Margret Lepp

Self-Reported Health, Self-Management, and the Impact of Living With Inflammatory Bowel Disease During Adolescence

Perceptions of living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) during adolescence were explored in a cross-sectional study with a multimethod design. The adolescents as a group described general well-being and ability to handle the disease, which was related to their self-reported self-esteem. However, a subgroup of adolescents with a severe disease course reported a more negative view of the impact of IBD in their daily lives. Encouraging adolescents to communicate in different ways may help professionals to identify vulnerable subgroups with impaired health and to provide more appropriate support and treatment for those most in need.

Students' learning as the focus for shared involvement between universities and clinical practice: a didactic model for postgraduate degree projects.

In an academic programme, completion of a postgraduate degree project could be a significant means of promoting student learning in evidence- and experience-based practice. In specialist nursing education, which through the European Bologna process would be raised to the master’s level, there is no tradition of including a postgraduate degree project. The aim was to develop a didactic model for specialist nursing students’ postgraduate degree projects within the second cycle of higher education (master’s level) and with a specific focus on nurturing shared involvement between universities and healthcare settings. This study embodies a participatory action research and theory-generating design founded on empirically practical try-outs. The 3-year project included five Swedish universities and related healthcare settings. A series of activities was performed and a number of data sources secured. Constant comparative analysis was applied. A didactic model is proposed for postgraduate degree projects in specialist nursing education aimed at nurturing shared involvement between universities and healthcare settings. The focus of the model is student learning in order to prepare the students for participation as specialist nurses in clinical knowledge development. The model is developed for the specialist nursing education, but it is general and could be applicable to various education programmes.

Verksamhetsförlagd utbildning på avancerad nivå : ny utmaning för specialistutbildningar för sjuksköterskor

The aim of this article is to discuss challenges in the development of Specialist Nursing Educations as a result of the 2007 Swedish Higher Education Reform: the implementation of the so-called Bologna process. Certain challenges follow this reform, particularly since the specialist nursing programmes will be part of the second cycle of the higher education system, and it will be possible to combine the professional degree with a masters degree (one year). Possible strategies in four areas related to the Specialist Nursing Education are discussed: integration of research-based knowledge, experienced-based knowledge, improvement knowledge, and strategies for collaboration between university institutions and clinics. Specific didactical issues are raised.

Drama For Conflict Management Dracon International

“DRACON is an interdisciplinary and comparative action research project aimed at improving conflict handling among adolescent school children by using the medium of educational drama” (DRACON International, 2005 rev. 2007, p. 13). DRACON was initiated in 1994 by a Swedish industrial consultant, Mr. J. Andersson, with the idea of joining the two academic and practical fields of drama and conflict resolution. Collaboration with Malaysia began in May 1994 at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, involving Swedish conflict researchers and Malaysian drama specialists.

Swedish and American Nursing Students Use Journaling for Reflection: An International Student-Centered Learning Experience

The purpose of this research was to describe the reflections of 10 Swedish and U.S. baccalaureate nursing students who participated in a semester-long, student-centered, interactive video-conferencing (IVC) education project. Reflective journaling was incorporated as one of several learning strategies to enhance students’ personal and professional development. Principles of phenomenography were used to analyze the data; three categories, with two sub-categories in each, emerged from the journal data. Participation in this student-centered project spurred the students in both countries to reflect upon themselves, their transition, and their profession.

Drama for Learning in Professional Development Contexts: A Global Perspective

This chapter details the research carried out using drama strategies in four different cultural and professional contexts. The first was a research study which focused on trainee teachers in the U.K., the second a study using applied drama in Nursing Education in Germany, Jordan and Sweden, whilst the report of the third study explains how drama strategies drawn from DRACON work have been utilized in teacher development work in Kazakhstan, with the final research study focused on patients with dementia and their caregivers. The chapter explains that the research explored four projects in different contexts with a focus on how transformative learning is possible through applied drama practices. The chapter concludes that Drama offers the opportunity to transcend cultural and language differences to uncover and question, to foster collaboration and communication and to seek insight and understanding. Pre-service teachers, nurses, caregivers and their patients and experienced teachers all undertook a journey in transformative learning.

Encounters with patients from Somalia: experience among vocational trainees in Swedish general practice

Objectives This study sought to describe how vocational trainees in general medical practice in Sweden experienced encounters with refugee patients from Somalia. Methods Sixteen vocational trainees in general medical practice in Sweden were interviewed in focus groups. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed according to a phenomenographic approach. Results Three categories with subcategories emerged. In the first category, “meeting the patient”, the family diversity among the patients was noted. Further, the informants noted that few patients presented psychiatric problems. In the second category, “obstacles in the encounter”, the vocational trainees noted difficulties in talking through an interpreter, who often seemed to have an extended dialogue with the patient. Obtaining a medical history was considered a challenge. The third category dealt with how to develop different strategies in the encounter. Conclusions To improve the encounter with patients from Somalia and other minority groups, the importance of curiosity, trust and continuity of care should be discussed in medical education. Health care´s own ways of working and thinking in relation to matters of diversity must be observed in medical training.

Parents’ views of their child’s health and family function in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Aim:  The aim of this study was to explore parents’ views and agreement of their child’s current and future health, as well as the family’s functioning in daily life with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Learning About Conflict and Conflict Management Through Drama in Nursing Education

BACKGROUND In the health care settings in which nurses work, involvement in some form of conflict is inevitable. The ability to manage conflicts is therefore necessary for nursing students to learn during their education. METHOD A qualitative analysis of 43 written group assignments was undertaken using a content analysis approach. RESULTS Three main categories emerged in the analysis-to approach and integrate with the theoretical content, to step back and get an overview, and to concretize and practice-together with the overall theme, to learn by oscillating between closeness and distance. CONCLUSION Learning about conflict and conflict management through drama enables nursing students to form new knowledge by oscillating between closeness and distance, to engage in both the fictional world and the real world at the same time. This helps students to form a personal understanding of theoretical concepts and a readiness about how to manage future conflicts. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(4):209-216.].

Professional development for radiographers and post graduate nurses in radiological interventions: Building teamwork and collaboration through drama

INTRODUCTION The rapid development within Interventional Radiology presents new challenges. Hybrid operating rooms consist of interventional radiology, open surgery, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and other techniques. This means that several disciplines and professionals need to work in new constellations creating a multidisciplinary team around the patient. In accordance with this development, higher professional education must provide new pedagogic strategies to successfully address the knowledge expected in todays complex working life. AIM To explore the use of Applied Drama as a learning medium, focusing on the use of Forum Theatre, to foster team work and collaboration in the field of radiography and learning. METHODS A qualitative approach, closely related to Ethnography, was utilized. RESULT The Drama Workshop utilising Forum Theatre created a dynamic learning environment and enabled the participants from three professions to understand each others priorities better. The use of drama within health care education allows the students to take different roles in order to find the best way to co-operate. CONCLUSION Forum Theatre is a useful learning medium in order to promote teamwork and collaboration in the radiological intervention field. By choosing a personal working experience, Forum Theatre seem to engage the participants at a deeper level and to experience various communication strategies and how the outcome changed depending on the approach. This can lead to improved teamwork and collaboration.