Janice Waddell

The Integration of Research by Nurse Educators: Advancing Practice through Professional Development Programs.

BACKGROUND This article describes how nurse educators at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, have used Benners findings as a framework to direct the advancement of professional development programs, specifically preceptorship, orientation, and central education programs. METHOD Narrative methodology was introduced as a key educational strategy to capture the complexity of pediatric clinical practice and enhance learning experiences. RESULTS The shift in content and structure of the education programs from a structured behavioral teaching-learning framework to the use of narrative methodology has enhanced learning, professional development and clinical practice. CONCLUSION Participant evaluations of these programs suggest a high level of satisfaction with the use of narrative methodology. Evaluative measures focusing on the relationship between narrative methodology, professional development, and client outcomes is needed. This evaluative approach that measures outcomes is imperative to future directions in program planning.

Integrating a Career Planning and Development Program into the Baccalaureate Nursing Curriculum: Part I. Impact on Students' Career Resilience.

Abstract Student nurses often embark on their professional careers with a lack of the knowledge and confidence necessary to navigate them successfully. An ongoing process of career planning and development (CPD) is integral to developing career resilience, one key attribute that may enable nurses to respond to and influence their ever-changing work environments with the potential outcome of increased job satisfaction and commitment to the profession. A longitudinal mixed methods study of a curriculum-based CPD program was conducted to determine the program’s effects on participating students, new graduate nurses, and faculty. This first in a series of three papers about the overall study’s components reports on undergraduate student outcomes. Findings demonstrate that the intervention group reported higher perceived career resilience than the control group, who received the standard nursing curriculum without CPD. The program offered students the tools and resources to become confident, self-directed, and active in shaping their engagement in their academic program to help achieve their career goals, whereas control group students continued to look uncertainly to others for answers and direction. The intervention group recognized the value of this particular CPD program and both groups, albeit differently, highlighted the key role that faculty played in students’ career planning.

Integrating a Career Planning and Development Program into the Baccalaureate Nursing Curriculum. Part II. Outcomes for New Graduate Nurses 12 Months Post-Graduation

Abstract New graduate nurses’ (NGNs) transition into the nursing workforce is characterized as stressful and challenging. Consequently, a high percentage of them leave their first place of employment or the profession entirely within one year of graduation. Nursing literature describes this complicated shift from student to registered nurse, however, limited attention has focused on strategies that could be implemented during students’ academic programs to prepare them for this difficult transition period. Therefore, a longitudinal intervention study was conducted to examine the influence of a career planning and development (CPD) program on the development of career resilience in baccalaureate nursing students and at 12 months post-graduation (NGN). The findings support including structured and progressive curriculum-based CPD opportunities in academic programs, not only for the positive outcomes that accrue to students, but also because of the benefits they extend to NGNs as they make the transition to their first professional nursing role.

Integrating a Career Planning and Development Program into the Baccalaureate Nursing Curriculum: Part III. Impact on Faculty’s Career Satisfaction and Confidence in Providing Student Career Coaching

Abstract As career satisfaction has been identified as a predictor of retention of nurses across all sectors, it is important that career satisfaction of both new and experienced nursing faculty is recognized in academic settings. A study of a curriculum-based career planning and development (CPD) program was conducted to determine the program’s effects on participating students, new graduate nurses, and faculty. This third in a series of three papers reports on how the CPD intervention affected faculty participants’ sense of career satisfaction and confidence in their role as career educators and coaches. Faculty who participated in the intervention CPD intervention group reported an increase in confidence in their ability to provide career coaching and education to students. They further indicated that their own career development served to enhance career satisfaction; an outcome identified as a predictor of faculty career satisfaction. Study results suggest that interventions such as the one described in this paper can have a potentially positive impact in other settings as well.

Community–university research partnerships: a role for university research centers?

Community–university research partnerships (CURPs) are increasingly common, yet much of the existing research documents the experiences of individual projects or analyzes research methodologies associated with CURPs. Comparatively little is known about the role of university research centers in the design and implementation of CURPs. Even less is known about the role that interdisciplinarity (as a de facto characteristic of research centers) may play in enabling or impeding CURPs. This article contributes to filling this gap. Drawing from a reflective strategic planning process with research center associates and a broader faculty conference workshop, at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, this article offers reflections on the role of university research centers in CURPs.

The nurse manager as career coach.

The conventional wisdom has been that career coaching is an important part of the nurse managers role. In the current stressful healthcare environment, nurse managers seem more than ever in need of direction in this area. This paper examines the nurse managers traditional role as a career coach, identifies the problems the current environment poses for implementation of that role and, considers options for achieving the goal of supporting staff with career development.