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A whatsapp community of practice to support new graduate nurses in South Africa
Abstract
Internationally, transition from student to registered nurse is a challenging and stressful period. This study investigated the use of an Instant Messaging application (WhatsApp) community of practice to support graduate nurses in their first year of practice in the Western Cape, South Africa.
A preliminary survey was conducted to determine the technology readiness of 64 participants. Following the enrolment of a further 8 participants, 76 new graduate nurses were enrolled in the WhatsApp Community of Practice which ran over an 8-week period. A quantitative one-group pre and post study evaluation via Survey Face was conducted comparing socio-professional outcome measures.
The analysis of the readiness survey showed high WhatsApp use and perceived ease of use and usefulness. Though only 9 males in the survey, age and gender had no impact on the reported use. Interactions with alumni, bridging and bonding social capital, professional integration and a sense of belonging to a community of practice significantly improved. For graduate nurses in non-urban settings, bonding, professional identity and theory practice integrations were significantly higher compared to urban graduates.
The findings highlight the value of a WhatsApp community of practice for isolated graduated nurses, especially in critical phases of transition and their professional development.
... A total of 21 interventions were included that were complete transition-to-practice programs (Adams et al., 2015;Brown Tyo et al., 2018;Cadmus et al., 2023;Chen et al., 2021;Cline et al., 2017;Dyess and Sherman, 2011;Dyess and Parker, 2012;Eklund et al., 2021;Figueroa et al., 2016;Forde-Johnston, 2017;Gellerstedt et al., 2019;Henderson et al., 2015;Hu et al., 2015;Hussein et al., 2019;Irwin et al., 2021;Mangold and Crockett, 2019;McInnes et al., 2019;Olson-Sitki et al., 2012;Owings and Gaskins, 2020;Phoenix Bittner et al., 2017;Spector et al., 2015;Zhang et al., 2019). Nine studied an additional intervention or component (such as mindfulness training) on top of an existing transition-to-practice program (Abiodun et al., 2020;Chesak et al., 2019Chesak et al., , 2021Doughty et al., 2021;Frögéli et al., 2020;Jamieson et al., 2017;Sampson et al., 2019;Stacey et al., 2020;Torres et al., 2022;Xu et al., 2021). Transition-topractice program interventions included stress management, clinical education, professional and peer support, ward rotations, and personalization in the form of adapting the program to novice nurses' needs and level of competency. ...
... Frögéli et al. (2020) based their transition-to-practice program on the Organizational Socialization Framework, the other transition-topractice programs had no theoretic foundation linked to social development (see Table 2). Social development as a mechanism referred to novice nurses getting acclimated to the work environment (Brown Tyo et al., 2018), enhancement of professional relationships and interprofessional interaction (Figueroa et al., 2016;Forde-Johnston, 2017;Jamieson et al., 2017;Torres et al., 2022) and sharing experiences with peers or mentors/preceptors and support each other (Abiodun et al., 2020;Cadmus et al., 2023;Chesak et al., 2019;Gellerstedt et al., 2019;Henderson et al., 2015;Hu et al., 2015;Hussein et al., 2019;Irwin et al., 2021;Mangold and Crockett, 2019;McInnes et al., 2019;Olson-Sitki et al., 2012;Owings and Gaskins, 2020;Spector et al., 2015;Torres et al., 2022;Zhang et al., 2019). ...
... Sense of belonging was the most often mentioned outcome. For example, in the study of Abiodun et al. (2020), an online community of practice stimulated and facilitated interaction with other professionals and peers. As a result, novice nurses reported feeling part of a professional team. ...
Background
Many transition-to-practice programs have been developed to support novice nurses during their first years into practice. These programs report improvements in retention, wellbeing and clinical competence, but the driving mechanisms of these interventions remain largely unclear.
Objective
To identify how transition-to-practice programs for novice nurses work and in what contexts they work successfully.
Methods
A realist review was conducted. Eligibility criteria included intervention studies aimed at novice nurses in their first two years of practice, that reported outcomes on organizational- or individual nurse level. The underlying theory of included transition-to-practice programs was extracted, and relevant contextual factors, mechanisms and outcomes were explored and synthesized into context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations. The search was limited to studies between 2000 and 2023.
Results
A total of 32 studies were included, evaluating 30 different transition-to-practice programs with a wide range of intervention components including stress management, clinical education, professional- and peer support, and ward rotations. Transition-to-practice programs were often designed without a theoretical foundation. Driving mechanisms behind the programs pertained to psychological, professional, and social development. Contextual factors that activated the mechanisms were enabling conditions for mentors and novice nurses, selection and motivation of novice nurses and organizational culture.
Conclusions
Current transition-to-practice programs primarily focus on the individual and professional development of nurses. However, transition to practice can benefit from a systemic approach that includes development initiatives on the organizational level.
... The main drivers of newly graduated nurses' workplace adaptation were socio-emotional support, social construction, social acceptance, and sense of belonging. Social support is an important aspect in creating a sense of relaxation and security and increasing morale and belonging, which facilitated newly graduated nurses' adaptation [2,23,42,54,59]. Workplace organisations should be encouraged to provide information and instrumental support to enhance newly graduated nurses' abilities to develop coping skills. ...
... The social construct includes bridging and bonding of connectivity between newly graduated nurses with their supervisors and co-workers. Newly graduated nurses' interactions with their social community facilitated professional integration and promoted togetherness values, which created unity among co-workers, provided a sense of security, support, and belonging, and encourage affection [42,54,61]. Unfortunately, the expectation of being accepted as a team member was often challenging for newly graduated nurses if they were unable to interact and communicate effectively with their colleagues. ...
... Greetings and personal experience sharing were microinteractions that promoted social bonding and comfort newly graduated nurses as they felt accepted by the community [42,63]. Furthermore, newly graduated nurses felt accepted by their team when they gained staff recognition and were praised for their occupational achievements [26]. ...
Background
Difficulties in adapting to the workplace can affect newly graduated nurses’ transition. Such nurses must adapt quickly, as it can affect their future career prospects. Therefore, this review aimed to identify the success factors that promote newly graduated nurses’ effective transition and adaptation.
Methods
The Joanna Briggs Institute scoping reviews methodology was used. Data were extracted from MEDLINE, Scopus, EBSCOhost, and Web of Science publications published between 2011 and 2020. A total of 23 articles were included in this review, which comprised qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods primary research studies focusing on the contributing factors that aided newly graduated nurses’ adaptation to the work environment during their transition period. Key emerging themes were identified with thematic analysis.
Results
Three main themes were identified: (1) organisational contribution (social development, organisational culture, work characteristics, work readiness, work commitment, professional role), (2) personality traits (self-embodiment, personality masking, being proactive and confident), and (3) academic institutions (pre-entry knowledge and role of nursing faculty). Newly graduated nurses’ adaptation should begin during nursing education, be supported by the workplace organisation, and driven by the nurse’s personality. We determined that that the role of nursing education in aiding the provision of the required knowledge and actual clinical experiences to students profoundly affected developing nurses’ self-confidence levels in delivering nursing care effectively. Additionally, a warm environment supported nurses emotionally and physically.
Conclusions
While organisations and educational institutions have undertaken numerous efforts to ensure that newly graduated nurses are adequately supported, the nurse’s personality and values are also equally important to ease adaptation during the transition process. Academic and workplace programs designed for newly graduated nurses should apply and emphasise this knowledge to develop and strengthen their personalities and values, especially to increase confidence and promote proactive values that facilitate newly graduated nurses’ rapid and effective adaptation to their new employment.
... WhatsApp is seen as a panacea that can remedy some of the challenges outlined above that firstyear students face in their learning context (Abiodun, Daniels, Pimmer & Chipps, 2020). WhatsApp offers better means of communication, collaboration, users are always reachable and pervades personal and work environments. ...
... WhatsApp can support formal and informal learning and enhance the development of knowledge and experiences that can contribute to the success of first-year students. WhatsApp supports the development of students' social relationships and social bonding in new learning contexts (Abiodun, Daniels, Pimmer & Chipps, 2020). Further, WhatsApp can support the transformation of teaching and learning in the higher education context to accommodate new forms of learning such as remote learning and self-learning (Bano, Cisheng, Khan & Khan, 2019). ...
... This was important information for new students who were not aware of the potential safety risk during the protests while on campus. These findings extend our understanding of uses of WhatsApp among students beyond class activities that previous studies have highlighted such as sharing content, communication and interactions (Abiodun, Daniels, Pimmer & Chipps, 2020;So, 2016). ...
In this paper we analysed the use of WhatsApp among first-year students at the University of Technology in the context of South Africa. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari's Assemblage Theory, the study analysed postings on a WhatsApp group and secondary data using content analysis. The findings showed that first-year students used WhatsApp for communication, sharing content and information related to issues affecting their studies. Further, WhatsApp was useful in the process of becoming first-year students in the new educational environment and in the creation of knowledge from multiple sources that was not confined to the lectures and classroom experiences. This study offers insights that can be useful when developing strategies for integrating Mobile Instant Messaging platforms in the context of higher education.
... New nurses reported that main drivers in workplace adaptation were socio-emotional support, social construction, social acceptance, and sense of belonging. Social support is an important aspect in creating a sense of relaxation and security, and increasing morale and belonging, which can facilitate adaptation of newly graduated nurses [19,20,21,22,24]. Workplace organisations should be encouraged to provide information and instrumental support to enhance newly graduated nurses' abilities to develop coping skills. ...
... The social construct includes bridging and bonding of connectivity between newly graduated nurses with their supervisors and coworkers. Interaction of newly graduated nurses with their social community facilitates professional integration and promotes togetherness values, which create unity among co-workers, provide a sense of security, support, sense of belonging, and encourage affection for one another [19,24,27]. Unfortunately, expectation of being accepted as team members is often challenging for newly graduated nurses if they are unable to interact and communicate effectively with their colleagues. ...
