Nursing students' movement toward becoming a professional caring nurse.

BACKGROUND: Previous research mainly focuses on how to support nursing students in caring for the patient and on educators' views of students' development as professional caring nurses. Against this background, it is important to further investigate nursing students' perspectives on what it means to become a professional caring nurse. RESEARCH AIM: This qualitative systematic review study aims to identify and synthesize nursing students' perceptions on the meaning of becoming a caring nurse. RESEARCH DESIGN AND DATA SOURCES: Systematic data searches were conducted by using the electronic databases MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), Academic Search Premiere (EBSCO), and Philosopher`s Index. In total, 13 studies met the inclusion and quality criteria. The articles were analyzed by a systematic review and a thematic synthesis according to Thomas and Harden. ETHICAL CONSIDERATION: The study followed good ethical practice guidelines outlined in the Northern Nurses' Federation. FINDINGS: The analysis resulted in eight descriptive themes and finally in three analytical themes: Becoming is to get in touch with one's inner ethic or ethos, Becoming is a movement between courage, understanding, and being touched, and Becoming is strengthened through caring role models and a learning culture. CONCLUSIONS: Becoming a professional caring nurse is seen as an ongoing movement toward a deeper understanding of oneself and one's being and bearing. This movement is enabled when nursing students have a sense of self-awareness, courage to stand in their vulnerability, and reflect on their responsibility, caring attitude, and inner values and ethics. The force of becoming is that the attention is directed beyond self to care for and feel empathy for others in a caring manner. Becoming is released through a caring relationship, external confirmation, and good role models. A lack of external support in the movement can potentially prevent the students from becoming a professional caring nurse.

Health as a movement between suffering of life and meaning in life for men who have experienced transitions in life.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Previous studies show that life transitions can have negative effects on men's lives and lead to health problems and meaninglessness in life. This study aims to deepen the understanding of men's health by exploring the movement between suffering of life and meaning in life when experienced life transitions. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: The study is anchored in Eriksson's caritative caring theory. Core concepts are health and the movement between suffering of life and meaning in life. METHODOLOGY AND METHODS: The methodology is hermeneutical, and the study has a qualitative research design. Fifteen men from Norway participated in in-depth interviews in 2021. The interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Four themes emerged in relation to the suffering of life; enduring separation from community, shame at being useless as a human being, grief over what has been lost in life, and being powerless and vulnerable in the face of a hopeless struggle. Three themes emerged in relation to meaning in life; realising what is most important in one's life gives strength, decision to live one's life brings joy in life and a positive attitude towards life gives freedom and awakens a new spark for life. CONCLUSION: Suffering of life emerges as a separation from relationships and society and as a perceived uselessness as a human being losing faith, control and feeling like a burden erodes dignity and trigger feelings of shame, guilt and degradation. Suffering of life manifests as loss of drive and spark for life. Life has meaning through finding the good in oneself, coming to know and believe in oneself and seeing new possibilities which bring about a spark for life, gratitude, dignity and freedom. Health exists in the movement between suffering of life and meaning in life, in pausing, recognising vulnerability, prioritising and reorienting oneself.

The meaning of reflection for understanding caring and becoming a caring nurse.

BACKGROUND: Reflection is essential for students to learn and understand caring, their formation as human and caring beings, and their ability to meet patients in a caring way. Consequently, to facilitate nurse students' development into professionals, learning support is needed where the focus is on understanding caring and becoming caring nurses. AIM AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS: The exploratory study aim is to gain knowledge of the meaning of reflection in first-term nursing education, and how reflection grounded in caring theory can deepen the students' understanding of caring and their professional formation of becoming a caring nurse. METHOD: Data consisted of individual written reflections and were collected from 64 nursing students from Norway, who had completed their instruction in caring theories and participated in four reflection groups where they reflected on caring and becoming a caring nurse. A thematic analysis was used. FINDINGS: The results are based on the three main themes, Reflection provides an understanding of caring by developing a language for caring; Reflection provides an understanding of seeing the person behind the illness; and Reflection contributes to increased self-understanding and awareness of oneself as a caring nurse. CONCLUSIONS: Instruction in caring theories and participation in reflection groups, with reflection grounded in caring theory, has a key function in facilitating students' development of a language for caring in nursing and appropriation of caring theory. The appropriation of caring theory provides a foundation for the nurse students to see themselves within a broader perspective and is important for mutual support in the professional formation of becoming a caring nurse. The expected outcome of such integration is a nursing curriculum that progressively supports the development of nursing students professionally and personally in the formation of becoming a caring nurses.

