Identifying the contributors to nursing caring success stories.

AIMS: To (a) seek examples of nursing caring success stories and (b) identify the common contributors to these successes. By focusing on the successes of nursing care rather than critically examining failures, this research seeks to provide examples of proven and feasible approaches and processes for improving care. DESIGN: This study used a narrative inquiry design. METHODS: Data were collected through group interviews. Four interviews were conducted with a total of 20 nurse participants working in inpatient settings in South Australian hospitals. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Two dominant themes concerning the contributors to caring success were identified. These contributors were (1) the provision of holistic care and (2) the influence of the caring community, which includes family members and other patients. The findings also indicated that the definition of caring success according to nurses is not aligned with organisational performance indicators but is more closely represented by caring values. CONCLUSION: Success, according to nurses, is not exclusively defined by patient outcomes but includes the approach to, and process of, care delivery. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: Nurses value the caring process while working in an environment that primarily values clinical and systems-level outcomes. Nurses want patients and their families, allied health professionals and hospital executives to be involved and invested in the process of care. IMPACT: This study addressed a gap in the current literature to identify commonalities in nursing success stories, the contributors informing these successes and how these contributors can facilitate improved patient care. Understanding nursing definitions of caring success provides an opportunity to expand upon current accepted industry definitions and perspectives such as key performance indicators. REPORTING METHOD: Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No direct patient or public contribution.

The impact of using an authentic patient video on health professional students' attitudes toward interprofessional and person-centered care.

Authentic patient activities in an interprofessional education (IPE) setting can develop collaborative, practice ready health professionals who have the skills to work within and across teams with patients at the center of their care. In this qualitative study, the student experience of a novel interprofessional case study activity, with lived experience content delivered via an authentic patient video was explored. Transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and identified three major themes: (a) from disease-centered to person-centered care, (b) reflecting on roles in interprofessional collaborative practice, and (c) teamwork and lived experience facilitates learning. When considered within the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) framework, the student experience suggested positive change in all four core competencies: interprofessional communication, values and ethics, roles and responsibilities and teamwork. In addition, students highly valued the interprofessional learning experience, and the patient video created a more realistic case study by reducing clinical assumptions. In conclusion, a short, single exposure to a written case followed by an authentic patient video in an IPE setting had an immediate positive impact on entry-level student health professionals. This simple methodology is a viable way of bringing the authentic patient voice into the classroom with additional benefit from the interprofessional format.

Clinical supervision experience of nurses in or transitioning to advanced practice: A systematic review.

AIMS: To systematically explore the clinical supervision (CS) experience for nurses transitioning to advanced practice. DESIGN: A qualitative systematic review using Joanna Briggs Institute meta-aggregation following an a priori protocol published on PROSPERO (CRD42023426658). DATA SOURCES: Qualitative studies obtained from Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, Emcare and ERIC databases and ProQuest dissertations and theses for peer-reviewed, published and unpublished studies from inception to July 2023. REVIEW METHODS: Two authors conducted data screening and abstraction. Quality was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool and reporting followed the Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research checklist for systematic reviews. RESULTS: Sixteen studies contributed to five synthesized findings: CS that is beneficial requires structure and commitment, trusting relationships are foundational for learning, lifting burdens and preventing burnout, learning through reflection, critical thinking and feedback and barriers to CS. CONCLUSIONS: This review provides a meaningful exploration of CS to support nurses transitioning to advanced practice. Well-structured supervision offers a safe space to share work-related concerns and develop an advanced practitioner identity. Sharing experiences helps alleviate work-related burdens and reduce professional isolation and burnout. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION: Peer-support networks are vital for successful transition to advanced practice. IMPACT: This review highlighted the impact of effective supervisory relationships in forming professional identity and possible links with nursing retention. PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No direct patient contributions are included as it forms part of a research degree.

The ILC Maine statement: Time for the fundamental care [r]evolution.

