Search

Objective: To determine impact of undertaking an international educational program during a nurse's or midwife's pre-registration program on subsequent practice, focusing on how nurses and midwives were transformed personally through participation in such programs. Background: Participation in international educational programs has been reported to enhance nursing and midwifery students' personal and professional development, however long-term impacts remain unclear. This paper presents findings drawn from a larger grounded theory study. Study design and Methods: Charmaz's grounded theory methodology was used to elicit experiences from 13 general nurses, two mental health nurses, three midwives and four dual qualified nurse/midwives across eight different countries. Data analysis led to the creation of three categories, with this paper reporting on the category of Developing as a Person. Findings: Participation in international educational programs can be transformative for nurses and midwives with long-lasting impacts, contributing positively to their personal growth and development. Discussion: The study findings underscore significant long-term impacts of international educational programs for nurses and midwives. These outcomes highlight the importance of incorporating international experiences into healthcare education. Conclusion: By providing opportunities for healthcare professionals to engage with diverse settings and populations, organisations and educational institutions can foster the development of well-rounded and globally competent practitioners. Implications for research, policy, and practice: The study's findings hold significant implications for research, policy, and practice in healthcare education. To deepen our understandings, additional longitudinal research across diverse countries is warranted. Policymakers have an opportunity to acknowledge the positive impact of these programs on the personal growth and development of nurses and midwives, potentially leading to the integration of global competency requirements into licensure programs. In order to provide comprehensive education, educational institutions should consider the inclusion of study abroad opportunities, cultural exchanges, and global clinical placements within nursing and midwifery curricula. What is already known about the topic? • International educational programs are widely used as a way of developing nursing and midwifery students' cultural understandings. • Previous studies have reported on short-term impacts of international educational programs. What this paper adds: • Long-term impacts of participation in an international educational program on nurses and midwives are described. • Personal development and subsequent transformations occur for nurses and midwives as a result of participation in international educational programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To determine which characteristics of academic leadership are perceived to be necessary for nursing deans to be successful. Background Effective leadership is essential for the continued growth of the discipline. Method A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 30 deans (academics in universities who headed a nursing faculty and degree programmes) was conducted in three countries - Canada, England and Australia. The conversations were analysed for leadership attributes. Result Sixty personal and positional attributes were nominated by the participants. Of these, the most frequent attribute was 'having vision'. Personal attributes included: passion, patience, courage, facilitating, sharing and being supportive. Positional attributes included: communication, faculty development, role modelling, good management and promoting nursing. Conclusion Both positional and personal aspects of academic leadership are important to assist in developing a succession plan and education for new deans. Implications for nursing management It is important that talented people are recognised as potential leaders of the future. These future leaders should be given every chance to grow and develop through exposure to opportunities to develop skills and the attributes necessary for effective deanship. Strategic mentoring could prove to be useful in developing and supporting the growth of future deans of nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To describe strategies nursing leaders use to promote evidence‐based practice implementation at point‐of‐care using data from health systems in Australia, Canada, England and Sweden. Design: A descriptive, exploratory case‐study design based on individual interviews using deductive and inductive thematic analysis and interpretation. Methods: Fifty‐five nursing leaders from Australia, Canada, England and Sweden were recruited to participate in the study. Data were collected between September 2015 and April 2016. Results: Nursing leaders both in formal managerial roles and enabling roles across four country jurisdictions used similar strategies to promote evidence‐based practice implementation. Nursing leaders actively promote evidence‐based practice implementation, work to influence evidence‐based practice implementation processes and integrate evidence‐based practice implementation into everyday policy and practices. Conclusion: The deliberative, conscious strategies nursing leaders used were consistent across country setting, context and clinical area. These strategies were based on a series of activities and interventions around promoting, influencing and integrating evidence‐based practice implementation. We conjecture that these three key strategies may be linked to two overarching ways of demonstrating effective evidence‐based practice implementation leadership. The two overarching modes are described as mediating and adapting modes, which reflect complex, dynamic, relationship‐focused approaches nursing leaders take towards promoting evidence‐based practice implementation. Impact: This study explored how nursing leaders promote evidence‐based practice implementation. Acknowledging and respecting the complex work of nursing leaders in promoting evidence‐based practice implementation through mediating and adapting modes of activity is necessary to improve patient outcomes and system effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]