Introduction: Simulation creates the possibility to experience acute situations during nursing education which cannot easily be achieved in clinical settings. Aim: To describe how nursing students learn acute care of patients through simulation exercises, based on observation and debriefing. Design: The study was designed as an observational study inspired by an ethnographic approach.MethodData was collected through observations and interviews. Data was analyzed using an interpretive qualitative content analysis.Results: Nursing students created space for reflection when needed. There was a positive learning situation when suitable patient scenarios were presented. Observations and discussions with peers gave the students opportunities to identify their own need for knowledge, while also identifying existing knowledge. Reflections could confirm or reject their preparedness for clinical practice. The importance of working in a structured manner in acute care situations became apparent. However, negative feedback to peers was avoided, which led to a loss of learning opportunity.Conclusion: High fidelity simulation training as a method plays an important part in the nursing students' learning. The teacher also plays a key role by asking difficult questions and guiding students towards accurate knowledge. This makes it possible for the students to close knowledge gaps, leading to improved patient safety.

With free movement for citizens within the European Union and with distant parts of our globe becoming more accessible, cultural awareness and cultural competence are becoming important skills for nurses. Internationalisation and raising awareness of other cultural contexts are essential elements in Swedish higher education, thus explaining the variety of student exchange programmes that are available. The aim of this study was to explore Swedish nursing students' perceptions of student exchange and their experiences. Data were collected through group interviews and then analysed following the principles of content analysis. Our analysis resulted in three categories: Preparing to go abroad, Reasons for going abroad and From expectation to experience. Cultural aspects and cultural awareness were emphasised as strong motivational factors, both personal and professional, behind participation in student exchange programmes. Information was also highlighted as a crucial means of reaching potential students as well as the power of knowledge through personal experience. This study highlights the importance of student exchange in expanding the individual student's personal and professional horizons. It also stresses the importance of including a transcultural nursing element in nursing curricula.

Background: A collaborative project was carried out at four bachelor nursing colleges in Sweden and Norway, to support preceptors in the clinical fields by means of group supervision. The aim of this study was to investigate the preceptors' views on their own ability and satisfaction in the role before and after taking part in group supervision during one year and to describe their perception of the supervision model used. Method: Forty-five preceptors participated in the study. Baseline and endpoint questionnaires were used for data collection. Results: Before taking part in group supervision most preceptors expressed that they were content with their ability and knowledge with regards to the preceptor role. Despite this most of them considered that the participation had increased their ability to supervise students, and more than half of them considered that it also had promoted to their personal development. At the end of the project a majority of them had positive experiences of group supervision. Most of the structure and climate factors in the supervision model were considered important and almost all were highly realised. Conclusion: The study showed that group supervision could be a valuable tool to provide support to clinical preceptors in bachelor nursing education. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Little is known about nursing students' experiences of caring for patients from diverse cultures, which is an important factor in educational settings when it comes to understanding whether the teaching strategies applied are successful. Thus, the aim of this study was to conduct a scoping review of the literature, thereby synthesising existing studies to explore nursing students' experiences of caring for patients with different cultural backgrounds from theirs. A systematic article search was done in PubMed, CINAHL and ERIC. A total of 996 studies were found in the searches and finally seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were included. The analysis of the seven included studies was interpreted to represent two overarching themes, namely the challenge of communication and non-mutual language and the challenge of culture and culturally influenced behaviour, representing nursing students' experiences of caring for patients with a different cultural background from theirs. A major challenge for nursing educators appears to be creating pedagogical interventions that cultivate a humble, solicitous and caring curiosity among students, such that they do not perceive only challenges in caring for culturally diverse patients.

Background: A collaborative project was initiated in Norway between a university college and a hospital in order to improve RNs' and nursing students' research utilization in clinical placements. This paper describes the model (CMBP) that was developed, its first application, and evaluation. Aim: The evaluation aimed at describing nurses' and students' experiences of the CMBP related to collaboration, facilitation, learning, and impact on nursing care. Methods: Thirty-eight students from the second and third year of nursing education, and four nurses answered questionnaires with closed and open ended questions. In addition two of the nurses wrote diaries. Data were subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. Findings: Almost all participants reported that collaboration between nursing college and nursing practice had been beneficial. Most students and all nurses reported about valuable learning, increased understanding of research utilization, and improved quality of nursing care. Both students and RNs recommended the CMBP to be used in all clinical placements to support academic learning and increase research utilization in clinical practice. Conclusion: Despite study limitations the findings indicate that the CMBP has a potential to be a useful model for teaching RNs' and students EBP. However, further refinement of the model is needed, followed by a more comprehensive implementation and evaluation. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The aim was to explore the major concerns of specialist nurses pertaining to academic learning during their education and initial professional career. Specialist nursing education changed in tandem with the European educational reform in 2007. At the same time, greater demands were made on the healthcare services to provide evidence-based and safe patient-care. These changes have influenced specialist nursing programmes and consequently the profession. Grounded Theory guided the study. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire with open-ended questions distributed at the end of specialist nursing programmes in 2009 and 2010. Five universities were included. Further, individual, pair and group interviews were used to collect data from 12 specialist nurses, 5-14 months after graduation. A major concern for specialist nurses was that academic learning should be "meaningful" for their professional future. The specialist nurses' "meaningful academic learning process" was characterised by an ambivalence of partly believing in and partly being hesitant about the significance of academic learning and partly receiving but also lacking support. Specialist nurses were influenced by factors in two areas: curriculum and healthcare context. They felt that the outcome of contribution to professional confidence was critical in making academic learning meaningful.