AIM: The aim of this study was to present the third position statement from the International Learning Collaborative (ILC). The ILC is the foremost global organization dedicated to transforming fundamental care. Internationally, fundamental care is reported to be poorly delivered, delayed or missed, negatively impacting patients, their families/carers and healthcare staff and systems. Overcoming this global challenge requires profound transformation in how our healthcare systems value, deliver and evaluate fundamental care. This transformation will take both evolutionary and revolutionary guises. In this position statement, we argue how this [r]evolutionary transformation for fundamental care can and must be created within clinical practice. DESIGN: Position paper. METHODS: This position statement stems from the ILC's annual conference and Leadership Program held in Portland, Maine, USA, in June 2023. The statement draws on the discussions between participants and the authors' subsequent reflections and synthesis of these discussions and ideas. The conference and Leadership Program involved participants (n = 209) from 13 countries working primarily within clinical practice. RESULTS: The statement focuses on what must occur to transform how fundamental care is valued, prioritized and delivered within clinical practice settings globally. To ensure demonstrable change, the statement comprises four action-oriented strategies that must be systematically owned by healthcare staff and leaders and embedded in our healthcare organizations and systems: Address non-nursing tasks: reclaim and protect time to provide high-value fundamental care. Accentuate the positive: change from deficit-based to affirmative language when describing fundamental care. Access evidence and assess impact: demonstrate transformation in fundamental care by generating relevant indicators and impact measures and rigorously synthesizing existing research. Advocate for interprofessional collaboration: support high-quality, transdisciplinary fundamental care delivery via strong nursing leadership. CONCLUSION: The ILC Maine Statement calls for ongoing action - [r]evolution - from healthcare leaders and staff within clinical practice to prioritize fundamental care throughout healthcare systems globally. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: We outline four action-oriented strategies that can be embedded within clinical practice to substantially transform how fundamental care is delivered. Specific actions to support these strategies are outlined, providing healthcare leaders and staff a road map to continue the transformation of fundamental care within our healthcare systems. IMPACT: Fundamental care affects everyone across their life course, regardless of care context, clinical condition, age and/or the presence of disability. This position statement represents a call to action to healthcare leaders and staff working specifically in clinical practice, urging them to take up the leadership challenge of transforming how fundamental care is delivered and experience globally. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Patients, service users and caregivers were involved in the ILC annual conference, thus contributing to the discussions that shaped this position statement. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER CONTRIBUTE TO THE WIDER GLOBAL CLINICAL COMMUNITY?: The strategies and actions outlined in this position statement are relevant to all clinical settings globally, providing practical strategies and actions that can be employed to enhance fundamental care for all patients and their families/carers. By outlining the importance of both evolutionary and revolutionary change, we identify ways in which healthcare systems globally can begin making the necessary steps towards radical fundamental care transformation, regardless of where they are in the change journey.

Newly graduated nurses' commitment to the nursing profession and their workplace during their first year of employment: A focused ethnography.

BACKGROUND: The commitment of nurses to their profession and workplace is closely linked to the delivery of high-quality patient care. Existing literature highlights the positive impact of commitment on care quality and patient outcomes. Conversely, a lack of commitment can lead to nurse burnout and disengagement. However, it remains unclear whether and how cultural beliefs and practices influence newly graduated nurses' commitment to the nursing profession and their workplace. AIM: To explore the cultural beliefs and practices influencing newly graduated nurses' commitment to the profession and commitment to their workplace during their first year of employment. DESIGN: A focused ethnographic study. METHODS: Data consisted of field notes from 94 h of participant observations and 10 semi-structured interviews with newly graduated nurses working in acute care settings in Denmark. Data were analysed using ethnographic content analysis. Data were collected between March and June 2022. RESULTS: The findings reveal a major theme, termed 'A State of Transience among Newly Graduated Nurses', consisting of two themes: 'Newly Graduated Nurses' Pursuit of Professional Development and Supportive Work Environments' and 'A Lack of Formal Agreements or Conditions to Meet Expectations for Professional Development.' CONCLUSION: Hospitals and nurse managers need to support newly graduated nurses in their first employment after registration by providing a range of clinical experiences through job rotation opportunities within the same organization, deliver on promises for onboarding support and foster a culture of trust. These strategies will help maintain the motivation, commitment and ability of newly graduated nurses to deliver high-quality patient care, thereby reducing the likelihood of turnover. RELEVANCE FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: A trusting and supportive work environment is fostered by providing diverse clinical experiences and consistent support for newly graduated nurses. To address potential high turnover associated with job rotation, hospitals need to rethink how retention is defined and measured, moving beyond hospital unit-level models and measures. REPORTING METHOD: This study reports to the SRQR guidelines. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.

