Health professionals and students' experiences of reflective writing in learning: A qualitative meta-synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Reflective writing provides an opportunity for health professionals and students to learn from their mistakes, successes, anxieties, and worries that otherwise would remain disjointed and worthless. This systematic review addresses the following question: "What are the experiences of health professionals and students in applying reflective writing during their education and training?" METHODS: We performed a systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies. Our search comprised six electronic databases: MedLine, Embase, Cinahl, PsycINFO, Eric, and Scopus. Our initial search produced 1237 titles, excluding duplicates that we removed. After title and abstract screening, 17 articles met the inclusion criteria. We identified descriptive themes and the conceptual elements explaining the health professionals' and students' experience using reflective writing during their academic and in-service training by performing a meta-synthesis. RESULTS: We identified four main categories (and related sub-categories) through the meta-synthesis: reflection and reflexivity, accomplishing learning potential, building a philosophical and empathic approach, and identifying reflective writing feasibility. We placed the main categories into an interpretative model which explains the users' experiences of reflective writing during their education and training. Reflective writing triggered reflection and reflexivity that allows, on the one hand, skills development, professional growth, and the ability to act on change; on the other hand, the acquisition of empathic attitudes and sensitivity towards one's own and others' emotions. Perceived barriers and impeding factors and facilitating ones, like timing and strategies for using reflective writing, were also identified. CONCLUSIONS: The use of this learning methodology is crucial today because of the recognition of the increasing complexity of healthcare contexts requiring professionals to learn advanced skills beyond their clinical ones. Implementing reflective writing-based courses and training in university curricula and clinical contexts can benefit human and professional development.

[Descriptive analytical study on patient mobilization of the Internal Medicine Department of the USL - IRCCS of Reggio Emilia (MOBINT)]. / Studio analitico descrittivo sulla mobilizzazione dei pazienti del Dipartimento Internistico dell'Azienda USL ­ IRCCS di Reggio Emilia (MOBINT).

INTRODUCTION: Hospitalisation represents a significant risk factor for the decline in the general conditions of the elderly. Loss of autonomy in elderly inpatients, together with immobilisation, has been defined as 'Hospital-Acquired Disability' and affects 65% of this class of patients. Less than half of them will regain independent mobilisation. Included among the negative effects are: falls, increased percentage of admission to nursing homes, longer hospital admissions, increased mortality and morbitity. Despite these facts, elderly patients remain in bed for 83-95% of their hospital stay; they rarely walk or are mobilised. Only on an international level has this issue been analysed OBJECTIVES: To analyse active mobilisation in inpatients. METHODS: Prospective analytical and descriptive study performed from December 2018 - May 2019 in the Clinical Medicine department of the AUSL of Reggio Emilia. Descriptive analysis of the data has been performed. RESULTS: A total of 1725 patients were screened for the study. After applying the inclusion criteria, 295 patients were enrolled in the study, 9 of which were then excluded for failure to be mobilised. 66.4% of these patients were mobilized the morning during hygiene-rounds. According to the nurse, they appeared in a stable state, alert and oriented (88.1%) and used a variety of aids (from 1 to 3) (57.3%). The frequency of mobilisations were: 44.4% once a day, 31.2% twice, 24.4% three times or more. DISCUSSION: This study highlighted that mobilisation is strictly correlated to first assistance, frequently relying on health care assistants, and is mostly applied to oriented patients who only need one assistant. Further studies are required to investigate connections between patient's features and mobilisation.

[Nursing practice based on theoretical models: a qualitative study of nurses' perception]. / La pratica infermieristica basata sui modelli teorici: uno studio qualitativo sulla percezione degli Infermieri.

Many faculty argue that theory and theorizing are closely related to the clinical practice, that the disciplinary knowledge grows, more relevantly, from the specific care context in which it takes place and, moreover, that knowledge does not proceed only by the application of general principles of the grand theories to specific cases. Every nurse, in fact, have  a mental model, of what may or may not be aware, that motivate and substantiate every action and choice of career. The study describes what the nursing theoretical model is; the mental model and the tacit  knowledge underlying it. It identifies the explicit theoretical model of the professional group that rapresents nursing partecipants, aspects of continuity with the theoretical model proposed by this degree course in Nursing.. Methods Four focus groups were made which were attended by a total of 22 nurses, rapresentatives of almost every Unit of Reggio Emilia Hospital's. We argue that the theoretical nursing model of each professional group is the result of tacit knowledge, which help to define the personal mental model, and the theoretical model, which explicitly underlying theoretical content learned applied consciously and reverted to / from nursing practice. Reasoning on the use of theory in practice has allowed us to give visibility to a theoretical model explicitly nursing authentically oriented to the needs of the person, in all its complexity in specific contexts.

[Nursing competences and basic education: descriptive study on new-graduate nurses]. / Competenze infermieristiche e formazione di base: studio descrittivo sui neolaureati infermieri.

UNLABELLED: The pressing need by the health organizations of new-graduate nurses immediately able to take full charge of the ward, together with the radical changes of nursing education, led the professional community to discuss the education of new-graduate nurses. AIM: To describe if new-graduate nurses at the Nursing Degree Course in Reggio Emilia, have the competences adequate to the demands of the health care organizations. METHODS: Fifty ward Nursing Manager of a National health Service, where new-graduate nurses of the 2009-2010 academic year were emploied by at least one month were interviewed by phone. A list of 34 competences were identified and grouped into six skill areas (taking care, technical, managerial, communication, professional ethics, education and professional updating); for each, respondents had to rank the level of compentence on a Likert scale from 1 not able to 5 fully able. RESULTS: According to Nursing Managers new-graduate nurses are able to identify the patient care problems (mean score 4.1+0.8), to perform nursing techniques (mean score 4.4+0.7) and to meet the deadlines of the organizations (mean score 4.2+0.8). All Nursing Managers agree that new-graduate nurses have required skills and knowledge to work in their units. DISCUSSION: The level of expertise of by new-graduates in the areas investigated appears adequate to fulfill the role of nurse in health care organizations after a short period of coaching by a senior nurse.