Mentorship in nursing in Canada - A scoping review.

AIM: To review the literature on mentoring of nursing students in Canada. BACKGROUND: Mentorship in nursing has been in existence for a long time. Supportive, nurturing guidance by an experienced individual in the profession has been found to have many benefits both to the giver and the receiver. However, there is no uniformity in the length, model, delivery method and evaluation of mentorship programs' impact. The purpose of this scoping review is to appraise the available literature and synthesize knowledge on mentorship in nursing in Canada. DESIGN: Scoping Review METHODS: The scoping review was guided by the methodological framework developed by Hilary Arksey & Lisa O'Malley and the findings are reported using PRISMA ScR guidelines. A systematic search of MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and ERIC databases was conducted to identify articles describing nursing mentorship in Canada. RESULTS: After the initial screening, a total of 125 articles were included for a full-text review. Of the 48 items included, 28 were research articles and 20 were other forms of literature. Forty-eight items were included for data extraction. CONCLUSION: The scoping review revealed several benefits of mentorship. While synthesizing the evidence, it was noted that the components of the mentorship programs, such as the length, models, mode of delivery and the impact, vary with every nursing field. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Based on the results of the scoping review, it is recommended to consider the unique needs, strengths and challenges of the group for whom the mentorship is planned. One size may not fit all.

Empowerment and mentoring in nursing academia.

In 2011, there was an expected shortage of 200 full-time faculty. While there are an estimated 322 graduate students in Nurse Practitioner and Masters/PhD programs in Canada today, the supply of potential new faculty falls short of the anticipated demand in the years ahead (Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing). This mixed method study explored how organizational culture and the perceived level of psychological and structural empowerment are associated with one's work environment among Canadian nursing faculty and to explore the state of mentorship in schools of nursing.

Learn the game but don't play it: nurses' perspectives on learning and applying statistics in practice.

BACKGROUND: An integrative review regarding undergraduate level statistics pedagogy for nurses revealed a paucity of research to inform curricula development and delivery. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to explore alumni nurses' perspectives about statistics education and its application to practice. DESIGN: A mixed-method approach was used whereby a quantitative approach was used to complement and develop the qualitative aspect. SETTING: This study was conducted in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were nursing alumni who graduated from four types of nursing degree programs (BScN) in two Ontario universities between the years 2005-2009. METHODS: Data were collected via surveys (n=232) followed by interviews (n=36). RESULTS: Participants reported that they did not fear statistics and that they thought their math skills were very good or excellent. They felt that statistics courses were important to their nursing practice but they were not required to use statistics. Qualitative findings emerged in the two major themes: 1) nurses value statistics and 2) nurses do not feel comfortable using statistics. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses recognize the inherent value of statistics to improve their professional image and interprofessional communication; yet they feel denied of full participation in application to their practice. Our findings have major implications for changes in pedagogy and practice.

Inclusive mosaic: promoting diversity in nursing through youth mentorship.

In this paper we describe the Inclusive Mosaic project, a community-university partnership in an outer-city community in a large Canadian metropolis aimed at promoting diversity in nursing. The project brought together nursing student mentors with middle school and high school youth from diverse backgrounds in a mentoring program aimed at increasing participants' interest in, and confidence in pursuing, higher education and a career in nursing or other health profession. The concepts of emancipatory education, self-efficacy, and possible selves provided the theoretical foundation. Project processes, activities, and outcomes are described, and a post-hoc evaluation encompassing the project's strengths, challenges, limitations, and successes is presented. Recommendations to inform future research and education are also provided.

Patients' perceptions of their roles in goal setting in a spinal cord injury regional rehabilitation program.

