How to report professional practice in nursing? A scoping review

'We are pulled to the four corners': Qualitative role descriptions of advanced practice children's nurses in Malawi

PURPOSE

This study investigated emerging roles among specialist child health nurses (CHNs) in Malawi. Advanced nursing role development is globally advocated. Nursing role descriptions provide an evidential basis for workforce planning. Rigorously developed role descriptions are scarce worldwide, especially for Africa. Advanced nursing roles were introduced in Malawi's child health system a decade ago.

DESIGN AND METHODS

We followed guidance on generating nursing role descriptions to collect and analyse qualitative data from interviews and focus groups, using qualitative content analysis. We used COREQ reporting standards.

RESULTS

More than half (41/80) of Malawi's child health nursing workforce participated. Richly descriptive accounts of roles elicited three themes: leading and developing new services and improving existing ones; holding rare knowledge which uplifts care quality; and responsibility for developing the role. These responsibilities are experienced as a privilege and a burden, often meaning CHNs are 'pulled to the four corners'.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

We found evidence of remarkable achievements by Malawi's CHNs but also suggestions that they are under heavy strain. Because multi-stakeholder agreement about role content is crucial to successfully implementing advanced nursing roles, we hope the approach taken by this study, and the information generated, could be useful as part of human resources for health strategy development in other lower-resourced countries globally.

Implementing advance care planning in palliative and end of life care: a scoping review of community nursing perspectives

BACKGROUND

Advance care planninganning (ACP) is a priority within palliative care service provision. Nurses working in the community occupy an opportune role to engage with families and patients in ACP. Carers and family members of palliative patients often find ACP discussions difficult to initiate. However, community nurses caring for palliative patients can encourage these discussions, utilising the rapport and relationships they have already built with patients and families. Despite this potential, implementation barriers and facilitators continue to exist. To date, no research synthesis has captured the challenges community nurses face when implementing ACP, nor the facilitators of community nurse-led ACP. Considering this, the review question of: 'What factors contribute to or hinder ACP discussion for nurses when providing care to palliative patients?' was explored.

METHOD

To capture challenges and facilitators, a global qualitative scoping review was undertaken in June 2023. The Arksey and O'Malley framework for scoping reviews guided the review methodology. Six databases were searched identifying 333 records: CINAHL (16), MEDLINE (45), PUBMED (195), EMBASE (30), BJOCN (15), IJOPN (32). After de-duplication and title and abstract screening, 108 records remained. These were downloaded, hand searched (adding 5 articles) and subject to a full read. 98 were rejected, leaving a selected dataset of 15 articles. Data extracted into a data extraction chart were thematically analysed.

RESULTS

Three key themes were generated: 'Barriers to ACP', 'Facilitators of ACP' and 'Understanding of professional role and duty'. Key barriers were - lack of confidence, competence, role ambiguity and prognostic uncertainty. Key facilitators concerned the pertinence of the patient-practitioner relationship enabling ACP amongst nurses who had both competence and experience in ACP and/or palliative care (e.g., palliative care training). Lastly, nurses understood ACP to be part of their role, however, met challenges understanding the law surrounding this and its application processes.

CONCLUSIONS

This review suggests that community nurses' experience and competence are associated with the effective implementation of ACP with palliative patients. Future research is needed to develop interventions to promote ACP uptake in community settings, enable confidence building for community nurses and support higher standards of palliative care via the implementation of ACP.

Examining nursing processes in primary care settings using the Chronic Care Model: an umbrella review

BACKGROUND

While there is clear evidence that nurses can play a significant role in responding to the needs of populations with chronic conditions, there is a lack of consistency between and within primary care settings in the implementation of nursing processes for chronic disease management. Previous reviews have focused either on a specific model of care, populations with a single health condition, or a specific type of nurses. Since primary care nurses are involved in a wide range of services, a comprehensive perspective of effective nursing processes across primary care settings and chronic health conditions could allow for a better understanding of how to support them in a broader way across the primary care continuum. This systematic overview aims to provide a picture of the nursing processes and their characteristics in chronic disease management as reported in empirical studies, using the Chronic Care Model (CCM) conceptual approach.

