Evidence-Based Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes for Scholarly Writing Development Across all Levels of Nursing Education

Supervising Undergraduate Nursing Students on Their Bachelor's Thesis. A Qualitative Study

Introduction

The bachelor's thesis (BT) in undergraduate education is often an autonomous and individual assignment. It aims to demonstrate knowledge gained through education, to be an assessment tool, and to give new learning outcomes through working on the thesis. The process of working with the BT most often includes individual supervision. There is an absence of support for teachers supervising undergraduate nursing theses, which includes a lack of national or institutional guidelines, role definitions and research material.

Objective

Given the lack of helpful guidelines, this study aims to explore what the teachers emphasize as important regarding their supervision of nursing students writing their BT.

Methods

The study has a qualitative approach, featuring individual semi-structured interviews with nursing teachers supervising nursing students on the BT. Reflexive thematic analysis is used as the method of analysis.

Results

The analyses resulted in two generated themes, each with two subthemes, describing the patterns the teachers emphasize as important aspects of their supervision of nursing students writing their BT. The themes were "The pedagogical approach to the supervision" and "The advantages of the bachelor's thesis to the nursing profession."

Conclusions

The teachers balanced different roles in the supervision of the students. They wanted the students to grow through challenging them, grounded in a relationship of trust and confidence. They were role models for how to be critical thinkers and incorporated critical thinking as a pedagogical implement in supervision, wanting to raise the students to become nurses who think critically. The teachers sought to combine clinical relevance with academic literacy to secure a new generation of nurses able to be a part of the future development of the profession. They wanted to equip the students with knowledge, skills, and confidence to speak up and communicate nursing. Last, the teachers combined their clinical and academic identities in the supervision of the BT.

State of DNP education: Lessons learned from a novel academic fellowship in teaching and education

OBJECTIVE

We examine the gap between the current and desired state of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) education from the perspective of postdoctoral (DNP) teaching and education fellows.

OBSERVATIONS

In the assessment of the DNP Essentials framework, command of scholarly and scientific writing, ability to demonstrate critical thought, and significant variation in clinical experience among DNP graduates are top concerns.

DISCUSSION

These inconsistencies are problematic to the professional and public value of this terminal degree in nursing.

Key strategies in scholarly writing instruction for doctor of nursing practice students: A Q-methodology study

BACKGROUND

Development of scholarly writing skills in Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students is essential to their capacity to advance nursing science after graduation.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to inform instructional design choices and teaching strategies for DNP writing courses by examining student viewpoints before and after completing a scholarly writing course.

DESIGN

Q methodology was used to explore student self-perceptions of scholarly writing skills.

SETTING

An online scholarly writing course at a large university in the midwestern United States.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-six DNP students with either a bachelor's or master's degree in nursing.

METHODS

Before and after a scholarly writing course, students ranked 34 writing competency statements according to how well the statements described them.

RESULTS

Three pre-course and four post-course factors represented student viewpoints of their scholarly writing knowledge, skills, and attitudes before and after a writing course.

CONCLUSIONS

Effective instruction in scholarly writing for DNPs should include explicitly directed pre-writing activities, frequent opportunities to give and receive feedback, and training on management of emotional aspects of writing.

Addressing Nursing Student Understanding of Health Care Transitions Through a Cross-Course Writing Assignment

ABSTRACT

Caring for patients with chronic health conditions and providing them appropriate transitional care that provides positive outcomes and decreased rehospitalizations is essential in today's heath care environment. Nursing students must learn to think critically and communicate effectively in order to provide appropriate transitional care. This pedagogical challenge may be met in part by implementing a cross-course writing assignment that combines the concepts of chronic illness and community health as an effective tool to teach students about transitional care, stimulate critical thinking, and improve writing competencies.

The lived experience of nursing faculty developing as scholarly writers

BACKGROUND

Nursing faculty are expected to disseminate scholarly work through publications, yet little is known about how faculty develop as scholarly writers.

PURPOSE

This manuscript discusses a hermeneutic phenomenological research study that uncovered the experience of nursing faculty developing as scholarly writers.

METHODS

Audiotaped personal interviews were conducted with 12 nursing faculty to understand the lived experience of nursing faculty developing as scholarly writers. A 5-step data analysis process consistent with phenomenology was used to identify common themes.