... Greetings and personal sharing of experiences are micro-interactions that promote social bonding and comfort new nurses as they feel accepted by the community [19]. Besides this, new nurses feel being accepted by the team when they gain staff recognition and receive praised for their occupational achievements [32]. ...
Background: Difficulties in adapting to the workplace can affect the transition of new nurses. They must adapt quickly, as this can impact their future career prospects. Therefore, this review aimed to identify success factors that promote effective transition and new nurses’ adaptation.
Methods: The study adopted Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. Data were collected from MEDLINE, Scopus, EBSCOhost, and Web of Science publications between 2011 and 2020. A total of 23 articles were included. The study included qualitative or quantitative primary research studies focusing on contributing factors to helping new nurses adapt to their work environment during the transition period. Thematic analysis was used to identify key emerging themes.
Results: Three main themes were identified: (1) Organisational contribution (comprising social development, organisational culture, work characteristics, work readiness, work commitment, and professional role), (2) Personality traits (encompassing self-embodiment, masking personality, being proactive and confident), and (3) Academic institutions (comprising pre-entry knowledge and role of nursing faculty). The process of adaptation for new nurses needs to start during nursing education, supported by the workplace organisation and also driven by the nurse’s own personality. The review identified that the role of nursing education in helping to provide students with the knowledge and actual clinical experiences has a profound effect on developing nurses’ levels of self-confidence in delivering nursing care effectively. In addition, a warm environment supports nurses emotionally and physically.
Conclusions: Though organisations and educational institutions have taken numerous efforts to ensure that new nurses have adequate support, personality and values are also equally important to ease adaptation during the transition process. This knowledge should be applied and emphasised in academic and workplace programs designed for newly graduated nurses to develop and strengthen their personalities and values, especially in increasing confidence levels and promoting proactive values that facilitate new nurses to adapt to their new employment quickly and effectively.
... A wide array of health care cadres was targeted across the studies, including nurses, physicians, midwives, community health workers, public health specialists, hospital administrators, and health officers. In addition, several studies (7/31, 23%) included preprofessional clinical trainees (eg, nursing and medical students) [32][33][34]37,[50][51][52]. Of the 31 studies, 9 (29%) were qualitative in design and were conducted using descriptive thematic analysis, in-depth interviews, or focus groups [8,15,30,32,34,36,40,41,50]. ...
... Of the 31 studies, 9 (29%) were qualitative in design and were conducted using descriptive thematic analysis, in-depth interviews, or focus groups [8,15,30,32,34,36,40,41,50]. A total of 39% (12/31) of the studies [1,16,31,33,35,37,[45][46][47][48]51,54] were quantitative, with most quantitative studies (10/12, 83%) having observational cross-sectional designs. Of the 31 studies, 10 (32%) used both quantitative and qualitative data collection [17,38,39,42-44, 49,52,53,55] (Multimedia Appendix 2 [1,8,[15][16][17]). ...
... Most articles (25/31, 81%) used texting, mobile instant messaging, or SMS text messaging to provide continuing education content either as a stand-alone intervention or in addition to other digital learning tools and blended learning formats (eg, coupling SMS text messaging with traditional face-to-face learning) [8,[15][16][17][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]40,41,43,45,46,[48][49][50][51][52]55,56]. WhatsApp was the most commonly used platform among the studies that used messaging services (17/31, 55%) [8,15,[30][31][32][33][34]36,37,43,46,48,[50][51][52]55,56]. ...
Background:
Access to continuing professional development (CPD) for health care workers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is severely limited. Digital technology serves as a promising platform for supporting CPD for health care workers by providing educational content virtually and enabling virtual peer-to-peer and mentor interaction for enhanced learning. Digital strategies for CPD that foster virtual interaction can increase workforce retention and bolster the health workforce in LMICs.
Objective:
The objective of this integrative review was to evaluate the evidence on which digital platforms were used to provide CPD to health care workers and clinical students in LMICs, which was complemented with virtual peer-to-peer or mentor interaction. We phrased this intersection of virtual learning and virtual interaction as mobile-social learning.
Methods:
A comprehensive database and gray literature search was conducted to identify qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies, along with empirical evidence, that used digital technology to provide CPD and virtual interaction with peers or mentors. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were followed. Eligible articles were written in English, conducted in an LMIC, and used a mobile device to provide CPD and facilitate virtual peer-to-peer or mentor interaction. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened, followed by an assessment of the quality of evidence and an appraisal of the articles. A content analysis was then used to deductively code the data into emerging themes.
Results:
A total of 750 articles were identified, and 31 (4.1%) were included in the review. SMS text messaging and mobile instant messaging were the most common methods used to provide continuing education and virtual interaction between peers and mentors (25/31, 81%). Across the included articles, participants had high acceptability for using digital platforms for learning and interaction. Virtual peer interaction and mentorship were found to contribute to positive learning outcomes in most studies (27/31, 87%) through increased knowledge sharing, knowledge gains, improved clinical skills, and improved service delivery. Peer-to-peer and mentor interaction were found to improve social support and reduce feelings of isolation (9/31, 29%). There were several challenges in the implementation and use of digital technology for mobile-social learning, including limited access to resources (eg, internet coverage and stable electricity), flexibility in scheduling to participate in CPD, and sociobehavioral challenges among students.
Conclusions:
The summary suggests that mobile-social learning is a useful modality for curriculum dissemination and skill training and that the interface of mobile and social learning serves as a catalyst for improved learning outcomes coupled with increased social capital.
... SR refers to the leaders' responsibility to provide motivation and guidance to new nurses. Seniors' or supervisors' advice and information can enhance work performance and significantly increase the feeling of community belonging [36]. ...
... However, new nurses may experience a crisis of confidence as they lack the confidence to assume responsibility if their patients experience unfortunate outcomes [79]. Therefore, transition programmes such as NTP, mentoring, orientation, preceptorships or induction programmes specifically designed for new nurses result in significantly higher SE and OP values [33,36,39]. ...
Background
Graduate nurses commonly experience the transition phase and are required to adapt quickly to their new workplace, as it is a prerequisite for a successful transition. However, workplace adaptation is extremely challenging and may affect nurses’ future career prospects if not managed properly. Therefore, we aimed to determine the factors that facilitate newly employed nurses’ adaptation and integration at Ministry of Health (MOH)-run state hospitals in Malaysia. The study framework was derived and adapted from the Roy adaptation model and organisational socialisation theories.
Methods
This quantitative study was conducted from May 2021 to December 2021. The sample population was newly employed nurses working at state hospitals with 1–2 years of service experience. This study involved 496 newly hired nurses from MOH state hospitals. Questionnaires were distributed through Google Forms. The data were analysed using covariance-based structural equation modelling.
Results
The participants perceived that workplace organisation (OC), academic institution contribution (AIC), and new nurse’s personality traits (PT) contributed approximately 36% to newly employed nurses’ adaptation (NENA). PT partially mediated the relationship between OC and NENA and between AIC and NENA.
Conclusions
The results could be useful to nursing authorities. We also recommend that a nurse’s personality be developed, emphasised, and enhanced through continuous programmes or training to ensure that they can easily adapt to their new working environment. Furthermore, academic institution and work organisation collaboration should be encouraged to develop improvement cycles that facilitate newly employed nurses’ prompt and efficient adaptation at MOH hospitals during transition.
... SR refers to the leaders' responsibility to provide motivation and guidance to new nurses. Seniors' or supervisors' advice and information can enhance work performance and signi cantly increase the feeling of community belonging [35]. OS_TI refers to the workplace organisational role in the various in uences on nursing performance. ...
... However, new nurses may face a crisis of con dence as they lack the con dence to assume responsibility if their patients experience unfortunate outcomes [77]. Therefore, transition programmes such as NTP, mentoring, orientation, preceptorships or induction programmes speci cally designed for new nurses result in signi cantly higher SE and OP value [32,35,38]. ...
Objective The transition phase is a common custom experienced by graduate nurses, who are required to adapt quickly to their new workplace as it is a prerequisite for a successful transition. However, workplace adaptation is very challenging and may affect nurses’ future career prospects if not managed properly. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the factors that facilitate newly employed nurses’ adaptation and integration at Ministry of Health (MOH)-run state hospitals in Malaysia. The study framework was derived and adapted from the Roy adaptation model (RAM) and organisational socialisation theories.
Design This quantitative study was conducted from May 2021 to December 2021.
Setting The sample population was newly employed nurses working at state hospitals with 1–2 years of service experience.
Participants A total of 496 newly hired nurses from MOH state hospitals participated in this study. The data was analysed using covariance-based structural equation modelling and IBM SPSS Amos 24.
Results The participants perceived that workplace organisation (OC), academic institution contribution (AIC), and new nurse’s personality traits (PT) contributed approximately 36% to newly employed nurses’ adaptation (NENA). PT partially mediated the relationship between OC and NENA and between AIC and NENA.
Conclusions The findings could be useful to nursing authorities. Additionally, it is also recommended that a nurse’s personality be developed, emphasised, and enhanced through continuous programmes or training to ensure that they can easily adapt to their new working environment. Moreover, academic institutions and work organisations should be encouraged to collaborate to develop improvement cycles that facilitate newly employed nurses’ prompt and efficient adaptation at MOH hospitals during transition.
... Mentoring or orientation programs previously proved that the programs could provide opportunities for new graduates to adapt to new environments and gain a better understanding of work culture [47][48][49]. In addition, with the constant guidance of an experienced nursing professional by their side, new nurses can gain the confidence to overcome challenges during this transition period and at the same time will be able to develop new skills [8,50,51]. ...
... We would like to convey our gratitude to the Director General of Health Malaysia for his permission to publish this article (NIH-800-4/4/1 Jld. 113 (50)). We are also deeply grateful to the Research Unit, Nursing Board, and MOH for facilitating us during the data collection process. ...
