Time management strategies for research productivity

Development of a proposed organizational framework for undergraduate research training in prosthetics and orthotics education

BACKGROUND

An undergraduate research project gives prosthetic and orthotic (P&O) students the chance to acquire both foundational research knowledge and in-depth knowledge in a specific area of interest in P&O research. Undergraduates frequently enter the field of research with less experience or understanding of research instruments, presenting them with significant obstacles when conducting research.

OBJECTIVE

This study's objective was to establish a framework for undergraduate research training in prosthetics and orthotics education.

METHODS

Using narrative qualitative methodology, 4 successive phases of research were conducted. Phase I: A document analysis was conducted to determine the presence of research training in Thailand's undergraduate P&O curriculum taught in 2021; phase II: document analysis of student P&O program feedback reports using manifest content analysis; phase III: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis of lecturer P&O program feedback reports; and phase IV: data sets from phases I, II, and III were applied to the formulation of a unifying framework. Using grounded theory's three-stage thematic analysis-open, axial, and selective coding-data were analyzed.

CONCLUSIONS

The novel organizational research framework is presented as the result and conclusion of the study. The framework for enhancing this important foundational research program at the undergraduate level was derived through discussion with colleagues and based on the results and discussion from this investigation. Although the framework for undergraduate research training was designed for use by the undergraduate prosthetics and orthotics program in Thailand, it is believed to be applicable and relevant to P&O education worldwide.

Time Management Effectiveness Toward Employee Stress Level During Pandemic Covid-19

Several countries in the world have entered the stage of globalization, and more and more human resources are needed to adapt to the modernization process. Therefore, human resources play an essential role in the sustainability of life today and tomorrow. However, all activities are carried out online due to the increasing pandemic. It makes all individuals experience work stress. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of implementing time management on employees during a pandemic on the level of work stress experienced by new and other situations so that adjustments must be made to these circumstances. This study used descriptive research with a quantitative approach. The study results showed that 23.5% experienced mild stress and 76.5% experienced moderate stress, and none experienced severe stress. Therefore, the application of good time management can reduce the level of work stress experienced by respondents. The application of time management is to be effective because it has fulfilled five aspects, namely planning, prioritizing, avoiding multitasking, avoiding things that are not important, and setting time limits.

A model six-month workshop for developing systematic review protocols at teaching hospitals: action research and scholarly productivity

BACKGROUND

Research engagement contributes to the improvement of patient care. A systematic review is a suitable first scholarly activity because it entails summarization of publicly available data and usually requires neither rigorous ethical review nor research funding.

METHODS

This study aimed to develop a model workshop for healthcare staff to acquire skills in creating systematic review protocols based on their own clinical questions at teaching hospitals. We used an action research method to create a model workshop at four hospitals in Japan from April 2015 to March 2017. To improve the program, we solicited reflections using participant questionnaires for each lecture and examined the quality of homework submitted by participants after each lecture. We administered a revised final version of the workshop at five hospitals from April 2016 to March 2017. We evaluated the participants' scholarly productivity related to these workshops. The observation period was a minimum of 2 years following the workshops.

RESULTS

Most participants had never developed a formal clinical research protocol and voluntarily participated in the workshop. The action research was developed and implemented at nine teaching hospitals in Japan, including one university hospital. The study developed a model nine-step workshop curriculum: 1) Research question development, 2) Search strategy development, 3) Search strategy brush-up, 4) Exclusion and inclusion criteria development, 5) Risk of bias assessment planning, 6) Meta-analysis planning, 7) Subgroup and sensitivity analysis planning, 8) Planning the presentation of results, and 9) Presentation protocols. A total of 233 participants, including medical doctors and other health professionals, produced 414 research questions. Seventy-nine participants (34%) completed the workshop, and 47 review teams accomplished systematic review protocols. The participants published 13 peer-reviewed articles as a result of the workshop.

CONCLUSIONS

We developed a structured scholarly productive model workshop for healthcare staff working at hospitals. We found healthcare staff with clinical subspecialties were able to develop an unexpectedly high number of research questions through this workshop. Medical teachers at hospitals with prior systematic review experience could teach how to develop systematic review protocols using this model. Further research is needed to increase the academic productivity of such workshops.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

UMIN (https://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/), UMIN000017107 (4/15/2015), UMIN000025580 (1/10/2017).

Strategies for progression in a PhD nursing program within a transition model

BACKGROUND

There is a need for interventions to improve the PhD pipeline for nursing program enrollment. PhD nursing students who have navigated the program successfully are in a strategic position to help by sharing their stories. Several strategies for successful completion of a PhD program and some common expected barriers have been documented in the literature.

METHOD

The authors used personal reflections from their first and second years of study in a PhD nursing program to identify strategies to progress through a program. The personal reflections were analyzed by their student cohort and a faculty advisor using the Bridges' Transition Model as a theoretical framework. The cohort members included five females and one male, ages 29-48, attending a PhD nursing program in the Southeastern, US.

RESULTS

The following strategies were identified from the personal reflections: seeking and offering support within your cohort; establishing a relationship with mentors; identifying and using a reference manager; mastering time management; soaking up statistics; and focusing on your focus. The strategies listed above occurred within the ending and/or neutral zone phases of the Bridges' Transition Model.

CONCLUSION

It is important to note the early phases of transition and need for success strategies in these specific phases of transition. PhD nursing students are in a strategic position to positively influence the PhD pipeline by providing personal reflections that inform future PhD nursing students as well as PhD nursing programs.