METHODS

We conducted an umbrella review of systematic reviews published between 2005 and 2021 based on the recommendations of the Joanna Briggs Institute. The methodological quality was assessed independently by two reviewers using the AMSTAR 2 tool.

RESULTS

Twenty-six systematic reviews and meta-analyses were included, covering 394 primary studies. The methodological quality of most reviews was moderate. Self-care support processes show the most consistent positive outcomes across different conditions and primary care settings. Case management and nurse-led care show inconsistent outcomes. Most reviews report on the clinical components of the Chronic Care Model, with little mention of the decision support and clinical information systems components.

CONCLUSIONS

Placing greater emphasis on decision support and clinical information systems could improve the implementation of nursing processes. While the need for an interdisciplinary approach to primary care is widely promoted, it is important that this approach not be viewed solely from a clinical perspective. The organization of care and resources need to be designed to support contributions from all providers to optimize the full range of services available to patients with chronic conditions.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION

CRD42021220004.

The impact of funding models on the integration of registered nurses in primary health care teams: protocol for a multi-phase mixed-methods study in Canada

BACKGROUND

Family practice registered nurses co-managing patient care as healthcare professionals in interdisciplinary primary care teams have been shown to improve access, continuity of care, patient satisfaction, and clinical outcomes for patients with chronic diseases while being cost-effective. Currently, however, it is unclear how different funding models support or hinder the integration of family practice nurses into existing primary health care systems and interdisciplinary practices. This has resulted in the underutilisation of family practice nurses in contributing to high-quality patient care.

METHODS

This mixed-methods project is comprised of three studies: (1) a funding model analysis; (2) case studies; and (3) an online survey with family practice nurses. The funding model analysis will employ policy scans to identify, describe, and compare the various funding models used in Canada to integrate family practice nurses in primary care. Case studies involving qualitative interviews with clinic teams (family practice nurses, physicians, and administrators) and family practice nurse activity logs will explore the variation of nursing professional practice, training, skill set, and team functioning in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. Interview transcripts will be analysed thematically and comparisons will be made across funding models. Activity log responses will be analysed to represent nurses' time spent on independent, dependent, interdependent, or non-nursing work in each funding model. Finally, a cross-sectional online survey of family practice nurses in Canada will examine the relationships between funding models, nursing professional practice, training, skill set, team functioning, and patient care co-management in primary care. We will employ bivariate tests and multivariable regression to examine these relationships in the survey results.

DISCUSSION

This project aims to address a gap in the literature on funding models for family practice nurses. In particular, findings will support provincial and territorial governments in structuring funding models that optimise the roles of family practice nurses while establishing evidence about the benefits of interdisciplinary team-based care. Overall, the findings may contribute to the integration and optimisation of family practice nursing within primary health care, to the benefit of patients, primary healthcare providers, and health care systems nationally.

Exploring home-based care nurses' mindset for nursing practices: a phenomenological study

Background

Home nursing is an essential aspect of healthcare and can address future health challenges. The nature of nursing and its practical applications are of particular interest, as nursing involves technical knowledge, rational procedures, and diverse skills. It is consequential to explore nursing practices in context to understand how nurses navigate their work. This study aimed to explore the characteristics of home care nurse practices and how nurses solve tasks in the context of nursing in home care.

Methods

This is an exploratory qualitative research study using a descriptive phenomenological approach. We reported following the COREQ guidelines. Fifteen in-depth interviews with nurses from four Norwegian municipalities were conducted and analysed according to stepwise inductive analysis.

Results

The analysis revealed three main patterns that characterise nursing practices in home care: ‘To be vigilant’, ‘To be an all-rounder’, and ‘To act with independence’. The content and distinction of these patterns are discussed through a theoretical framework of ‘clinical mindlines’. There are multiple mindlines and complex realities for home-based care nursing. The nurses displayed great sensitivity in their practice, were knowledgeable about where they focused their attention, adapted their actions to the context, and demonstrated their independence as professionals.