Appropriation and application of caring science theory: Experiences of master education alumni in three Nordic countries.

BACKGROUND: A theoretical foundation in caring science is invaluable for nursing care because it enriches practice by providing explanations, clarity and direction. However, after graduation, students experience the frustration of not being able to sufficiently intertwine caring science theories in practice. Consequently, the integration of caring science theories in nursing education and practice is considered an essential focus area to reduce this theory-practice gap. AIM: This study aims to elucidate master alumni's experiences of appropriation and application of caring science after completing a master's education. METHODS: The data were collected by semi-structured interviews with 21 alumni from Finland, Sweden and Norway who had recently completed a master's degree with caring science as the major subject. A thematic analysis was used. FINDINGS: The analysis resulted in two main themes, both with three subthemes. Educator's bearing and a learning community are important for students' appropriation of caring science theories. Learning through reflection and the response of others evoke new paths of thought, and practice-related teaching promotes the intertwining and application of caring science theory in practice. The appropriated theory has significance to alumni by providing a guiding basis that strengthens alumni's professional bearing and way of being. The caring science theory guides alumni in providing nursing care with an increased ethical awareness and questioning approach that enables good patient care. Their professional identity and confidence in caring are also strengthened. CONCLUSION: Educators' bearing is of outermost importance for appropriation and application of caring science theory. It has a key function in facilitating students' understanding and intertwining of caring science theory and practice. Appropriated caring science theory provides authority and courage to practice nursing care. The appropriated theory promotes alumni's ethical awareness, confidence and a sense of pride in the profession.

Multi-professional ethical competence in healthcare - an ethical practice model.

INTRODUCTION: The starting point is that ethical competence is the basis for ethical healthcare practices and quality of care. Simultaneously, there is a need for research and development from a holistic multi-professional perspective. AIM: The aim is to create a proposed model for multi-professional ethical competence grounded in clarified meanings and dimensions of ethical competence studied from a multi-professional healthcare perspective. The research questions are, what is ethical competence from a multi-professional healthcare perspective and what strengthens a multi-professional ethical healthcare practice? RESEARCH DESIGN: The research has a qualitative approach and hermeneutic application research design. Two groups with six participants from clinical practice and two scientific researchers in each group met four times for dialogue. Thematic analysis was used as an analysis method. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The research is approved by the Declaration of Helsinki, the General Data Protection Regulations, and ethical permission was asked from the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD). RESULTS: The proposed model for multi-professional ethical competence encompasses a three-dimensional ethical value base that is underpinned by: Ethical attitude - a personal desire to do good; Ethical basis - the best for the patient as a common goal and Ethical culture - common goals and values in the organization. Multi-professional ethical competence is strengthened by: Reflection - to see with new wondering eyes; Time for talk - interdisciplinary teamwork and Leadership - an ethical role model and support. DISCUSSION: Ethical competence has a strong link to the core of caring ethics and a deeper personal value base and attitude. Ethical competence involves the whole culture and is seen as a shared value base and a responsibility to do the best for the patient as a multi-professional team and organization. Ethical competence becomes active in healthcare practice by opening up for meaningful multi-professional talks and reflections.

"Living Between Two Different Worlds": Experiences of Leaving a High-Cost Religious Group.

The aim of this interdisciplinary study is to gain a comprehensive understanding of individuals' subjective experiences after leaving a high-cost religious group and how these experiences have affected their lives. In-depth interviews were done with 18 participants who had left different religious communities in Finland. The interviews were analysed through a thematic analysis. The results show that religious disaffiliation is a life change that may affect an individual's life in profound ways. Life after being a member of a high-cost group may involve experiences of fear, guilt, sorrow, pain, loss and even suffering on an existential level. These experiences can have serious implications for one's well-being and health. However, life after religious disaffiliation also includes many positive aspects, such as experiences of joy, freedom, relief, gratitude and empowerment.

A caring science study of creative writing and human becoming.