A long-established approach, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) is used to validate measurement models of latent constructs. Employing CFA can be useful for assessing the validity and reliability of such models. The study adapted previous instruments and modified them to suit the current setting. The new measurement model is termed NENA-q. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed the instruments of the NENA-q model formed a construct of the second order with four dimensions, namely organizational contribution (OC), academic institution contribution (AIC), personality traits (PT), and newly employed nurses' adaptation (NENA). Researchers administered the questionnaires to a sample of 496 newly employed nurses working in hospitals under the Ministry of Health (MOH) for the confirmation of the extracted dimensions. The study performed a two-step CFA procedure to validate NENA-q since the model involves higher-order constructs. The first step was individual CFA, while the second step was pooled CFA. The validation procedure through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) found the model achieved the threshold of construct validity through fitness index assessment. The model also achieved convergent validity when all average variance extracted (AVE) exceeded the threshold value of greater than 0.5. The assessment of the composite reliability (CR) value indicates all CR values exceeded the threshold value of 0.6, which indicates the construct achieved composite reliability. Overall, the NENA-q model consisting of the OC construct, AIC construct, PT construct, and NENA construct for CFA has met the fitness indexes and passed the measurements of the AVE, CR, and normality test. Once the measurement models have been validated through CFA procedure, the researcher can assemble these constructs into structural model and estimate the required parameter through structural equation modelling (SEM) procedure.
... The depiction of CoPs in the literature is not always consistent with Lave and Wenger's (1991) original conceptualisation of a group of people who interact around a shared concern or passion. Some CoPs exist only for a limited duration and are not self-sustaining (Abiodun et al., 2020;Wright et al., 2020). The degree to which CoPs are allowed to evolve versus being a planned activity can vary (Landeen et al., 2017, King et al., 2017. ...
... Additional communication happens informally on an almost daily basis through our WhatsApp group, and through impromptu one-on-one meetings. WhatsApp has been widely used by nursing and medical students to establish community and for quick communication (Abiodun et al., 2020) and we have found messaging to be an invaluable addition to our communication. As core CoP members, we have collectively completed several conference presentations, and hosted multiple events open to other doctoral students through the Occasional CoP. ...
Background: A community of practice was established in 2020 by three doctoral nursing students during the Covid-19 pandemic, when in-person learning was on hold. The group members were intentional about using the community of practice as part of their personal and collective reflexive learning strategies. An expanded ‘Community of Practice’, open to doctoral students in the health professions, developed from the core group’s initiative. Aim: The aim of this article is to critically reflect on the experience of participating in a community of practice focused on the development of an intentional reflexive practice, and to explore how self-knowledge as students and novice researchers was cultivated through collective reflection and discussion. Conclusion: This article contributes to the literature on communities of practice in the context of doctoral nursing studies. Participation in a community of practice provides a person-centred approach to learning and self-knowledge for novice researchers. Implications for practice: A community of practice can create space for an intentional reflexive practice for doctoral researchers Engaging in collective reflexive inquiry has potential to expand the perspectives and outlook of individual researchers Participation in a community of practice can transform the doctoral student experience by encouraging a participatory, person-centred approach that promotes student flourishing as novice researchers
... This study revealed that a WhatsApp group significantly shaped the experience of the participants in their training program. Furthermore, another study conducted by Abiodun et al. (2020), aimed to examine the use of WhatsApp community of practices to support nurses in their first year of practice. This study showed the important role of WhatsApp community of practice for isolated graduated nurses in a critical phase of the transition of their professional development. ...
... As previously mentioned, the use of WhatsApp groups as an online community of practices has been addressed in several studies. Abiodun et al. (2020) conducted a study on using WhatsApp to support nurse students in their community service placement. WhatsApp groups were created based on the participants' location. ...
Mobile instant messengers such as WhatsApp have become an essential part of everyday life and can be a transformative tool for teacher professional development. Several studies have addressed the use of WhatsApp in a community of practices. However, there is a lack of study on examining teachers’ interaction in WhatsApp community of practices, particularly using social network analysis (SNA). This study aimed to investigate teachers’ interactions with emphasis on frequency and pattern of interactions in eight groups of WhatsApp community of practices, which were voluntarily formed. The participants of this study were 76 secondary school mathematics teachers in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Data were collected during the two months of the program and were analyzed using descriptive quantitative analysis and SNA. This study reveals that there were great differences in teachers’ interaction across the groups. Participants were predominantly involved in discussions during evenings, either weekdays or weekends. In addition, this study indicates that the most active participants in each group, who played a critical role, sent the highest number of messages and interacted with most of the other members of their groups. The participants also started a new session of discussion after a short or long activity. The findings of this study could be the basis for sustainable professional development using mobile instant messenger technology in the context of the community of practices.
... Other sources explain that CoPs can also be cross-organizational and foster knowledge and creativity [44]. Furthermore, CoPs can take place virtually and provide remote or isolated areas with the opportunity to acquire knowledge and learn [45]. ...
... In the context of learning in organizations, CoPs are also described as requiring self-organization [39]. CoPs take place either in-person [41] or virtually [45] with some regularity [38]. In organizations with cross-functional teams, they contribute to functional learning at the individual and organizational levels [26]. ...
With the increasing relevance of information technology and software development in particular, the popularity of agile working methods like Scrum and Kanban has grown significantly in recent years. Characteristic for many agile frameworks like Scrum is the work in cross-functional teams. While this has many advantages in development, cross-functional teams make functional learning very challenging. Therefore, so-called Communities of Practice (CoPs) have been established in practice. This paper defines CoPs in the agile context and reviews existing literature on CoPs in agile context. There is very little literature how CoPs in the agile context are employed to enhance functional learning. The author calls for more scientific research for example on CoP’s success factors and contribution to functional learning outcomes in agile environments.
... This paper analyses the use of a telemedicine platform by health professionals working in rural areas of Cameroon. The historical series analysed shows an increasing trend in the use of telemedicine communities, having to be stimulated privately by offering connections, devices, training for its use and the link with remote specialists (Abiodun et al., 2020;Fundación Recover, 2022). ...
Aim
Compare the use and trend of a telemedicine tool for clinical advice among nurses and other Cameroonian healthcare providers and explore its feasibility and accessibility.
Design
A comparative observational descriptive study.
Methods
The sample includes all telemedicine users who request advice from volunteer medical specialists in Spain on clinical cases through the telemedicine tool “diagnosis assistance” (DA). It consisted of a total of 296 Cameroonian health professionals (59% women), of whom 77 were nurses. The variables in which the trend was explored (2013–2022) were DAs entered by nurses versus other healthcare professionals, compared by primary specialty, comments and documents attached. Feasibility and accessibility were explored through an anonymous survey.
Results
There were 2527 DAs between 2013 and 2022, of which nurses introduced 68%. There is an increasing trend in the nurse/other healthcare providers ratio, with significant differences in the chi‐square of the linear trend between 2015 and 2022 (χ² = 395.05; df = 7; p < .001). The probability that a DA was requested by nurses (PR >1) was observed in all years except for 2014, 2018 and 2019. The most tele‐counselling requested by nurses was in the specialties of internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, and dermatology. The exchange of comments and attachments was mainly conducted among nurses (74.9% and 50.4%, respectively). The users surveyed considered the tool valuable for diagnosis, applicable, with limitations due to cost, Internet quality or lack of time and effective at reducing hospital referrals.
Conclusions
Telemedicine for clinical advice has been used mostly and with increasing tendency by nurses, mainly in internal medicine, gynaecology and dermatology, being a useful and feasible resource that can contribute to improving clinical decision‐making by African nurses.
Impact
The study addressed the problem of the shortage of health professionals in Central Africa and the search for alternatives that facilitate decision‐making in this context. Tele‐counselling tools through digital platforms that put Spanish specialists in contact with health professionals in Central Africa are mostly used by nurses working in rural health centres with a growing trend in their use. The research allows us to determine that tele‐counselling tools constitute a well‐accepted resource, which has a positive impact in environments with a shortage of human health resources, favouring the safety of both the nursing professional, through support in decision‐making, and the populations to whom they provide care, who benefit from a multidisciplinary approach to their processes.
Reporting Method
The study has adhered to STROBE guidelines.
Patient or Public Contribution
No Patient or Public Contribution.
... The proliferation of mobile phones has allowed the use of social media platforms for information sharing and learning from each other [19]. WhatsApp groups have utilized this affordance and have enabled farmers in rural areas to share information on planting season, crop management, pest control, storage, and market trends [20][21][22][23][24]. These WhatsApp groups are important to farmers who sometimes cannot access extension service information due to gender, geographic remoteness, or perennial shortages of time and numbers of extension service officers. ...
Developing new ways of providing information and knowledge for lifelong learning to those on the margins of society with low literacy and access is complicated. Using a case study, this chapter generally demonstrates how smallholder farmers in Kenya engage in opportunities for lifelong learning offered by video animation programs in agriculture in their WhatsApp groups. The definitions of lifelong learning , affordances that technology provides for lifelong learning, and its relationship with Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) are offered. Moreover, African philosophies and practices such as Palaver, Harambee, Umuganda, Ubuntu, and Omoluabi and how they relate to and increase lifelong learning are discussed. The successes and challenges of the WhatsApp groups and video animations as sites for lifelong learning are also addressed.
... MIMs are seen as a panacea that can remedy some of the challenges that first-year students face in their learning context (Abiodun, Daniels, Pimmer & Chipps, 2020). MIM offers better means of communication, collaboration, always reachable, and pervades personal and work environment. ...
This paper analysed the use of WhatsApp among first-year students at a University of Technology in the context of South Africa. Drawing on Assemblage Theory, the study analysed postings on WhatsApp group and secondary data. The findings showed that first year students used WhatsApp supported for communication, sharing content and information related to issues affecting their studies. Further, WhatsApp was useful in the process of becoming of the first year students in the new educational environment and creation of knowledge from multiple sources that was not confined to the educators and classroom experiences. This study offers insights that can be useful when developing strategies for integrating Mobile Instating Messaging platforms in the context of higher education.