Launching Successful Beginnings for Early Career Faculty Researchers

Junior faculty follow a research path replete with challenges as they strive to create knowledge in their area of interest while balancing new responsibilities. Unlike graduate school, where students focus inward on personal development, junior faculty must add responsibilities in ways that hold them accountable as members of a university. This special article deals with three themes of interest to new junior faulty launching research programs: personal development, collaboration and team development within university settings, and funding advice. Strategies in these areas provide guidance on navigating early careers and finding success in the academic setting.

Answering Wicked Questions: Dealing With Opposing Truths as a Nursing Associate Professor

Nursing associate professors frequently are confronted with increasing responsibilities and fewer resources. These challenges commonly contribute to declines in job satisfaction and may result in departing academe. This article addresses these challenges by providing answers to four common “wicked questions” experienced by nursing associate professors: (a) How do I decline a request from a supervisor to take on additional responsibilities while continuing to support the mission of the school and advance my own scholarly productivity? (b) How do I handle the workload of multiple doctoral students with a variety of content areas that are different from my own and maintain my own level of productivity? (c) How do I handle expectations for more service, and leadership for the school, university, and professional organizations, yet the teaching and research responsibilities have not changed or have increased? and (d) What are some additional tips to being a more productive nursing associate professor?

Research-active clinical nurses: against all odds

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To develop a theoretical understanding of factors that impact decisions of clinical nurses to conduct a research study.

BACKGROUND

Only a small percentage of all nurses are research-active and even fewer clinical nurses are research-active. Several researchers have explored barriers to research activity by clinical nurses, but few have examined why, in spite of all odds, some clinical nurses are research-active.

DESIGN

As the purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical understanding of the research-active nurse, a grounded theory approach was used.

METHODS

The sample interviewed for this study consisted of registered nurses (n = 26) who worked in a hospital or ambulatory setting, had daily direct patient contact and had participated as principal investigator on at least one completed clinical nursing research study that was not in fulfilment of an educational requirement. The interviews were digitally recorded and analysed by two researchers using the constant comparative method.

RESULTS

The findings from this study suggest that the conduct of research by clinical nurses was the direct result of a clinical trigger, characteristics and beliefs of the nurse about research and their role in generating knowledge, and the presence of support conditions, such as a research mentor.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinical nurses can and do conduct research, in spite of constraints due to a lack of time, money and/or knowledge, if they have access to research mentors and are practising in a research-supportive environment.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Nurses at the bedside are in a unique position to identify problems most in need of solutions. Findings from this study provide a foundation upon which to develop and test various programmes that seek to increase the number of clinical nurses who are research-active.

Strategies to Build Authorship Competence Among PhD Students

Publication in refereed journals is an important responsibility of PhD-prepared nurses. Specialized writing skills are crucial for effective professional publication. The capacity to develop and publish articles is best learned during doctoral education. This Western Journal of Nursing Research Editorial Board Special Article addresses multi-dimensional strategies to develop authorship competence among doctoral students. The article outlines structured PhD program experiences to provide the context for students to develop authorship capacity. The authors identify multi-faceted faculty endeavors and student activities that are essential to foster authorship competence. Students who embrace opportunities to acquire authorship qualifications will be well prepared for their post-graduation role as stewards of the nursing discipline.

Oficinas de Gestão do Tempo com Estudantes Universitários

Resumo Buscou-se descrever a experiência de oficinas de gestão do tempo realizadas junto a acadêmicos de uma universidade pública no interior do Rio Grande do Sul. Foram realizados oito encontros com o objetivo de avaliar e discutir a forma como os participantes costumam organizar o seu tempo. Participaram 85 alunos de graduação e pós-graduação. Os tópicos abordados incluíram estratégias utilizadas para organização, identificação de problemas, metas e objetivos e oferecimento de dicas. Foram descritos os procedimentos e as ferramentas utilizadas nas oficinas. As dificuldades vivenciadas pelos estudantes estavam relacionadas à procrastinação, à incapacidade de dizer “não” às demandas alheias, à carga horária de seus cursos e à conciliação entre estudos, convivência familiar e lazer. A participação na oficina foi um primeiro momento de reflexão sobre a temática para muitos participantes. Pesquisas que investiguem os “motivos” das dificuldades na gestão do tempo nessa população podem subsidiar futuras intervenções junto a esse público.

Normalizing Rejection

Getting turned down for grant funding or having a manuscript rejected is an uncomfortable but not unusual occurrence during the course of a nurse researcher's professional life. Rejection can evoke an emotional response akin to the grieving process that can slow or even undermine productivity. Only by "normalizing" rejection, that is, by accepting it as an integral part of the scientific process, can researchers more quickly overcome negative emotions and instead use rejection to refine and advance their scientific programs. This article provides practical advice for coming to emotional terms with rejection and delineates methods for working constructively to address reviewer comments.

Strategies for a Successful PhD Program

Nursing doctoral programs prepare students for research-focused careers within academic settings. The purpose of this Editorial Board Special Article is to provide PhD students and advisors with suggestions for making the most of their doctoral experience. Editorial Board members provide their individual insights on the skills and attributes students must acquire during the course of their doctoral education in order to succeed. The authors provide practical tips and advice on how to excel in a PhD program, including how to select an advisor and a dissertation committee, the importance of attending conferences to increase visibility and develop a network of colleagues, presenting and publishing research while still a student, and balancing work and personal life. Students who take full advantage of the opportunities available to them during the course of their doctoral programs will graduate well prepared to take on the multiple responsibilities of research, teaching, and leadership.