Preceptorship: a shared journey between practice & education

Creative new approaches must be developed to attract new graduate and transitioning nurses to psychiatric-mental health nursing. In this article, we present a collaborative nurse preceptor program between a clinical practice agency and a university college of nursing faculty group. The preceptorship was designed to facilitate recruitment and retention of new graduate and transitioning nurses into a community-based, psychiatric-mental health agency. This process could be applied in any practice setting to address issues of recruitment and retention. Over the course of more than 2 years, the program has resulted in a 70% retention rate of new and transitioning nurses in the agency; of particular note is the 100% retention of new baccalaureate graduates. This program has positively affected the agency, the nurse preceptors, and the new graduate and transitioning nurse preceptees. We describe the collaborative development and implementation of the preceptor program designed to enhance recruitment and retention of new graduate nurses and nurses transitioning from other specialty areas into community-based psychiatric-mental health nursing practice.     

Providing psychiatric-mental health care for Native Americans: lessons learned by a non-Native American PMHNP

Providing culturally sensitive psychiatric-mental health nursing care to Native Americans requires a unique set of understandings. Traditional tribal customs and beliefs, historical events of the past 500 years, and acculturation and enculturation have affected Native Americans' health and well-being. In 2004, I had the opportunity to practice as a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner with a Native American tribe in the southwestern United States. This article describes the lessons I learned while practicing on the reservation and suggests ways other non-Native American practitioners can best serve this population.     

Achieving Collaborative Competence through Interprofessional Education. Lessons Learned from Joint Training in Learning Disability Nursing and Social Work

The ability to work interprofessionally is widely regarded as essential to professional education and training for social work. The changing contexts of social work practice and the requirement for integrated working are regular reminders of the need for social work students to develop collaborative competence. Guidance preceding the development of the social work degree emphasised that social work students should undertake specific learning and assessment in partnership working and information sharing. This suggests that aspects of interprofessional education are relevant to the teaching and development of social work students if graduates are to successfully engage in complex practice.

This paper seeks to identify the competencies needed for successful collaboration. It then draws on evaluative research of joint training programmes in learning disability nursing and social work in England to discuss the unique experiences and perspectives of graduates whose social work training was exceptionally interprofessional. The paper will discuss how some of the findings from this research can indicate lessons for promoting collaborative competence in singly trained social work students. It will argue that interprofessional learning opportunities are one of the key ingredients for the development of critical practice.     

The Four S Model in action for de-escalation. An innovative state hospital-university collaborative endeavor

In this article, the Four S Model is presented as a working clinical framework for generating structured nursing interventions and treatment plans. The de-escalation process, formalized by the De-escalation/Alternative to Restraint Flowsheet, is one way in which the model is being operationalized to reduce seclusion and restraints. As shown by the flowsheet, the model allows for integration of mental health and mental illness. It spans the scope of nursing practice at all levels, from para-professional to advanced practice nurse, by integrating the mental health concepts of communication, leadership, clinical judgement, critical thinking, and caring within its framework. Most important, the flexibility to individualize treatment that is built into the model allows for generalization to all psychiatric presentations.     

Dialogue and Challenge: Involving Service Users and Carers in Small Group Learning with Social Work and Nursing Students

This paper examines the rationale for service user and carer involvement in professional education and reflects on an initiative in which social work and nursing students undertook a sequence of joint learning in relation to mental health theory and practice. Central to this initiative was the promotion of opportunities for dialogue, both between students from different professional disciplines and between students, service users and carers. To enable this, much of the learning took place in small groups facilitated by either a service user or a carer.

Evaluation of this initiative indicated that, for the majority of social work and nursing students, learning from this shared experience had a major impact on their professional development. However, a small but significant minority found it hard to enter into a dialogue with others on a basis of equality and a sharing of their human as well as their professional experience. Some students indicated that they would have preferred a focus on acquiring more specialist professional knowledge and skills. This raises important issues in relation to the changing expectations of professionalism and professional education—and what really makes someone ‘fit for practice’.     

An interprofessional internship model for training master’s level social work and counseling students in higher education settings

ABSTRACT

The mental health needs of college students are steadily on the rise, which compels mental health service providers and educators to explore innovative ways to provide more collaborative, supportive, and interdisciplinary service models of practice and professional training. Graduate programs in social work and counseling are at the crux of producing internship training programs to help accommodate the influx of students with persistent mental health concerns across a variety of needs and cultures. This article describes an interprofessional internship program structured and designed to meet the clinical training needs of master’s level students matriculating in social work and counseling who aspire to provide mental health services in higher education settings. The interprofessional internship training model proposes an innovative interdisciplinary approach to field education which may result in positive training outcomes and learning experiences for social work and counseling students. This paper discusses the model’s emphasis on individual and interdisciplinary group supervision, objectives of the internship experience, internship site criteria, and professional and personal benefits to pre-service social workers and counselors. Recommendations for training and limitations of the model are provided.     

