Health-promoting and -impeding aspects of using peer-learning during clinical practice education: A qualitative study

Over twenty years of pedagogical research from Nurse Education in Practice: A bibliometric analysis from 2001 to 2023

AIM

To present a bibliometric overview of pedagogical research from Nurse Education in Practice from its inception in 2001 up until 2023.

BACKGROUND

Bibliometric methods are useful in analysing and understanding the characteristics of scientific publications in a particular field and the influence of specific journals. However, no bibliometric analysis of a nurse education journal has been undertaken to date which would highlight important research trends in this area of nursing and midwifery.

METHODS

A total of 2231 publications (articles and reviews only) from Nursing Education in Practice were retrieved from the Scopus database between 2001 and 2023. Several software applications including Microsoft Excel and VOSviewer were used to undertake bibliometric analysis on this dataset. Publication trends such as country analysis, author analysis, keywords analyses (cluster, content and trend analysis) were generated to help understand the volume and scope of pedagogical nursing and midwifery research in this journal.

RESULTS

There has been a steady increase in pedagogical research from Nurse Education in Practice since its launch in 2001 up until 2018, with a dip in publications in 2022 most likely due to the impact of restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. The most prolific institutions publishing in the journal are mainly from the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, with over eighty countries represented demonstrating its global reach and impact. Nursing students, nursing education, simulation and learning are some of the most frequent author keywords.

CONCLUSION

The diversity of pedagogies in nursing and midwifery education, clinical learning and supervision in practice environments, and competence and confidence when transitioning to practice are the most popular research areas in Nurse Education in Practice. This study informs nurse and midwife educators and scholars about the volume and scope of pedagogical research in nursing and midwifery. It also makes recommendations on how to improve aspects of scholarship in education and areas for future pedagogical research.

Exploring Undergraduate Nursing Students' Perceptions on Clinical Learning Environment in the UAE: A Focus on Perceived Benefits and Challenges

Introduction

Establishing a supportive clinical environment is paramount for enhancing nursing students' engagement in clinical practice, their clinical proficiencies, and satisfaction. The increase in nursing student enrollment at the Nursing College, driven by the collaborative efforts between Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) and universities, has given rise to concerns regarding the quality of education and clinical instruction. These concerns are primarily due to the increased student-to-instructor ratio. Furthermore, the unsupportive clinical settings and learning tensions underscore the need to understand students' learning experiences and address research gaps within the field of clinical learning in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Objectives

The purpose of this study is to investigate the undergraduate nursing students' perceptions of their clinical learning environment, with a focus on perceived benefits and challenges.

Methods

This study used a cross-sectional survey design. The researchers administered a five-point Likert scale questionnaire, which had been adapted and contextualized, to a convenience sample of 217 third and fourth-year nursing students who willingly participated in this study.

Results

Despite the presence of positive aspects, such as diverse clinical experiences and strong support from both clinical instructors and peers, several challenges affect the students' clinical learning. These challenges encompass disparate perceptions of supervision among staff nurses, learning tensions related to student academic workload, insufficient clinical supervision, and difficulties in finding assistance when needed.

Conclusion

There is a clear need to enhance the overall ward learning environment to optimize students' academic motivation and clinical skills. Several measures can be taken to achieve this goal, including incentivizing and reducing the workload of staff nurses, investing in the professional development of clinical instructors, promoting peer interactions and group learning, and adopting a block pattern of education in years three and four for better clinical knowledge assimilation and reduced theoretical workload.

Nursing students' experience of an alternative model for supervision during practical studies in the municipal health service: A qualitative study

Aim

The aim of the study is to describe how Norwegian nursing students experience clinical practice when the Strengthened Supervision in Practice model is used together with peer learning.

Background

Clinical practice is one of the most important parts of nursing education and the nurse supervisor plays an important role in the education of nursing students. Challenges arise because nursing students do not always receive quality supervision in practice. The quality of supervision affects the learning outcomes and well-being of the students during clinical practice. To meet the challenge that students do not always receive high-quality supervision, we wanted to try out a new supervision model Strengthened Supervision in Practice. Peer learning was also tried out in clinical practice.

Method

The study used a qualitative design. Data were collected from three focus group interviews with a total of 11 nursing students participating.

Findings

Clinical nurses are the most competent to supervise and assess nursing students in clinical practice. Peer learning provides safety in a learning situation.

Conclusions

This study shows that the supervisor and their supervision competence are important for the student's learning. Cooperation with the lecturer in common meetings is important to make sure supervisors have quality guidance and assessment skills. The Strengthened Supervision in Practice model seems to meet expectations, but further research is necessary to develop the model further.