'I wasn't made to feel like a nut case after all': A qualitative story completion study exploring healthcare recipient and carer perceptions of good professional caregiving relationships.

BACKGROUND: Professional caregiving relationships are central to quality healthcare but are not always developed to a consistently high standard in clinical practice. Existing literature on what constitutes high-quality relationships and how they should be developed is plagued by dyadic conceptualisations; discipline, context and condition-specific research; and the absence of healthcare recipient and informal carer voices. This study aimed to address these issues by exploring how healthcare recipients and carers conceptualise good professional caregiving relationships regardless of discipline, care setting and clinical condition. DESIGN: A qualitative story completion approach was used. Participants completed a story in response to a hypothetical stem that described a healthcare recipient (and, in some instances, carer) developing a good relationship with a new healthcare provider. Stories were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 35 healthcare recipients and 37 carers (n = 72 total). RESULTS: Participants' stories were shaped by an overarching discourse that seeking help from new providers can elicit a range of unwanted emotions for both recipients and carers (e.g., anxiety, fear, dread). These unwanted emotions were experienced in relation to recipients' presenting health problems as well as their anticipated interactions with providers. Specifically, recipient and carer characters were fearful that providers would dismiss their concerns and judge them for deciding to seek help. Good relationships were seen to develop when healthcare providers worked to relieve or minimise these unwanted emotions, ensuring healthcare recipients and carers felt comfortable and at ease with the provider and the encounter. Participants positioned healthcare providers as primarily responsible for relieving recipients' and carers' unwanted emotions, which was achieved via four approaches: (1) easing into the encounter, (2) demonstrating interest in and understanding of recipients' presenting problems, (3) validating recipients' presenting problems and (4) enabling and respecting recipient choice. Participants' stories also routinely oriented to temporality, positioning relationships within recipients' and carers' wider care networks and biographical and temporal contexts. CONCLUSION: The findings expand our understanding of professional caregiving relationships beyond dyadic, static conceptualisations. Specifically, the findings suggest that high-quality relationships might be achieved via a set of core healthcare provider behaviours that can be employed across disciplinary, context and condition-specific boundaries. In turn, this provides a basis to support interprofessional education and multidisciplinary healthcare delivery, enabling different healthcare disciplines, specialties, and teams to work from the same understanding of what is required to develop high-quality relationships. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: The findings are based on stories from 72 healthcare recipient and carer participants, providing rich insight into their conceptualisations of high-quality professional caregiving relationships.

New graduate nurses' delivery of patient care: A focused ethnography.

AIM: To explore factors influencing newly graduated nurses' delivery of direct care in acute care hospital settings. DESIGN: Qualitative study using focused ethnography. METHODS: During the period from March to June 2022, a total of ten newly graduated nurses were purposively sampled, and data were collected through 96 h of participant observation as well as ten semi-structured interviews. This research took place in a large hospital located in Denmark. Data were analysed using LeCompte and Schensul's ethnographic content analysis. RESULTS: Three main structures were developed from the data: 'Contrasting Intentions and Actions for care delivery', 'Organizational Constraints Block Interpersonal Aspects of Nursing Care' and 'Newly Graduated Nurses' Suppressed Need for Support Constitutes Delay in Care Actions'. CONCLUSION: Newly graduated nurses were committed to delivering high-quality care but were aware they sometimes provided compromised care. The paradox between a commitment to care and compromised care delivery was borne out of tensions between newly graduated nurses' professional beliefs and nursing values, a desire to integrate patients' needs and preferences, and organizational constraints on everyday practices where newly graduated nurses often worked alone without the support of a more experienced nurse. Critical reflection on cultural, social and political forces that influence direct care delivery might support newly graduated nurses to deliver direct patient care more intentionally. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Establishment of onboarding programs and other support activities for newly graduated nurses to cope with contrasting intentions and actions that must address organizational constraints is essential. These development programs should include how critical reflection competency is supported to address value inconsistencies and emotional distress to ensure high-quality patient care. REPORTING METHOD: The reporting adhered to the COREQ guidelines. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: 'No Patient or Public Contribution'.