RESULTS

Findings revealed five themes: pulling everything together, steering me in the direction, using feedback to grow, squeezing it in, and staying on task.

CONCLUSION

This study offers educators insight into the experience of faculty developing as scholarly writers and leads to recommendations for approaches that may be useful in writing development.

Core competencies required by toxicology graduates in order to function effectively in a Poisons Information Centre: A Delphi study

INTRODUCTION

The availability of trained Medical Toxicologists in developing countries is limited and education in Medical Toxicology remains inadequate. The lack of toxicology services contributes to a knowledge gap in the management of poisonings. A need existed to investigate the core competencies required by toxicology graduates to effectively operate in a Poisons Information Centre. The aim of this study was to obtain consensus from an expert group of health care workers on these core competencies. This was done by making use of the Delphi technique.

METHODOLOGY

The Delphi survey started with a set of carefully selected questions drawn from various sources including a literature review and exploration of existing curricula. To capture the collective opinion of experts in South Africa, Africa and also globally, three different groups were invited to participate in the study. To build and manage the questionnaire, the secure Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) web platform was used.

RESULTS

A total of 134 competencies were selected for the three rounds and in the end consensus was reached on 118 (88%) items. Panel members agreed that 113 (96%) of these items should be incorporated in a Medical Toxicology curriculum and five (4%) should be excluded.

DISCUSSION

All participants agreed that effective communication is an essential skill for toxicology graduates. The curriculum can address this problem by including effective pedagogy to enhance oral and written communication skills.Feedback from panellists indicated that the questionnaires were country-specific and not necessarily representative of all geographical locations. This is an example of the 'battle of curriculum design' where the context in which the curriculum will be used, will determine the content.

CONCLUSION

The Delphi method, based on three iterative rounds and feedback from experts, was effective in reaching consensus on the learning outcomes of a Medical Toxicology curriculum. The study results will ultimately improve education in Medical Toxicology.

Developing advanced practice nurse writing competencies as a corequisite for evidence-based practice

Writing competency is increasingly recognized as imperative for advanced practice nurses (APNs) who are engaged in evidence-based practice (EBP). Writing skills are an implied expectation inherent in many APN evidence-based practice competencies, such as "formulating evidence based policies and procedures," and "communicates best evidence …." A quality improvement project was implemented for APN's within a post-Master's Doctor of Nursing Practice program, to create a novel set of low-cost, high-impact strategies that could be embedded into a program of study to improve APN writing skills. Prior work has indicated that mentorship and peer support are useful strategies that can contribute to the enhancement of APN writing skills. This study builds on prior work to develop a quantitative evaluation of a peer-supported writing intervention for APNs. Read Aloud innovation was one of two strategies chosen from among many writing improvement strategies identified in the literature because of easy implementation, even by faculty who lacked confidence in providing traditional writing instruction. If explicit development of writing competencies is not elevated to a higher priority in APN education, suboptimal writing confidence is likely to continue across the professional lifetime and will present as a recurring challenge for APNs who pursue higher educational degrees, transition into faculty roles, or seek to fully develop APN EBP competencies. Findings from this study indicate that feedback received from peers during the structured Read Aloud innovation, with emphasis on hierarchy of paragraph sentences (i.e., explicit examination for overarching quality of the leading sentence), is effective in improving clarity and brevity of writing among APNs.

Nursing student-faculty writing partnerships at the baccalaureate level: Research brief

BACKGROUND

Preparing baccalaureate nursing students to become good writers is a faculty imperative. The literature is replete with examples of curricular models in nursing meant to introduce and develop student writing. Few coauthorship opportunities seem to be available for the undergraduate nursing student.

METHOD

Study subjects who participated in a successful student-faculty published article were asked quantitative and qualitative questions about how the project impacted them professionally and/or personally. Follow-up interviews were conducted with four study participants.

RESULTS

Students reported that the experience positively affected them on both a professional and personal level. Four themes were identified in the responses: wanting to do more, working together, and having something.

CONCLUSION

Results of this study indicate that student-faculty writing partnerships are beneficial for students at the baccalaureate level.

