The obser-view: a method of generating data and learning.

AIM: To introduce the 'obser-view' qualitative research method and to show how obser-view can be used in research. BACKGROUND: The author developed the obser-view during a qualitative research project about nursing students' learning processes, because participants wanted to talk with the author after being observed. Conducting a non-scripted interview immediately post-observation became the obser-view. DATA SOURCES: Eleven nursing students on clinical placement in psychiatric hospital wards participated in the project. Nine participated in obser-views. REVIEW METHODS: A review o f literature resulted in two sources in which 'obserview' (not 'obser-view') was used to gain explanations of participants' actions, whereas the author sought a greater understanding of participants' actions. DISCUSSION: Whether to include a dialogue with the nursing students in the research design was a dilemma. An argument for so doing was that the method should support efforts to make the research transparent, as the obser-view would give the author an inside, an outside and an inter-subject perspective of the data and increase the internal validity of the research. CONCLUSION: During the obser-view dialogue, the researcher, as a catalyst for reflection, has the opportunity to obtain participants' views of the observed situation, and for the researcher and participants to reflect on the situation both have been part of. The obser-view offers the researcher a deeper understanding of empirical data than can be gained from observation and qualitative semi-structured interviews alone, and offers participants deeper understanding of their actions. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE/RESEARCH: There is potential to use the obser-view in research involving students or patients, including families and cares of patients, whether in psychiatric or physical nursing. Further use over time will show in what other fields the obser-view method can be used to generate data and as a learning space for research and participant.

The windmill of learning processes: a learning and teaching tool for student nurses and mentors.

This article presents a new approach to student nurses' learning from their interaction with psychiatric patients. Using the approach can enable students and mentors to exploit students' learning opportunities, and help students to get the most out of their clinical placement in a time, where that part of the nursing education has been reduced in some countries as e.g. Denmark. The approach is presented through a model termed the 'Windmill of Learning Processes', which draws on empirical data from a qualitative investigation with an explorative and descriptive design, and on the theoretical concepts of 'disjuncture', and 'everyday life activities'. 'Disjuncture' is defined as a situation in which there is disharmony between a person's experiences and the current situation. In such a situation there is potential for learning. My analysis of the empirical data led to the identification of a new concept, which I have labelled 'collective not-conscious disjuncture'. This is when the student and the mentor are both unaware that the student is operating in a potential learning situation. 'Everyday life activities' are seen as activities that are known to succeed in specific situations, because they have done so in similar situations. I have expanded upon the concept to define another phenomenon, which I have coined 'pseudo-everyday life activities'. These closely resemble everyday life activities, but take place in a psychiatric context.

Student nurses' learning processes in interaction with psychiatric patients: a qualitative investigation.

When the Danish government converted the national practice-oriented nursing qualification from a vocational course to a bachelor's degree in 2002, the clinical training component was scaled back. Accordingly, mentors needed to optimise students' learning from this curtailed clinical practice. A fuller understanding of how student nurses function and learn during clinical training is vital. This article presents the findings of a qualitative investigation of student nurses' learning processes during their clinical placement in psychiatric nursing practice. An explorative and qualitative descriptive approach was chosen. The theoretical framework includes Jarvis' concept of 'disjuncture', because it offers a theoretical way of understanding the empirical phenomenon of 'non-routine-situations'. Heller's concept of 'everyday life activities' is also drawn on, for its contribution to understanding and analysing the content of student nurses' learning processes. Data was generated from qualitative, semi-structured interviews with, observations of, and obser-views with, eleven students. The obser-view process is my development. It is a common reflection between researcher and research participant which takes place just after the researcher's observation of the participant in interaction with a patient. The role of the researcher is to be a catalyst for the reflection. Using qualitative content analysis, a model of student nurses learning processes, termed the 'Windmill of Learning Processes' was developed as a result. A key finding is that students and mentors are typically unaware of potential learning situations. Crucially, once students are made aware of this fact, their clinical learning can be enhanced. In this regard, the Windmill of Learning Processes is offered as a pedagogical tool for students and mentors.