Factors influencing the delivery of nutritional care by nurses for hospitalised medical patients with malnutrition; a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: To describe an insight into nursing nutritional care delivery in the hospital from the perspectives of observed nursing care and an exploration of multidisciplinary attitudes and experiences with patient participation in nutritional care. BACKGROUND: The prevalence of malnutrition in hospitalised patients continues to be high. Nurses' essential role in the identification and treatment of malnutrition is an important aspect of the fundamentals of care. Nurses have a key role in providing optimal nutritional care in the hospital. A systematic nursing approach, combined with an active role for patients, is required to effectively counteract malnutrition. DESIGN: A multicentre qualitative study using ethnographic observations and focus groups. METHODS: Direct observation of nutritional care was conducted on two nursing wards; nurses and inpatients were observed; and data were thematically analysed based on the fundamentals of care framework. Subsequently, six focus groups were held on three nursing wards with nurses, dietitians and nutrition assistants (n = 34). Data were analysed using open, axial and selective coding. The COREQ guidelines were used for reporting the study. RESULTS: During 54 days, representing 183 h, 39 nurses were observed in two medical wards. Three activities in nutritional care delivery were identified from observing nurses and patients: (1) screening and assessment/at-risk determination, (2) nutritional care plans and (3) monitoring and evaluating outcomes and transition-of-care planning. In addition, the focus groups identified barriers, facilitators, needs and expectations for optimal nursing nutritional care delivery. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an understanding of the difficulties in the delivery of nursing nutritional care. Patient participation in the nutritional care process is rare. Evidence-based strategies are required to improve the knowledge and skills of nurses and patients to participate in (mal)nutrition care. RELEVANCE: The findings of this study are used for the development of a nursing nutrition intervention to optimise patient participation in (mal)nutrition care. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: During the study, patients were not involved with the observations of care and/or with the interviews; the researchers observed the nutritional care delivery at medical wards acting as passive participants. Nurses, nutrition assistants and dietitians were after the focus groups asked for feedback on the transcripts of the interviews.

'No more heroes': The ILC Oxford Statement on fundamental care in times of crises.

AIM: To outline the International Learning Collaborative (ILC) Oxford Statement, explicating our commitment to ensuring health and care systems are equipped to meet patients' fundamental care needs during times of unprecedented crisis. DESIGN/METHOD: Discussion paper. The content was developed via a co-design process with participants during the ILC's international conference. KEY ARGUMENTS: We, the ILC, outline what we do and do not want to see within our health and care systems when faced with the challenges of caring for patients during global pandemics and other crises. Specifically, we want fundamental care delivery to be seen as the minimum standard rather than the exception across our health and care systems. We want nursing leaders to call out and stand up for the importance of building fundamental care into systems, processes and funding priorities. We do not want to see the voices of nursing leaders quashed or minimized in favour of other agendas. In turn, what we want to see is greater recognition of fundamental care work and greater respect for the people who do it. We expect nurses to have a 'seat at the table' where the key health and care decisions that impact patients and staff are made. CONCLUSION: To achieve our goals we must (1) ensure that fundamental care is embedded in all health and care systems, at all levels; (2) build on and strengthen the leadership skills of the nursing workforce by clearly advocating for person-centred fundamental care; (3) co-design systems that care for and support our staff's well-being and which foster collective resilience rather than overly rely on individual resilience; (4) improve the science and methodologies around reporting and measuring fundamental care to show the positive impact of this care delivery and (5) leverage the COVID pandemic crisis as an opportunity for transformational change in fundamental care delivery.

