Sylvia Barton

Competence and competency-based nursing education: finding our way through the issues.

The language of competence is widely utilized in both the regulation of nursing practice and curricular design in nursing education. The notion of competence defines what it means to be a professional, although it is not the only way of describing nursing practice. Unfortunately, there is much confusion about the concepts of competence, competency, and competency-based education. As well, the notion of competence, despite its global popularity, has flaws. In this paper we will disentangle these terms and critique the use of competence frameworks in nursing education.

Toward decolonizing nursing: the colonization of nursing and strategies for increasing the counter‐narrative

Although there are notable exceptions, examination of nursings participation in colonizing processes and practices has not taken hold in nursings consciousness or political agenda. Critical analyses, based on the examination of politics and power of the structural determinants of health, continue to be marginalized in the profession. The goals of this discussion article are to underscore the urgent need to further articulate postcolonial theory in nursing and to contribute to nursing knowledge about paths to work toward decolonizing the profession. The authors begin with a description of unifying themes in postcolonial theory, with an emphasis on colonized subjectivities and imperialism; the application of a critical social science perspective, including postcolonial feminist theory; and the project of working toward decolonization. Processes involved in the colonization of nursing are described in detail, including colonization of nursings intellectual development and the white privilege and racism that sustain colonizing thinking and action in nursing. The authors conclude with strategies to increase the counter-narrative to continued colonization, with a focus on critical social justice, human rights and the structural determinants of health.

Creating interprofessional clinical learning units: developing an acute-care model.

In exploring innovative approaches to enhanced patient care, an acute care interprofessional clinical learning unit (IPCLU) was established in a medical unit of a large metropolitan hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Part of a larger, community based, participatory mixed method research project, this acute-care model involved several post-secondary institution health science faculties, students, academics, and other post-secondary institutions partnering with the hospital to coordinate and enhance student clinical learning and improve patient care. Pre-implementation data collected from the existing acute-care unit patient-care team, students, and faculty identified areas of strength and enhancement opportunities in interprofessional education (IPE). Interested members of several professions from the patient-care units and students constituted the working group that developed the model. This paper discusses clinical IPE and its relevance in nursing education, explains the processes and mechanisms in creating the IPCLU, details the initiatives that were developed to facilitate enhanced interprofessional care, and offers considerations in advancing IPE in an acute-care setting. The work plan included initiatives that enhance interprofessional teaching and learning culture, increase awareness surrounding interprofessional teamwork and professional roles, promote interprofessional communication and decision-making strategies, and further develop clinical reflection. Insights regarding sustainability are offered.

Nursing Students Achieving Community Health Competencies through Undergraduate Clinical Experiences: A Gap Analysis.

Abstract In Canada, it is widely believed that nursing practice and health care will move from acute care into the community. At the same time, increasing numbers of nursing students are engaged in non-traditional clinical experiences for their community health rotation. These clinical experiences occur at agencies not organizationally affiliated with the health care system and typically do not employ registered nurses (RNs). What has yet to be established is the degree to which nursing students are actually being prepared for community health nursing roles through their community health clinical rotations. In this paper we report the findings of a mixed method study that explored the gap between desired and observed levels of competence in community health of senior nursing students and new graduates. The gap was quantified and then the nature of the gap further explored through focus groups.

The body-mind experiences of eight midlife women elicited through the holistic practice of Neuromuscular Integrative Action (NIA)

This study explored the body-mind experiences of eight midlife women who had integrated the movement of NIA (Neuromuscular Integrative Action) into their lives. NIA is a holistic fitness programme that combines the physicality of movement with an inner focus of awareness that is ever-present, self-monitoring, and nonjudgmental. A hermeneutic phenomenological methodology guided the research and conversational interviews were used to retrieve a narrative view of experience. The findings focus on the womens descriptions and explanations of the reflexive nature of NIA, which support interpretations of its possible uses within psychotherapy. Due to a reflexive cycle present in the practice itself and a feedback process that occurred during the study, understanding of NIAs overall effects on the participants’ lives were revealed as discovering the wisdom of the body and becoming aware of the bodys movement. The practice of NIA offers midlife women an opportunity to reconstruct notions of the self and to give voice to reflective interpretations that could result in deeper self-discovery and healing.