Self-assessment of clinical nurse mentors as dimensions of professional development and the capability of developing ethical values among nursing students : A correlational research study

Date of Acceptance: 08/04/2015 The paper presents, in part, the results of a broader non-profit development project entitled “Advance level of knowledge for quality in clinical mentorship — professional ethics and continuously professional development”. The project was financed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia (contract no. 3211-11-000263, the number of project OP RCV_VS-11-14). The members of the development group of the project were: Brigita Skela-Savič (leader), Karmen Romih, Sanela Pivač, Katja Skinder Savić and Andreja Prebil. The research report for the entire project is available on the online bibliographic database COBIB.si, at the Faculty of Health Care Jesenice and at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia.

Self-assessment of clinical nurse mentors as dimensions of professional development and the capability of developing ethical values among nursing students : A correlational research study

Date of Acceptance: 08/04/2015 The paper presents, in part, the results of a broader non-profit development project entitled “Advance level of knowledge for quality in clinical mentorship — professional ethics and continuously professional development”. The project was financed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia (contract no. 3211-11-000263, the number of project OP RCV_VS-11-14). The members of the development group of the project were: Brigita Skela-Savič (leader), Karmen Romih, Sanela Pivač, Katja Skinder Savić and Andreja Prebil. The research report for the entire project is available on the online bibliographic database COBIB.si, at the Faculty of Health Care Jesenice and at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia.

Working with people affected by cancer – Phase 1 of a mixed methods exploration of practitioner perspectives in nutritional therapy

Introduction - Nutritional therapy (NT) is a bioscience-based branch of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) with National Occupational Standards (NOS) and accredited training courses which include compulsory clinical training. Approximately 900 practitioners are registered with the voluntary regulator, the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), but the number of unregulated practitioners is unknown. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide; nutrition and lifestyle factors may affect recurrence and survival rates. Many cancer patients and survivors seek individualised advice on diet and use of supplements and appropriately skilled nutritional therapy practitioners (NTP) may be well-placed to safely provide this advice. Little is known of NTPs’ perspectives on working with people affected by cancer; this study seeks to explore their views on training, use of evidence and other resources, to support the development of safe evidence-based practice in this important clinical area. Methods – An on-line anonymised questionnaire collected data from participants recruited from all UK registered NTPs. Recruitment was facilitated by the British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT). Quantitative data on practitioner characteristics, years in practice, other therapies practiced and work with cancer clients were collected. Qualitative data on types of evidence used, barriers to practice and perceived training and support needs when working with clients with cancer, were collected and analysed. SPSS was used to produce descriptive statistics. Preliminary Results – 274/888 (31%) of registered NTPs participated. 61% respondents had accredited NT qualifications of which 46% were at degree or post-graduate level. 73% (202) participants indicated they also had other higher education qualifications, including 153 (56%) at degree or above. When asked to describe their position on cancer work, 17% respondents (40/238) indicated no interest, and 35% (84/238) respondents already work with cancer clients (cancer practitioners - CP). A further 48% (114/238) respondents expressed interest in starting cancer work, and typically requested specialist training and practice guidelines to support this area of clinical practice. Cancer practitioners (CP) rated searches of peer-reviewed literature as most useful for information to support practice, whereas commercial product information was rated least useful. CPs requested engagement with mainstream medicine, more access to research evidence and professional recognition to facilitate and support work with cancer clients. A need for professional networking, mentorship and/or supervision was noted by CP and non-CP respondents, which is of interest since 81% all participants worked as sole practitioners exclusively or as part of their practice, <1% worked within the NHS. Discussion & Conclusions – This is the first detailed documentation of NTP perspectives on cancer work. A number of areas have been identified for further detailed evidence to be collected using focus groups and interviews, including detailed training needs, communication with mainstream cancer professionals, access to research evidence, and professional recognition. This work will inform and support the development of professional practice guidelines for NT and inform the development of specialist training and other resources.

No second chance: the experiences of junior neonatal nurses in providing end-of-life care for babies and families in the NNU

Background

An infant’s death is acutely stressful for parents and professionals. Little is known about junior nurses’ experiences providing end-of-life care in Neonatal Units (NNU).

Objectives

To better understand junior nurses’ experiences providing end-of-life care in NNU, the study explored the challenges and opportunities inherent in their practice relating to providing such care to babies and their families.

Methods

Neonatal nurses (n=12) with less than 3 years’ experience who were undergoing a neonatal education programme participated. Two focus groups were convened each with 6 nurses. The Ethics Committee at the relevant University approved the study. Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used in the focus groups to build consensus around the challenges faced by junior nurses, alongside suggested developments in improving future care provision. Primary analysis involved successive rounds of ranking and decision making whilst secondary analysis involved thematic analysis.

Results

The study identified the pressures these nurses felt in having only one chance to ‘get it right’ for the infants and their families. They perceived the need for further ‘education and training’ highlighting that improved education provision would include both additional courses and internal training sessions. Greater ‘support’ from mentors themselves more experienced in this aspect of care within the NNU was identified as important in addressing issues around confidence building and skill development.

Conclusions

The results highlight junior nurses’ need for specific education and mentorship around end-of-life care for babies. This presentation will outline the implications for practice, education and further research.

