Developing global leaders through doctoral education

Nursing Doctorates in Brazil: research formation and theses production

OBJECTIVE:

to analyze the formation of nursing doctorates in Brazil, from theses production, disciplines and other strategies focusing on research offered by courses.

METHOD:

a descriptive and analytical study of the performance of 18 doctoral courses in nursing, running from 1982 to 2010, and defended their theses between 2010-2012.

RESULTS:

502 theses were defended in this period, most linked to the online research process of health and nursing care. There are gaps in the knowledge of theoretical and philosophical foundations of care, nursing history and ethics. There are also weaknesses in the methodological design of the theses, with a predominance of descriptive and/or exploratory studies. This was consistent with international standards set with regards to the proposition of research of disciplines and complementary strategies in forming the doctorate.

CONCLUSION:

despite the efforts and advances in research formation, it is essential to expand to more robust research designs with a greater impact on production knowledge that is incorporated into practice.

Global nursing: Educating future nurses for tomorrow’s nursing care needs

The world has witnessed the most comprehensive refugee diaspora of modern history. Sweden has been one of the countries that has welcomed people and given them refuge. Refugees are in need of quality nursing care that is provided by professional and knowledgeable registered nurses. However, taking into account this global mobility and the resulting shift in demographic characteristics, nurses need to be particularly competent in relation to addressing global issues. The question is, are future nurses educated with enough relevant knowledge and skills to be able to meet tomorrow’s nursing care needs? The Swedish Red Cross University College (SRCUC) has contributed to the global discourse in several aspects, not least those elements related to the International Red Cross tradition and its basic humanitarian principles. We would like to share the stipulated definition that guides our subject profile area: global nursing. To answer the question that first concerned the SRCUC, we previously had conducted a traditional undergraduate nursing education that needed to be updated in relation to what is now happening globally. By developing and promoting the relevant knowledge and skills in global nursing, we believe that future nurses will be prepared to accommodate tomorrow’s nursing care needs.

Leadership of the nurse: an integrative literature review

This Integrative Literature Review, sought to evidence and discuss the main characteristics of the concept of leadership and of the nurse leader, as well as their contributions to the practice of nursing and health from nursing scientific publications indexed in the database Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) and published between 1998 and 2008. Following the inclusion criteria, a total of 36 studies were selected for analysis, of these 89% (33 articles) were published in foreign journals and 11% (3) published in national journals. The profiles of nursing leaders encountered were the authentic and the authoritative, with the leadership evidenced as an organizational tool that combines communication, interpersonal relationships, planning, the commitment to success and the resolvability of conflicts. Education is presented as fundamental for the formation of leaders, relating directly the valorization of academic titles with the improvement of this competence.

Getting that piece of paper: mental health nurses' experience of undertaking doctoral studies in Victoria, Australia

The aim of this study was to explore the experience of mental health nurses undertaking doctoral studies. The study was conducted in Victoria, Australia. A descriptive-exploratory approach to inquiry was used for this study. Participants were mental health nurses who had successfully completed a doctoral qualification. Eligibility for inclusion required participants to be residing in Victoria (irrespective of where their doctoral studies were undertaken) and to have conducted their research within the domain of mental health and/or currently employed in the field of mental health nursing. Of the 20 potential participants invited, 16 accepted the invitation. Five emergent themes were explicated from narrative analyses. These themes were "being a trail blazer," "positioning for professional advancement," "achieving a balance between competing priorities," "maintaining a commitment to the development of the profession," and "a point of affirmation." An understanding of the experience of undertaking doctoral studies can be used to influence the development of strategies to encourage more mental health nurses to consider undertaking a doctoral degree.