... de los usuarios(Prichard et al., 2020; Singh et al., 2019). El uso de plataformas de mensajería instantánea, como lo es WhatsApp, ha demostrado su efectividad en la comunicación entre profesionales en el área de la salud(Abiodun et al., 2020;Di Maida et al., 2017; Sakona et al., 2017), en la prestación de servicios de salud (Gimeno-Vicente et al., 2020) y en la investigación(Moreno-Castro et al., 2020; Srivastav et al., 2021). ...
El libro Experiencias de atención con recursos de la intervención psicosocial se consolida como una caja de herramientas que describe ejercicios de atención de las metodologías que diseñaron profesionales en psicología, para responder a las necesidades que expresaban comunidades específicas. El libro se estructura en nueve capítulos. El primero de ellos expone las bases teóricas de la intervención psicosocial, lo cual ofrece un marco de comprensión común en los capítulos siguientes. Los capítulos del dos al nueve exponen un ejercicio de intervención diferente en cada uno de ellos. Estos apartados se componen de tres partes: explicación de las bases teóricas del capítulo; el desarrollo metodológico con la descripción de la población que fue atendida, las fases e instrumentos utilizados; por último, se presentan los resultados y conclusiones que surgieron de la experiencia profesional.
... According to Chahal et al. (2019), some of the benefits of using WhatsApp in education can be, among others: a) promoting unity among members of a group; b) speed of connectivity; c) ease of use; d) is a good resource for recalling information about days, dates and times. All of these benefits were identified over the weeks of classes, as, with regard to unity among the group members, it constituted a community of practice (ABIODUN et al., 2020), especially in some classes, students came from from different cities, as the university is multicampi, and most have never seen each other in person, but until the end of classes (and, in some cases, even later), the idea of unity could be verified in the interaction strategies and in the resource humor present with some regularity in the classes -some more and others less -, as well as the fact that students remain in the WhatsApp group, even with the purpose of its creation finished (that is, even after the end of classes). ...
This text aims to present an account of teaching experience mobilized within the scope of university extension, started in March and concluded in June 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. The field of knowledge is on Spanish language focused on teaching conversation classes. The methodological procedures adopted are described and problematized, as well as reflections on the didactic material elaborated for the specific context of the pandemic, through the Canva platform, and the production of videos for YouTube following the principles of microlearning. Furthermore, reflections are made on the duration time of synchronous classes (which, in the case of this experience, occurred using Google Meet provided by the university), the ideal number of students for this type of proposal and what is the role of using WhatsApp during the process. The experience is reported through the student point of view, through the synthesis of the responses from an anonymous questionnaire available at the end of the course, statistically comparing the set of perceptions regarding the model adopted. The results show that the teacher-student interaction was the best rated item and the worst rated was pre-registration disseminate.
... Chahal et al. (2019), algunos de los beneficios de usar WhatsApp en la educación pueden ser, entre otros: a) promover la unidad entre los miembros de un grupo; b) velocidad de conectividad; c) facilidad de uso; d) es un buen recurso para recordar información sobre días, fechas y horarios. Todos estos beneficios fueron identificados a lo largo de las semanas de clases, ya que, en cuanto a la unidad entre los miembros del grupo, constituyéndose una comunidad de práctica (ABIODUN et al., 2020), especialmente en algunas clases los alumnos procedían de diferentes ciudades, ya que la universidad es multicampus, y la mayoría de ellos nunca se vieron en persona, pero hasta el final de las clases (y, en algunos casos, incluso más tarde), la idea de unidad se pudo verificar en las estrategias de interacción y en el recurso humorístico presente con cierta regularidad en las clases -algunas más y en otras menos -, así como el hecho de que los alumnos permanezcan en el grupo de WhatsApp, incluso con el fin de su creación (es decir, incluso después del final de las clases). ...
Resumen Este texto tiene como objetivo presentar un relato de experiencia docente movilizada en el ámbito de la extensión universitaria, que se inició en marzo y finalizó en junio de 2020, durante la pandemia de Covid-19. El campo de conocimiento en cuestión son las clases de es-pañol con enfoque en la enseñanza de la conversación. Se describen y problematizan los procedimientos metodológicos adoptados, así como reflexiones sobre el material didáctico desarrollado para el contexto es-pecífico de la pandemia, a través de la plataforma Canva, así como la producción de videos para YouTube que siguieron los principios del microaprendizaje. Asimismo, se reflexiona sobre la duración de las cla-ses síncronas (que, en el caso de esa experiencia, se produjo mediante el uso del Google Meet proporcionado por la universidad), el número ideal de alumnos para este tipo de propuesta, así como el hecho de usar 1 Universidade Federal do Pampa (Campus Bagé). Grupo de Pesquisa sobre Aprendizagens, Metodologias e Avaliação (GAMA/ CNPq).
... De acordo com Chahal et al. (2019), alguns dos benefícios do uso do WhatsApp na educação podem ser, entre outros: a) promoção da unidade entre os membros de um grupo; b) rapidez da conectividade; c) facilidade de uso; d) é um bom recurso para relembrar informações sobre dias, datas e horários. Todos esses benefícios foram identificados ao longo das semanas de aula, pois, no que tange à unidade entre os membros do grupo, constituindo-se como uma comunidade de prática (ABIODUN et al., 2020), especialmente em algumas turmas os alunos eram advindos de cidades diferentes, visto que a universidade é multicampi, e a maioria nunca se viu presencialmente, mas até o término das aulas (e, em alguns casos, inclusive posteriormente), a ideia de unidade pôde ser verificada nas estratégias de interação e no recurso de humor presentes com certa regularidade nas turmas -umas mais e em outras menos -, O último princípio, que alertava os alunos para terem paciência com a professora, demonstrava, ao início do curso, ser um indício de sua insegurança em relação ao funcionamento das aulas. Em alguma medida, indicava ainda certa incredulidade de que os elementos constitutivos para o bom andamento do curso pudessem ser satisfatórios, seja pela sua inexperiência em atividades dessa natureza (a professora em questão jamais havia atuado como docente em outros contextos que não fossem os presenciais), seja em razão de eventuais problemas tecnológicos imprevisíveis (em seus dispositivos ou sua conexão). ...
Este texto tem como objetivo apresentar um relato de uma experiência docente mobilizada no âmbito da extensão universitária, iniciada em março e concluída em junho de 2020, durante a pandemia da Covid-19. O campo do conhecimento em questão são aulas de língua espanhola com foco no ensino da conversação. São descritos e problematizados os procedimentos metodológicos adotados, bem como reflexões a respeito do material didático elaborado para o contexto específico da pandemia, por meio da plataforma Canva, bem como a produção de vídeos para o YouTube que seguiram os princípios do microlearning. Também, são tecidas reflexões sobre o tempo de duração para as aulas síncronas (as quais, no caso dessa experiência, ocorreram com o uso do Google Meet, disponibilizado pela universidade), o número ideal de alunos para esse tipo de proposta, bem como o papel do uso do WhatsApp durante o processo. A experiência é relatada a partir do ponto de vista discente, mediante a síntese das respostas de um questionário anônimo disponibilizado ao final do curso, comparando estatisticamente o conjunto de percepções a respeito do modelo adotado. Os resultados mostram que a interação professora-alunos foi o item mais bem avaliado, e o pior avaliado foi a divulgação do curso pré-inscrição.
... In one study from South Africa, new nurse graduates took part in a WhatsApp group-based transition programme that included topics such as conflict, stress and career management. Within the eight-week intervention the participants had a significant increase in bridging and bonding social capital with peers, professional integration and their sense of being part of a community of practice, as measured through pre-and post-tests (Chipps, Ologun-Abiodun, Daniels, & Pimmer, 2020). The qualitative analysis of the same intervention suggests that positive effects were not only triggered through moderators, but also by re-connecting relatable social ties, i.e., former students who experienced very similar situations, and providing these spatially, socio-culturally and often emotionally 'dislocated' graduates a provisional space to belong (Pimmer, Daniels, et al., 2019). ...
This study investigated the use of instant messaging in the school-to-work transition, a crucial stage of learning and development. Newly graduated health professionals (n = 235) participated either in WhatsApp groups in which moderators shared knowledge and facilitated professional discussions or in the control group. The results show that participants in the WhatsApp groups had markedly higher levels of knowledge, greater resilience as well as lower levels of professional isolation– in comparison with the control group. They also reported less stress when searching for a new job. These findings are affirmed by the qualitative analysis of open survey questions: knowledge acquisition emerged as the main benefit followed by connectedness and professional informational benefits. A further interesting result is that the general, day-to-day use of WhatsApp outside of the intervention was linked to higher levels of resilience.
Another finding is that although the actual (measured) and self-reported frequency of participation in the WhatsApp groups correlated highly, these measures did not predict the outcome variables in the regression analysis. This observation questions the frequency of participation as a proxy for the success of engagement.
The global shortage of nurses and high attrition rates for newly graduated nurses along with the shifting demand for home care has created a critical need for retention strategies that address the specific challenges of rural settings. The effectiveness of structured transition or mentoring programs are primarily studied in acute care settings, making it difficult to translate to the unique context of rural home care nursing. The complexities of the independent nature of home care nursing practice and limited resources to address transition shock make it difficult to successfully transition newly graduated nurses to rural home care. A case study supports mentorship facilitation as a readily available, effective strategy that can overcome the challenges of rural home care settings. A comparative analysis will link Duchscher's (2008) transition shock theory to mentorship as an effective strategy for supporting NGNs' transition in home care nursing. Recommendations offer rural care leaders practical strategies bundled with mentorship to optimize the successful transition and retention of newly graduated nurses in their workplaces.
Students face multiple stressors while earning their doctorates. Since peer support is a common recommendation for easing this stress, we realized graduate students, faculty, and academic program administrators might have interest in how our cohort used group messaging to facilitate peer support early in our studies. We conducted a thematic analysis examining how group messaging helped new doctoral students in a hybrid program maintain ongoing engagement with course content and build interpersonal relationships. McClusky’s Theory of Margin provided a theoretical framework for this project. Results of thematic analysis emphasize that students utilized this communication medium to reach out to peers for support and to form interpersonal relationships with peers at a distance.
