ine Paul

Instructor comfort level in high-fidelity simulation.

BACKGROUND The literature in the use of simulation in nursing education has expanded significantly over the past 5-10 years. What it is like as an instructor who facilitates this experience is largely unexplored. This paper is part of a larger ethnographic study, and represents findings related to the comfort level of instructors facilitating in high-fidelity simulation (HFS). OBJECTIVES The question of what is it like to engage in simulated clinical experiences as an instructor is presented in this paper. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS Twenty instructors participated in two separate focus groups and two instructors participated in individual interviews. The average years of nursing experience for this group was over 20 years, whereas the number of years of experience as a clinical instructor was less than five years. METHODS Ethical approval was obtained from two academic institutions. A focused ethnography was conducted and included two terms of participant observations, recorded field notes, individual interviews and focus groups. Data was coded and then sorted for themes related to the instructor experience. RESULTS The primary results focus on the comfort level of instructors in HFS, and what instructors believe this meant to student learning in HFS. CONCLUSIONS What the instructor does during HFS and how they feel about their ability to facilitate HFS has a perceived effect on student learning.

Incorporating a research apprenticeship model in a Canadian nursing Honors Program

In this article, we describe the development of a BScN (Honors) Program in a large Canadian university. We describe the elements of the program, including the application of a research apprenticeship model as the core of the program. We provide examples of student learning experiences culminating in the Honors project. Recruitment, balancing clinical and research interests, financial support, and manageability of the Honors project emerged as key challenges in our first offerings of the program. Overall, students perceived that experiential research learning enhanced their research skills, increased appreciation of the process and outcomes of nursing research, and inspired confidence to pursue graduate education. We conclude that an apprenticeship model providing students with experiential research learning with established faculty researchers is an effective and efficient way to deliver the Honors Program in the context of a research-intensive nursing faculty.

International dimensions of higher education in nursing in Canada: Tapping the wisdom of the 20th century while embracing possibilities for the 21st century

New focus on the internationalization of universities occurred in the late 20th century and higher education in nursing has been quick to embrace the opportunities. In this manuscript, writers provide a brief overview of the nursing and more general literature from the late 20th century relating to key dimensions of internationalization, as well as present data from a survey conducted in 1995-96 of the international activities and dimensions at Canadian faculties/schools of nursing. While it is clear that nurses in Canadian universities were engaged in significant international endeavours in the 20th century, the literature and our experience suggest that the extent of such activity has increased substantially in recent years. Discussion centres on examination of how knowledge generated in the 20th century can inform current internationalization initiatives and on identification of key questions that merit consideration as we move forward in the 21st century.

Strengths and Challenges of the First Prelicensure Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing Program in Pakistan

With the increasing complexities of health care and the associated strong advocacy for baccalaureate of science in nursing (BScN) program as entry to practice in the developing countries, gradually, nurse leaders are moving in that direction. Although extensive information is available in the literature about the outcomes of prelicensure BScN programs in developed countries, little is known about the outcomes of such programs in developing countries. In this article, we report strengths and challenges of the first prelicensure BScN program in Pakistan. Using a focused ethnographic approach, data for this study were collected mainly through semistructured interviews of the graduates from the first five cohorts of the BScN program and their supervisors at Aga Khan University, Pakistan. Interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and content analyzed for explicit and implicit patterns of themes, meanings, and understanding about the program. Findings of this study affirmed the worth of BScN program for preparing competent nurses that can contribute to the development of nursing in Pakistan. However, various contextual issues and challenges in the nurses work environment have affected the utilization and retention of these graduates and hence the perceived outcome of the program.

The State of Knowledge Regarding the Use of Simulation in Pre-Licensure Nursing Education: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review

Abstract This project is a mixed-methods systematic review on the use of simulation in pre-licensure nursing. This research question guided this review: What is the best evidence available upon which to base decisions regarding the use of simulation experiences with pre-licensure nursing students? Searches of CINAHL Plus with Full Text, MEDLINE, and ERIC were performed to identify relevant literature. These searches yielded 1220 articles. After duplicates were removed and titles and abstracts were reviewed for relevance to the inclusion criteria, the remaining 852 articles were independently assessed for quality by pairs of researchers. Forty-seven articles were retained. Findings were grouped into research using high-, medium-, and low-fidelity simulations and a group where researchers included several or all types of simulation. The conclusion is that insufficient quality research exists to guide educators in making evidence-based decisions regarding simulation. More rigorous and multi-site research is needed.

Co-supervision of doctoral students: enhancing the learning experience

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the advantages and challenges of co-supervision of doctoral students, as found in the literature and from our experiences. We define co-supervision and then discuss the process in detail. Examples are based on experiences of co-supervision from faculty perspectives as well as from the point of view of a former doctoral student. We propose that the advantages of co-supervision far outweigh the challenges and should be regularly considered by seasoned academics to enhance student learning. In addition, we suggest that co-supervision is intellectually stimulating for academics.