The previous research describes creative writing to have a potential for self-care and healing in relation to illness and mental health conditions. The aim of this article was to deepen the understanding of creative writing and human becoming, from a caring science perspective. A data material consisting of answers from an e-form and diaries was analysed with a thematic analysis. The result depicts two main themes and seven subthemes. The first main theme, Creative writing - an act of emotional reactions and release, shows that creative writing is an act where fears and emotional reactions are unveiled; it is a relieving valve for the writer and includes moments of liberating wordplay. The second main theme, Creative writing - a key to self-understanding and personal growth, shows that creative writing is a genuine conveying of oneself to others, to experience mercifulness within oneself, to keep up faith in oneself and hope for the future and to find a new order of values. Creative writing enhances human becoming and gives possibilities for human beings to find inner peace and balance in life.

Life has given me suffering and desire - A study of older men's lives after the loss of their life partners.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: All human beings have the need to feel connected with others. However, researchers have found that for those aged 80+, loneliness markedly increases and that such loneliness is often linked to life changes or the loss of a close relative. The loss of a life partner is considered to have a greater impact on men's identify, social engagement and management of life. The aim of this study was to deepen understanding of older (80+) men's life after the loss of their life partners. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: Caring science and Eriksson's theory of caritative caring form the theoretical base for the study and its interpretative framework. The central concepts are suffering of life and desire of life. INFORMANTS, METHODOLOGY AND METHODS: A total of five men aged 81-91 gave thereby consent for participation in the study. Emanating from hermeneutical methodology, qualitative deep interviews with a narrative approach were used to collect data. Thereafter, a six-step qualitative thematic analysis in accordance with Braun and Clarke was used to analyse the text. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION: Four themes emerged: reconciliation with one's lived life, living in the present with uncertainty about the future, a reorientation in life including new living conditions and living with the hope of finding a new life partner and feeling loved. We found that loss can lead to suffering in life. The life can be filled with loneliness, emptiness, life weariness and an absence of desire, hope and longing. Yet there is a vitality in suffering that enables to find new meaning contexts and desire for life. Here, the fundamental choice underpinning the movement between life suffering and desire for life is comprised of reconciliation with one's lived life, living in the present, daily habits and routines, being seen, participation, love and thoughtfulness.

The core of Katie Eriksson's caritative caring theory - a qualitative study from a postdoctoral perspective.

BACKGROUND: For about 40 years, Katie Eriksson developed the caritative caring theory at Åbo Akademi University in Finland. However, a description regarding the most substantial concepts and the relationships between these is lacking and thus needs to be explored. AIMS: The aim of the study was twofold: to explore and describe central concepts in the development of caritative caring theory from a postdoctoral perspective and to uncover and explore the relationships between the concepts. METHODOLOGY: The design of the study was qualitative with a mixed method approach. The material was collected from a postdoctoral group (n = 38) mainly through electronic questionnaires. The texts were interpreted through manifest and latent content analysis. FINDINGS: The analyses generated five main categories including subcategories. The main categories were 'Caring' 'Ethos', 'Suffering' 'Health' and 'The human being'. The relation between the main concepts compiled as 'A tentative synthesis of the main concepts and the relationships between them'. CONCLUSION: This study contributes to an understanding of the most fundamental and valuable concepts in the development of caritative theory during its first 40 years according to postdoctoral researchers' perspectives. This study also displays that the concepts ethos and caring have the strongest relationship followed by that between caring and health, indicating the inner core of ethos and love within caring which bears the potential of enhancing the patient's well-being and health.

Continuing professional development among social- and health-care educators.

Future social- and health-care educators will be required to have versatile competence in educating professionals that reflects both the constantly changing health-care environment and delivery of high-quality patient care. Continuing professional development can be defined as a process that aims to increase educators' competence and well-being, along with the effectiveness of an organisation. This study aimed to describe educators' continuing professional development and clarify the contribution of continuing education. The research applied a qualitative approach as only limited information about social- and health-care educators' professional development currently exists.' Data were collected by group interviews of 35 experienced social- and health-care educators from six institutions of higher education and two vocational schools across Finland. An inductive content analysis yielded 39 subcategories, 11 categories and three main categories, namely, educators' approaches for developing professional competence, barriers to continuing education, and educators' continuing education needs. The educators reported that they maintain and develop their competence in versatile ways; for example, continuing professional development takes place through both formal continuing education and informal collaboration at daily work. Regarding barriers to continuing education, the educators most often cited the lack of planning and a lack of resources, for example, scheduling and financial factors. The continuing education needs of social- and health-care educators are highly individual and should not only reflect organisational goals. The fact that this study only included experienced educators can be considered a limitation, as a sample that also included novice educators may have yielded different perceptions of continuing education and professional development. The results of the research can be utilised when designing the continuing professional development of educators at the individual, group or organisational level.