BACKGROUND
Access to continuing professional development (CPD) for health care workers in low-and-middle- income countries (LMICs) is severely limited. Digital technology serves as a promising platform in supporting CPD for health care workers through providing educational content virtually, along with enabling virtual peer-to-peer and mentor interaction for enhanced learning. Digital strategies for CPD that foster virtual interaction can increase workforce retention and bolster the health workforce in LMICs.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this integrative review was to evaluate evidence in which digital platforms were utilized to provide CPD to health care workers and clinical students in LMICs which was complemented with virtual peer-to-peer and/or mentor interaction. We have phrased this intersection of virtual learning and virtual interaction as mobile-social learning.
METHODS
A comprehensive database and grey literature search was conducted to identify qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies, along with empirical evidence employing digital technology to provide CPD and virtual interaction with peers and/or mentors. PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were followed. Eligible articles were written in English, took place in a low-and-middle-income country, and utilized a mobile device to provide CPD and facilitated virtual peer-to-peer and/or mentor interaction. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened, followed by assessment of the quality of evidence and appraisal of articles. Content analysis was then used to deductively code data into emerging themes.
RESULTS
A total of 750 articles were identified, and 31 articles were included in the review. Text messaging, mobile instant messaging (MIM), and short-message services (SMS) was the most common method used to provide continuing education and virtual interaction between peers and mentors (n=25). Across included articles, participants had high acceptability of using digital platforms for learning and interaction. Virtual peer interaction and mentorship was found to contribute to positive learning outcomes across the majority of studies (n=27) through increased knowledge sharing, knowledge gains, improved clinical skills, and improved service delivery. Peer-to-peer and mentor interaction was found to improve social support and reduce feelings of isolation (n=9). Several challenges existed in the implementation and utilization of digital technology for mobile-social learning which included limited access to resources (e.g. internet coverage and stable electricity), flexibility in scheduling to participate in CPD, and sociobehavioral challenges among students.
CONCLUSIONS
This integrative review demonstrates that digital platforms that foster mobile-social learning can serve as an innovative method in providing health care providers and clinical students in LMICs with CPD while simultaneously enabling supportive interaction among peers and mentors. This evidence synthesis demonstrates the added value of social learning networks in enhancing the utility and effectiveness of digital learning platforms, whether as independent dissemination strategies, or as part of blended-learning approach.
CLINICALTRIAL
N/A
Objectives
Community Health Workers are one way to address the shortage of ear and hearing care specialists in low resource settings. However, there are few reports evaluating training and service delivery by Community Health Workers.
Design, Setting and Participants
We trained 13 Community Health Workers in primary ear and hearing care in Mukono District, Uganda. Community Health Workers attended a two-day training workshop and received remote supervision thereafter during service delivery in the community. An ear camp was held at the local health centre every two months, where a local ENT specialist could assess referred cases.
Main outcome measures
Clinical and diagnostic skills and decision making were assessed using an Objective Structured Clinical Examination, with scores recorded at baseline and six months. Service delivery was evaluated by analysing: (i) number of individuals evaluated; (ii) treatments delivered; (iii) cases referred for specialist opinion; (iv) proportion of appropriately referred cases; (v) agreement between Community Health Worker and specialist diagnosis.
Results
Observed Structured Clinical Examination scores were high and stable for six months. 312 individuals were screened in the community by the Community Health Workers, with 298 classified as having an abnormality. Care was delivered in the community to 167 of these, and the remaining 131 referred to the ear camp. Diagnostic agreement was 39%, but 98% of referrals were deemed “appropriate” by the ENT specialist. 27 individuals self-presented to the ear camp without prior assessment by a Community Health Worker, and 97% of these were deemed appropriate.
Conclusion
Trained Community Health Workers can play an important role in delivering ear and hearing services. Future work should look to explore this model in other contexts and/or compare to other models of service delivery.
Background: In any country the transition from student to Registered Nurse is a rewarding but challenging and stressful time. Nurses terminating employment within one year of qualification have been reported as 58% in Taiwan. Therefore, the experience of NQNs’ transition from the role of student to qualified nurse after being employed in their first posts in their nursing careers in Taiwan is worthy of research. Purpose: To explore experiences of newly qualified nurses (NQNs) during the first twelve months of their career in Taiwan. Methods: A primarily cross-sectional qualitative research design was used. These were a purposive sample of 28 NQNs during the first 12 months as Registered Nurses. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with groups of participants. Data analysis was undertaken within the Thematic Content Analysis Framework. Results: Four main themes of newly qualified nurses’ experiences were identified: Perceptions of becoming a nurse; Reality challenge; Developing competence; and Interpersonal relationships. Conclusion: NQN’s experiences in clinical practice during the first twelve months employment sound very like a reality challenge. Successful transition was influenced by personal, social and environmental work factors. NQNs identified that their new role was based on what they evaluated as limited knowledge and skills. They addressed the importance of interpersonal relationship influenced their transition experiences. The findings have implications for education of student nurses and their support during transition to the role of qualified nurses. This requires a coordinated response from nursing schools, hospitals and government to increase those who adapt to their new roles and develop successful nursing careers.
The South African Nursing Council (SANC), in Regulation R765 of 2007, requires every newly qualified professional nurse trained in South Africa to perform remunerated community service in a public hospital for a period of one year before registration as a nurse. However, most newly qualified professional nurses placed in a certain public hospital in Tshwane district as community service nurses request to be transferred to other hospitals before the end of their placement term. The study adopted interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), which aimed at gaining an in-depth understanding of community service nurses’ experiences at a public hospital in Tshwane district, South Africa. Data were collected using in-depth interviews with 11 purposively selected community service nurses. Data were analysed using Smith’s IPA framework. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) limited material resources and a shortage of health care personnel; (2) poor interpersonal relationships; and (3) a lack of professional support during the placement of community service nurses at the public hospital under study. The findings imply a lack of hospital readiness and preparedness to offer a conducive environment for community service nurses to gain the required clinical experience and skills. This has a negative impact on the nursing profession, nursing education, and patient care. Recommendations are put forward focusing on the responsibilities of the Health Ministry and the SANC, mentorship, and the transformation of nursing curricula to be contextually relevant to the country’s health care systems and resources.
Background: The student-to-nurse graduate transition is a pivotal phase in the professional development of nurses. In South Africa, this transition is part of a compulsory community service programme, which requires newly graduated nurses to work in rural and/or underserved areas for a period of 1 year.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to review nurse graduates’ experiences and support needs during their transition in the compulsory community service programme.
Methods: A qualitative systematic review of experiences was conducted. Qualitative research studies that addressed nurses’ experience in South Africa (2008–2017) were identified in Cochrane, Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, PubMed, SABINET, Science Direct, SCOPUS and Google Scholar databases. The systematic review methods included searching, sifting, abstracting and quality assessment of relevant qualitative studies by two reviewers and cross-checking by a third reviewer. Two reviewers independently performed blinded data extraction and quality assessment using the confidence in qualitative synthesis findings (ConQual) approach.
Results: A total of 1257 studies were identified of which 12 met the inclusion criteria. Seven of the 12 studies were published articles and six were theses. The quality of the studies was found to be of high standard based on the ConQual rating. Four main themes emerged from the analysis: (1) rich developmental experiences through practice exposure, (2) difficulties in reconciling theory and practice, (3) contextual challenges in the workplace and (4) need for professional support structures, educational measures and public guidelines.
Conclusion: Although positive experiences were reported, various challenges emerged, indicating the need for more systematic support mechanisms during transition.
Abstract
Background: Social media is not only an emerging and cultural trend, but a method of communication that is changing the way individuals and organizations throughout the world transmit and receive information. Nurses play a significant role in identification, interpretation, and transmission of knowledge and information within the health care system. Social Mobile Media Spaces (SMMS) provide a platform that can assist both qualified and student nurses keep in touch with each other and share best practices and prevent isolation for those placed in far flung areas of the country.
Approach/Methods: Data was obtained from WhatsApp discussions involving one group of HIV nurse practitioners followed for a period of six months. Analysis of data was conducted by the lead investigators and took the form of thematic analysis informed by Braun and Clarke (2006). The data were constantly compared with the codes in order that the shift in the meaning is minimized and accuracy and confirmability is maintained. Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Zambia, School of Medicine’s Research Ethics Committee. Anonymity was maintained through the use of pseudonyms.
Results: The results revealed that social media as tool of communication in Zambia has been used by HIV Nurse Practitioners in both urban and rural areas for sharing best practices and prevention of professional isolation. The tool is also used for emotional and social support as well as a source of motivation for its users.
Conclusion: Mobile Instant Messaging is a resource that can benefit the nursing profession in keeping abreast with the new trends in the care of patients and prevention of professional isolation. However, it is important to ensure that the interaction is structured to prevent digression from the core purpose which might lead to loss of direction.
Background: Mobile instant messaging (MIM) tools, such as WhatsApp, have transformed global communication practice. In the field of global health, MIM is an increasingly used, but little understood, phenomenon.
Objectives: It remains unclear how MIM can be used by rural community health workers (CHWs) and their facilitators, and what are the associated benefits and constraints. To address this gap, WhatsApp groups were implemented and researched in a rural setting in Malawi.
Methods: The multi-site case study research triangulated interviews and focus groups of CHWs and facilitators with the thematic qualitative analysis of the actual conversations on WhatsApp. A survey with open questions and the quantitative analysis of WhatsApp conversations were used as supplementary triangulation sources.
Results: The use of MIM was differentiated according to instrumental (e.g. mobilising health resources) and participatory purposes (e.g. the enactment of emphatic ties). The identified benefits were centred on the enhanced ease and quality of communication of a geographically distributed health workforce, and the heightened connectedness of a professionally isolated health workforce. Alongside minor technical and connectivity issues, the main challenge for the CHWs was to negotiate divergent expectations regarding the social versus the instrumental use of the space.
