Predictors of individually perceived levels of team creativity for teams of nursing students in Taiwan: A cross-sectional study

"Patient dignity can be ensured by providing adequate health care": A phenomenological analysis on survival strategies of military nurses

Background

The devastating COVID-19 outbreak has considerably influenced basic human healthcare needs. Due to healthcare organizational limitations, workload, and a shortage of healthcare professionals, particularly military nurses in developing countries, faced critical situations in dealing with COVID-19 patients. However, little is known about the survival strategies military nurses used while caring for coronavirus-infected patients.

Aims

This study aimed to investigate the survival strategies that inspired military nurses to manage COVID-19 patients in Bangladesh.

Methods

This study employed the phenomenology of practice framework developed by Max van Manen. Fourteen military nurses were purposefully selected to participate in this study. Semi-structured online interviews were conducted individually from January to February 2023 in three divisional (Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet) COVID-19 dedicated military hospitals in Bangladesh. The study was reported using the COREQ checklist. Audio-video sessions of discussions were recorded, analyzed, and transcribed verbatim. Dataset analysis was performed using thematic analysis.

Results

Eight themes were developed: (i) Nurses' self-strategies; (ii) colleagues' strategies; (iii) Nurse managers' strategies; (iv) Feelings about nursing ethical values; (v) Employers' strategies; (vi) Government strategies; (vii) Family members' strategies; (viii) Strategies of social people.

Conclusions

The study's findings would inspire healthcare professionals to use various survival strategies when facing critical clinical situations. Additionally, this study encourages nurses to develop survival skills to avoid depression, fear, and anxiety and to learn how to deal with work-related stress situations.

Development and validation of the Perceived Benefits of Team-Interaction Training Questionnaire (PBTITQ) among undergraduates

BACKGROUND

The effectiveness of team-interaction training has been proven. However, there is a lack of objective and accurate evaluation tools for the impact and benefits of team-interaction training on participants. This study aims to develop and validate a tool for exploring undergraduates' perception of benefits in team-interaction. It can further insight into the perceived benefits of team-interaction training for undergraduates and evaluates the effectiveness of the course, and provides a reference point for the development of university team-interaction training courses.

METHODS

This study was conducted in three stages. Phase 1 consisted of item generation: A theoretical framework was crafted based on social cognitive theory, self-efficacy theory, and sports performance models. Fifty-two items were generated based on the theoretical framework, participant interviews, and literature review. After Delphi consultation and pilot tests, 39 items moved on to Phase 2. Phase 2 consisted of forming a preliminary questionnaire: the contents to be included were selected through item analysis and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). A total of 40 classes were selected for EFA. After EFA, a three-factor structure with 25 items was formed. The third stage tested psychometric properties through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), test-retest reliability, criterion-related validity, and internal consistency.

RESULTS

The final PBTITQ consisted of 23 items, each rated from "1" (fully disagree) to "5" (fully agree). EFA and CFA supported the three-factor structure of PBTITQ, which included Cohesion, Communication, and Efficiency. The Cronbach's alpha of the PBTITQ was 0.90, the test-retest reliability was 0.88, and the split-half reliability was 0.81. PBTITQ significantly correlated with the GEQ (r = 0.808, p < 0.05) and the TDM (r = 0.796, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The PBTITQ is an effective tool for assessing the perceived benefits of team-interaction training among undergraduates.

Interprofessional nursing education and the role of swift trust and task conflict in team creativity: the mediating role of team interactive behaviors

PURPOSE

This paper aims to explore the impact of interprofessional healthcare collaboration among nurses on patient healthcare services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

Data were gathered through a randomly distributed questionnaire (N = 248), constructed using established scales or the variables under study. The sample consisted of nurses and patients from various hospitals and clinics across the UAE. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS (Version 28) and Amos (Version 29) software, employing factor analysis, reliability testing and mediation analysis.

