Linda M. Ferguson

Knowledge of the professional role of others: A key interprofessional competency

In this paper, the authors present the results of a study which delineated six key competencies of interprofessional collaborative practice for patient-centred care: communication; strength in ones professional role; knowledge of professional role of others; leadership; team function; and negotiation for conflict resolution. While all of these competencies are important and require special attention, this paper examines and discusses the competency knowledge of professional role of others and its associated behavioural indicators, especially as these relate to the interprofessional education of nursing students. The identification of these competencies and their behavioural indicators serve two purposes. It forms the basis for the preparation of students, preceptors, and faculty for interprofessional practice, and it develops a tool for assessing student performance in such practice. Consequently, we believe that the utilization of this key competency and its behavioural indicators will contribute to the development of programs that include specific knowledge and skills related to interprofessional nursing education. This will enable educators to support and evaluate students in interprofessional educational experiences more efficiently and effectively. Ultimately, as nursing students practice and become fully functioning practitioners, client care will be optimized.

Students' Involvement in Faculty Research: Ethical and Methodological Issues:

Faculty who engage students as participants in their qualitative research often encounter methodological and ethical problems. Ethical issues arise from the fiduciary relationship between faculty and their students, and violations of that relationship occur when the educator has a dual role as researcher with those students. Methodological issues arise from research designs to address these ethical issues. This conflict is particularly evident in faculty research on pedagogy in their own disciplines, for which students are necessary as participants but are captive in the relationship. In this article, the authors explore the issues of double agency when faculty involve students as participants in their research.

Promoting effective preceptorship experiences.

Preceptors and students alike want and need a positive preceptorship experience. There are some factors, however, that must be considered when arranging such experiences, including sufficient time, workload management, use of space, monetary payment for preceptorship, preparation for the role, the one-to-one relationship, and the learning environment. This article concludes with specific strategies that address these factors. The first uses a theoretical model, one advocated by the authors, the Preceptor Enabling Model. This model delineates the roles and responsibilities of students, preceptors, staff, and faculty. Preceptors, too, need preparatory workshops, paid time for orientation to the role, evaluation of preceptors, and finally, support.

Putting the ‘patient’ back into patient-centred care: An education perspective

Patient-centred care is a value espoused by most healthcare systems and a concept taught in nursing education programs as a fundamental concept of patient care. In this study, we focused on the patients experience of patient-centredness, interviewing eighteen patients and eight family members about their experiences as patients on an in-patient acute care medical unit in a large hospital in Canada. Approximately half of the patients expressed satisfaction with their experiences and their involvement in decisions about their healthcare. The remainder expressed concerns about their care that jeopardized their experiences of patient-centredness. These areas concerned issues of communication with and among healthcare professionals, relationships with these care providers, trust and respect in the professional relationships, and general satisfaction with care. Participants provided advice to professional students about ways to interact more effectively with their patients to establish caring, empathetic, patient-centred relationships as the basis for care. We address patient recommendations to support learner understanding of the patient experience both in classrooms and clinical experiences throughout educational programs as a means to enhance their patient-centredness.

Ethically involving students in faculty research.

Students in nursing education programs have a right to privacy as they engage in their learning. At the same time, their faculty may be engaged in nursing education research in order to facilitate student learning. These two goals may conflict when faculty engage students as participants in nursing education research while at the same time facilitating their learning. Faculty as researchers with their students may encounter a conflict of interest in collecting data for their research while providing learning experiences for the same students. As a basic principle, students must be engaged as participants in an ethical manner that respects their rights for privacy. In this article, we explore the issues of faculty as researchers of their students and suggest strategies for addressing these issues.

A Comparison of Preceptor and Educator Valuing of Nursing Student Clinical Performance Criteria

This comparative study investigated similarities and differences between nurse preceptors and nurse educators in their valuing of selected clinical competence criteria in evaluation of the clinical performance of baccalaureate nursing students. An assumption basic to the study was that if performance criteria were valued differently, student evaluations could differ. Analysis by multiple t tests and discriminant analysis demonstrated that preceptors and educators are more similar than different in their valuing of the selected performance criteria. Significant differences were demonstrated on individual items relating to application of theory to practice and nursing care planning. Although setting of nursing practice was a significant factor in the valuing, experience and educational preparation of the preceptors were not.

Faculty preparation for the preceptorship experience: the forgotten link.

NURSE EDUCATOR Volume 28, Number 5 September/October 2003 son and Calder9 also found differences between preceptors and faculty in their valuing of selected performance criteria, although preceptors used these criteria if they were understandable and applicable. Ferguson11 noted that preceptors emphasized that faculty should assume responsibility for students’ final evaluations, although they were willing to provide evaluative comments about student progress.

Teaching for creativity.

Although nurse education programs state that creativity is a valued attribute of the nursing student, some programs do not stimulate creative nursing approaches in their students. The author applies the psychophysiological theory of brain hemisphericity to nurse education to identify teaching approaches that model and encourage the development of creativity. Teaching methods that encourage right-hemisphere divergent thinking are emphasized to facilitate creative nursing care in nursing practice.

Preceptored students in rural settings want feedback

The purpose of this article is to report the perceptions of students regarding evaluation when placed in a rural setting for their final preceptorship course. The research question was: “What are students’ perceptions of preceptor evaluation?” Thus, a grounded theory method was employed. Twenty-three nursing students placed in rural settings for their precepted practicum experiences were interviewed regarding the evaluation process during their preceptorship experience. The core variable was that feedback is critical for students, much more so than the formal evaluation; and, that students viewed informal evaluation as meaningful and formal evaluation as superficial. The implications are that strategies are required to make students truly authentic partners in evaluation and to make evaluation a useful process in their eyes. The role of the faculty in this process must be reviewed. Feedback is key for students, thus preceptors need educational development in this area.

Communities of practice in nursing academia: a growing need to practice what we teach.

Abstract Although the community of practice (CoP) concept has been heavily utilized in business literature since its inception in the 1990s, it has not been significantly featured in nursing research. With student-centered approaches increasingly infusing nursing classrooms, including opportunities for collaborative learning and the development of student learning communities, it may be time to ask: Do we practice what we teach? Nursing academia faces challenges related to recruitment and retention, scholarly productivity and engagement of new faculty, and increasing demands for collaborative research. Challenges, some would argue, that could be addressed through CoPs; a sentiment reflected in the recent expansion of nursing CoP literature. What is the current state of the application of this concept in nursing academia and what barriers present in the promotion and development of CoPs in the academy? This article addresses these questions and provides guidance for those in search of community.