Conclusion

Nurses’ vigilance and contextual insight are critical to their practice approach and task-solving abilities. These professionals need to manage emergent organisations and exercise independence and professional judgment when adapting their work to the context of home care patients. Future health policy should not strictly be based on standardised guidelines; depending on the context, it is also appropriate to focus on nurses’ practical knowledge and the importance of mindlines.

Nursing Interventions Designed to Improve Healthcare in General Healthcare Settings for Adults Living with Mental Illness: A Scoping Review

People living with mental illness have difficulty obtaining quality physical care services. Nurses find it hard to fully assume their role and adopt a person-centered approach when they care for people with both physical and mental health problems. A scoping review was carried out to document the breadth and depth of literature on nurse interventions designed to improve nursing care in general healthcare settings for adults living with mental illness. Two researchers independently screened titles, abstracts and full documents to obtain publications, and the relevant data was extracted from individual studies. Of the 384 studies identified, 16 documents were included in the study. Few interventions have been the subject of scientific publications and they are scattered in their objectives and very heterogeneous in their content. Interventions are often included in a large program that may be difficult to apply in various care settings. There are many different nursing roles and activities in care-management and in support of behavioral changes although their main measured outcomes differ. This study highlights a tendency for interventions to relegate people with mental health problems to specialized services, which reinforces the dichotomization of services and does not favor a holistic and person-centered approach. There is an urgent need to develop and evaluate nursing interventions in general healthcare settings for adults living with mental illness. The development of relevant continuing education and training must take into account both the point of view of the people living with mental illness and that of nurses.

Nurses in the lead: a qualitative study on the development of distinct nursing roles in daily nursing practice

Background

Transitions in healthcare delivery, such as the rapidly growing numbers of older people and increasing social and healthcare needs, combined with nursing shortages has sparked renewed interest in differentiations in nursing staff and skill mix. Policy attempts to implement new competency frameworks and job profiles often fails for not serving existing nursing practices. This study is aimed to understand how licensed vocational nurses (VNs) and nurses with a Bachelor of Science degree (BNs) shape distinct nursing roles in daily practice.

Methods

A qualitative study was conducted in four wards (neurology, oncology, pneumatology and surgery) of a Dutch teaching hospital. Various ethnographic methods were used: shadowing nurses in daily practice (65h), observations and participation in relevant meetings (n=56), informal conversations (up to 15 h), 22 semi-structured interviews and member-checking with four focus groups (19 nurses in total). Data was analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

Hospital nurses developed new role distinctions in a series of small-change experiments, based on action and appraisal. Our findings show that: (1) this developmental approach incorporated the nurses’ invisible work; (2) nurses’ roles evolved through the accumulation of small changes that included embedding the new routines in organizational structures; (3) the experimental approach supported the professionalization of nurses, enabling them to translate national legislation into hospital policies and supporting the nurses’ (bottom-up) evolution of practices. The new roles required the special knowledge and skills of Bachelor-trained nurses to support healthcare quality improvement and connect the patients’ needs to organizational capacity.

Conclusions

Conducting small-change experiments, anchored by action and appraisal rather than by design, clarified the distinctions between vocational and Bachelor-trained nurses. The process stimulated personal leadership and boosted the responsibility nurses feel for their own development and the nursing profession in general. This study indicates that experimental nursing role development provides opportunities for nursing professionalization and gives nurses, managers and policymakers the opportunity of a ‘two-way-window’ in nursing role development, aligning policy initiatives with daily nursing practices.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12912-021-00613-3.

