An exploration of social participation in Caribbean student nurses' use of social media in their learning journey.

AIMS: To identify how social participation facilitates pre-registration student nurses learning and professional development using social media. DESIGN: A social survey using thematic analysis to explore Caribbean student nurses' views of social media usage from an open-ended question in a survey. METHODS: A qualitative analysis of student nurses from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, who completed an open-ended question in a survey. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS/FINDINGS: The three themes identified were: (1) Social media and communication; (2) Social media and self-care; and (3) Social media and learning. CONCLUSION: This paper used qualitative evidence to identify and report a new way of viewing SoMe in nursing education as a student-centred educational learning tool. SoMe can improve the effectiveness of student nurses learning, while developing fundamental skills (open-mindedness, critical thinking, professionalism and decision-making) for nursing practice. Social participation and connectivism theory are embedded in student nurses' learning journey. However, it has been used by student nurses outside the traditional university teaching and their capacity to own their personal learning. To meet the new generation of student nurses' learning needs, it is important that higher education institutions develop guidance, support and use of social media for learning to support student nurses in their education as students and also future professionals. IMPACT: This study addresses how social participation is used in social media to contribute to Caribbean student nurses' education. The main finding is the introduction of a new learning theory supporting learning using social media. This study has an impact on using social media for learning. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.

Person-centred oral hydration care for older people with dementia admitted to acute hospital wards: Empirical research qualitative.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To conduct an in-depth exploration of oral hydration care provided to people living with dementia in acute hospital wards, using a person-centred care framework. BACKGROUND: Oral hydration care is an important, yet rarely explored aspect of fundamental care for people with dementia admitted to acute hospitals. Using person-centred care as a conceptual framework we investigated how oral hydration care is delivered for people living with dementia in acute hospital wards. DESIGN: A qualitative, multiple-case study. The cases were three acute wards in one hospital. METHODS: Direct observation of care for 13 people with dementia (132 h), semistructured interviews with ward staff (n = 28), ward leaders (n = 4), organisational leaders (n = 5), people with dementia (n = 6), their relatives (n = 5), documentary analysis of clinical inpatient records (n = 26) and relevant hospital policies. Data were analysed using framework analysis. RESULTS: Four themes were identified: (1) The acute hospital: oral hydration is obscured and not prioritised (2) Overshadowing of oral hydration at ward level (3) Siloed nature of hydration roles (4) Strategies for, and barriers to, delivering person-centred oral hydration care. CONCLUSIONS: This study combines the concept of person-centred care and oral hydration care for people living with dementia admitted to acute hospital wards, demonstrating that person-centred hydration care was complex and not prioritised. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Nurses should consider means of improving prioritisation and cohesive delivery of person-centred hydration care in acute hospital wards.

Senior nurses' perceptions of junior nurses' incident reporting: A qualitative study.

AIM: To develop an understanding of senior nurses' ranking and perceptions of incident reporting by junior nurses. BACKGROUND: Nurses must be encouraged to report incidents to nursing management. It is important to ascertain how senior nurses perceive their concerns, as it is crucial to ensuring that patient safety is managed. METHOD: Qualitative study. Four focus groups explored senior nurses' perceptions of risks identified by nurses from a live incident reporting database. Data were analysed using framework analysis. RESULTS: Five themes emerged demonstrating the differences in opinions in relation to the classification of events by senior and non-senior nurses. Senior nurses held the view that some junior nurses use incident reporting to 'vent frustration.' CONCLUSION: There is a mismatch between senior nurses' and junior nurses' perceptions of safety incidents. Nurses need to develop the writing style and use language that red flags incidents when reporting incidents. Senior nurses need to create a positive culture where risk from incident reporting is used to improve patient safety and subsequently a positive work environment. Implications for Nursing Management Our research identified the need for joint training to promote a shared understanding among nurses as to how incident report should be completed to promote patient safety.

Social media participatory CPD for nursing revalidation, professional development and beyond.