From Evidence-Based Practice to Knowledge Translation: What Is the Difference? What Are the Roles of Nurse Leaders?

OBJECTIVES: Nurses, as the largest healthcare workforce, are well-positioned to apply knowledge translation. The role of nursing leadership in facilitating evidence-based practice has been extensively discussed in the literature, but this is not the case for knowledge translation. The objective of this study was to examine the potential role of nurse leaders in applying knowledge translation across health settings. DATA SOURCES: We reviewed the existing literature for evidence-based practice as best practice in clinical care; examined how a complex systems approach to knowledge translation may extend beyond evidence-based practice, and considered nursing leadership approaches including transformational leadership. CONCLUSION: In this discursive article, we discuss the differences between evidence-based practice and knowledge translation, highlight the promise of transformational leadership in facilitating knowledge translation through a complex systems lens, and argue for the importance of nurse leaders in facilitating and supporting complex knowledge translation across healthcare settings. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Although future research is needed to test our ideas, we argue that the advanced conceptual understanding generated in this article should inform a roadmap toward a future in which nurse leaders initiate, participate and advocate for complex knowledge translation across healthcare settings.

Elucidating strategies used by clinical nurse leaders to facilitate fundamental care delivery: A qualitative study.

AIM: To investigate the strategies used by nurse leaders to facilitate fundamental care delivery in their clinical area. DESIGN: An interpretative qualitative design study reported in line with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ). METHODS: Twenty-four self-identified nurse leaders from across Australia were interviewed between November 2020 and April 2021 to discuss their strategies for facilitating fundamental care. Data was analysed using inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Nurse leaders' experience of facilitating fundamental care produced two major themes, delivery of fundamental care (comprising three sub-themes: valuing fundamental care, understanding and developing staff capacity and supportive relationships), and monitoring of fundamental care (including three sub-themes: visibility in the clinical area, embedding fundamental care in the practice setting and specific direct actions). CONCLUSION: Facilitating fundamental care delivery is complex. This study highlighted the importance of nurse leaders' individual characteristics, and nurse leaders' ability to establish and maintain relationships alongside the role of informal and formal monitoring of fundamental care delivery. IMPACT: Findings from this study build on existing research into fundamental care and contribute to our understanding of the role, characteristics and actions of nurse leaders to facilitate fundamental care. The results demonstrate the complexity and intricacy of nursing leadership to facilitate fundamental care, and that a dynamic 'thinking and linking' approach is required. The results show individualized practice which may create challenges for new nurse leaders seeking guidance, and for monitoring nurse leader activity. Further research is advocated to explore insights and tools to optimize nurse leaders' endeavours in facilitating fundamental care. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This study was designed using insights generated from patient and public involvement in nursing leadership and fundamental care.

Exploring oral care practices, barriers, and facilitators in an inpatient stroke unit: a thematic analysis.

PURPOSE: Oral care is essential to support the health and rehabilitation of stroke survivors but is often performed poorly in the inpatient setting. This article examines the current practices, barriers and facilitators to oral care on an Australian stroke unit to inform future knowledge translation interventions within this setting. METHODS: Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with nursing staff members and speech-language pathologists with experience delivering oral care to stroke survivors. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Three themes were developed from the data. In the first theme, participants described current oral care practices within their stroke unit and acknowledged that there is room for improvement. In the second theme, participants identified the multiple overlapping barriers to oral care delivery on the ward. Finally, the third theme explored participants' suggestions for improving oral care, including both local and organisational change. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates the complexities of oral care in the inpatient stroke setting and gives voice to the perspectives of nursing and speech-language pathology staff. It is clear that future oral health interventions in this setting require a comprehensive approach to addressing barriers and should prioritise the concerns of staff delivering the care.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONThe delivery of good oral care post-stroke is essential, but in practice is difficult due to limited time and supplies, inadequate education, fear of harm to patient and self, and perceived low priority of the care.Speech-language pathologists are often involved in oral care, but their role is not clearly delineated, and they are not provided with formal training in oral care provision.Oral care interventions should be comprehensive, including organisational policies, clear practice guidelines, structured multi-disciplinary education, and appropriate supplies.

