The respondents found narrative photography's ability to promote creativity and assist understanding of theory to be its most satisfying aspect (>95% somewhat/totally agree). Narrative photography's usefulness, ability to foster self-criticism, and the associated workload was the least satisfactory aspect (>55% somewhat/totally agree). Significant differences regarding satisfaction levels were found for both age and sex. Narrative photography is a helpful and satisfactory learning method, especially for promoting creativity and understanding theoretical concepts.

Chinese nurses' innovation capacity: The influence of inclusive leadership, empowering leadership and psychological empowerment

AIM

To explore the relationships between inclusive leadership, empowering leadership, nurses' perceived psychological empowerment and nurses' innovation capacity.

BACKGROUND

Innovation capacity is essential for nurses to adapt to the changing healthcare environment. However, the current knowledge of nurses' innovation capacity and its' relationships between inclusive leadership, empowering leadership and psychological empowerment is limited.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey using a convenience sample was conducted among 1355 nurses in ten hospitals in Tianjin, China. The data was analyzed by correlation analysis, univariate analysis and PROCESS macro.

RESULTS

High inclusive leadership, empowering leadership and high psychological empowerment were associated with high innovation capacity. The total effect of inclusive leadership and empowering leadership on innovation capacity through psychological empowerment was significant, with their indirect effects accounting for 69.19% and 61.29% of the total effect respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

To cultivate nurses' innovation capacity, the development of inclusive leadership, empowering leadership and psychological empowerment is important.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

This research highlights the importance of inclusive leadership and empowering leadership to foster nurses' innovation capacity. Understanding the mediating role of psychological empowerment is expected to help nurse managers develop relevant intervention strategies to cultivate nurses' innovation capacity.

Comparison of Modified Hybrid Brainstorming With a Conventional Brainstorming Program to Enhance Nurses' Innovative Idea Generation

BACKGROUND

This study investigated the effectiveness of a modified hybrid brainstorming (MHB) program against conventional brainstorming (CB) to achieve idea generation during innovation initiatives in nursing.

METHOD

Pretest and posttest outcomes comparing the two brainstorming methods were tested during a training exercise (N = 56). The MHB group (n = 29) was trained to apply CB for problem identification and MHB for idea generation. The CB group (n = 27) was trained to apply only CB.

RESULTS

The MHB method significantly enhanced idea fluency, flexibility, and originality from pretest to posttest (p < .05) and increased idea fluency and originality to a greater extent than the CB method.

CONCLUSION

The MHB learning program can enhance nurses' innovative idea generation by promoting idea fluency and originality. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(2):72-78.].

Towards Employee Creativity in the Healthcare Sector: Investigating the Role of Polychronicity, Job Engagement, and Functional Flexibility

Given the importance of individual level creativity, this paper investigates the influence of employee polychronicity on employee creativity among nurses in the healthcare sector. The current research also tests how job engagement acts as a mediator between employees' polychronicity and creativity. Finally, thepaper analyzes the role of functional flexibility as a moderator that enhances the influence of polychronicity on employee creativity. The current paper presents empirical research, and cross-sectional data were gathered from 457 nurses (Subordinate Staff) and 127 doctors (Supervisors) working in 37DHQ (District Head Quarters) hospitals in Pakistan. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple-regression techniques were applied for analyzing the collected data. The findings proved that the nurses' polychronic attitude increases their creativity. Findings revealed that job commitment plays a mediating role between polychronicity and employee creativity. The findings proved that functional flexibility enhances the link between polychronicity and creativity. This research has contributed to both theory and managerial practice about the interplay of polychronicity, creativity, job engagement, and functional flexibility among nurses. The management in practice should focus on employee attitude, i.e., polychronicity, for improving their creativeness.

Relationship Between Undergraduate Nursing Students' Self-directed Learning and Training Demands for Nursing Information Systems: A Cross-sectional Study

Self-directed learning refers to an approach to acquiring knowledge and skills in which learners take responsibility for themselves. Currently, it is a feasible way to familiarize with nursing information systems, which are essential components of hospital information systems and widely used in clinical nursing. This study assessed undergraduate nursing students' self-directed learning of nursing information systems and explored influencing factors, using a cross-sectional design and a convenience sample. Participants voluntarily completed a general information questionnaire, a training demands questionnaire for nursing information systems, and the Self-rating Scale for Self-directed Learning, which measured the level of self-directed learning. A total of 353 valid surveys were analyzed, among which 51.8% agreed with the necessity of mastering nursing information systems. Nursing students present a moderate level of self-directed learning, with an advantage in interpersonal skills and a deficiency in learning activities. Students' training demands, confidence in using nursing information systems in clinical practice, attitude toward nursing as a career, and academic performance were identified as predictors of self-directed learning for nursing information systems. Future cross-national research, studies about other factors, and ways to improve formal education are needed.

