Interprofessional education (IPE) in clinical practice for pre-registration nursing students: A structured literature review

OBJECTIVES

To explore the experiences of nursing students after clinical IPE activities through a review of contemporary literature then use the context of nursing programmes in Singapore to consider the transferability of the findings.

DESIGN

Structured literature review.

DATA SOURCES

A search of international qualitative literature no older than five years and published in English was conducted on CINAHL, Embase, Medline and Pubmed.

REVIEW METHODS

A systematic and structured approach was guided by Cooper's five-step approach to review the literature. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme qualitative checklist and the Appraisal of Guidelines Research & Evaluation reporting checklist were used to critically appraise literature in this review.

RESULTS

13 papers were included for qualitative synthesis. The literature most commonly reported that students had a better understanding of professional roles, improved communication and teamwork. In contrast, the most commonly reported negative experience involved some examples of disparity within the team.

CONCLUSION

Overall findings show that positive student experiences outweigh negative ones. Nursing programmes might be able to reap similar outcomes subject to contextual and cultural differences. However, further research is recommended before IPE in clinical practice is implemented in current nursing programmes in the local setting.

A sanctuary of safety: A study of how patients with dual diagnosis experience caring conversations

The prevalence of dual diagnosis, that is, the combination of psychiatric illnesses and substance use disorders, is high. As a vast majority of previous research in this context focusses on the effects of different treatment methods, rather than interpersonal issues, the purpose of the present study was to explore and illuminate in what way patients with a dual diagnosis experience conversations with nurses in an outpatient clinic to be caring. Five patients were interviewed regarding their experiences of caring conversations. The analysis and interpretation were inspired by a previously-used hermeneutical process. These yielded three themes: (i) reciprocity creates safety and communion; (ii) suffering is made visible and understandable; and (iii) self-esteem is restored. When synthesized, these themes gave rise to a main theme - a sanctuary of safety - where suffering is alleviated and dignity and self-esteem are restored. It is concluded that the caring conversation contributes to experiences of safeness. In this specific context, safety appears to be more fundamental than trust for patients' recoveries. The caring conversation also contributes to recovery, as it supports the individual's learning and understanding as a way to cope with problems, which also enables patients to make informed decisions about their own care. The caring conversation contributes to the alleviation of suffering and restoration of dignity and self-esteem for patients with a dual diagnosis. However, there is a need for further research focussing on how the caring conversation can contribute to psychiatric nurses' caring expertise.