The 10th Anniversary of the Junior Members and Affiliates of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

This year is the 10th anniversary of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) Junior Members and Affiliates (JMAs). The aim of this review is to highlight the work and activities of EAACI JMAs. To this end, we have summarized all the initiatives taken by JMAs during the last 10 yr. EAACI JMAs are currently a group of over 2380 clinicians and scientists under the age of 35 yr, who support the continuous education of the Academy's younger members. For the past decade, JMAs enjoy a steadily increasing number of benefits such as free online access to the Academy's journals, the possibility to apply for Fellowships and the Mentorship Program, travel grants to attend scientific meetings, and many more. In addition, JMAs have been involved in task forces, cooperation schemes with other scientific bodies, organization of JMA focused sessions during EAACI meetings, and participation in the activities of EAACI communication platforms. EAACI JMA activities represent an ideal example of recruiting, training, and educating young scientists in order for them to thrive as future experts in their field. This model may serve as a prototype for other scientific communities, several of which have already adapted similar policies.

Seeking To Understand, Aspiring to Teach: Exploring How Life Shapes Emotional and Personal Development in Global Health Leaders

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-08

A Relação professor-aluno e a afirmação do discente como sujeito do processo projetual: um estudo exploratório sobre a produção do trabalho final de graduação em arquitetura e urbanismo na UFC e na UFRN

This work deals with teacher-student relationship (TSR), held in a very special moment: the semester of graduation of architecture and urbanism, where students prepare the final work called Graduation Final Work (GFW). That is the last stage to obtain the title of architect and urban planner in Brazil. The text discusses this problem in several ways, emphasing the relationship between graduated student and his/her mentors into the consolidation process of the student as an actor of the planning process, here defined as "autonomy". The work is focused on understanding the TSR in order to elucidate its importance for improvement of teaching bases on development of the GFW, more than the relation between curriculum and institution. Related with the exploratory characteristic of this master thesis, methodologically, the field work happened through: (i) observation of mentorship guidance, (ii) interviews, and (iii) application of questionnaires to teachers and students. Participated 10 pairs of student and mentors of two federal university of Northeast: 05 pairs of the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) and 05 pairs of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). The results presented the development of the GFW as a difficult process / fearful for students, highlighting the main problem situations: the difficulty in choosing the theme, the super-sizing of the process, students' insecurities, and parental relationship with the supervisor process. Summing up, the work indicates that the students has a limited autonomy on the GFW process, which calls for a revision in order to promote the consolidation of the student autonomy, which must be observed for some positions recognition of the role of each actor in the process of orientation

Analyzing Stories from Canadian Academic Writing Instructors: A Collaborative Autoethnography

Writing instruction in Canadian universities takes a variety of forms. While there are few formal departments for writing studies, many institutions do have a writing centre – a place that offers writing instruction to varying degrees. The writing centre may be housed within a department, a library, or within a student services unit. Its position within a university may indicate the degree to which writing is valued by the administrative body. The goal of our paper is to share insights into the ways that writing professionals perceive, work in, and adapt to current demands for writing instruction in higher education. Using a collaborative ethnographic approach, three scholars at different career stages explore their experiences with writing centre work. Using data consisting of individually written reflections, our analysis revealed four major themes: (a) initial experience with writing centres, (b) community, (c) frustrations and tensions at work, and (d) mentorship. In this paper, we discuss our findings within the framework of positioning theory in order to understand how we position ourselves as scholars, mentors, and educators, and how we are positioned by others within the fields of writing studies and higher education. This study raises awareness about the value of writing centre professionals’ contributions, the place of mentorship within higher education, and the support required for continued writing centre work.

A Relação professor-aluno e a afirmação do discente como sujeito do processo projetual: um estudo exploratório sobre a produção do trabalho final de graduação em arquitetura e urbanismo na UFC e na UFRN

This work deals with teacher-student relationship (TSR), held in a very special moment: the semester of graduation of architecture and urbanism, where students prepare the final work called Graduation Final Work (GFW). That is the last stage to obtain the title of architect and urban planner in Brazil. The text discusses this problem in several ways, emphasing the relationship between graduated student and his/her mentors into the consolidation process of the student as an actor of the planning process, here defined as "autonomy". The work is focused on understanding the TSR in order to elucidate its importance for improvement of teaching bases on development of the GFW, more than the relation between curriculum and institution. Related with the exploratory characteristic of this master thesis, methodologically, the field work happened through: (i) observation of mentorship guidance, (ii) interviews, and (iii) application of questionnaires to teachers and students. Participated 10 pairs of student and mentors of two federal university of Northeast: 05 pairs of the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) and 05 pairs of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). The results presented the development of the GFW as a difficult process / fearful for students, highlighting the main problem situations: the difficulty in choosing the theme, the super-sizing of the process, students' insecurities, and parental relationship with the supervisor process. Summing up, the work indicates that the students has a limited autonomy on the GFW process, which calls for a revision in order to promote the consolidation of the student autonomy, which must be observed for some positions recognition of the role of each actor in the process of orientation

Positive Impact of Peer Mentorships in the Project Panther LIFE Program

FIU’s Project Panther LIFE is a program that allows students with Intellectual Disabilities to have a full college experience. Project Panther LIFE students receive support from their Academic Mentors and Peer Coaches during the academic year. This study examines the positive impacts of peer relationships between Panther LIFE students and their mentor support system.