Social-Emotional Competence and Academic Achievement of Nursing Students: A Canonical Correlation Analysis

This study was conducted to investigate the correlations between social–emotional competence (SEC) and academic achievement (AA) among nursing students and to compare students’ level of each core skill of SEC (critical thinking disposition, self-directed learning, creativity, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, and collaboration) and academic achievement (clinical performance and subjective academic achievement). A cross-sectional design was adapted. Data were collected from 195 nursing students in the junior and senior years who had participated in clinical practicum from four universities in South Korea. General characteristics, levels of critical thinking disposition, self-directed learning, creativity, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, collaboration, and academic achievement were collected via self-reported questionnaire. Canonical correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between SEC and AA. The canonical correlation coefficient between SEC and AA was 0.762. Critical thinking disposition (Rs = 0.89), problem-solving (Rs = 0.86), and cooperation (Rs = 0.80) made the most important contributions to SEC. Clinical performance (Rs = 0.95) and subjective AA (Rs = 0.57) were correlated with AA. SEC should be addressed to improve the AA of nursing students. All core skills of SEC should be regularly promoted. It is particularly urgent for nursing students to improve their creativity.

Stimulating Intrinsic Motivation in Millennial Students: A New Generation, a New Approach

There has been a fundamental change in health care pedagogy to address the demands and challenges posed by the present generation of millennial students. There is also a growing recognition of the role of intrinsic motivation as a catalyst in a positive learning experience. The term intrinsic motivation refers to energizing behavior that comes from within an individual and develops due to an inherent interest in the activity at hand. However, stimulating intrinsic motivation in the present generation of millennial health care students is a daunting task, considering their diverse and disparate nature. In addition, the inherent generational differences between educators and students, and an increasing emphasis on technological tools have resulted in a dichotomy in the educational environment leading to the development of a greater incidence of burnouts among students. Hence, numerous innovative techniques have been introduced in health care education to enhance the levels of intrinsic motivation in these students. Unfortunately, most of these approaches have only been moderately successful due to their limited ability to address the unique educational expectations of millennial students. The cumulative evidence suggests that specific approaches to stimulate intrinsic motivation should aim at nurturing the learning efforts of students, bridging the generational barriers between educators and students, and ameliorating the stress associated with health care education. Hence, the specific aim of this narrative review is to suggest empirically proven curricular strategies and institutional reforms to enhance intrinsic motivation in health care students belonging to the Millennial Generation.

Creative teaching behaviors of health care school teachers in Taiwan: mediating and moderating effects

BACKGROUND

Considerable attention has been paid to the variables for creative abilities of teachers and the creative climate of the schools in which they teach, as well as the direct relationships between these variables. However, research on the indirect links between these variables concerning creativity in higher education has been limited. Researches on creative teaching behaviors among health care teachers are scant, particularly in Taiwan.

METHODS

This study used a cross-sectional descriptive design to investigate potential mediating and moderating effects of Taiwanese health care school teachers' creative teaching self-efficacy and a school's creative climate, the relationship between these variables, and the relationship between creative teaching self-efficacy and creative teaching behaviors. Participants were purposively selected from five vocational and technical health care schools in Northern Taiwan representing the departments of nursing, gerontological care and management, and nutrition and health. Data were collected from five self-report questionnaires regarding teaching, the school environment, and creativity. Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and simple and hierarchical multiple regression models.

RESULTS

A total of 53 teachers completed the questionnaires. Pearson's correlation analysis showed the teamwork component of school creative climate was correlated with the creative teaching behavior of characteristics and motivations. The mediation model indicated creative teaching self-efficacy fully mediated the effect of teamwork on teachers' characteristics and motivations. The moderation model indicated that teamwork negatively moderated the effect of teachers' creative teaching abilities for characteristics and motivations on creative teaching behaviors (β = - 0.01, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings fill a gap in the literature regarding creative teaching behaviors and school climate in Taiwan. School teachers' creative teaching self-efficacy and creative teaching abilities are crucial mediating and moderating variables on the relationship between school creative climate and creative teaching behaviors, respectively. The empirical data confirm the validity of our proposed mediation and moderation models of creative teaching behaviors. Therefore, our findings may be effective references for health care teachers regarding creative teaching. Improving creative teaching behaviors of teachers responsible for educating students in health care schools could be facilitated by enhancing teachers' creative self-efficacy and creative abilities.