BACKGROUND: In 2016 the Nursing and Midwifery Council in the UK introduced revalidation, which is the process nurses are required to follow to renew their registration. This provides an opportunity for nurses to shape, develop and evolve social media to meet their professional requirements. AIMS: to examine different ways nurses can use social media tools for continuous professional development (CPD) and revalidation. METHODS: using a qualitative reflective design, data were gathered from content on the @WeNurses platform and activities organised with other leading health organisations in England. These data were analysed using the social media relationship triangle developed by the authors with a thematic analysis approach. FINDINGS: analysis revealed that social media was used in six categories: publishing, sharing, messaging, discussing, collaborating, and networking. Organised social media events such as: blogs, tweetchats, Twitter storms, webinars, infographics, podcasts, videos and virtual book clubs can support nurses with revalidation and professional development. CONCLUSION: Through using a participatory CPD approach and embracing professional social media applications nurses have moved social media from the concept of a revolution to an evolution.

A comparative study on the clinical decision-making processes of nurse practitioners vs. medical doctors using scenarios in a secondary care environment.

AIM: To investigate the decision-making skills of secondary care nurse practitioners compared with those of medical doctors. BACKGROUND: A literature review was conducted, searching for articles published from 1990 - 2012. The review found that nurse practitioners are key to the modernization of the National Health Service. Studies have shown that compared with doctors, nurse practitioners can be efficient and cost-effective in consultations. DESIGN: Qualitative research design. METHODS: The information processing theory and think aloud approach were used to understand the cognitive processes of 10 participants (5 doctors and 5 nurse practitioners). One nurse practitioner was paired with one doctor from the same speciality and they were compared using a structured scenario-based interview. To ensure that all critical and relevant cues were covered by the individual participating in the scenario, a reference model was used to measure the degree of successful diagnosis, management and treatment. This study was conducted from May 2012 - January 2013. RESULTS: The data were processed for 5 months, from July to November 2012. The two groups of practitioners differed in the number of cue acquisitions obtained in the scenarios. In our study, nurse practitioners took 3 minutes longer to complete the scenarios. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that nurse practitioner consultations are comparable to those of medical doctors in a secondary care environment in terms of correct diagnoses and therapeutic treatments. The information processing theory highlighted that both groups of professionals had similar models for decision-making processes.

Developing nursing leadership in social media.

AIM: A discussion on how nurse leaders are using social media and developing digital leadership in online communities. BACKGROUND: Social media is relatively new and how it is used by nurse leaders and nurses in a digital space is under explored. DESIGN: Discussion paper. DATA SOURCES: Searches used CINAHL, the Royal College of Nursing webpages, Wordpress (for blogs) and Twitter from 2000-2015. Search terms used were Nursing leadership + Nursing social media. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Understanding the development and value of nursing leadership in social media is important for nurses in formal and informal (online) leadership positions. Nurses in formal leadership roles in organizations such as the National Health Service are beginning to leverage social media. Social media has the potential to become a tool for modern nurse leadership, as it is a space where can you listen on a micro level to each individual. In addition to listening, leadership can be achieved on a much larger scale through the use of social media monitoring tools and exploration of data and crowd sourcing. Through the use of data and social media listening tools nursing leaders can seek understanding and insight into a variety of issues. Social media also places nurse leaders in a visible and accessible position as role models. CONCLUSION: Social media and formal nursing leadership do not have to be against each other, but they can work in harmony as both formal and online leadership possess skills that are transferable. If used wisely social media has the potential to become a tool for modern nurse leadership.