BACKGROUND: Collaboration between universities and clinical placements has been highlighted as a weak point of the nursing education. To facilitate a good academic learning environment a clinical supervision model had been developed. The aim of this study was to evaluate to what extent the goals of the model were met after one and a half years of utilisation.

METHODS: A questionnaire was responded to by 30 head nurses, 12 main preceptors, 193 personal preceptors, and 11 clinical nurse lecturers.

RESULTS: Most of the participants perceived that the quality criteria in the model were met to a large extent, the students' individual goals were achieved, and the supervision model contributed to fulfilment of goals, and assessment of the students. The nurse lecturers scored highest and the personal preceptors lowest in most of the questions. The conditions stated in the model were not always fulfilled. The deficiencies found were especially related to education level, time for supervision, and support to the personal preceptors.

CONCLUSIONS: Despite some shortcomings the supervision model was considered by most participants as a valuable tool to be used in an academic nursing education. Improvements of the model in regard to the findings were suggested.

The World Health Organization and the International Council of Nurses recognises the importance of nurses' involvement in disaster preparedness and response. The aim of this study was to describe and compare self reported disaster nursing competence (DNC) among nursing students (NSs) and among registered nurses (RNs) with professional experience. Further to investigate possible associations between self-reported DNC and background factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted of 569 NSs and 227 RNs. All respondents completed the 88-item Nurse Professional Competence Scale, including three items assessing DNC. Significant differences were found among the NSs depending on which University/University College they had attended. RNs reported significantly higher overall DNC and better ability to handle situations involving violence, and to apply principles of disaster medicine during serious events. RNs working in emergency care reported significantly better DNC ability, compared with RNs working in other areas of healthcare. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that working night shift and working in emergency care were positively associated with high self-reported overall DNC. The results indicate that workplace experience of serious events increase the readiness of registered nurses to handle violence, to act in accordance with safety regulations, and to apply principles of disaster medicine during serious events.

Podcasting is used in higher education so various digital resources can be shared with students. This review aims to synthesise evidence on podcasting in nursing and midwifery education. PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus and ERIC databases were searched using key terms. 242 articles were found and screened. Data extraction, quality assessment and data analysis, underpinned by a Social Media Learning Model, were conducted on relevant studies. Twenty-six studies were included in the review. Three themes emerged; 1) learning and other outcomes, 2) antecedents to learning, and 3) learning process. Students seemed to acquire new knowledge and skills by using podcasts and it also appeared to improve clinical confidence. The organisation of podcasting, digital literacy and e-Professionalism, the personal motivation of learners, and flexible access to the technology seemed to impact the delivery of this educational intervention. Mechanisms that appeared to affect the learning process were the speed of exchange, the type of social media user, the timeframe, quality of information, the functionality of podcasts and other learning activities. This review synthesised evidence on podcasting in nursing and midwifery education. The technology was seen as a positive learning tool but more robust research examining its efficacy in improving learning outcomes is needed.

Nowadays, gathering and synthesising evidence, i.e. conducting systematic reviews, is considered an important part of any health service research endeavour. Reviewing the literature, however suggest that it is not yet common that PhD students/doctoral candidates publish systematic reviews or even include a high quality review of the literature as a part of their PhD programme or candidature. Implying that systematic reviewing skills might not be acquired by going through an education on a postgraduate level. Additionally, scholars debating systematic reviews 'to be or not to be' as a part of research training seem to be sparse, especially within the field of nursing. In this issue for debate, we would like to propose that the absence of systematic reviews' in this context might severely hamper the 'up and coming' researchers as well as the research conducted. We envisage that this lack can have a negative impact on international nursing practice, and therefore propose that systematic reviews should be considered, whenever appropriate, as a mandatory part of any PhD programme or candidature. We believe that abilities in systematic reviewing will be a sought after research skills in the near future. Including systematic reviews would promote i) refined, well-grounded adequate research questions, ii) PhDs with broad and elevated methodological skills, iii) an increased level of evidence based nursing praxis. However, to make this a reality, supervisors, PhD students, and candidates would need to understand the value of this kind of research activity. Finally, lobbying University faculty boards and grant providers that are not inclined to view literature reviews as 'proper' research or as an important part of health service research, needs to be put on the agenda. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Due to the increasing focus on simulation used in nursing education, there is a need to examine how the scenarios and different simulation methods used are perceived by students. The aim of this study was to examine nursing students' perceptions of scenarios played out in different simulation methods, and whether their educational level influenced their perception. The study had a quantitative, evaluative and comparative design. The sample consisted of baccalaureate nursing students (n = 86) within various educational levels. The students were randomly divided into groups. They solved a patient case adapted to their educational level by using a high-fidelity patient simulator, a static mannequin or a paper/pencil case study. Data were collected by three instruments developed by the National League for Nursing. The results showed that the nursing students reported satisfaction with the implementation of the scenarios regardless of the simulation methods used. The findings indicated that the students who used the paper/pencil case study were the most satisfied. Moreover, educational level did not seem to influence their perceptions.