Digital Learning Interventions in Higher Education: A Scoping Review.

This scoping review was undertaken to synthesize and describe research related to digital learning interventions in higher education, focusing on technological outcomes. Five electronic databases were searched, and 86 articles were included in the review. The data related to positive and negative technological outcomes and authors' suggestions were analyzed using inductive content analysis. The articles represented six disciplines across six continents and included quantitative (n = 65), qualitative (n = 3), and mixed-methods (n = 18) intervention studies. For positive technological outcomes, digital formats of learning were considered effective and participatory forms of learning in a majority of the articles. The students appreciated individualized and self-paced learning, and the digital form increased their motivation to learn. Automatized technical solutions that enabled learning and teaching had several advantages, and digital learning was believed to save the resources of students, teachers, and organizations. For negative technological outcomes, the technical difficulties in using the digital devices or platforms were described the most, and a need for resources was identified. Feedback from teachers was considered important from positive and negative viewpoints. Authors' suggestions for future digital teaching and learning as well as related interventions consisted of various activities, resources, environments, and methods.

Health and social care educators' ethical competence.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Educators' ethical competence is of crucial importance for developing students' ethical thinking. Previous studies describe educators' ethical codes and principles. This article aims to widen the understanding of health- and social care educators' ethical competence in relation to core values and ethos. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND KEY CONCEPTS: The study is based on the didactics of caring science and theoretically links the concepts ethos and competence. METHODS: Data material was collected from nine educational units for healthcare and social service in Finland. In total 16 semi-structured focus group interviews with 48 participants were conducted. The interviews were analysed with a thematic analysis according to Braun and Clarke. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The study is approved by the Declaration of Helsinki, the legislation regarding personal data and the General Data Protection Regulation. The study received ethical permission from the University of Jyväskylä. Informed consent was obtained from all the educational units and participants in the study. FINDINGS: The findings are presented based on three general patterns, an ethical basic motive, an ethical bearing and ethical actions. Subthemes are Humane view of students as unique individuals with individual learning, Bearing of tactfulness and firmness, Bearing of perceptiveness and accessibility, Bearing of satisfaction and joy over student learning, Valuing bearing towards each oneself and colleagues, Ability to interact and flexibility, Collegiality and a supportive work community and Educators as role models and inspirators. CONCLUSION: Educators' personal and professional ethos is crucial to student learning, personal growth and ethical reasoning. Therefore, it is important to further develop educators' training regarding ethical competence.

Sustainability in care through an ethical practice model.

BACKGROUND: While sustainability is a key concept in many different domains today, it has not yet been sufficiently emphasized in the healthcare sector. Earlier research shows that ethical values and evidence-based care models create sustainability in care practice. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to gain further understanding of the ethical values central to the realization of sustainability in care and to create an ethical practice model whereby these basic values can be made perceptible and active in care practice. RESEARCH DESIGN: Part of the ongoing "Ethical Sustainable Caring Cultures" research project, a hermeneutical application research design was employed in this study. PARTICIPANTS: Dialogues were used, where scientific researchers and co-researchers were given the opportunity to reflect on ethical values in relation to sustainability in care. FINDINGS: An ethical practice model with ethos as its core was created from the results of the dialogues. In the model, ethos is encircled by the ethical values central to sustainability: dignity, responsibility, respect, invitation, and vows. DISCUSSION: The model can be used as a starting point for ethical conversations that support carers' reflections on the ethical issues seen in day-to-day care work and the work community, allowing ethical values to become visible throughout the entire care culture. CONCLUSION: It is intended as a tool whereby carers can more deeply understand an organization's common basic values and what they entail in regard to sustainability in care.

