Browsing by Author "Fedoruk, Lisa Margaret"

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    A Qualitative Interpretive Description of Registered Nurses’ Experiences with the Mandatory Indigenous Cultural Competency Education
    (2023-10-31) Morrow, Tracy; Nowell, Lorelli; Clancy, Tracey L; Fedoruk, Lisa Margaret; Scott, Michelle Elizabeth
    When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015) released its final report outlining Calls to Action, healthcare authorities were required to provide nurses with cultural competency education. Nurses employed by Alberta Health Services are now required to complete eight Indigenous Awareness and Sensitivity online modules via the MyLearningLink™ portal within a set timeframe. The purpose of this Interpretive Description research study was to gain an understanding about Alberta Health Services registered nurses’ experiences when completing the modules, how they made meaning of completing the modules, and how they utilized the knowledge obtained from the modules in their nursing practice. Alberta Health Services registered nurses were voluntarily recruited to participate using convenience sampling. Individual, semi-structure interviews were conducted with eight registered nurses via Zoom® to gather data. All interview data were transcribed verbatim and analysed for themes. Three main themes were identified: experiences and perceptions of completing the modules, moving from mandatory to meaningful, and advancing knowledge into practice. Overall, participants felt cultural competency education was important, but the modules lacked opportunity to self-reflect, and participants wanted to engage in deeper learning opportunities.
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    Experiences and Impacts of a Cross-Cultural Professional Development Program from the Perspective of Chinese Visiting Scholars
    (2018-04-20) Fedoruk, Lisa Margaret; Kawalilak, Colleen A.; Groen, Janet; Roy, Sylvie; Tweedie, M. Gregory; Benjamin, Amanda D.
    Visiting scholar programs as a practice of internationalization in higher education are an increasingly common form of cross-cultural professional development in the era of globalization. Visiting scholars from China are among the largest group of academics and researchers in the world to engage in international programs and activities; however, scholarship on their experiences is limited. The purpose of this study was to better understand how a group of Chinese visiting scholars made meaning of their experiences, having participated in a 3-month professional development program in Canada, and if these experiences influenced and impacted their teaching practices upon returning to China. I employed a qualitative, descriptive case study to examine the real-life situations that the participants’ experiences were rooted in. I conducted semistructured interviews with 10 participants and constantly compared the data with participant reflective documents and researcher reflective notes to gain an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon. Guided by a transformative learning theoretical framework, I examined the motivations of the Chinese visiting scholars to partake in the program, what constituted significant learning moments and how they were experienced and interpreted, and the resulting impact on participants’ perspectives and teaching practices upon returning to their home higher education institutions. The findings revealed that a fundamental motivation for participants to sojourn abroad was to fulfil an international requirement within their teaching positions and for eventual job advancement. Participants were also motivated to attain cross-cultural professional development by enhancing their teaching practices and English proficiency. An additional finding pertaining to significant learning moments encompassed the challenges surrounding English language proficiency and cultural adjustments within higher education contexts, including student-centred instructional strategies and teaching theories. Through an organically developed community of practice and continuous reflection and dialogue, participants were able to overcome challenges and implement their knowledge upon returning to their home institutions. This qualitative study contributes to the scholarship on international practices in higher education and includes valuable strategies for all stakeholders to incorporate to enhance future cross-cultural professional development programs and prepare future scholars to embark on a similar journey.