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Introduction: Trained simulation educators (SEs) usually work both at simulation centers and in everyday health care, and thus, they possess dual expertise. Experienced SEs are known to grow confident with their expanding experience, but evidence is scarce about how this affects their development as clinical professionals. The aim of this study was to explore how experienced SEs describe their role within the context of everyday health care. Methods: An explorative descriptive study including 14 semistructured interviews and 27 questionnaires was conducted with 41 experienced SEs. An inductive thematic analysis was used to identify and analyze patterns describing SEs' perceptions of the influence of their educational work on everyday health care. Results: The SEs' descriptions of their encounters during everyday clinical work, which were affected by the fact that they had experience of facilitating simulation training, were gathered into three main themes with three of their own subthemes: education (educational needs, routines/guidelines, and being a resource), nontechnical skills (communication, feedback, and leadership/coworkership), and clinical proficiency (situational insight, role model, and confidence in clinical practice). The insights gained and actions taken as clinical professionals are all intended to be implemented with the ultimate aim of safe patient care. Discussion: All the aspects of the SEs' work are perceived to be successfully translated into clinical practice and can be summarized by the main themes of education, nontechnical skills, and clinical proficiency as delineated by this study. These themes are demonstrated at the individual, team, and organizational levels through increased competence and confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical practice is a pivotal part of nursing education. It provides students with the opportunity to put the knowledge and skills they have acquired from lectures into practice with real patients, under the guidance of registered nurses. Clinical experience is also essential for shaping the nursing students' identity as future professional nurses. There is a lack of knowledge and understanding of the ways in which students learn practical skills and apply knowledge within and across different contexts, i.e. how they apply clinical skills, learnt in the laboratory in university settings, in the clinical setting. The aim of this study was therefore to explore how nursing students describe, and use, their prior experiences related to practical skills during their clinical practice. Methods: An ethnographic case study design was used. Fieldwork included participant observations (82 h), informal conversations, and interviews ( n = 7) that were conducted during nursing students' ( n = 17) clinical practice at an emergency department at a university hospital in Sweden. Results: The overarching theme identified was 'Learning about professional identities with respect to situated power'. This encompasses tensions in students' learning when they are socialized into practical skills in the nursing profession. This overarching theme consists of three sub-themes: 'Embodied knowledge', 'Divergent ways of assessing and evaluating knowledge' and 'Balancing approaches'. Conclusions: Nursing students do not automatically possess the ability to transfer knowledge from one setting to another; rather, their development is shaped by their experiences and interactions with others when they meet real patients. The study revealed different ways in which students navigated tensions related to power differentials. Reflecting on actions is a prerequisite for developing and learning practical skills and professional identities. This highlights the importance of both educators' and the preceptors' roles for socializing students in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite an increasing focus on simulation as a learning strategy in nursing education, there is limited evidence on the transfer of simulated skills into clinical practice. Therefore it's important to increase knowledge of how clinical skills laboratories (CSL) can optimize students' learning for development of professional knowledge and skills, necessary for quality nursing practice and for patient safety. Thus, the aim was to describe nursing students' experiences of learning in the CSL as a preparation for their clinical practice. Interviews with 16 students were analysed with content analysis. An overall theme was identified -- walking the bridge -- in which the CSL formed a bridge between the university and clinical settings, allowing students to integrate theory and practice and develop a reflective stance. The theme was based on categories: conditions for learning, strategies for learning, tension between learning in the skills laboratory and clinical settings, and development of professional and personal competence. The CSL prepared the students for clinical practice, but a negative tension between learning in CSL and clinical settings was experienced. However, this tension may create reflection. This provides a new perspective that can be used as a pedagogical approach to create opportunities for students to develop their critical thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The transition from life-prolonging to palliative care (PC) can be challenging often characterized by psychical, physiological, social and existential changes. Knowledge of how to support the patient and family in this specific care phase is lacking, and this area needs to be further explored. The aim of this study was to investigate strategies that registered nurses (RNs) use to ease the transition from life-prolonging care to PC for patients with incurable disease. Methods: The study has a descriptive design. Fourteen RNs working in a specialized PC unit were interviewed. The data were analysed using content analysis. Results: The RNs’ strategies can be described under the categories “Getting to know the patient and creating a relationship”, “Providing support”, “Adapting to individuals’ needs” and “Enabling conversations”. Conclusion: The findings show that the RNs in this population used strategies that not only took time but also required knowledge about the transition process and required the ability to identify and meet patients’ and families’ unique needs. Patients’ difficult and exposed situation needs to be addressed through a structured follow-up after informing about the change from life-prolonging care to PC. RNs have a unique role of supporting both the patient and the family in the transition from life-prolonging care to PC for patients with incurable disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]