Advancing scholarly writing of baccalaureate nursing students using the knowledge, skills, and attitude self-assessment for writing development

BACKGROUND

Baccalaureate nursing students often demonstrate basic oral and written communication skills and have varying levels of skill with scholarly writing. Current instructional approaches may not fully prepare students for scholarly writing expectations.

OBJECTIVE

To determine undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students' self-assessed ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of scholarly writing.

DESIGN

Quantitative correlational descriptive study.

SETTING

Undergraduate nursing programs in the United States.

PARTICIPANTS

A convenience sample of baccalaureate nursing students in the United States.

METHODS

A national sample of 125 undergraduate nursing students self-assessed their use of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of scholarly writing over a two-month period. The project also sought to determine the association between writing knowledge, skills and attitudes and demographic variables of baccalaureate nursing students.

RESULTS

Participants believe they know the basic components of scholarly writing. However, they have difficulty using abstract components of writing such as managing the emotional aspect associated with writing. Select personal and demographic variables were not associated with scholarly writing self-assessment, indicating that other factors may influence scholarly writing development.

CONCLUSION

Teaching and learning strategies that incorporate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with scholarly writing can be used to advance current instructional approaches and ultimately, better facilitate writing development in baccalaureate nursing students. Self-assessments can be used to identify ongoing student development needs for scholarly writing and can direct writing instruction.

Competences and Barriers for the Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing: an integrative review

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze knowledge, attitudes, practices, and frequent barriers to the implementation of the Evidence-Based Practice among nursing assistants in the hospital. Method: This is an integrative review, whose search for primary studies occurred in the PubMed, CINAHL and LILACS databases. For the analysis, cross-sectional observational studies were included in English, Portuguese and Spanish, published in nursing journals, from January 2007 to July 2016. Results: The search resulted in 363 articles, including nine primary studies. The sources of recurrent evidence among care nurses were: personal experience and local care protocols. These professionals presented weaknesses in the implementation of the Evidence-Based Practice related to the lack of knowledge for evidence evaluation, work overload and resistance to change of practice. Final considerations Nurses presented favorable attitudes, however, with little knowledge to perform the Evidence-Based Practice. Results can support interventions for its implementation in the hospital.

MSN Students' Self-Assessed Use of the Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes of Scholarly Writing

AIM

This study explored master of science in nursing students' self-assessed use of the evidence-based knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) of scholarly writing.

BACKGROUND

Understanding MSN students' self-assessed use of the KSAs of writing can help faculty better prepare MSN graduates to advance the science of nursing through scholarly writing.

METHOD

A descriptive correlational design was used to determine how a national sample of 76 MSN students assessed their ability to demonstrate the KSAs of scholarly writing and to determine associations between select demographic variables and the self-assessment results.

RESULTS

Participants were familiar with the KSAs of scholarly writing and used them with varying frequency. No associations were identified between demographic variables and the KSA self-assessment ratings.

CONCLUSION

Additional writing opportunities and inclusion of a variety of writing assignments could increase use of the KSAs and therefore facilitate the development of scholarly writing abilities needed to advance nursing.

Self-Publishing: A Novel Incentive to Write in Graduate Nursing Education

Professional communication and the dissemination of expertise are expected of nurses prepared at the doctoral level. However, little emphasis is placed on opportunities for professional writing in most clinically focused doctoral programs for nurse practitioners. This innovative extracurricular writing project provided a professional writing experience for novice writers, helping them gain the confidence needed to achieve dissemination beyond the educational setting in the form of a self-published e-book. This project could be used for many other types of writing in nursing.

The Evolution of a Writing Program

BACKGROUND

Scholarly writing is required in nursing, and some students are unable to communicate effectively through writing. Faculty members may struggle with the grading of written assignments. A writing team, consisting of a nursing faculty member, the school of nursing library liaison, and members from academic support services, implemented strategies including workshops, handouts, and use of exemplars to improve student writing and to provide support to faculty. Few students sought help from the writing team.

METHOD

An online writing center within the existing learning management system was developed to address nursing students' and faculty's scholarly writing needs. The writing center includes guides, tutorials, and exemplars.

RESULTS

Anecdotal evidence indicates the use of the writing center during afternoons and evenings and prior to due dates of written assignments.

CONCLUSION

Online writing resources were used more frequently than face-to-face support. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(7):443-445.].