Boyer's model of scholarly nursing applied to professional development

Fostering Scholarly Development in Nursing Science: The Promise of Dimensional Analysis

BACKGROUND

Scholarly development in nursing science is a challenging process of academic evolution. In doctoral programs, students move from mastering technical research skills toward developing scholarly identities. This article explores the utility of dimensional analysis as a method of inquiry for nursing PhD students seeking to deepen their scholarly development when completing course assignments and reaching doctoral program milestones.

METHOD

Using a brief case study, dimensional analysis was described as an interactionist method used to develop grounded theory and illustrate application of the method throughout a 3-year nursing PhD program.

RESULTS

Nursing PhD students have the opportunity to drive the depth of their own scholarly development through engaging with theory, method, and independent inquiry.

CONCLUSION

Dimensional analysis holds promise for scholars to simultaneously develop methodological skill, derive situation-specific theory, ground a program of research, and anchor that program of research with theory and method. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(2):112-115.].

Scholarly practice in healthcare professions: findings from a scoping review

Scholarly practitioners are broadly defined as healthcare professionals that address critical practice problems using theory, scientific evidence, and practice-based knowledge. Though scholarly practice is included in most competency frameworks, it is unclear what scholarly practice is, how it develops and how it is operationalized in clinical practice. The aim of this review was to determine what is known about scholarly practice in healthcare professionals. We conducted a scoping review and searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL from inception to May 2020. We included papers that explored, described, or defined scholarly practice, scholar or scholarly practitioner, and/or related concepts in healthcare professionals. We included a total of 90 papers. Thirty percent of papers contained an explicit definition of scholarly practice. Conceptualizations of scholarly practice were organized into three themes: the interdependent relationship between scholarship and practice; advancing the profession's field; and core to being a healthcare practitioner. Attributes of scholarly practitioners clustered around five themes: commitment to excellence in practice; collaborative nature; presence of virtuous characteristics; effective communication skills; and adaptive change ethos. No single unified definition of scholarly practice exists within the literature. The variability in terms used to describe scholarly practice suggests that it is an overarching concept rather than a definable entity. There are similarities between scholarly practitioners and knowledge brokers regarding attributes and how scholarly practice is operationalized. Individuals engaged in the teaching, research and/or assessment of scholarly practice should make explicit their definitions and expectations for healthcare professionals.

Developing nurse leaders: a program enhancing staff nurse leadership skills and professionalism

This study aims to determine whether participation in the Nursing Leadership Perspectives Program (NLPP) at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, produced a change in leadership skills, increased professional activities, leadership promotion, and retention rates of participants. The NLPP is an educational program designed to enhance leadership skills and promote professionalism of registered nurses. The 6-month program provides participants with theoretical knowledge, core competencies, and opportunities to practice application of leadership skills. Outcome metrics were collected from registered nurses who completed the program (n = 15). Data analysis included descriptive and nonparametric methods. Participants reported statistically significant changes in their leadership skills after participation in the program (P = .007) on the Leadership Practices Inventory. Changes in professional behavior were also statistically significant as rated by the Nursing Activity Scale (P = .001). Participants demonstrated a change in leadership skills and professional behavior following the program.

Story Theory

Stories are a fundamental dimension of human experience and nursing practice. Story theory describes a narrative happening that occurs through intentional nurse-person dialogue. Seven inquiry phases are associated with story theory, including gathering the story, reconstructing the story, connecting it to the literature, naming the complicating health challenge, describing the story plot, identifying movement toward resolving, and gathering additional stories. This article describes the use of story theory to advance nursing practice scholarship in both academic and everyday nursing practice.

Actualizing Scholarship in Senior Baccalaureate Nursing Students

Nursing scholarship is difficult to define and often equated with either research and publication in academia or academic achievement of students, but the definition has recently been broadened to include clinical scholarship. This article emphasizes the connections between the theory of nursing scholarship and its application to advanced clinical practice for senior baccalaureate nursing students. Strategies used to enhance students' ability to operationalize scholarship include reflective journals, development of an abstract and professional paper, and presentation of a paper or poster at the student-led Nursing Scholarship Forum. The Forum is evaluated as a learning activity that helps students actualize scholarship. The results of the evaluation indicate this type of scholarly activity enhances nursing students' transition into the professional practice role.

Identifying clinical scholarship guidelines for faculty practice

Clear descriptors of faculty practice and scholarly activities are essential to precisely demonstrate that the faculty practice role meets the standards of academic advancement and to influence academic policy. A description of scholarly clinical activities (1) justifies the benefits of faculty practice by means other than fiscal, (2) provides data for research regarding faculty practice, and (3) provides data to support the nursing profession's political, social, and health care agendas. Guidelines for clinical scholarship are described in this article. A review of relevant literature demonstrates that these guidelines go beyond current models by describing 24 scholarly activities organized into 4 areas: quality, governance, leadership, and knowledge development. Three years of data describing the scholarly activities of a college of nursing faculty engaged in practice are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the indicators in achieving these goals. These data can provide valuable information for trend analysis and, through heightened awareness of opportunities, increase faculty clinical scholarship activities.