Conclusions: Despite some challenges and constraints, the implementation of WhatsApp was received positively by the CHWs and it was found to be a useful tool to support distributed rural health work.
Background
Increases in ageing, chronic illness and complex co-morbidities in the Australian population are adding pressure to the primary care nursing workforce. Initiatives to attract and retain nurses are needed to establish a sustainable and skilled future primary care nursing workforce. We implemented a transition to professional practice program in general practice settings for graduate nurses and evaluated graduate nurse competency, the graduate nurse experience and program satisfaction. This study aimed to determine whether a transition to professional practice program implemented in the general practice setting led to competent practice nurses in their first year post-graduation. MethodsA longitudinal, exploratory mixed-methods design was used to assess the pilot study. Data were collected at three times points (3, 6, 12 months) with complete data sets from graduate nurses (n = 4) and preceptors (n = 7). We assessed perceptions of the graduates’ nursing competency and confidence, satisfaction with the preceptor/graduate relationship, and experiences and satisfaction with the program. Graduate nurse competency was assessed using the National Competency Standards for Nurses in General Practice. Semi-structured interviews with participants at Time 3 sought information about barriers, enablers, and the perceived impact of the program. ResultsGraduate nurses were found to be competent within their first year of clinical practice. Program perceptions from graduate nurses and preceptors were positive and the relationship between the graduate nurse and preceptor was key to this development. Conclusions
With appropriate support registered nurses can transition directly into primary care and are competent in their first year post-graduation. While wider implementation and research is needed, findings from this study demonstrate the potential value of transition to professional practice programs within primary care as a nursing workforce development strategy.
Background
Instant messaging applications have the potential to improve and facilitate communication between hospital doctors and students, hence generating and improving learning opportunities. This study aims to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of instant messaging communication to supplement medical education for medical students whilst on clinical attachment.
Methods
A total of 6 WhatsApp Messenger (WhatsApp Inc.) groups were created for medical students on clinical attachment. These were used to provide communication within Problem Based Learning (PBL) groups for a duration of 8 weeks. The frequency and type of communication were recorded. Students’ opinions were evaluated through a structured interview process at the end of the study period. A thematic analysis was performed on the content of the instant messaging groups and on the results of the structured interviews.
Results
All of the participants were active in their respective messaging groups (19 students and 6 tutors). A total of 582 messages, 22 images and 19 webpage links were sent. Thematic analysis on content of the instant messaging groups identified the following themes: organisational, educational and social. Thematic analysis on the content of interviews identified themes such as the ease of use of instant messaging, benefit of instant messaging to foster understanding and learning, and the ability to access recorded discussions.
Conclusion
The findings of this study illustrate a method by which communication within PBL groups can be facilitated by the use of instant messaging. The results indicate the feasibility and acceptability of WhatsApp Messenger in supplementing PBL teaching for medical students, and provides a framework for studies to investigate use amongst larger cohorts of students.
Background:
Prevailing health care structures and cultures restrict intraprofessional communication, inhibiting knowledge dissemination and impacting the translation of research into practice. Virtual communities may facilitate professional networking and knowledge sharing in and between health care disciplines.
Objectives:
This study aimed to review the literature on the use of social media by health care professionals in developing virtual communities that facilitate professional networking, knowledge sharing, and evidence-informed practice.
Methods:
An integrative literature review was conducted to identify research published between 1990 and 2015. Search strategies sourced electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL), snowball references, and tables of contents of 3 journals. Papers that evaluated social media use by health care professionals (unless within an education framework) using any research design (except for research protocols or narrative reviews) were included. Standardized data extraction and quality assessment tools were used.
Results:
Overall, 72 studies were included: 44 qualitative (including 2 ethnographies, 26 qualitative descriptive, and 1 Q-sort) and 20 mixed-methods studies, and 8 literature reviews. The most common methods of data collection were Web-based observation (n=39), surveys (n=23), interviews (n=11), focus groups (n=2), and diaries (n=1). Study quality was mixed. Social media studied included Listservs (n=22), Twitter (n=18), general social media (n=17), discussion forums (n=7), Web 2.0 (n=3), virtual community of practice (n=3), wiki (n=1), and Facebook (n=1). A range of health care professionals were sampled in the studies, including physicians (n=24), nurses (n=15), allied health professionals (n=14), followed by health care professionals in general (n=8), a multidisciplinary clinical specialty area (n=9), and midwives (n=2). Of 36 virtual communities, 31 were monodiscipline for a discrete clinical specialty. Population uptake by the target group ranged from 1.6% to 29% (n=4). Evaluation using related theories of "planned behavior" and the "technology acceptance model" (n=3) suggests that social media use is mediated by an individual's positive attitude toward and accessibility of the media, which is reinforced by credible peers. The most common reason to establish a virtual community was to create a forum where relevant specialty knowledge could be shared and professional issues discussed (n=17). Most members demonstrated low posting behaviors but more frequent reading or accessing behaviors. The most common Web-based activity was request for and supply of specialty-specific clinical information. This knowledge sharing is facilitated by a Web-based culture of collectivism, reciprocity, and a respectful noncompetitive environment. Findings suggest that health care professionals view virtual communities as valuable knowledge portals for sourcing clinically relevant and quality information that enables them to make more informed practice decisions.
Conclusions:
There is emerging evidence that health care professionals use social media to develop virtual communities to share domain knowledge. These virtual communities, however, currently reflect tribal behaviors of clinicians that may continue to limit knowledge sharing. Further research is required to evaluate the effects of social media on knowledge distribution in clinical practice and importantly whether patient outcomes are significantly improved.
The global use of mobile devices with their connectivity capacity, and integrated with the affordances of social media networks, provides a resource-rich platform for innovative student-directed learning experiences.
The objective of this study was to review the experiences of undergraduate nurses on the improvement of primary health care education at a School of Nursing at a University in the Western Cape, South Africa, through the incorporation of a social media application, WhatsApp.
A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, and contextual design was used to explore and describe data collected from a purposive sample of 21 undergraduate nursing students. The study population was engaged in a WhatsApp discussion group to enhance their integration of theory and clinical practice of the health assessment competency of the Primary Health Care Module. Participants submitted electronic reflections on their experiences in the WhatsApp discussion group via email on completion of the study. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data collected was done according to Tesch's (1990) steps of descriptive data analysis in order to identify the major themes in the study. The electronic reflections were analysed to explore their rich, reflective data.
Seven themes were identified that included: positive experiences using the WhatsApp group; the usefulness of WhatsApp for integrating theory and clinical practice; the availability of resources for test preparation; opportunity for clarification; anonymity; exclusion of students as a result of the lack of an appropriate device, and the application caused the battery of the device to run flat quickly.
The results of the experiences of students in the WhatsApp discussion group could be used to inform the use of social media applications in teaching and learning, with the purpose of enhancing the integration of the theory and clinical practice.
Compulsory community service (CCS) for nurses commenced in South Africain January 2008 after it was legislated in the new Nursing Act (Act No. 33 of 2005). Nurses completing their registered nurse programme are registered as community nurse practitioners (CNPs) during the CCS period and make up the largest number of health professionals serving CCS. Whilst health institutions have welcomed CNPs as additional resources for the shortage of nursing staff, no structured guidelines have been provided at a regional level as to how these nurses should be utilised or managed during the CCS year. To date, no large-scale study has been conducted on nurses carrying out CCS in order to generalise the findings.
To establish the perceptions of newly-qualified nurses carrying out CCS in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
A quantitative survey design was used to obtain data from a randomly selected sample of the 2012 cohort of nurses carrying out CCS in KwaZulu-Natal.
CNPs have a positive attitude toward CCS and perceive themselves as being well prepared for the year of community service in terms of knowledge, skills and ability to administer nursing care. They identified positive benefits of the year of community service.The concerns raised were limited orientation and support; and a few CNPs experienced problems of acceptance by the nurses with whom they work.
It is recommended that all health institutions who receive CNPs develop structured orientation and support for these nurses in order to promote their development, thereby enhancing their benefit to the communities they serve.
The number of mobile phone subscriptions worldwide reached almost 7 billion in 2013. Therefore, the social and psychological consequences of the technology are of great interest to new media scholars and policy makers. Adopting an affordance-based approach, this study examines how different uses of the mobile phone are related to individuals’ subjective well-being and social capital. Findings from a national survey showed that both voice and online communication with the mobile phone is positively related to various indicators of subjective well-being and bonding and bridging capital. Moreover, both bonding and bridging capital mediated the relationship between mobile phone use and subjective well-being. On the other hand, non-communicative uses, such as information seeking activities, were negatively related to positive affect and passing time activities were positively related to negative affect. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Aims: This article presents some preliminary findings from an action research study into the everyday practice of a group of occupational therapists working in a large metropolitan hospital delivering a range of acute services.
Methods and Findings: Narrative data gathered from 10 individual interviews were analysed through numerous iterative cycles to reveal salient themes. These include epistemological tensions associated with working in a hospital environment, antagonistic reasoning processes, overinclusive descriptions of practice, and communication challenges.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that occupational therapists in acute settings may experience challenges in describing occupational therapy and engaging in occupation-based practice. This is because of a range of factors, including, but not limited to, the paradigmatic conflict that arises between a profession informed by occupation and a predominantly biomedical setting. However, through in-depth, reflective processes undertaken collectively within a supportive community of practice milieu, significant changes in everyday practices can be activated.
Computer systems cannot improve organizational performance if they aren't used. Unfortunately, resistance to end-user systems by managers and professionals is a widespread problem. To better predict, explain, and increase user acceptance, we need to better understand why people accept or reject computers. This research addresses the ability to predict peoples' computer acceptance from a measure of their intentions, and the ability to explain their intentions in terms of their attitudes, subjective norms, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and related variables. In a longitudinal study of 107 users, intentions to use a specific system, measured after a one-hour introduction to the system, were correlated 0.35 with system use 14 weeks later. The intention-usage correlation was 0.63 at the end of this time period. Perceived usefulness strongly influenced peoples' intentions, explaining more than half of the variance in intentions at the end of 14 weeks. Perceived ease of use had a small but significant effect on intentions as well, although this effect subsided over time. Attitudes only partially mediated the effects of these beliefs on intentions. Subjective norms had no effect on intentions. These results suggest the possibility of simple but powerful models of the determinants of user acceptance, with practical value for evaluating systems and guiding managerial interventions aimed at reducing the problem of underutilized computer technology.
