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Objectives: The meta-synthesis provides a collective qualitative understanding of the transition experience from nursing and allied health clinician to academic. This understanding assists the preparation for those making the transition as well as giving guidance to those who have recently commenced in academia., Design: Published qualitative studies about the transition from clinician to academic were systematically selected in order to integrate their findings in a meta-synthesis., Data Sources: Databases searched were CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, 'Education Research Complete', and 'Academic Search Premier'., Review Methods: The search terms used were academ* OR facult* AND transition. The search was further refined by adding the terms qualitative AND clinic* OR practit* OR profession*. Studies were appraised for credibility, neutrality and relevance. Findings along with direct quotes were extracted from the studies and thematic analysis was used within an interpretative framework., Results: Seven studies were included in the meta-synthesis. The included studies were from nursing, physiotherapy, health and social care. The central theme was a shift in identity from clinician to academic which involved a progression through 4 phases over a period of 1- 3years. These phases were; 'feeling new and vulnerable'; 'encountering the unexpected'; 'doing things differently' and 'evolving into an academic'., Conclusion: New academics felt unsettled and uncertain in the initial phases of transition. It is proposed that these challenges are related to difficulty extracting tacit knowledge and immersion in a new culture. The change of values and beliefs to adapt to the new culture require a concurrent identity shift which can take up to three years. Newcomers need collegial and institutional guidance with prioritization of tasks to address the multiplicity of the academic role and avoid frustration and disillusionment., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Stephen Wright launches a four-part series on leadership by considering the qualities that make an inspirational clinical leader. Those at ease with themselves reconcile the qualities of head and heart, hard and soft, and are adept at making the system work for patients.

This article presents the case for 'engaged spirituality' as the key to improving nurses' ability to cope under pressure and remain compassionate towards patients. The authors argue that it is not a luxury addition to care, but just as important as skills and resources. A seven-point manifesto for spirituality in nursing sets out the place for spirituality in health care, and calls for changes in education and training to allow all nurses to see themselves and patients as one.

This series explores the reasons why some nurses abuse or even kill the patients in their care and asks why such unthinkable behaviour is so difficult to understand.

Meditation is a healing discipline that can lead to the deepest awareness of the present moment through quieting the mind. And it can have positive physical and emotional effects.

Personality inventories are common in employment practice but the Enneagram offers nurses a way to see how they can grow and also get the best out of their colleagues.

Nurses can function more effectively in their intimate and emotional relationships with patients if they learn to know and nurture themselves.

Burnout is a common phenomenon in nursing because of nursing's giving nature. But Dina Glouberman believes it can be a positive life event.

This project determined asthma prevalence in a large school district, absentee rates, and potential effects of school nurse case management for student asthma over three years. Data were derived from an asthma tracking tool used by nurses in one school district for every student reported as having asthma by their parent. School nurses began collecting data in their schools in 1999-2000 when an asthma-management protocol was first developed. Nurses documented perceived asthma severity for each student, presence of medication and peak flow meters in school, and case management activities provided. This data base was cross matched with percentage of days students were absent for any illness. Prevalence of asthma, based on school nurse records of parent report, was between 5.1% to 6.2% during the three years. Between 13.5% and 15% were moderate or severe. Students with asthma were absent between one-half to one and one-quarter days more often than those without asthma. In year three, 39% of students with asthma had medication at school, and 12% had a peak flow meter. Contacting a parent was the nurse case management activity provided for the largest number of students (27% of students with asthma), followed by asthma education (16.5%), contact with physician (6%), and home visits (1%). Students who received at least one school nurse case management intervention were more likely the next year to have an asthma medication at school, to use a peak flow meter at school, and to have a change in asthma severity. School nurse case management activity had no association with student absences. Availability of medication and peak flow meters at school was low, suggesting standards of care for asthma were not followed. School nurse case management, when performed outside a project or intervention, offers a promising strategy to improve asthma management.

This paper examines some of the current evidence of stress and burnout among nurses and other health care workers. Even in environments where pay and conditions are good, nurses still experience significant difficulties in healing relationships, stress and burnout sufficient to render them dysfunctional at work. The paper, using the case study of a unit set up to provide care for nurses, examines how the needs of nurses can also be taken into account in the holistic perspective on caring.

Improving throughput in the B. Tech. Nursing Sciences programme is a complex issue as not only the theoretical but also the practical component and undefined inner strengths of the student influence success. The purpose of this article is to report factors in the prospective students' social background, their perceptions of nursing and nurses and their motivation that could influence their academic success in the first year of study. The research design was contextual, qualitative and exploratory. Triangulation of data gathering methods was obtained by using two instruments, a targeted selection interview and a written instrument. Data analysis was done through Tesch's approach. The results indicate that prospective students perceive a nurse to be functioning from the affective domain, and that they judge themselves to be strong in the affective domain. The cognitive domain was rarely mentioned (7%). Due to the myths regarding the nursing profession, the profession continues to attract students who are interested in the myth and not the reality. (Contains 2 tables and 4 figures.)

As Artificial Intelligence and social robots are increasingly used in health and social care, it is imperative to explore the training needs of the workforce, factoring in their cultural background. Explore views on perceived training needs among professionals around the world and how these related to country cultures. Cross-sectional, descriptive, mixed-methods international online survey. Descriptive statistical analysis explored the ranking across countries and relationships with three Hofstede cultural dimensions. Thematic analysis was conducted on the open-ended text responses. A sample of N = 1284 participants from eighteen countries. Knowing the capabilities of the robots was ranked as the top training need across all participating countries and this was also reflected in the thematic analysis. Participants' culture, expressed through three Hofstede's dimensions, revealed statistically significant ranking differences. Future research should further explore other factors such as the level of digital maturity of the workplace. Training needs of health and social care staff to use robotics are fast growing and preparation should factor in patient safety and be based on the principles of person- and culture-centred care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Touch is considered a core aspect of care provision and therapeutic relationships. Therapeutic touch allows nurses to facilitate healing and forge therapeutic relationships through touch or non-touch and maintain channels of communication often lost in dementia as the disease progresses. This article reports the findings of a research project to examine the effectiveness of therapeutic touch in dementia care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIM: The global economy is changing rapidly and frequently affects the ability of the health sector to respond to a variety of needs. Nurses and midwives are reaching across national boundaries to strengthen their ability to improve the health of populations. This article describes an innovative programme of collaboration among different nations to strengthen the capacity of nurses and midwives. BACKGROUND: Over the course of 4 years, nurses and midwives from several countries in East Central Europe, Central America, and the Caribbean came together in the United States and in Europe to learn about opportunities for growth and collaboration to improve professional development, leadership capacity, educational and curricular development, and knowledge about international health. CONCLUSION: Programme participants reported increased capacity to perform their professional roles as a result of their having participated in this programme. More capacity building activities are needed to further enable nursing professionals to meet the demands for health care around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]