Nicola Andrew

Developing professional identity in nursing academics: the role of communities of practice.

This paper analyses the current standing of nursing within the wider United Kingdom (UK) higher education (HE) environment and considers the development of academic identity within the sector, introducing a technology mediated approach to professional learning and development. A community of practice (CoP) is a way of learning based on collaboration among peers. Individuals come together virtually or physically, with a common purpose, defined by knowledge rather than task [Wenger, E., 1998. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity, sixth ed. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge]. In 2008, a small team of academics at Glasgow Caledonian University, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Community Health created and implemented iCoP, a project undertaken to pilot an international CoP, where novices and expert academics collaborated to debate and discuss the complex transition from clinician to academic. Although not intended as a conventional research project, the developmental journey and emerging online discussion provide an insight into the collective thoughts and opinions of a multi-national group of novice academics. The article also highlights the key challenges, problems and limitations of working in an international online arena with professionals who traditionally work and thrive in a face to face, real time environment.

Greater than the sum of its parts: Transition into the first year of undergraduate nursing

In 2006 the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Community Health, Glasgow Caledonian University, introduced an action research initiative: The Enhance Project. Originally designed to provide academic support for first year undergraduate nursing students, this project has evolved to encompass a second spiral of activity, investigating how prepared students are, both professionally and socially for year one of an undergraduate nursing programme, with particular reference to the first clinical placement. Initial findings indicate that, while the majority of students appear to understand their role as nursing students, their understanding of what is expected of in the first placement is less clear. There is also a lack of clarity regarding their role and that of the mentor in the achievement of clinical placement learning outcomes. This paper discusses the importance of getting it right at the start of the journey and comments on the development of professional identity in nursing.

Professional identity in nursing: Are we there yet?

Nursing in the United Kingdom (UK) has been part of higher education for more than a decade and is now moving towards graduate status as a profession. Increasingly, through adherence to good practice guidelines and professional body regulation, the profession is incrementally involving communities of reference to help shape current and future identity. The desire to articulate the impact of nursing practice underscores the new undergraduate programmes and propels professional preparation beyond an existence at the fuzzy fringes of medicine towards a unique and fully fledged contemporary identity.

'Show us you know us': Using the Senses Framework to support the professional development of undergraduate nursing students

As students, fledgling nurses need to feel they belong to a community of academics, peers and mentors who value their contribution to learning and knowledge. Creating a sense of community allows students to experience academic and practice integration at the beginning of their professional journey, recognising that positive learning experiences at an early stage of professional maturation can shape lifelong attitudes to learning and discovery. The Senses Framework has been used to develop supportive working in relation to older adults; it also has resonance for the development of undergraduate nurses. This article focuses on the student experience, exploring the potential for the Senses Framework to underpin a learning community, promoting collaboration and acknowledging the emotional, academic and professional work that is now essential for the preparation of registered nurse in the 21st Century.

The duality of professional practice in nursing: academics for the 21st century.

Although pre-registration nursing in the United Kingdom (UK) is moving towards a graduate exit, the vocational/professional debate is still live and continues to be played out in both popular and professional literature. This study considers the nature of contemporary academic communities and the challenge of duality in professional nursing life. More than a decade after the move into higher education (HE) however the role of the academic is still controversial, with much of the debate focussed on the nature of clinical credibility. This article considers the dimensions of academic nursing, reports the views of academics and clinicians and introduces a model of working that could potentially harness and blend the skills of academics and clinicians, nurturing a culture of applied scholarship throughout the professional/academic journey.

Constructing communities for learning in nursing

Working in communities is increasingly a feature of UK (United Kingdom) higher education. Within the last decade communities of practice (CoPs) have migrated from organisational development departments and evolved to become tools for practice based learning in educational settings. More recently, in nursing, the literature reports that CoPs have the potential to blend the skills of both academics and clinicians to transform and create new knowledge that is both scholarly and applicable to practice.

The route in to the academy: the liminal state of the nursing and construction professions?

Nursing and the construction industry arguably enjoy uneasy membership of the academy. As both move closer towards university-based learning, debates remain about where discipline-specific training should best be provided and the importance of softer, graduate skills for the professions. This paper contextualises that debate by describing both professions route into the academy and the similarities and differences in that historical journey and their present position. What emerges is a complex picture of negotiation and shifting priorities that can present challenges for students as well as teaching staff. Whilst students may be vocationally orientated, the need for generic, critical attributes has increased. A model of academic skills provision has been developed at one university in order to accommodate these potentially conflicting priorities. The devolved, embedded approach allows for the creation of support tailored to specific cohorts and aligned to professional identity and language and, thus far, has proven successful in engaging students.

Building communities in higher education: the case of nursing

The historic and current case to retain a focused clinical nursing identity within an academic context is explicit; however there is tension between the need for excellence in teaching and research, and obligation to maintain a credible clinical identity. Nursing is politically and vocationally advanced but, arguably, weaker academically. Considered an ‘old vocation’ but a ‘young discipline’, nursing lacks the traditional background found in established academic communities. Nurses still find it difficult to ‘let go’ of the past and new academics will often try to re-create a clinical role because they lack confidence in their ability to fulfil an academic one. Moving forward, the new graduate nursing programmes and the growing number of hybrid or ‘pracademic’ roles spanning education and practice will, through the co-creation of knowledge, challenge discipline boundaries and produce a new generation of leaders for the profession.

‘There’s more unites us than divides us!’ A further and higher education community of practice in nursing

In 2010, reflecting the strategic institutional imperative of widening participation and enhancing transition to health programmes, a Scottish nursing community of practice (CoP), was formed to bring together academics from further and higher education, initially for a period of six months. The community was funded by the Greater Glasgow Articulation Partnership (GGAP) and underpinned by Wenger’s (1988) Community of Practice (CoP) model. The CoP focused on exploration of current practice, particularly transition, articulation and the first-year experience in tertiary education.