CONCLUSIONS:

Independent of educational level, the findings indicated that simulation with various degrees of fidelity could be used in nursing education. There is a need for further research to examine more closely the rationale behind the students' perception of the simulation methods.

Simulation is increasingly being used as an approach to learning in nurse education. There is a need for frameworks and valid evaluation tools to help guide educators in implementing the method. The questionnaire, Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning, which consists of two subscales, has been developed by the National League for Nursing in the US for evaluating simulation used in nurse education.

The aim of the present study was to test the questionnaire, Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning, for psychometric properties in a Norwegian nurse education context.

A sample consisting of 130 nursing students participated in a simulation situation, and 123 responded. When the questionnaire was tested in its entirety, psychometric testing conducted with a principal component analysis did not reveal a stable factor solution. The two subscales were then tested separately. The analysis for Satisfaction with Current Learning suggested a one-component solution, thereby explaining 62.8% of the variance, and the internal reliability was 0.84. With regard to Self-Confidence in Learning, no stable solution was achieved, and an alpha value of 0.64 was shown.

To further validate the questionnaire, Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning, more studies by various nursing programmes in different cultural contexts are recommended.

The aim was to test the construct validity of the Nurse Competence Scale. The Nurse Competence Scale has been used in hospital settings for various purposes in several countries. Despite this, confirmatory factor analyses are scarcely reported. The present study is based on re-analyses of data from 2007 (i.e. psychometric testing) and 593 newly graduated nurses working in various contexts were included. Confirmatory as well as exploratory factor analyses (Principal Component Analysis) were carried out. The original 7-factor model of the Nurse Competence Scale (73 items) was not confirmed. The exploratory factor analyses resulted in a Norwegian Nurse Competence Scale consisting of 46 items in the following competence categories: Planning and delivery of care, Teaching functions, Professional leadership, Research utilization and nursing values and Professional awareness. The results underline the needs for psychometric testing of an instrument after translation processes. The instrument is suitable for describing and comparing nurse competence for various reasons. It may also be helpful in creating competence development programs at an individual as well as at an organizational level. Further studies with a broader sample are recommended. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aim: The objective of this scoping review was to review the published literature on existing teaching strategies targeting bachelor nursing students' critical thinking and explore how these strategies are described by students and educators. The research questions were: (i) Which teaching strategies are described in the literature targeting critical thinking among nursing students? and (ii) How are these teaching strategies described and experienced by students and/or nurse educators?Background: Critical thinking is integrated in the many clinical assignments and responsibilities with which registered nurses are faced. Therefore, it is important that nurse educators implement teaching strategies sup-porting bachelor nursing students' development of critical thinking to prepare them for their professional responsibilities.Design: Scoping review, Open Science Framework (OSF) registries DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/D89SB.Methods: The scoping review followed the six steps of Arksey and O'Malley (2005). Systematic searches were conducted using the databases PubMed, CINAHL, ERIC, ERC and PsycINFO. Eligible studies were quality assessed and text excerpts answering the research questions were analysed by a thematic analysis.Results: Our findings represent 19 published studies and can be understood according to two themes: the importance of the educational conditions and the impact of implemented teaching strategies. The first theme reflected not only the descriptions of important traits in the educational milieu facilitating the development of critical thinking but also the importance of how the content targeting such skills were delivered and organised. The second theme mirrored descriptions of how the students, through the teaching strategies, realized the need for collaboration to facilitate critical thinking. Further, it showed how the teaching strategies fostered professional growth and learning adaptation, by encouraging the students to question their knowledge and facilitating their development of clinical knowledge.Conclusions: The strategies used in the facilitation of critical thinking need to incorporate collaboration and student-centredness, creating a relaxed climate where the educators can assist through guidance and support. This calls for the implementation of teaching strategies whereby both educators and students are active in facilitating the learning environment.