Discovering the ethos of serving in nursing leadership from the first half of the 20th century in three Nordic countries - an idea-historical research approach

Undergraduate nursing student's attitudes to learning during clinical practice in different semesters when using a conceptual learning model grounded in a caritative caring perspective - A cross-sectional study

AIM

To describe undergraduate nursing students' attitudes to learning during clinical practice in different semesters when using the conceptual learning model, Model for Improvements in Learning Outcomes (MILO) grounded in a caritative caring perspective.

BACKGROUND

With the intention to support interlinking between theory and praxis and offer understanding and structure to facilitate learning, MILO, theoretically grounded in hermeneutics and a caritative caring perspective based on ethical values, was implemented. MILO consists of four contextual concepts (peer learning, co-clinical teachers, student-centred and student-active supervision) and four intrapersonal concepts (nursing, a reflective approach, a critical approach, quality and safety).

METHODS

A descriptive comparative quantitative study design was applied at a Swedish university, 3 hospitals and 13 municipalities in one county. Cross-sectional data collected via a questionnaire developed to assess attitudes to learning related to MILO's contextual and intrapersonal concepts and their applications were used.

RESULTS

209 students in semester 3, 4 and 6 participated in 6 different clinical practice courses. In comparison, intrapersonal concepts, that is, the student's own characteristics and abilities were viewed to be of greater value for learning than contextual, that is, organisational-related concepts in all semesters. Understanding the needs of others and reflective learning were rated to be of major importance. Students in semester 3 valued the use of the applications the highest. To be supervised in pairs was rated the lowest in semester 6. Some of the concepts and their applications were to great extent not applied.

CONCLUSIONS

In all semesters, fundamentals in caritative caring and characteristics and abilities related to the individual student were rated to be of greater importance for learning than environmental support. Providing students opportunities to develop independency seems essential. Use of a learning model such as MILO is dependent on a bearing of a caritative caring culture and a shared understanding between all involved in student learning during clinical practice.

Analyzing Nursing Leadership at an Academic Historical Event: A Descriptive Study Based on Social Networks

PURPOSE

To analyze the leadership network structure among nursing leaders in Spain identified through the Grupo40Enfermeras y Universidad event.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study using social network analysis was used. Study sample consisted of 210 individuals, of whom 119 received nominations as referents. Structural analysis of the network was conducted using centrality and cohesion.

RESULTS

A network structure was generated in which different leadership strategies were identified through InDegree, Eigenvector, and Betweenness Centrality. Five leaders were identified as bridges to other individuals using Betweenness. The whole network presented little cohesion although two highly cohesive cores were detected by K-core measurements.

CONCLUSION

A strategy is needed to support nursing leaders with high degree of Betweenness to serve as bridges to connect other nursing leaders.

The history of ideas of Nordic midwives' excursions from the early 19th century to the millennium

The midwifery art has emphasised the uniqueness of human beings throughout its Nordic history. The educated Nordic midwife has in the last decade celebrated several hundred years of memories. This article studies how the key ideas of the midwifery art and patterns of ideas become evident in the zeitgeist from the beginning of the 19th century to the millennium in the Nordic countries. The legacy and pattern of ideas of the art of midwifery are interpreted in relation to the texts of the selected historical sources and based on Ricoeur's phenomenological-hermeneutic approach to the text and further to the dedication of understanding and interpretation. The historical sources refer to unprinted primary sources from historical archives and printed secondary and tertiary sources. The patterns of ideas include a tripartite whole: the true cultivation of the head, the philosophy and aesthetics of the hand, the strength of the heart and the drive of calling. These ideas open for unique visions and attest to the evident in modern midwives. Today's midwives have academic training with examinations, and the education is based on scientific evidence. The midwife profession is authorised by the state and supervised by the authorities.