Lorraine Carter

The top cited articles in occupational therapy: a citation analysis study

Abstract Background: The purpose of this study was to identify and review the most cited articles in the occupational therapy field. Methods: Using the multi-disciplinary Publish or Perish software to extract data, the top 50 lifetime and annual cited articles were examined. Studies were organized according to the following: year of publication, design, topic, number of authors, country of publication, and number of citations for each cohort. Results: We found that randomized control trials were the dominant design type used in papers with the most lifetime (36.0%) and annual (26.0%) citations. Additionally, in both groups, the most frequently cited articles investigated predictors of functional outcome for patients. Conclusions: This comprehensive citation analysis will inform future research through its identification of major trends and well-established areas of study.

Interprofessional Education in Canadian Nursing Programs and Implications for Continuing Education.

In 2010, the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, the accrediting body for nursing programs in Canada, became part of the Accreditation of Interprofessional Health Education initiative. In turn, interprofessional education (IPE) is now a requirement in nursing curricula. Although the requirement is formally in place, how it is achieved varies substantially. This paper explores how IPE has been integrated within Canadian nursing programs. Implications for the continuing education of nurses and other health professionals in order to achieve excellence in interprofessional practice are also considered.

An Examination of Interprofessional Team Functioning in a BScN Blended Learning Program: Implications for Accessible Distance-Based Nursing Education Programs

In this study, the perceptions and experiences of an interprofessional team responsible for the development and delivery of the Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) Blended Learning Program at Nipissing University were examined. In this program, RPNs can acquire a BScN through distance-based part-time study, including online courses and clinical practicum. In three years, the program has grown from an initial intake of 60 students to a current enrolment of over 600 students (Fitzgerald, Beattie, Carter, & Caswell, 2014). The success of the program is attributed to three factors: a part-time curriculum that permits students to work as they study; partnerships with hospitals and other clinical facilities to support the nurse-learner’s clinical placements; and the performance of a highfunctioning interprofessional team. This study of teamwork will benefit nursing and adult learning educators as well as e-learning professionals involved in the development and delivery of flexible programs for working nurses.

Leading and Working with Millennials in Universities: A Case of Delicate Dancing or “You’re Not the Boss of Me!”

Universities are now facing the strengths and challenges of a multi-generational workforce that includes staff who belong to the so-called millennial generation. While millennial workers possess a breadth of talents and insights that workers from other generations may not, there can be dissonance, incivility, and even aggression directed by these staff members toward their supervisors. In universities, the problem may be exacerbated by a culture of academic freedom and freedom of speech. In addition to these freedoms is the reality that universities are deeply committed to equity and inclusion. Based on a review of the literature and extrapolating from case studies in Canadian universities, the authors propose that there is much work for all university stakeholders to do to achieve high functioning and respectful multi-generational teams.

The Transition of Women to Leadership in Post-secondary Institutions in Canada: An Examination of the Literature and the Lived DIM Experiences of Two Female Leaders

Authentic leadership is conceptualized as leadership that ‘makes things happen’ including but not limited to changes in vision, culture, and infrastructure. In this chapter, the authors explore how two women in mid-to-later career transition from practice to authentic leadership in post-secondary institutions in Canada. The chapter includes consideration of traditional and more contemporary understandings of leadership and how these ideas play out in universities and Colleges; differences between men and women regarding leadership and what they mean in the post-secondary sector; women’s experiences carrying out authentic leadership in academic settings including experiences of dissonance, incivility, and microaggression (DIM). DIM will be discussed as incongruence with personal expectations; expectations involving faculty and staff; expectations held by supervisors; environmental factors; and attitudes and behaviors that convey hostility or jealousy toward the female leader.