The effect of professional portfolio learning on nursing students' professional self-concepts in geriatric adult internship: a- quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND

Professional self-concept is one of the important outcomes of nursing professionalism. There is a lack of adequately planned curriculum may limit nursing students' practical knowledge, skills and professional self-concept in providing comprehensive geriatric-adult care and promoting nursing professionalism. Professional portfolio learning strategy has allowed nursing students to continue professional development and enhance nursing professionalism in professional clinical practice. However, there is little empirical evidence in nursing education to support the use of professional portfolios in blended learning modality among internship nursing students. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of the blended professional portfolio learning on professional self-concept among undergraduate nursing students during Geriatric-Adult internship.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental study two-group pre-test post-test design. A total of 153 eligible senior undergraduate students completed the study (76 in the intervention group and 77 in the control group). They were recruited from two Bachelor of Sciences in Nursing (BSN) cohorts from nursing schools at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS), in Iran, in January 2020. Randomization was undertaken at the level of school via a simple lottery method. The intervention group received the professional portfolio learning program as a holistic blended learning modality, though the control group received conventional learning during professional clinical practice. A demographic questionnaire and the Nurse Professional Self-concept questionnaire were used for data collection.

RESULTS

The findings imply the effectiveness of the blended PPL program. Results of Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) analysis was indicated significantly improved professional self-concept development and its dimensions (self-esteem, caring, staff relation, communication, knowledge, leadership) with high effect size. The results of the between-group comparison for professional self-concept and its dimensions at different time points (pre, post and follow up test) showed a significant difference between groups at post-test and follow up test (p < 0.05),while at pre-test there was no important dissimilarity between two groups (p > 0.05).The results of within-group comparison for both control and intervention showed that there were significant differences in professional self-concept and for all its dimensions across the time from pre-test to post-test and follow-up (p < 0.05), and also from post-test to follow-up it was significant (p < 0.05) for both groups.

CONCLUSION

This professional portfolio learning program demonstrates as an innovative and holistic blended teaching-learning approach to improve professional self-concept during professional clinical practice among undergraduate nursing students. It appears that the use of a blended designed of professional portfolio can promote a link between theory and the advancement of geriatric adult nursing internship practice. The data obtained from the present study can be useful for nursing education to evaluate and redesign a curriculum for development of nursing professionalism as a quality improvement process and groundwork to develop new models of teaching-learning and assessment.

Predictors of attitudes towards nursing profession and peer caring behaviors of the nursing students: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Professionalization in nursing is interconnected with the acceptance and encouragement of professional role model manners and caring approaches among the nursing students.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the predictors of attitudes towards nursing profession and peer caring behaviors of the nursing students.

DESIGN

A single-centered, observational, cross-sectional study.

SETTINGS

A university's faculty of health sciences nursing department in Ankara, Turkey.

PARTICIPANTS

The population of the study comprised of second and fourth year nursing students (N = 470). The study was completed with 390 students.

METHODS

The data were collected via a questionnaire, the Attitude Scale for Nursing Profession (ASNP), and the Peer Caring Measurement (PCM) between September and October 2019. Univariate and multivariable linear regression analyses were used to predict the data (p < 0.05).

RESULTS

The mean age of the students was 20.41 (SD = 1.34) and 85.1 % of them were female. The total ASNP mean score was found 160.10 (SD = 15.59). The mean score of the ASNP were higher in females, those whose income was equal or more than expense, those who preferred nursing school willingly, studying nursing pleasantly, those who were eager to work as a nurse, and those who planned to advance in nursing career. The total PCM mean score was 42.10 (SD = 10.45). It was higher in second year students, those whose income was equal or more than expense, and those who planned to advance in nursing career. There was a positively moderate correlation between the ASNP and the PCM total scores (r = 0.314, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Attitudes of the nursing students towards profession and their peer caring behaviors were highly positive. Improving the attitudes of the nursing students towards the profession via enhancing their peer caring behaviors, novel approaches, such as internship and mentorship, should be implemented into the nursing education.

A peer learning intervention in workplace introduction - managers' and new graduates' perspectives

Background

Evaluation of a complex intervention are often described as being diminished by difficulties regarding acceptability, compliance, delivery of the intervention, recruitment and retention. Research of peer learning for nursing students have found several positive benefits while studies of peer learning for newly graduated nurses are lacking. This study aimed (1) to investigate the study process in terms of (a) first-line managers’ perspectives on the intervention study, the difficulties they face and how they handle these and (b) new graduates’ fidelity to the intervention and (2) to examine the effect of the peer learning intervention in workplace introduction for newly graduated nurses.

Methods

A mixed-methods approach using semi-structured interviews with eight managers, repeated checklist for fidelity and questionnaires conducted with 35 new graduates from June 2015 and January 2018, whereof 21 in the intervention group. The peer learning intervention’s central elements included pairs of new graduates starting their workplace introduction at the same time, working the same shift and sharing responsibility for a group of patients for 3 weeks. The intervention also included 3 months of regular peer reflection.

Results

Managers offered mostly positive descriptions of using peer learning during workplace introduction. The intervention fidelity was generally good. Because of recruitment problems and thereby small sample size, it was difficult to draw conclusions about peer learning effects and, thus, the study hypothesis could either be accepted or rejected. Thereby, the study should be regarded as a pilot.

Conclusions

The present study found positive experiences of, from managers, and fidelity to the peer learning intervention; regarding the experimental design, there were lessons learned.

Trial registration

Before starting data collection, a trial registration was registered at (Trial ID ISRCTN14737280).

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12912-021-00791-0.