The transition from student to nurse has been described as traumatic, confusing, and shocking. The difficulties encountered by the graduates have led to the premature termination of their first position, and sometimes they leave nursing altogether. To coach new nurses in preparation for their first year of practice using an appreciative inquiry framework, this study focused on the new graduates' perspective of the processes that enabled them to successfully integrate into their new role. From the analysis of 36 interviews, three themes were identified: "They were there for me," "There are no stupid questions," and "Nurturing the seeds." New nurses know what works for them; educators need to heed their wisdom.
Communities of Practice (CoPs) are promoted in the healthcare sector as a means of generating and sharing knowledge and improving organisational performance. However CoPs vary considerably in the way they are structured and operate in the sector. If CoPs are to be cultivated to benefit healthcare organisations, there is a need to examine and understand their application to date. To this end, a systematic review of the literature on CoPs was conducted, to examine how and why CoPs have been established and whether they have been shown to improve healthcare practice.
Peer-reviewed empirical research papers on CoPs in the healthcare sector were identified by searching electronic health-databases. Information on the purpose of establishing CoPs, their composition, methods by which members communicate and share information or knowledge, and research methods used to examine effectiveness was extracted and reviewed. Also examined was evidence of whether or not CoPs led to a change in healthcare practice.
Thirty-one primary research papers and two systematic reviews were identified and reviewed in detail. There was a trend from descriptive to evaluative research. The focus of CoPs in earlier publications was on learning and exchanging information and knowledge, whereas in more recently published research, CoPs were used more as a tool to improve clinical practice and to facilitate the implementation of evidence-based practice. Means by which members communicated with each other varied, but in none of the primary research studies was the method of communication examined in terms of the CoP achieving its objectives. Researchers are increasing their efforts to assess the effectiveness of CoPs in healthcare, however the interventions have been complex and multifaceted, making it difficult to directly attribute the change to the CoP.
In keeping with Wenger and colleagues' description, CoPs in the healthcare sector vary in form and purpose. While researchers are increasing their efforts to examine the impact of CoPs in healthcare, cultivating CoPs to improve healthcare performance requires a greater understanding of how to establish and support CoPs to maximise their potential to improve healthcare.
A systematic literature review of the experiences and perceptions of newly qualified nurses in the UK during the transition from student to staff nurse.
It has been widely recognised that newly qualified nurses experience a period of transition. Over the past decade there has been radical reorganisation of nurse education in the UK which has raised issues of preparation for practice.
Searches were made of the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and MEDLINE.
A systematic review was carried out. Papers were critically reviewed, relevant data were extracted and synthesised.
Four themes were identified from the empirical evidence base: transition and change, personal and professional development, pre-registration education, preceptorship and support.
Transition remains a stressful experience for newly qualified nurses in the UK. Reasons include an increase in personal and professional development, changes in pre-registration education and lack of support once qualified.
Further research is needed to address the current situation in relation to the transition period including pre-registration education, preparation for practice and support in both primary and secondary care.
Disparities exist between rural and urban emergency departments with respect to knowledge resources such as online journals and clinical specialists. As knowledge is a critical element in the delivery of quality care, a web-based learning project was proposed to address the knowledge needs of emergency clinicians. One objective of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of the online environment for knowledge exchange among rural and urban emergency clinicians. Descriptive and content analysis of the online discussion board revealed 202 postings with rural participants contributing the largest number of postings (75%; 152/202). Postings were used to establish a clinical presence (87/202), seek clinical information (52/202), and share clinical information (63/202). Postintervention survey results indicate that this modality introduced participants to new clinical experts and resources. The results provide direction for design of a virtual community of practice, which may reduce current knowledge resource disparities.
Methods:
Pubmed, Scopus, Science Direct and IEE Expert databases were searched using the search term WhatsApp and Google Scholar using the terms WhatsApp Telemedicine and WhatsApp mHealth.
Results:
Thirty-two papers covering 17 disciplines were relevant with the most papers, 12, from India. Seventeen papers reported the use of WhatsApp Groups within departments, 14 of which were surgery related disciplines. Groups improved communication and advice given on patient management. Confidentiality was mentioned in 19 papers and consent in five. Data security was partially addressed in 11 papers with little understanding of how data are transmitted and stored. Telemedicine services outside of departmental groups were reported in seven papers and covered emergency triage in maxillofacial, plastic, neuro and general surgery, and cardiology and telestroke.
Conclusions:
WhatsApp is seen to be a simple, cheap and effective means of communication within the clinical health sector and its use will grow. Users have paid little attention to confidentiality, consent and data security. Guidelines for using WhatsApp for telemedicine are required including downloading. WhatsApp messages to computer for integration with electronic medical records.
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Information communication technology playing a major role in transmitting idea, thought and information between one to another. Social networking websites are a good example of communication network and it is a social structure that lets the user interact and work collaboratively with other users. WhatsApp is a free instant messenger application that allows users to send text messages and multimedia files. In this paper, an online survey was conducted to measure usability of WhatsApp for service delivery in the libraries and information centres. A random sample was selected from social networking sites from all over India and an online questionnaire was used to gather information from respondents. Findings indicated that respondents showed a positive attitude toward getting services over WhatsApp. Most of the respondents believe that use of WhatsApp can improve alert services (CAS, virtual reference, notifications) and libraries can utilise their potential for providing better user services.
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Background:
With increasing numbers of new graduate nurses from accelerated nursing programs entering the workforce, it is important to understand their transition experiences, as they may differ from those of traditional graduates.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to describe and compare the intrapersonal resources, transition experiences, and retention outcomes of these two groups.
Design:
A descriptive cross-sectional comparison study was conducted.
Participants:
A random sample of 3655 registered nurses with <3years of nursing experience were invited to participate from across Canada; 1020 responded (27.9%). The final sample included 230 nurses from accelerated programs and 768 from four-year programs (total n=998).
Methods:
Following ethics approval, participants were mailed a questionnaire to their home address. One month later non-responders were sent a reminder letter, followed by a second questionnaire one month later (January to March, 2013). Descriptive statistics were conducted using SPSS. Group differences were assessed using independent samples t-tests for continuous variables and χ(2) tests for categorical variables.
Results:
Overall, there were few significant differences between new graduate nurses from accelerated and traditional programs. Nurses in both groups had high levels of intrapersonal resources, positive transition experiences, were satisfied with their jobs and their choice of nursing as a career, and their intentions to leave were low.
Conclusions:
All new graduate nurses need to have a strong educational preparation and transition support, regardless of their age and previous work and career experiences.
This study explores how mobile instant messaging use, affordances, and social capital may directly and indirectly influence positive employee outcomes. A field survey of 245Hong Kong real estate agents showed that their mobile instant messaging (MIM) use and affordances were positively associated with job performance, job satisfaction, and relational satisfaction, and with online bridging and bonding social capital. While bridging capital was not associated with any of the three outcomes, bonding social capital was positively related to the two satisfaction measures. However (with one small exception), neither type of social capital mediated relationships between MIM use and affordances, and employee outcomes.
Aim:
To test a model examining the effects of structural empowerment and support for professional practice on new graduate nurses' perceived professional practice behaviours, perceptions of care quality and subsequent job satisfaction and career turnover intentions.
Background:
The nursing worklife model describes relationships between supportive nursing work environments and nurse and patient outcomes. The influence of support for professional practice on new nurses' perceptions of professional nursing behaviours within this model has not been tested.
Methods:
Structural equation modelling in Mplus was used to analyse data from a national survey of new nurses across Canada (n = 393).
Findings:
The hypothesised model was supported: χ²(122) = 346.726, P = 0.000; CFI = 0.917; TLI = 0.896; RMSEA = 0.069. Professional practice behaviour was an important mechanism through which empowerment and supportive professional practice environments influenced nurse-assessed quality of care, which was related to job satisfaction and lower intentions to leave nursing.
Conclusion:
Job satisfaction and career retention of new nurses are related to perceptions of work environment factors that support their professional practice behaviours and high-quality patient care.
Implications:
Nurse managers can support new graduate nurses' professional practice behaviour by providing empowering supportive professional practice environments.
Unlabelled:
The first year of practice as a nurse is recognized as stressful. Graduate nurses (GNs) report gaps in their education, reality shock, burnout and other negative experiences that influence their intentions to remain in nursing.
Objectives:
The aim of this literature review was to gain a greater understanding of the experiences of GNs.
Review methods:
It included thirty-six articles that focused on GNs and their transition to nursing, as part of a graduate nurse program (GNP), from 2005 to present.
Result:
The review identified three main themes that influence the transition from student to registered nurse. These themes included, 1) feeling stressed and overwhelmed by nursing responsibilities, 2) the amount of support from senior nurses and 3) the importance of feedback on their performance as nurses.
Conclusions:
Further research that is focused on the support and feedback provided to new nurses is needed.
Another one million community healthcare workers are needed to address the growing global population and increasing demand of health care services. This paper describes a cost comparison between two training approaches to better understand costs implications of training community health workers (CHWs) in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Our team created a prospective model to forecast and compare the costs of two training methods as described in the Dalburge Report - (1) a traditional didactic training approach ("baseline") and (2) a blended eLearning training approach ("blended"). After running the model for training 100,000 CHWs, we compared the results and scaled up those results to one million CHWs.
A substantial difference exists in total costs between the baseline and blended training programs. RESULTS indicate that using a blended eLearning approach for training community health care workers could provide a total cost savings of 42%. Scaling the model to one million CHWs, the blended eLearning training approach reduces total costs by 25%.