Nurse leaders as managers of ethically sustainable caring cultures.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to identify the distinctive foundations of the care culture and how nurse leaders (NL) can manage and strengthen these in a quest for ethically sustainable caring cultures. BACKGROUND: Sustainability presupposes an ethical leadership, a management of the good care and a well-educated staff, but research on NLs as managers of ethically sustainable caring cultures is not available. DESIGN: The study has a quantitative design with elements of a qualitative research approach. METHOD: Data were collected through a web-based questionnaire sent to staff at eight selected units at a hospital in western Finland during September 2013; the reply rate was 32%. The data material was comprised of opinion questions, the ranking of values and two open-ended questions on lodestars in care and ethical principles in care work. RESULTS: NLs manage a care culture that rests on a solid foundation, where staff are co-creators of an ethically sustainable caring culture that includes good traditions for the praxis of care. NLs as managers are therefore responsible for realizing and passing on ethically sustainable caring cultures and creating prerequisites for staff's growth and development. CONCLUSION: The basis of good care, patient safety and sustainability is comprised of ethics with a respectful and dignified care that is evidence-based and economically stable. Through their management NLs have a responsibility to nurture and protect the core of caring and create contextual, professional and cultural prerequisites to maintain the core and art of caring as well as care staff's ethical and professional competence.

Hermeneutic application research - finding a common understanding and consensus on care and caring.

To clinically and contextually implement the theoretical and factual knowledge of care and caring that has been developed in the last 30 years is seen as a great challenge in caring science research. Emphasis has been put on problem-solving research methodologies and action research in hopes of narrowing the divide between caring theory and clinical practice. Thus, the intention is now to further action research towards a hermeneutic approach and to put emphasis on hermeneutic application where theory and praxis become one through human dialogue. This article highlights hermeneutic application research as an alternative methodology within participatory-oriented research which presents a new opportunity to unite clinical practice and caring theory. The aim is to contribute to the development of the hermeneutical application research design in its epistemological, ontological and ethical perspective, by articulating and clarifying the central foundations in the application. On the basis of Gadamer's hermeneutical thinking and Levinas ethical thinking, the central foundations in the application research are ethics, creation of a hermeneutical room, dialogue and common understanding and appropriation and action. When theoretical understanding turns into praxis, knowledge also becomes activity and theory and practice become one. Application thus realises the basic idea that praxis and theory are one, and thus, theory of caring can only become evident and implemented in a clinical practice through moments when the participants find a common understanding and consensus on the knowledge of care and caring.

Understanding and safeguarding patient dignity in intensive care.

BACKGROUND: Dignity has been highlighted in previous research as one of the most important ethical concerns in nursing care. According to Eriksson, dignified caring is related to treating the patient as a unique human being and respecting human value. Intensive care unit patients are vulnerable to threatened dignity, and maintaining dignity may be challenging as a consequence of critical illness. OBJECTIVES: The aim is to highlight how nurses in an intensive care setting understand patient dignity, what threatens patient dignity and how nurses can safeguard patient dignity. Research design and participants: Data materials were collected through a survey questionnaire which contained open questions about patient dignity, and the text was analysed using hermeneutic reading and text interpretation. Totally, 25 nurses employed in an intensive care unit in Finland participated in the study. Ethical considerations: The study follows the guidelines for good scientific practice by the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity and the ethical principles according to the Declaration of Helsinki. FINDINGS: Findings revealed that nurses recognize the patients' absolute dignity by regarding them as unique human beings. The nurses also recognize the importance of shared humanity in preserving patient dignity. Intensive care patients' dignity is threatened by negative attitudes and when their integrity is not being protected. Dignity is also threatened when patients and nurses are not part of the patients' care and patient care decisions, when patients receive care against their will and because of the acute nature of intensive care.

Life with an unwelcome guest - caring in a context of protracted bodily pain.

Protracted bodily pain is a phenomenon that often affects a human being's whole life. Care of human beings with protracted pain is challenging because pain is not always measureable, and the experiences of pain are subjective, unique and shapeshifting. Therefore, the aim is to highlight what protracted bodily pain signifies for the human being, and human beings' experiences of what is caring in a context of protracted bodily pain. Four informants with protracted bodily pain took part in a focus group interview. The interview was analysed by using a qualitative content analysis with a hermeneutic approach. The findings show that protracted pain renders human beings speechless, limits and robs them of their lives. The pain is described as a domineering, unpleasant and unwelcome guest. The pain can change the human being's personality and creates feelings of guilt. Uncertainty about the origin of the pain as well as a nonchalant treatment or not being believed intensifies the pain. Human being experience mastering the pain, encounters with caregivers who can ease the burden, community with others and finding that little something extra in everyday life is experienced as caring. From a caring science perspective, the relation between protracted pain and suffering is obvious. Suffering emerges as illness suffering, as life suffering and as suffering caused by care. Professional as well as natural caring is important in a context of protracted bodily pain. The human being longs to encounter caregivers who are courageous enough to lay themselves on the line. Community with people who are prepared to share the burden eases the heavy burden that pain brings to life, it brings hope and relief.