Nursing Intervention on Sexual Health: A Multilevel Behavioral Survey of Senior Nursing Students in Clinical Practice

ABSTRACT. There are many diseases that may impact patients’ sexual health and psychological well-being. Despite the importance of sexual health care (SHC), insufficient SHC occurs across care settings and the patient population. Studies investigating the essential elements of SHC behaviors of nursing students in clinical practice have been scant. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of senior nursing students’ multilevel interventions for patients’ SHC in primary clinical practice. An anonymous 19-item instrument entitled Nursing Intervention on Sexual Health was distributed among senior nursing students at two central Taiwan nursing schools. We analyzed overall nursing intervention in SHC in clinical practice by levels. The results of this study indicate that the frequency of nursing intervention in sexual health is low. Another important finding is that following the PLISSIT (Permission, Limited Information, Specific Suggestion, Intensive Therapy) model, from permission level to the specific-suggestion level, the behavioral frequency of nursing intervention shows a decrease along with the model. Nursing students omitted each level of SHC in clinical practice, even if they had sufficient time and extensive preceptor resource, in this study. The nursing students’ SHC on different levels would help educators to frame the sexuality education program.     

Disaster mental health services: a personal perspective

1. Services that may be provided by psychiatric-mental health nurses following a disaster include education, intervention, problem solving, advocacy, and referral. 2. Nurses providing disaster mental health services must be flexible and creative. Strong observational skills and teamwork are also essential characteristics in disaster settings. 3. Psychiatric-mental health nurses who wish to receive training for disaster mental health volunteer opportunities should contact their local chapter of the American Red Cross.     

Enhancing social work student learning: converging Bronfenbrenner,Bourdieu and practice learning

ABSTRACT

Social work student field placements can be complex, challenging and demanding for the practice educator and student. In this paper a model of practice education is explored that incorporates the theoretical constructs of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological framework and Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, capital and field. Through the application of these constructs, the practice educator can enhance the student’s learning and development in three distinctive ways. These will be explored and presented as a model that facilitates the practice educator in supporting the student during their placement and in the preparation for professional practice.     

高校经济管理类专业实践教学体系建设探讨

经济管理类专业发展和教学改革要适应培养跨专业人才的社会需求,就要改变传统人才培养模式,构建信息技术环境下的高校经济管理类专业实践教学体系。文章简述了高校经济管理类专业实践教学的国内外研究情况,探讨了高校经济管理类专业人才培养实践教学体系与机制建设问题,对高校经济管理类专业开展实践教学具有指导意义。     

Preparing MSW Students for Integrative Mind–Body-Spirit Practice

Knowledge of new developments in social work education supports clinical practitioners’ professional development and their supervision of students and early career social workers. Integrative mind–body-spirit (IMBS) practice is a holistic paradigm that is emerging in social work education and the profession. IMBS modalities have a growing evidence base and are congruent with the healing practices of many cultures, thereby supporting culturally competent practice. This article explores the development, implementation, and outcomes of an elective MSW course designed to critically examine the IMBS and biomedical paradigms and introduce students to IMBS practice. Two sections of this course were piloted (n = 35) and pre- and post-assessments administered. Findings suggest that experienced clinicians can support the professional development of novice practitioners by encouraging ongoing exploration and critical assessment of the IMBS and biomedical paradigms and incorporation of evidence-based mind–body-spirit practices in their clinical work and self-care.     

An Explorative Study of the Place of the Ethics of Care and Reflective Practice in Social Work Education and Practice

The moral development and identity of social work students have been shown to be enhanced by education in caring. Important aspects of this education are training in reflective practice and learning to have a perspective focused on professional loving care. In this study, we have explored how reflective processes can be implemented in both educational settings and working practice from an ethical point of view. Elaborating upon reflective practice from an ethical perspective focuses on reciprocity in relationships and relational capacity in institutional contexts. The study took the form of interviews with social work teachers and health care professionals. Interview and focus group data were analysed, three main topics were identified and statements were coded with relation to these topics. Use of both educators and practitioners in this study showed the importance of not neglecting the transition from education to practice. Responses also showed the value placed upon continuous education and development over the course of a health care professional's career.     