FINDINGS

The study reveals a positive relationship between swift trust (ST) and its dimensions with both team interactive behavior (TIB) and nurse team creativity (TC). TIB was found to significantly mediate the effect of ST on TC. Additionally, based on closed-ended questions, a positive correlation was observed between team task conflict (TTC) and TC. However, no significant impact of TTC on nurse TC was identified through open-ended questions.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

This research presents a unique analysis of the influence of interprofessional collaboration on patient healthcare services in the UAE, offering valuable insights for policy improvement by enhancing nursing conditions. Furthermore, the study contributes to the existing literature by examining the relationship between ST, TIB, TTC and TC.

Implementation of a motivational programme based on existence- relatedness-growth theory in nursing undergraduate interns: A quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND

Currently, a paramount issue in nursing education is to motivate nursing undergraduate interns to develop self-directed learning skills and improve their practice satisfaction and professional identity, so as to meet the growing demands in healthcare.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a motivational programme based on the Existence-Relatedness-Growth (ERG) theory in developing self-directed learning skills, improving practice satisfaction and promoting the professional identity of nursing undergraduate interns in China.

DESIGN

A quasi-experimental study design.

SETTING

A government-funded tertiary teaching hospital in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China.

METHODS

This study was conducted with 99 nursing undergraduate interns in a hospital between June 2020 and April 2022. The interns in the experimental group (n = 50) participated in the motivational programme based on ERG theory, while those in the control group (n = 49) underwent a traditional training programme. The interns in the two groups were compared in terms of their degree of self-directed learning, practice satisfaction and professional identity after the training, using independent samples t-test.

RESULTS

After the internship, interns in the experimental group showed a statistically significantly higher level of self-directed learning and practice satisfaction than those in the control group (p < 0.05). However, no significant difference was observed in professional identity between the two groups after the internship.

CONCLUSIONS

The motivational programme based on ERG theory was shown to be effective in improving self-directed learning and practice satisfaction in nursing undergraduate interns. A large-scale randomized controlled trial is warranted to confirm the results.

Investigating the pathways between swift trust and team creativity among nursing student teams in Taiwan: A moderated mediation model

BACKGROUND

Considerable theoretical and empirical work indicates that a multitude of factors are associated with team creativity in an organizational context. The complex relationships between the contributors, however, are not well understood in nursing education. This study was to take a process view investigating the pathways from swift trust to creativity via collaborative interactions and to explore whether task conflict would further change the strength of the indirect effect.

METHODS

This study utilized a cross-sectional, quantitative, descriptive design. Taiwanese nursing students (final n = 629), who enrolled in capstone courses of small interdisciplinary groups collaborating with industrial design students on designing healthcare products, participated in the study. Data were collected from students during 2018 and 2020. Questionnaires assessed their perceptions about teams' swift trust (including cognition- and affect-based), collaborative interactions (including constructive controversy, helping behavior, and spontaneous communication), task conflict, and creativity. SPSS PROCESS macro was used to test the proposed moderated mediation model.

RESULTS

Bivariate correlation analysis showed that greater team creativity was associated with increased cognition-based team swift trust and collaborative interactions. Results revealed that collaborative interactions serving as the underlying mechanisms mediating the effect of cognition- and affect-based swift trust on team creativity. Moreover, the indirect effect of collaborative interactions, specifically, spontaneous communication, on linking swift trust to team creativity varied as a function of task conflict. As task conflict decreased, the effect became stronger.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest that nursing student teams' spontaneous communication serves as the underlying mechanism in linking the relationship between swift trust and team creativity and that lower task conflict plays a crucial role in enhancing the indirect effect. The proposed pathway could provide guidance for nursing educators to promote creativity outcomes by promoting swift trust and collaborative interactions as well as preventing task conflict for interdisciplinary nursing student teams.

Use of Digital Technology as a Collaborative Tool among Nursing Students-Survey Study and Validation

BACKGROUND

This research aimed to develop a questionnaire to analyze perceived aspects of using digital technology among nursing students as a collaborative tool. We further sought to evaluate the psychometric reliability of the instrument.

METHODS

A cross-sectional observational study was performed using a questionnaire developed from scratch. Psychometric studies and univariate and bivariate analyses were performed.

RESULTS

132 nursing students participated. The exploratory and confirmatory analyses of the questionnaire excluded 4 of the initial 18 items and established four domains, and internal consistency was found. The mean global score of the answers to the questionnaire was 4.67 on a scale of 1-5 points, and all the domains obtained high scores. Men scored higher on the usefulness and the global score, while no differences were found regarding age.