Views from the field: Medical student experiences and perceptions of interprofessional learning and collaboration in rural settings

ABSTRACT Exploring the perceived environment where students are educated, as well as where they practice, is particularly important for educators and practitioners working in situations of interprofessional rural and remote health. In this study, we explored the perceptions of undergraduate medical students regarding interprofessionalism across their four-year undergraduate program which focuses on rural health. A thematic content analysis of the text-data was conducted on a convenience sample of 47 student responses to essay questions across four cohorts of a four-year undergraduate medical program. The medical program has an explicit social accountability mandate for responsiveness to the needs of a rural population and thus students have multiple opportunities to experience interprofessional education and collaboration in rural contexts. Participants reported (a) blurring and flexibility of roles in a primarily positive manner, (b) participating in unstructured interprofessional learning and collaboration, (c) experiencing the importance of social connections to interprofessional collaboration and learning, and (d) realisations that interprofessional collaboration is a means of overcoming barriers in rural areas. We discuss our findings using the socio-material perspective of complexity theory. These findings may be used to inform undergraduate programs in re-defining, re-creating, developing, and fostering interprofessional learning opportunities for medical students in rural communities as well as to support clinical faculty through ongoing professional development.

A Season for Everything: A Journal Well Done and a New One on Its Way

In this final issue of the Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education ( CJUCE ), on behalf of the CAUCE Board of Directors 2015–2016 and the CJUCE–JPCOE Working Group, I would like to reflect on CJUCE ’s past and JPCOE’s future.

Perceptions of the Impact of Online Learning as a Distance-based Learning Model on the Professional Practices of Working Nurses in Northern Ontario | Perceptions de l’impact de l’apprentissage en ligne comme modèle d’apprentissage à distance sur les pratiques professionnelles du personnel infirmier du nord de l’Ontario

Nurses in Canada face diverse challenges to their ongoing educational pursuits. As a result, they have been early adopters of courses and programs based on distance education principles and, in particular, online learning models. In the study described in this paper, nurses studying at two northern universities, in programs involving online learning, were interviewed about their learning experiences and the impact of these experiences on their practice. The study led to insights into the factors affecting teaching and learning in distance settings; the complex work-life-study roles experienced by some nurses; life and work realities in northern settings; and the sustained importance of access enabled by online learning approaches. n nAu Canada, le personnel infirmier fait face a divers defis relatifs a l’education permanente. Les infirmiers et infirmieres ont donc ete parmi les premiers a adopter les cours et programmes appuyant les principes de l’education a distance et, en particulier, les modeles d’apprentissage en ligne. Dans l’etude que decrit cet article, le personnel infirmier etudiant dans deux universites du nord de l’Ontario, dans des programmes utilisant l’apprentissage en ligne, a ete interviewe au sujet de ses experiences d’apprentissage et de l’incidence que celui-ci a eu sur la pratique des soins infirmiers. L’etude a permis de mieux comprendre les facteurs qui affectent l’enseignement et l’apprentissage a distance, les roles complexes que jouent certains infirmiers et infirmieres dans leur travail-vie-formation, les realites de la vie et du travail dans les contextes nordiques et l’importance durable de l’acces que permettent les approches d’enseignement en ligne.

Workplace System Factors of Obstetric Nurses in Northeastern Ontario, Canada: Using a Work Disability Prevention Approach

Background The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship nursing personal and workplace system factors (work disability) and work ability index scores in Ontario, Canada. Methods A total of 111 registered nurses were randomly selected from the total number of registered nurses on staff in the labor, delivery, recovery, and postpartum areas of four northeastern Ontario hospitals. Using a stratified random design approach, 51 participants were randomly selected in four northeastern Ontario cities. Results A total of 51 (45.9% response rate) online questionnaires were returned and another 60 (54.1% response rate) were completed using the paper format. The obstetric workforce in northeastern Ontario was predominately female (94.6%) with a mean age of 41.9 (standard deviation = 10.2). In the personal systems model, three variables: marital status (p = 0.025), respondent ethnicity (p = 0.026), and mean number of patients per shift (p = 0.049) were significantly contributed to the variance in work ability scores. In the workplace system model, job and career satisfaction (p = 0.026) had a positive influence on work ability scores, while work absenteeism (p = 0.023) demonstrated an inverse relationship with work ability scores. In the combined model, all the predictors were significantly related to work ability scores. Conclusion Work ability is closely related to job and career satisfaction, and perceived control at work among obstetric nursing. In order to improve work ability, nurses need to work in environments that support them and allow them to be engaged in the decision-making processes.