Key Elements of Professional Nursing Practice: A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND: Professional nursing practice can be used as a standard reference for implementing nursing care to help nurses provide quality care in accordance with their authorities. AIM: The review is purposed to synthesis the pieces of literature telling the development and / or application and / or assessment of a professional nursing practice to determine the crucial elements. METHODS: This study was guided by the following framework for a scoping review, using electronic databases including ScienceDirect, EBSCO, ProQuest, Pubmed, and Google Scholar within keywords of professional nursing practice, model, nurse and conceptual framework. RESULTS: Of a total of 2870 paper found, 28 papers were selected. This study seven key elements: health system competency, professional value, reward and performance evaluation, leadership, nursing care, professional development, and basic care competency. CONCLUSION: A professional nursing practice would provide the minimum standard of quality nursing practice.

The professional activities of nurse managers in Chinese hospitals: A cross-sectional survey in hunan province

OBJECTIVE

To explore nurse managers' perceptions of the frequency and importance of professional activities performed in their daily work in public hospitals in Hunan, China.

BACKGROUND

Nurse managers are responsible for the management of almost all nursing activities in Chinese hospitals. Understanding how nurse managers operationalize their role and their perceptions of the importance of each activity is essential for clarification of their role and the competencies required to perform it.

METHODS

A cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

RESULTS

A total of 1,371 nurse managers in Hunan Province completed the survey. Nursing quality/safety management and patient management were performed most frequently and perceived as most important. Nurse managers performed nursing information management frequently while perceiving it as less important. They seldom performed nursing research management and placed low value on it.

CONCLUSIONS

Patient-centred care remains central to nursing management. Nursing managers can create a leadership culture in their hospital settings that includes the effective management of information and facilitation of research knowledge to benefit nurse managers, staff and patients.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

The results provide evidence for standardization of roles and job descriptions of nurse managers and for developing their knowledge and skills to ensure quality patient care.

Nursing interventions for patients with postpartum psychosis hospitalized in a psychiatric mother-baby unit: A qualitative study

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT

If women suffer from postpartum psychosis, treatment in a specialist facility like a psychiatric mother-baby unit is recommended and should focus on the maternal health, mother-baby outcomes and the care for the next of kin. The role of mental health nurses on a mother-baby unit is essential but challenging, given the complex problems and care needs of the patient, the baby and family members. To date, very little evidence about effective nursing interventions for patients with postpartum psychosis is available.

WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE

This paper systematically describes nursing interventions and their rationale for patients with postpartum psychosis admitted to a specialized mother-baby unit. Given the limited scientific evidence for effective nursing interventions for patients with postpartum psychosis, knowledge was obtained from a best-practice setting (i.e., a specialized mother-baby unit), thus providing a basis for the systematic development of nursing interventions to be tested on effectiveness in future studies.

IMPLICATIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH NURSING

Mental health nurses play an essential role in the multidisciplinary treatment team in providing information on the patient's personal functioning and her ability to take care for the baby, in order to determine the appropriate amount of guidance and protection, in order to prevent harm and promote recovery. To provide integrated and personalized nursing care, mental health nurses should tailor their interventions to the needs of the patient, the baby and the next of kin, adapted to the successive stages of treatment. Abstract Introduction Postpartum psychosis is one of the severest psychiatric disorders to occur in the postpartum period. If it requires a woman's admission, a psychiatric mother-baby unit is recommended, where care will focus on the mother's health, the mother-baby dyad and their next of kin. To date, few studies have examined nursing interventions for patients with postpartum psychosis. Aim Identifying nursing interventions used at a psychiatric mother-baby unit, when a patient is hospitalized with postpartum psychosis. Method A qualitative design using thematic analysis. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews (N = 13) with expert nurses working at such a unit. Results The analysis identified three themes: (a) treatment of the mental disorder, which involves interventions to improve the mother's mental and physical well-being; (b) care for the mother-baby dyad, which involves interventions intended to promote safe interactions between mother and baby; and (c) care for the partner, which involves interventions to improve the partner's well-being. Discussion Overall, within each of these themes, nurses described the urgency to tailor interventions to the needs of the patient, baby and partner. Implications to practice Our comprehensive description of interventions can be used for the improvement of nursing care for patients hospitalized with postpartum psychosis.