Goal setting is a common practice in rehabilitation, yet there is a paucity of literature exploring patients' perceptions of their roles in this process. This study was conducted using a qualitative descriptive methodology to explore patients' perceptions of their roles in setting goals in a spinal cord injury regional rehabilitation program. Imogene King's theory of goal attainment was used to frame the study. Data were collected through interviews and analyzed using a content analysis. The results revealed four themes: Visioning, Redefining, Brainstorming, and Rebuilding Participants (n = 13) envisioned their roles as setting an overarching priority goal, defining detailed rehabilitation goals, sharing knowledge with the team, and rebuilding skills to attain goals. Implications for nursing practice include the need to understand patients' experiences and perceptions, share knowledge, and support effective communication to promote collaborative goal setting. A need to enhance health professionals' education to fully understand factors influencing patients' abilities to set rehabilitation goals, and future research in methods to promote patients' engagement in goal setting was also clearly indicated.

Voices of internationally educated nurses: policy recommendations for credentialing.

BACKGROUND: The authors advance general policy recommendations for credentialing Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) who migrate to practice nursing in developed, high-income countries. While examples are drawn primarily from a qualitative study exploring IEN experiences in Canada, the suggestions presented have broader application to any nursing, or midwifery, internationally educated professionals wanting, or needing, to practice outside their home country of education. Examples of credential processing are drawn from Australia, the European Union, New Zealand, the UK and the USA. METHODS: This study was guided by a biographical narrative (qualitative) research methodology. A convenience sample of 12 IENs volunteered to participate. RESULTS: The IENs offered recommendations based on their personal experiences, all of which have policy implications to make transparent, standardize and harmonize the credentialing processes both prior to, and upon arrival in their destination country. Suggestions are offered to make relevant the content of IEN integration programmes. CONCLUSIONS: The authors also suggested that national immigration agencies and nursing regulatory bodies could better coordinate their activities when processing potential IEN migrant applications.

Factor structure and reliability of the brain impairment behavior scale.

Stroke is a leading cause of adult disability because of its physical and cognitive consequences. Cognitive changes are important contributors to family caregivers' experiences of emotional distress. To date, measures to assess cognition treat it as a global construct, but it is more likely that unique domains differentially affect family caregivers. The research objectives in this study were to: (1) identify the different domains of cognitive changes in the form of behavioral and psychological symptoms after stroke, and (2) establish the reliability of the Brain Impairment Behavior Scale (BIBS) in measuring cognitive domains. Family caregivers of stroke survivors (N = 300) completed the BIBS as part of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. A subsample of caregivers completed the BIBS twice, 2 weeks apart, to examine the scale's test-retest reliability. We used exploratory factor analysis to identify four domains of behavioral and psychological symptoms in the BIBS: apathy, depression/emotional distress, comprehension/memory problems, and irritability. Internal consistency for the subscales representing each identified domain ranged from .78 to .91, and the 2-week intra-class correlation coefficients ranged from .75 to .88. Future research and clinical use of this measure will increase our understanding of how specific domains of stroke survivors' behavioral and psychological symptoms affect the well-being of family caregivers.

Writing proposals for research funds.

In this paper, we provide generic guidelines for writing proposals for research funds. These guidelines apply to quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research proposals. A proposal for research funding provides an overview of the planned research and is required by funding agencies. The proposal is submitted for evaluation and ranking by a review committee according to the criteria put forth by that particular agency. It may be necessary to submit proposals to more than one agency to acquire sufficient operating and infrastructure funding for a research project.

Evaluation framework for nursing education programs: application of the CIPP model.

It is advised that all nursing education programs conduct program evaluations to address accountability requirements and information for planning and guiding the delivery of the programs. Stufflebeam's CIPP Model, supported by triangulation of multiple modes of data collection provides such a theoretical framework for evaluations. This article proposes a total CIPP evaluation framework for nursing education programs. While this evaluation framework is applicable to any nursing evaluation program, it is practically useful for collaborative nursing programs as it allows a full assessment of each partner in its context. Under the direction of this author, the York-Seneca-Georgian-Durham collaborative BScN Program Evaluation Committee in Ontario developed and utilized a CIPP process evaluation.