CONCLUSIONS

Nursing students positively assess the use of digital technology as a collaborative tool, regardless of age. Digital technology as a collaborative tool is perceived as beneficial, improves their involvement, and allows nursing students to obtain a better knowledge of their partners. These findings can help develop group projects and tools based on technology to train future nursing professionals. The questionnaire developed is a valid tool to assess this.

Promoting creativity of nursing students in different teaching and learning settings: A quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND

Interdisciplinary teaching provides students with multiple perspectives through instruction from faculty and students in other academic areas. Providing interdisciplinary teaching to students in nursing and interdisciplinary programs could help foster collaborations between students in nursing and students in fields such as design or engineering, which could expand students' understanding of the skills required to develop a working prototype.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether there is an effect of interdisciplinary teaching on nursing students' creative thinking abilities.

DESIGN

A quasi-experimental study of two experimental and one control group with a pre-test/post-test design.

SETTING

The study was conducted between September 2018 and January 2020 in classrooms of a university of science and technology in Taiwan.

PARTICIPANTS

Nursing students (N = 191) enrolled in capstone courses participated in this study. Two groups of students were assigned to the intervention: Group 1, comprised of typical students (n = 80) or Group 2, comprised of students with teaching assistantships (n = 30). The control group (n = 81) was typical students. The intervention groups received instruction from interdisciplinary faculty in nursing and design and creativity training. The control group was taught by nursing faculty only, without creativity training.

METHODS

The Taiwanese version of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking-Figural (TTCT-F) instrument assessed students' creative thinking abilities at the beginning (pre-test) and end of the 18-week course (post-test). Differences in pre-test/post-test scores between groups were examined with analysis of covariance.

RESULTS

Comparisons between mean total and subscale scores for TTCT-F for the two intervention groups and controls demonstrated only Group 2 students (teaching assistants) had significantly higher scores than the control group. Teaching assistants also had significantly higher scores than Group 1.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest interdisciplinary teaching benefited creative thinking abilities of nursing students holding teaching assistantships. Therefore, it may be more important to first emphasize improvements in academic performance for typical nursing students in Taiwan and then incorporate interdisciplinary teaching into nursing programs to improve creative thinking.

Moderating effects of task interdependence on interaction behaviours and creativity for nursing students on interdisciplinary teams

Aims

Nursing students in Taiwan often study in interdisciplinary teams that must create healthcare products. Creativity is imperative for the students’ success, but studies have not explored the relational precursors to team creativity in nursing education. Therefore, the relationship was examined between task interdependence, interaction behaviours (constructive controversy, helping behaviours and spontaneous communication) and creativity for nursing students on interdisciplinary teams in Taiwan to investigate whether high task interdependence moderates the correlations between interaction behaviours and creativity.

Design

Descriptive, cross‐sectional, quantitative study.

Methods

Participants were nursing students (N = 99) attending interdisciplinary capstone courses in 2‐ or 4‐year nursing programmes at a university for science and technology in Taiwan. Self‐report questionnaires were used to collect the students’ demographics and perceptions of their teams’ task interdependence, interaction behaviours and creativity between January 2018 and January 2019. Pearson's correlation coefficient revealed variable associations. SPSS PROCESS macro displayed moderating effects.

Results

Task interdependence had significant positive correlations with all three interaction behaviours and team creativity. Each interaction behaviour also had significant positive correlations with team creativity. High task interdependence negatively moderated the relationships between team creativity and (a) constructive controversy, and (b) spontaneous communication, but not (c) helping behaviours.

Conclusion

The empirically validated moderation model and study results suggest that nursing educators can foster creativity in their students by encouraging task interdependence and helping behaviours, and teaching students to build constructive controversy and spontaneous communication into their collaborative plans.

Impact

In Taiwan, nursing students must demonstrate creativity in interdisciplinary capstone courses. Their ability to do so requires them to cooperate with students in other disciplines who have unique skills or knowledge. This study provides insights into the relational factors that may improve creativity for nursing students on interdisciplinary teams.