The system of nursing in Chile: Insights from a systems theory perspective

Nursing is not like organised crime: A theoretically informed commentary

AIM

This article aims to contest misrepresentations and distortions of sociological writings on the nursing profession.

BACKGROUND

During the latest ICN congress in Montreal, it has been suggested that professions, and the nursing profession for that matter, are thought of by sociologists in a similar way as organised crime, meaning that it is like a 'money sponge' sucking resources out of society, without however giving anything in return. Allegedly, there would be a distinct branch of sociology depicting the professions in this light.

DISCUSSION

By sketching out relevant sociological ideas, including the sociology of nursing, I explain that there is no tradition portraying the professions as mafias. I demonstrate that while both the professions and organised crime are socially organised, they are radically different in legitimacy. The caring professions are themselves different in ethos from the classic professions, all the more so from criminal organisations. A distinct stream of research in sociology has been devoted to nursing, without however suggesting such an analogy.

CONCLUSION

I lament that attendees to the ICN congress were indeed given an inaccurate representation of sociological thinking. Sociologists addressing nursing as a profession tend to highlight processes of emancipation, autonomy, vindication and social justice, as care work is essential to the broader socioeconomic order.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY

While nursing as a profession is socially organised, the power devices and tactics it deploys in the sociopolitical arena are characterised by their legitimacy. Unlike organised crime, nursing policymaking is situated within a framework of lawfulness, fairness and transparency.

Being Able to Be Yourself: The Lived Experience of Female Patients in Forensic Psychiatric Care

People in Sweden who commit at least one crime and suffer from a severe mental disorder can be sentenced to forensic psychiatric care. The aim of this study was to describe and gain a greater understanding of the female patients' experiences of their life situation while being cared for in forensic psychiatric care. Interviews with 15 women were conducted and analyzed with a phenomenological hermeneutical method. The results showed the care and the care environment to be dualistic. The women had to be aware that a close neighbor could also be an enemy. They received care in an environment that was unknown, frightening but at the same time a place where they felt secure, and which was predictable.

Uniformity along the way: A scoping review on characteristics of nurse education programs worldwide

BACKGROUND

The changing demands on healthcare require continuous development and education in the nursing profession. Homogeneity in nursing qualifications reduces educational inconsistencies between and within countries. However, despite various initiatives, modifying nurse education remains challenging because different countries have their own legislations, structures, motivations, and policies.

OBJECTIVES

To summarize the characteristics of nurse education programs around the globe and analyze the similarities and differences between them.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A scoping review was performed to identify different characteristics of nurse education programs in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Records published between January 2016 and July 2021 were searched in the PubMed, Cinahl, and ERIC databases. The reference lists of all included articles were also searched manually for relevant studies. Articles were eligible if they described nurse education in one or more of the selected countries with a focus on nursing degrees (both undergraduate and postgraduate programs), nursing titles, program duration, study load hours, or practice hours. Data were independently extracted using a predefined extraction sheet. We asked the respective nursing associations for confirmation and to provide any additional information.

RESULTS

After searching 9769 records, 117 were included in the synthesis. The included records described characteristics of undergraduate nursing educational programs (n = 50), postgraduate programs (n = 30), or both (n = 37). In total, 86 undergraduate and 82 postgraduate programs were described, with a great variety in degrees, nursing titles, study load hours, and practice hours.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that there is still considerable variation in nurse education programs between countries. These diverse educational pathways lead to different nursing titles and internationally standardized definitions of nursing roles have not been established. This makes it difficult to understand the healthcare role of nurses. Hence, efforts are needed to increase the quality and uniformity of nurse education around the world.

EMPOWERMENT OF NURSES FROM A HOSPITAL IN THE SOUTH OF CHILE

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify the level of empowerment among the nurses from a hospital located in the south of Chile and verify its potential association with personal and professional characterization variables. Method: cross-sectional and descriptive study conducted with 117 nurses from a hospital in the south of Chile. Data were collected in 2018 using a personal and professional characterization form and the Spanish version of the Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire II. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: the means of the factors of the empowerment scale were: Opportunity (4.11±0.82); Information (3.81±0.90); Support (3.81±0.86), and Resources (3.13±0.97). Statistically significant differences were found between empowerment and having greater professional experience, working in the medical-surgical unit, having from 3 to 10 patients under responsibility, job satisfaction, and intention to quit their jobs. Conclusion: the nurses reported a positive perception of empowerment in their roles, especially concerning having opportunities to perform tasks that contribute to acquiring new knowledge and skills at work.

Disciplina, profesión y transformación

El presente número de Avances en Enfermería se despliega en medio de un clima de transición. Asistimos a una evidente reformulación de las narrativas profesionales, luego de varias décadas de un énfasis notorio en lo monoprofesional, a un compás marcado por la institucionalización de la disciplina de enfermería en la región. Para efectos de este editorial, emplearé el térmi-no ‘institucionalización’ (1) como la organización de departamentos de enfermería en universida-des, la producción de doctores/as en enfermería, la realización regular de congresos disciplinares y la creación de revistas académicas en el rubro. Este proceso de institucionalización sirve a dos propó-sitos: facilita la creación de enfoques que permi-ten orientar y fortalecer el carácter científico de la práctica, y hace posible instalar la enfermería como disciplina dentro del sistema científico. En lengua-je sociológico, diríamos que esto corresponde a un proceso continuo de diferenciación (2) desde otros marcos epistémicos (v. g. medicina, sociolo-gía, psicología), aunque como el debate sobre teori-zación en enfermería ha dejado de manifiesto, la disciplina enfermera es un campo ecléctico en que convergen otras varias disciplinas. No es un campo puramente social (v. g. los tejidos y humores corpo-rales existen y se trabaja con ellos); pero tampoco es puramente biológico (v. g. los tejidos y humores corporales en ausencia del individuo no tendrían sentido en el ethos de la enfermería).

Twenty years of management of care in Chile: what we know, what we do not know, what is yet to come. An analysis of arguments

For over 20 years, the notion of 'management of care' has been foregrounded as key in the jurisdiction of the nursing profession, with the aim of detaching itself from the wider medical umbrella. A number of voices have advocated such centrality. These include juridical, academic and occupational perspectives. Critical stances, although peripheral, have also been voiced. These have been received, at best, with a 'polite silence' in mainstream circles.By looking at the arguments surrounding the 'management of care' circulated in these two decades, this article reports the various forms of discursive practice that participate in the political process of autonomy building. Particularly, we focus on the validity of the arguments as well as the cohesion across arguments within the knowledge system. In doing so, we evaluate its main premises and foundations, the reach of the conceptualisation and its disjointed, differing and incomplete bases. Similarly, we used an inferential technique for the reconstruction of omitted and unexpressed assertions.The article introduces an approach of the humanities that is seldom seen in healthcare. It also proposes a research agenda in regard to management of care for the upcoming decades.