Stroke among African-Caribbean women: lay beliefs of risks and causes.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate African Caribbean women's subjective accounts of stroke and how this impacted on their lives and identify beliefs attributed to the causes of stroke in this post stroke. BACKGROUND: In the UK, those from African or African Caribbean ethnicity are at an increased risk of stroke, and stroke risks are double that of the UK White population. This is because diabetes and hypertension are more common in those of African and African Caribbean ethnic groups. The main risk factors for stroke are high blood pressure, alongside obesity and overweight, poor diet and lack of physical activity. DESIGN: A qualitative study using interpretative phenomenological analysis. METHODS: Data were collected via semi-structured indepth interviews for six African Caribbean women. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to deconstruct the data and facilitate developing themes. RESULTS: Six semi-structured interviews were completed with women aged 47-85 years. Two themes emerged (1) the role of lifestyle and biological risk factors linked to the causes of stroke and (2) the role of spirituality, in identifying the lay beliefs and causes of stroke. CONCLUSION: Alternative explanations of the causes of stroke that include witchcraft, or wishing someone wrong suggests a lack of perceived control over stroke. This may suggest a focus on less visible risk factors such as hypertension, familial history or diabetes and will need inclusion in health promotion materials. Lay beliefs such as witchcraft can co-exist amicably alongside modern medicine, as long as they do not hinder access to medication, treatment or risk factor management of stroke. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The results demonstrated that nursing care and health promotion materials should emphasise on obesity, overweight and management of these through diet and physical activity to prevent stroke occurring.

The condom imperative in anal sex - one size may not fit all: a qualitative descriptive study of men who have sex with men.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore men who have sex with men's views about condom use when having anal intercourse. BACKGROUND: Internationally, health promotion campaigns use behavioural change strategies to support men who have sex with men to always use condoms when having anal sex with other men. The health promotion message given to this group is consistent and explicitly stated that 'use a condom every time for anal sex regardless of relationship status'. DESIGN: Qualitative analysis of data from a cohort of New Zealand men who have sex with men. METHODS: A total of 960 useable questionnaires were completed: 571 online and 389 in hard copy. Qualitative data were analysed using a thematic data analytic process. RESULTS: Three themes relating to condom use in men who have sex with men were identified. These are as follows: 'Safer sex is good sex', 'Condom use is good but …' and 'I use condoms sometimes'. CONCLUSIONS: The range of responses towards condom use for anal sex in men who have sex with men in our sample reveal this as a complex public health issue, with not all men who have sex with men willing to consistently use condoms. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: It is important that nurses do not assume that all men who have sex with men are willing to use condoms for anal sex, and should create opportunities for men who have sex with men to raise any concerns about the use of condoms. In this way, nurses can assist in providing information that may help men who have sex with men to make decisions that will minimise risk of contracting infections associated with sexual activity.

NMC code advice on digital communications.

Nurses and midwives are increasingly using social media as a professional tool. This is reflected in the Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) new professional code, which says nurses must use social media and other communication responsibly, respecting the right to privacy of others at all times. A growing body of literature documents the positive influence social media, when used appropriately, can have on nurses' practice and the care they deliver to patients. However, nurses need more guidance and training to ensure online professionalism and appropriate behaviour online. Requiring nurses and midwives to complete an online continuous professional development course on social networking at the point of revalidation could keep them up to date and promote online professionalism.

Nursing and Twitter: creating an online community using hashtags.

Social media is becoming a facet of our lives and a tool for connecting, uniting and supporting people. Its use is growing in nursing, medical and health settings. This article describes the process, development and growth of an online community to connect nurses via Twitter using hashtags. Data was analysed to identify the benefits, barriers and enablers for the creation of an online nursing community. Methods consisted of key word searches in Twitter relevant to nursing, visits to the WeNurses website and tracking the number of followers on the website. A social media monitoring tool (SM2) was used to monitor visibility to establish baseline data and identify trends. WeNurses was launched in July 2012 and has over 7000 followers. Visits to the website are between 500 and 1500 each day. The use of a systematic nursing approach including the key principles of both nursing and social media (honesty, transparency, listening and reacting) helped to create and develop an online nursing community. It was found that WeNurses provides a platform for nurses to discuss issues in nursing, or complain about reforms. Nurses are free to question on how they can improve skills and contemplate their understanding of changes in the health service. Enablers included a committed group who openly discussed their thoughts, opinions and practices, a shared identity, an understanding each other's perspective and ownership by members. Using a nursing framework in a digital space added a unique dimension that resonated with members and provided a structured approach to the project. Nurses have begun to not only embrace social media but also use it for their own development. Health employers also need to encourage use of social media to help develop expertise, experience and knowledge in nurses and nursing practice. Social media can provide a social and professional space for nurses, and has potential to influence the health and wellness of different population groups involved in both giving and receiving nursing care.