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.

A unitary transformative perspective on transformational leadership.

This is an introduction to Turkel's contemporary transformational leadership article.

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.

Lived experiences of Ghanaian women with obstetric fistula.

Obstetric fistula is a worldwide problem that is devastating for women. This qualitative descriptive study explores the experiences of Ghanaian women who sustained obstetric fistula during childbirth. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 participants. The resultant themes include cultural beliefs and practices surrounding prolonged labor in childbirth, barriers to delivering at a health care facility, and the challenges of living with obstetric fistula, including psychosocial, socioeconomic, physical, and health care access issues. Recommendations include strategies to address this complex problem, including education of men and women on safe motherhood practices, training of traditional birth attendants (TBAs), and improving access to health care.

A legacy of leadership in nursing.

This introduces the guest author's column on perspectives on leadership developed through a career as a nurse leader. Parse's essentials of leadership: commitment to a vision, willingness to risk, and reverence for others, are noted in tributes from other leaders and followers, which point to the rich legacy of a distinguished career.

Type 2 diabetes in vulnerable populations: community healthcare providers' perspectives on health service needs and policy implications.

OBJECTIVES: To identify a) ways of enhancing health services for vulnerable populations with type 2 diabetes, taking into account the social determinants of health; and b) health and social policy approaches to reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes and improving its management. METHODS: Focus groups were held with 18 community healthcare providers at 3 community health centres in Toronto, Ontario. RESULTS: Community healthcare providers' perspectives were organized under 3 themes: a) the compounding effects of social factors on the health of people with diabetes; b) the need for responsive support at multiple levels; and c) barriers to change. Participants showed a good understanding of the impact of social determinants of health on patients' lives, and they had many ideas about prevention/ health promotion and strategies to enhance health services. They seemed less aware of the important role that political advocacy can play. CONCLUSION: Assessment of the policy environment and political advocacy through coalition-building with communities and other health and social sector service providers should become part of healthcare professionals' education and responsibility. Adequate income and access to proper resources would help with the prevention and optimal management of diabetes.

The lived experience of suffering: a parse research method study.

The purpose of this study was to enhance understanding about the lived experience of suffering. Parse's phenomenological-hermeneutic method was used to answer the research question: What is the structure of the lived experience of suffering? Participants were 12 elderly persons residing in two longterm care facilities. Data were collected through dialogical engagement. Through the extraction-synthesis process, three core concepts were identified. When joined, they formed the structure: Suffering is unbounded desolation emerging with resolute acquiescence with benevolent affiliations. The finding was linked with the human becoming theory through heuristic interpretation, and is discussed in light of participants' descriptions and relevant literature.

Exploring the concept of listening.

The discussion in this column focuses on the idea of listening in theoretical literature and research literature in philosophy, education, medicine, and nursing. A significant gap in information on listening was revealed, pointing to the need for continued examination of this important concept.