The blended eLearning savings are a result of decreased classroom time, thereby reducing the costs associated with travel, trainers and classroom costs; and using a tablet with WiFi plus a feature phone rather than a smartphone with data plan.
The results of this cost analysis indicate significant savings through using a blended eLearning approach in comparison to a traditional didactic method for CHW training by as much as 67%. These results correspond to the Dalberg publication which indicates that using a blended eLearning approach is an opportunity for closing the gap in training community health care workers.
Background:
Outdated communication technologies in healthcare can place patient safety at risk. This study aimed to evaluate implementation of the WhatsApp messaging service within emergency surgical teams.
Methods:
A prospective mixed-methods study was conducted in a London hospital. All emergency surgery team members (n = 40) used WhatsApp for communication for 19 weeks. The initiator and receiver of communication were compared for response times and communication types. Safety events were reported using direct quotations.
Results:
More than 1,100 hours of communication pertaining to 636 patients were recorded, generating 1,495 communication events. The attending initiated the most instruction-giving communication, whereas interns asked the most clinical questions (P < .001). The resident was the speediest responder to communication compared to the intern and attending (P < .001). The participants felt that WhatsApp helped flatten the hierarchy within the team.
Conclusions:
WhatsApp represents a safe, efficient communication technology. This study lays the foundations for quality improvement innovations delivered over smartphones.
One of the most complicated academic endeavours in transmission pedagogies is to generate democratic participation of all students and public expression of silenced voices. While the potential of mobile phones, particularly mobile instant messaging (MIM), to trigger broadened academic participation is increasingly acknowledged in literature, integrating MIM into classrooms and out-of-the-classroom tasks has often been confronted with academic resistance. Academic uncertainty about MIM is often predicated on its perceived distractive nature and potential to trigger off-task social behaviours. This paper argues that MIM has potential to create alternative dialogic spaces for student collaborative engagements in informal contexts, which can gainfully transform teaching and learning. An instance of a MIM, WhatsApp, was adopted for an information technology course at a South African university with a view to heighten lecturer–student and peer-based participation, and enhance pedagogical delivery and inclusive learning in formal (lectures) and informal spaces. The findings suggest heightened student participation, the fostering of learning communities for knowledge creation and progressive shifts in the lecturer's mode of pedagogical delivery. However, the concomitant challenge of using MIM included mature adults' resentment of the merging of academic and family life occasioned by WhatsApp consultations after hours. Students also expressed ambivalence about MIM's wide-scale roll-out in different academic programmes.
The goal of this study is to examine and understand the relationship between the utilization of Facebook features and two types of social capital: bonding and bridging. An online survey was conducted using a college sample (n = 256). The results show that, with bonding social capital, the frequent use of Like feature was positively associated whereas that of Comment was negatively associated. With bridging social capital, the frequent use of Wall was positively associated. The results also show that the preference for Wall, Friend, Comment, News Feed, Like, Message, Photo, and Chat was positively associated with both bonding and bridging social capital. On the other hand, the preference for Status and Group was positively associated only with bridging social capital. Limitations of this study and the implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.
Abstract Healthcare is being confronted with questions on how to deliver quality, affordable, and timely care to patients, especially those in rural areas, in systems already burdened by the lack of providers. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) have been challenged to lead this movement in providing care to these populations through the use of technologies, specifically telehealth. Unfortunately, APRNs have limited exposure to telehealth during their educational experience, thereby limiting their understanding and comfort with telehealth. To address this problem, a telehealth program was developed at a large university that prepares Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) APRN students. The telehealth program, embedded into the DNP curriculum, consisted of a simulation workshop, practice immersion, and written project. This program was well received by students, making them aware of the benefits and barriers to the implementation of telehealth as a care delivery modality. Telehealth was embraced as students implemented the program in their own practices.
Objectives:
The aim of this review was to identify best practices of formal new graduate nurse transition programs. This information would be useful for organizations in their support and development of formal transition programs for newly hired nurses.
Design:
An integrative review of the nursing research literature (2000-2011).
Data sources:
The literature search included PubMed (MEDLINE), the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and the Excerpta Medica Database (Embase). Studies that dealt with programs geared toward pre-registration nursing students were removed. At least two researchers evaluated the literature to determine if the article met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The final number of articles included in this review is 47.
Review methods:
Cooper's (1989) five-stage approach to integrative review guided the process: problem formulation, data collection, evaluation of data points, data analysis and interpretation, presentation of results.
Results:
Transition program literature was examined according to four major themes: Education (pre-registration and practice), Support/Satisfaction, Competency and Critical Thinking, and Workplace Environment. This included new graduates' retrospective accounts of their undergraduate education and examination of orientation and formal supports provided beyond the traditional unit orientation period. Transition programs included residencies, internships, mentorships, extended preceptorships, and generic programs. Common elements of programs were a specified resource person(s) for new graduates, mentor (mentorship), formal education, and peer support opportunities. The length, type of education, and supports provided varied considerably among programs, yet the presence of a transition program resulted in improved new graduate nurse retention and cost benefits.
Conclusions:
The variability in research designs limits the conclusions that can be drawn about best practices in transition programs for new graduate nurses. The presence of a formal new graduate transition program resulted in good retention and improved competency. The stronger evidence suggests that new graduate education should focus on practical skill development, preceptors should receive a level of formal training, formal support should be available at least through the difficult six to nine month post-hire period, opportunities for connection with their peers should be provided, and organizations should strive to ensure clinical units with healthy work environments.
The concept of community of practice was not born in the systems theory tradition. It has its roots in attempts to develop
accounts of the social nature of human learning inspired by anthropology and social theory (Lave, 1988; Bourdieu, 1977; Giddens,
1984; Foucault, 1980; Vygotsky, 1978). But the concept of community of practice is well aligned with the perspective of systems
traditions. A community of practice itself can be viewed as a simple social system. And a complex social system can be viewed
as constituted by interrelated communities of practice. In this essay I first explore the systemic nature of the concept at
these two levels. Then I use this foundation to look at the applications of the concept, some of its main critiques, and its
potential for developing a social discipline of learning.
The aim of this study was to explore the socialisation experiences of new graduate baccalaureate nurses to practising nurses.
How nurses contend with the stress of their professional role has been of interest to both researchers and healthcare administrators over the past 30 years. Work stress of clinical nurses comes mainly from organisational and professional factors. However, few studies have explored the professional and organisational socialisation experiences of new graduate nurses.
A qualitative descriptive approach was adopted.
Participants were graduates of a baccalaureate nursing programme and employed full time at four medical centres in Taiwan, their first full-time work experience. Data were collected through semi-structured, open-ended, in-depth interviews, which were transcribed verbatim and analysed by content analysis. Three themes were identified: overwhelming chaos, learning by doing and being an insider.
Although the professional socialisation process was hard for the new graduate nurses, they needed much time to increase their knowledge and clinical skills to fulfil clinical needs. However, the hardest work was the organisational socialisation process, which involved fitting into the bureaucratic system, such as maintaining interpersonal relationships with colleagues and familiarising themselves with the ward rules and culture. Neophyte nurse participants were also frustrated by the conflict between professional and organisational values.
The study findings show that the transition from new graduate nurse to practising nurse was stressful for these participants, particularly due to the clash between the professional value of patient-oriented nursing care and the organisational value of task-oriented nursing.
Senior clinical nurses can consider this study's descriptions of new graduate nurses' experiences to help them become insiders and provide quality care.
Today’s economy runs on knowledge, and most companies work assiduously to capitalize on that fact. They use cross-functional teams, customer- or product-focused business units, and work groups—to name just a few organizational forms—to capture and spread ideas and know-how. In many cases, these ways of organizing are very effective, and no one would argue for their demise. But a new organizational form is emerging that promises to complement existing structures and radically galvanize knowledge sharing, learning, and change. It’s called the community of practice.
What are communities of practice? In brief, they’re groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise—engineers engaged in deep-water drilling, for example, consultants who specialize in strategic marketing, or frontline managers in charge of check processing at a large commercial bank. Some communities of practice meet regularly—for lunch on Thursdays, say. Others are connected primarily by e-mail networks. A community of practice may or may not have an explicit agenda on a given week, and even if it does, it may not follow the agenda closely. Inevitably, however, people in communities of practice share their experiences and knowledge in free-flowing, creative ways that foster new approaches to problems.
Ireland has seen much change in nurse education resulting in four year degree programmes since 2002. A unique aspect of these programmes was the incorporation of rostered internship. This study explored role transition for a cohort of students at pre and post-registration. The sample consisted of fourth year students registered on BSc nursing programmes (general, mental health and intellectual disability) within an Irish university. The samples were surveyed to compare their perceptions and expectations of role transition pre and post-registration. Data were analysed using SPSS (version 16). Respondents had high levels of confidence in clinical abilities both at pre-registration and post-registration. They also perceived themselves to be competent across a range of domains: managing workload, prioritising care delivery, interpersonal skills, time management and multidisciplinary team working. However, this research highlights pre-registration stress, the need for ongoing feedback and support and differences between expected and actual levels of direct patient care involvement. It is argued that the rostered internship provided students with a valuable opportunity for adjustment and preparation for their role as registered nurse. Recommendations include stress management, a supportive environment and post-registration preceptorship programmes to enhance professional development and gain confidence during the internship.
A study of students experiences of WhatsApp mobile learning
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Experiences of Community Service Practitioners Who Are Deployed at a Rural Health Facility in the Western Cape
- B Beyers
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Rural Health Facility in the Western Cape [unpublished Minor Dissertation].
Personal Narratives of Newly Qualified Nurses in a Public Hospital in Gauteng Province (Doctoral Dissertation)
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Mqokozo, N.J., 2013. Personal Narratives of Newly Qualified Nurses in a Public Hospital
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Newly graduated nurses' orientation experiences: a systematic review of qualitative studies
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Experiences and Support of the Newly-Qualified Four-Year Trained Professional Nurses Placed for Remunerated Community Service in Gauteng Province
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Investigating academics" awareness & use of linkedin for professional networking
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- L Zaayman
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