Why reducing avoidable hospital readmissions is a 'wicked' problem for leaders: A qualitative exploration of nursing and allied health perceptions.

AIMS: To investigate nursing and allied health professional perceptions of the interrelationship between avoidable hospital readmissions and fundamental care delivery. DESIGN: A qualitative, exploratory study using a critical realist approach. METHOD: One-to-one semi-structured interviews with 14 nursing and allied health professionals conducted between May and September 2019. RESULTS: Several tensions and contradictions were identified in the data, which demonstrated clinicians' perceptions about the priority of both fundamental care and two avoidable readmission conditions (aspiration pneumonia and constipation). These tensions are illustrated in two major themes: Avoidable versus inevitable; and everyone versus no one. The first theme demonstrates clinicians' perceptions that readmissions for aspiration pneumonia and constipation are not common, despite acknowledging that they generally lacked knowledge on readmission rates; and that these conditions may not be preventable in acute settings. The second theme demonstrates clinicians' perception that preventing readmissions is everyone's responsibility, however, this was coupled with a lack of articulation around how this multidisciplinary approach could be achieved, leading to a distinct lack of agency for care delivery. CONCLUSION: Articulating the tensions described in the results provides vital knowledge for understanding how clinicians may respond to initiatives designed to reduce avoidable readmissions. Avoidable hospital readmissions may be usefully understood as a wicked problem: one that is complex and requires adaptive, not linear, solutions. Wicked problems pose a challenge for leaders and managers in healthcare because top-down, hierarchical strategies are unlikely to be successful. Effective prevention of avoidable readmissions requires leaders to enable facilitator-led change through relational leadership strategies. IMPACT: Avoidable hospital readmissions are a global problem increasingly addressed via funding changes and the introduction of penalties to hospitals. This study provides insights on clinicians' perspectives of avoidable hospital readmissions and their prevention, demonstrating the complexity of this challenge and the need for healthcare leaders to enable individual and organizational readiness for change.

Measuring fundamental care using complexity science: A descriptive case study of a methodological innovation.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This paper presents an exploratory account of an innovative methodology to record and evaluate fundamental care. Fundamental care is defined as the care required by everyone for survival, health and welfare. BACKGROUND: Fundamental care has been informed by the development and testing of the Fundamentals of Care Framework, which describes how fundamental care is complex and multidimensional, and consists of three interrelated dimensions and 38 elements. This accords with a broader re-examination of care provision as part of a complex adaptive system in which existing linear models of cause and effect are inadequate to describe the totality of activity. DESIGN: Informed by graph theory and complexity science, this paper presents a novel methodological innovation. It uses the Fundamentals of Care Framework to create a Matrix to quantify the relationships between different elements within the Framework. METHODS: We use a Matrix methodology to process care recipient narratives to generate three outputs: a heat map, a summary table and a network analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The three outputs serve to quantify and evaluate fundamental care in a multidimensional manner. They capture different perspectives (care recipients and their families, direct care providers and care managers) to improve care outcomes. The future aim is to advance this exploration into digitalising and operationalising the Matrix in a user-friendly manner for it to become a real-time mechanism to evaluate and potentially predict patterns of fundamental care.

Nurse managers' support of fundamental care in the hospital setting. An interpretive description of nurse managers' experiences across Australia, Denmark, and New Zealand.

AIMS: To explore the role of ward-based nurse managers in supporting nurses to undertake high-quality fundamental care. DESIGN: A qualitative study guided by the principles of interpretive description. Reported in accordance with Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ). METHODS: Nurse managers in three urban, publicly funded hospitals in Australia, Denmark and New Zealand, were invited to participate in group interviews to discuss how they support fundamental care in their clinical areas. Six group interviews were conducted between February 2017 and March 2020 involving 31 participants. RESULTS: Six interrelated themes were identified: Difficulty expressing how to support the nurse-patient relationship; Establishing expectations for care delivery without clear strategies for how this can be achieved; Role modelling desired behaviours; Significance of being present to support care quality; The importance of engaging and supporting staff in their work; and Recognizing the challenges of prioritizing care needs. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that nurse managers are not universally clear in explaining how they support their staff to provide fundamental care. If fundamental care is not clearly understood and communicated in the nursing team, then there are risks that fundamental care will not be prioritized, with potential negative consequences for patient care. Nurse managers may benefit from additional resources and guidance to help them to support fundamental care delivery in their clinical areas. IMPACT: Previous research exploring fundamental care and missed care highlights the importance of the role of the nurse manager in influencing nursing care. This study demonstrates that though nurse managers have a passion for supporting their staff to deliver fundamental care, clear strategies to achieve this are not always evident. This study suggests that scholarship around leadership to promote and facilitate fundamental care is crucial to improving nursing practice and patient outcomes.

Nonpharmacological interventions for agitation in the adult intensive care unit: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Person-centred nonpharmacological strategies should be used whenever possible to reduce agitation in the intensive care unit due to issues related to an overreliance on physical restraints and psychoactive drugs. However, the effect of nonpharmacological interventions to reduce agitation is unclear. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to systematically review studies that evaluate the effectiveness of nonpharmacological interventions designed to prevent and minimise or manage patient agitation in the adult intensive care unit. METHODS: This systematic review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute's Systematic Review of Effectiveness method and a priori PROSPERO protocol. Quantitative studies were identified from seven databases, including MEDLINE, EmCare, CINAHL, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Cochrane Library. In addition, grey literature from several repositories and trial registers was searched. The primary outcome of interest was the effect on prevention, minimisation, and management of agitation. The quality of the evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). RESULTS: Eleven studies were included (n = 882). Meta-analyses of two studies demonstrated significantly lower levels of agitation (measured with the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale) in the group receiving a multicomponent nonpharmacological intervention than in those receiving usual care. Individual studies showed a significant effect of nature-based sounds, music, foot reflexology, healing touch, and aromatherapy. The type of the endotracheal suction system did not affect levels of agitation. Overall, the certainty of the findings was rated very low. Harms and adverse effects were not reported in any studies. CONCLUSIONS: Nonpharmacological interventions have the potential to reduce levels of agitation in the intensive care unit. However, inconsistencies in reporting, low quality of methodological designs, and small sample sizes impact the certainty of the results. Future trials must include larger sample sizes, use rigorous methods to improve knowledge in this field, and consider a range of other outcomes.

Evaluating fundamental care knowledge to inform educational leadership.

AIM: To explore undergraduate nursing students' understanding of fundamental care and identify educational leadership opportunities to deepen students' understanding of fundamental care concepts. DESIGN: Sequential-explanatory mixed methods study. METHODS: We conducted a cross sectional survey (n = 202) and focus groups (n = 24) to explore undergraduate nursing students' ability to identify fundamental care needs. All data were collected between November 2020 and April 2021. Survey data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics and focus group data were thematically analysed. RESULTS: Year One students scored significantly lower in their ability to identify fundamental care needs compared with students in other years, even after controlling for route, gender and age. Post-degree students scored significantly higher than direct entry or transfer students. Students ≤19 years of age had significantly lower scores compared with students ≥25 years of age. Our focus group findings highlighted that students were often unable to define fundamental care, but they identified learning about various components of fundamental care in a variety of ways. While students understood that fundamental care was required in all settings, they were challenged in providing this care in acute and virtual settings. Students shared several suggestions to support fundamental care skills development across the curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for a clear definition and description of the fundamentals of care that is used consistently by faculty, students and curriculum documents. It is important to encourage and support educators to share real-world nursing stories, offer students time to share their personal experiences, develop creative learning opportunities and foster student reflection to deepen students' understanding of the fundamentals of care. IMPACT: Educators need support to meaningfully incorporate fundamentals of care learning opportunities across multiple care settings. Educational leaders can use these findings to develop or adapt their curricula to support fundamental care skill development.

Umbrella review: Newly graduated nurses' experiences of providing direct care in hospital settings.

AIM: To summarize existing research syntheses reporting newly graduated registered nurses' experiences of providing direct care in hospital settings. DESIGN: Umbrella review. DATA SOURCES: An extensive search of all relevant databases was conducted for research syntheses. Initial key terms included "new* nurse", "nursing care" and "hospital setting" in combination with index terms to find relevant literature. METHODS: Critical appraisal, data extraction and summary were performed independently by two reviewers according to the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines for undertaking umbrella reviews. RESULTS: Nine research syntheses published between 2010 and 2019 and representing 173 studies were included following critical appraisal. The evidence was summarized in narrative form with supporting tables. Twenty-six sub-branches and seven main-branches were organized in a coding tree showing the structure of three overlapping themes: "Feeling a lack of competency", "Sense of emotional distress" and "In need of support". CONCLUSIONS: Evidence demonstrates that newly graduated registered nurses' experiences of a lack of competency, emotional distress and need for support emerged as essential requirements for the provision of competent and safe direct care for the patient. IMPACT: Newly graduated registered nurses face multiple challenges in the transition from student nurse to practicing nurse. Unmet expectations of being a newly graduated nurse might lead to low levels of job satisfaction, high attrition rates or missed nursing care. Nurse educators, leaders and policy makers should be mindful that newly graduated registered nurses' perceptions of professional and personal identity and degree of support influences newly graduated registered nurses' direct care provision.

The trouble with personhood and person-centred care.

The phrase 'person-centred care' (PCC) reminds us that the fundamental philosophical goal of caring for people is to uphold or promote their personhood. However, such an idea has translated into promoting individualist notions of autonomy, empowerment and personal responsibility in the context of consumerism and neoliberalism, which is problematic both conceptually and practically. From a conceptual standpoint, it ignores the fact that humans are social, historical and biographical beings, and instead assumes an essentialist or idealized concept of personhood in which a person is viewed as an individual static object. From a practical standpoint, the application of such a concept of personhood can lead to neglect of a person's fundamental care needs and exacerbate the problems of social inequity, in particular for older people and people with dementia. Therefore, we argue that our understanding of PCC must instead be based on a dynamic concept of personhood that integrates the relevant social, relational, temporal and biographical dimensions. We propose that the correct concept of personhood in PCC is one in which persons are understood as socially embedded, relational and temporally extended subjects rather than merely individual, autonomous, asocial and atemporal objects. We then present a reconceptualization of the fundamental philosophical goal of PCC as promoting selfhood rather than personhood. Such a reconceptualization avoids the problems that beset the concept of personhood and its application in PCC, while also providing a philosophical foundation for the growing body of empirical literature that emphasizes the psychosocial, relational, subjective and biographical dimensions of PCC.

Caring for patients displaying agitated behaviours in the intensive care unit - A mixed-methods systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Patient agitation is common in the intensive care unit (ICU), with consequences for both patients and health professionals if not managed effectively. Research indicates that current practices may not be optimal. A comprehensive review of the evidence exploring nurses' experiences of caring for these patients is required to fully understand how nurses can be supported to take on this important role. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to identify and synthesise qualitative and quantitative evidence of nurses' experiences of caring for patients displaying agitated behaviours in the adult ICU. METHODS: A mixed-methods systematic review was conducted. MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Emcare, Scopus, ProQuest, and Cochrane Library were searched from database inception to July 2020 for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies. Peer-reviewed, primary research articles and theses were considered for inclusion. A convergent integrated design, described by Joanna Briggs Institute, was utilised transforming all data into qualitative findings before categorising and synthesising to form the final integrated findings. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO CRD42020191715. RESULTS: Eleven studies were included in the review. Integrated findings include (i) the strain of caring for patients displaying agitated behaviours; (ii) attitudes of nurses; (iii) uncertainty around assessment and management of agitated behaviour; and (iv) lack of effective collaboration and communication with medical colleagues. CONCLUSIONS: This review describes the challenges and complexities nurses experience when caring for patients displaying agitated behaviours in the ICU. Findings indicate that nurses lack guidelines together with practical and emotional support to fulfil their role. Such initiatives are likely to improve both patient and nurse outcomes.