Browsing by Author "Seneviratne, Cydnee"
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- ItemOpen AccessEvaluating Affective Competency in Undergraduate Nursing: An Interpretive Description(2017) Mill, Megan; Carr, Eloise; Seneviratne, Cydnee; O'Rae, Amanda; Sinclair, ShaneBackground: The Registered Nurse role requires competency of the affective domain; demonstrated by the ability to listen, respond to interactions, demonstrate appropriate attitudes, and display commitment. There is a paucity of research exploring the evaluation of student nurses’ competency in this domain. Aim: To explore how clinical nursing instructors evaluate students’ affective competency. Methods: 12 instructors from a large urban university were interviewed and data was analyzed using qualitative interpretive description methodology. Findings: Affective competency is highly valued in nursing, lacks consensus in definition, exists in a hidden curriculum, and is assessed through observation, dialogue and reflective writing. Explicit connections between assessment and evaluation are lacking. Discussion: Clinical nurse instructors are gatekeepers to the nursing profession. Affective competency is observed rather than evaluated, and an ontological turn in nurse education might change the motivation for affective evaluation; away from competency and toward being a nurse. Word Limit:
- ItemOpen AccessExamining Causes for Readmission in the Internal Medicine Population from the Patient Perspective(2021-12) de Boer, Shelley; Estefan, Andrew; Seneviratne, Cydnee; Swart, RuthA significant number of internal medicine patients discharged from acute care require readmission within 30 days. Current readmission rates create a significant burden to the healthcare system. Identifying causes of readmission can inform health care practice to mitigate factors associated with readmission and improve care and outcomes for patients and families. A literature review reveals a wealth of quantitative research from the perspective of healthcare practitioners. Less is known about the perspectives of internal medicine patients, particularly in Canada. As such, understanding why readmissions occur within 30 days of discharge within this patient population is limited. Avoiding readmission needs to be guided by strategic discharge practices that are informed by relevant research studies. Specifically, further research into patient perspectives on why they are readmitted warrants further qualitative investigation. This study is a qualitative, thematic analysis, designed to explore internal medicine patients’ perspectives about readmission to hospital. Knowledge from this study can inform healthcare practice by informing upstream, proactive, pre-emptive measures to address patients’ and health system needs.
- ItemOpen AccessFactors Influencing Orthopedic Nurses' Pain Management Decision Making: A Focused Ethnography(2016) