Monique Sedgwick

The Use of Videoconferencing as a Medium for the Qualitative Interview

Qualitative data collection, especially conducting in-person interviews, presents challenges for researchers whose participants are geographically dispersed. Often alternative means of interviewing using communication technology are necessary. This was true for this focused ethnographic research exploring the experiences of participants who were connected to a particular cultural group by virtue of their similar experience but who were not located in the same geographical area. The purpose of this paper is to present the experience of using videoconferencing technology to collect experiential data from undergraduate nursing students and preceptors who were dispersed over a 640,000 square kilometer area in western and northern Canada during a rural hospital-based preceptorship. Recommendations for using videoconferencing as a medium for conducting in-depth qualitative interviews include using a high-bandwidth connection such as SuperNet or Web conferencing, and evaluating whether the type of information sought is likely to be shared in other than in-person face-to-face situations.

Exploring Masculinity and Marginalization of Male Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Experience of Belonging During Clinical Experiences

Aggressive recruitment strategies used in Canadian undergraduate nursing programs have enjoyed only moderate success, given that male students represent a small percentage of the student population. To determine whether there were gender differences in their sense of belonging, undergraduate nursing students (n = 462) in southern Alberta were surveyed using the Belongingness Scale-Clinical Placement Experience questionnaire. No significant gender differences were found on two of the subscales. However, male students demonstrated significantly lower scores on the efficacy subscale (p = 0.02). This finding suggests that some men experience feelings of marginalization and discrimination. Nurse educators and students are encouraged to explore their worldviews related to gendered performances and teaching practices that create bias. Practice environments are encouraged to deinstitutionalize policies and procedures that accentuate femininities of care. Finally, men entering into the nursing profession are encouraged to reflect on how their gender performance may facilitate or detract from their feelings of belonging.

A pilot study exploring the relationship between the use of mobile technologies, walking distance, and clinical decision making among rural hospital nurses

Providing evidence-based information at the point of care for time-poor nurses may lead to better clinical care and patient outcomes. Smartphone applications (apps) have the advantage of providing immediate access to information potentially increasing time spent with patients. This small-scale pre-post survey study explored the impact a smartphone app had on the distance nurses walked and their perceived clinical decision-making ability. A total of 20 nurses working in a rural hospital medical/surgical unit participated. The findings suggest that the use of the smartphone app did not decrease nurses’ walking distance. Nor did using the app enhances nurses’ perception of their clinical decision-making ability. However, there was a statistically significant increase in confidence in the app over time (F(1,16) = 5.416, p = 0.033, partial η2 = 0.253), suggesting that providing training opportunities including time to learn how to use smartphone applications has the potential to enhance nurses work.