An envisioning about the caring in listening.

The purpose of this article is to make visible further dimensions and uncover an envisioning about the caring in listening in the field of caring science, which may improve the care for the suffering human being, the patient. Eriksson's caritative theory of caring constitutes the starting point for this search for knowledge, while the research method is realised by a hermeneutic reading based on the philosopher of hermeneutics, Gadamer's thought. The research is realised by a reading of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's literary works. The literary characters Sonia in Crime and Punishment and Alyosha in The Brothers Karamazov, uncovers patterns of meaning-bearing units towards the caring and the interpretation of a more profound envisioning about the caring in listening. The uncovering and interpretation show that patients in their suffering long to meet a caregiver who listens without the least condemnation in their eyes and demeanour. Patients need a listening caregiver who shows compassion and who has the courage to remain in the struggle of suffering and to carry the patients through insupportable pain, guilt and shame. Through listening, it is possible to reawaken a numb heart, to take individuals who have gone through a good deal of suffering, from darkness, degradation, unendurable pain to the light and to awaken their zest for life and joy to live. Listening renews, delivers and transforms human beings so that they can begin to find a new direction in life and start living a life in accordance with their own fundamental order, purpose, essential decision and individuality. Listening takes patients out of their loneliness and unbearable suffering into communion and a life worth living.

Hermeneutic reading of classic texts.

The purpose of this article is to broaden the understandinfg of the hermeneutic reading of classic texts. The aim is to show how the choice of a specific scientific tradition in conjunction with a methodological approach creates the foundation that clarifies the actual realization of the reading. This hermeneutic reading of classic texts is inspired by Gadamer's notion that it is the researcher's own research tradition and a clearly formulated theoretical fundamental order that shape the researcher's attitude towards texts and create the starting point that guides all reading, uncovering and interpretation. The researcher's ethical position originates in a will to openness towards what is different in the text and which constantly sets the researcher's preunderstanding and research tradition in movement. It is the researcher's attitude towards the text that allows the text to address, touch and arouse wonder. Through a flexible, lingering and repeated reading of classic texts, what is different emerges with a timeless value. The reading of classic texts is an act that may rediscover and create understanding for essential dimensions and of human beings' reality on a deeper level. The hermeneutic reading of classic texts thus brings to light constantly new possibilities of uncovering for a new envisioning and interpretation for a new understanding of the essential concepts and phenomena within caring science.

Social, health care and rehabilitation educators' competence in professional education-Empirical testing of a model.

The social and health care educator's role in educating future professionals need to be stronger emphasised and deserves international recognition. The purpose of this study was to develop and test an empirical model of social and health care educators' competence in higher and professional education. The presented research employed a cross-sectional study design. Data were collected using HeSoEduCo-instrument from 28 educational institutions in Finland. The model was empirically tested with confirmatory factor analysis through Structural Equation Modelling that applied the Full Imputation Maximum Likelihood estimator. A total of 422 social and health care educators participated in the study. The empirical model of social and health care educators including eight competence areas: leadership and management, collaboration and societal, evidence-based practice, subject and curriculum, mentoring students in professional competence development, student-centred pedagogy, digital collaborative learning, and cultural and linguistic diversity. All of the connections between concepts of the empirical model were found to be statistically significant. There were strong connections between most of the identified competence concepts; however, two weak connections were found, namely, the link between competence in evidence-based practice and competence in subject and curriculum, along with the link between competence in digital collaborative learning and competence in student-centred pedagogy. The presented empirical model can help stakeholders identify which areas of social and health care educators' curricula should be further developed. The model is also relevant for improving continuous education, allowing educators to assess their competence levels and evaluating educators' performance at the organisational level.