Depression in school-aged children: assessment & early intervention

A careful assessment of all of these factors will help nurse therapists who are also primary care providers develop a more holistic approach to treatment and, thus, increase treatment effectiveness. The three-pronged assessment approach discussed above is cost effective, safe, and indicated as a frontline measure to assess the risk for depression in children and their parents (particularly mothers), which can begin the process of "true" early intervention. I say "true" early intervention because in my role as an early intervention specialist, my first meeting with families usually occurs after a crucial incident requiring hospitalization of the child or the parent, or school failure, or both. My programs of intervention are hardly "early," although treatment is started relatively early in the life of the child. In the past few years, I have noticed that psychiatric-mental health advanced practice nurses, including myself, are increasingly working in some capacity in primary health centers, such as school-based clinics, churches, collaborative practices, and community health centers. It would be wonderful if we used these settings to identify risk for depression in children and begin preventive treatment (starting with teaching good sleep hygiene, a treatment in itself) to truly make early intervention a reality.     

Professional Perception and Expert Action: Scaffolding Embodied Practices in Professional Education

From vocational education to neurosurgery residencies, apprenticeship training is characteristic of how people are acculturated to a profession. One of the primary goals of professional education is to develop skillful performance. Expert skill includes an integrated set of perceptual and motor abilities. During practical teaching, instructors deploy a set of discursive practices that nurture skilled performance in trainees. These practices scaffold particular patterns of movement, patterns that students can assimilate and subsequently use to guide or govern tool-based actions. We conducted in-depth ethnographic research in a dental hygiene program to gain a deeper understanding of the hands-on training environment: the activities in which participants engage, the circumstances they typically encounter, and the tools and technologies they rely upon in accomplishing their work. The primary data are video recordings of naturally occurring instructional interactions, chosen to be representative of broad classes of interactions observed. This article documents three practices used to entrain students with professional perception and scaffold expert action: guidance, demonstration and modeling, and embodied conceptual metaphor.     

Teaching Note—Integrating Prevention Content Into Clinical Social Work Practice Courses

Rapid changes in health care services and delivery suggest an upcoming paradigm shift in the field of mental health. Recent national reports, health care policy changes, and growing evidence support a shift toward prevention-focused mental health care. The social work profession is uniquely positioned to act as leaders in this shift as the profession’s values, goals, and hallmark practice approach are consistent with preventive care. Most social work students, however, do not receive training in prevention practice. The author’s development, implementation, and evaluation of a prevention-focused master of social work elective in the area of mental health is presented as an example of integrating prevention content into clinical social work practice courses. Implications for social work education are discussed.     

The Invisible (Inaudible) Woman: Nursing in the English Academy

Nursing is numerically a far larger academic discipline than medicine, and is situated in many more higher education institutions in England (over 50), whereas there are 21 medical schools. Like the rest of ‘non medical education and training’ it is purchased through a quasi‐market. Despite the size of this market, however, nursing education has until recently been largely invisible in policy documents and the ambitions of nursing academics to develop their subject are seen as inappropriate. This article explores this invisibility and inaudibility, with particular reference to the 1997 Richards Report, Clinical Academic Careers and the 2001 Nuffield Trust report, A New Framework for NHS/University Relations. It draws on the work of Davies on the ‘professional predicament’ of nursing, to argue that, although the move of nursing education into higher education had the aim of improving its status, nursing has difficulty finding its voice within academia. As a result, issues which are salient for nursing (as for many of the health professions), such as a poor (or relatively poor) showing in the Research Assessment Exercise and the complexities of balancing research, teaching and maintaining clinical competence, are raised as high‐profile issues only in medicine.     

略论职业教育目标视域中的工程法学教育

职业教育的目标是培养既有专业理论知识,又熟练掌握专业技能的复合型、技术型的实用人才。作为一门新兴交叉学科,工程法学整合了法学与工程学的科际资源,不但促进了我国传统法律教育模式和教育方法的更新,而且有益于创新型、复合型人才的培养,为工程事业的繁荣发展与和谐社会的构建提供强大的智力支持和人才保证。更有意义的是,工程法学人才培养思路及其教育方法的实践,对高等职业教育法律专业的改革、建设与发展具有深刻的启发意义和借鉴价值。     

Social Work Student Learning Experiences of Family Therapy: Improving Competency in Pedagogy Through Qualitative Research

The purpose of this qualitative study is to evaluate graduate social work student experiences of pedagogy intended to improve competency in family therapy practice. Students from two classes (N = 37) completed open‐ended surveys assessing: perceptions of most helpful pedagogical practices; understanding of needed competencies; and perceived opportunities offered to them during their graduate training for learning about work with couples and families. Results, analysed using grounded theory methodology, revealed that students: (1) believed that experiential activities were especially critical for learning how to do clinical practice with couples and families; (2) understood important competencies related to professional development, therapeutic engagement with the family, and how to approach family practice; and (3) believed they were ‘somewhat prepared’ for practice. Implications include improving understanding of abstract skills in practice with couples and families, and emphasising relationship dynamics more in graduate social work education and training.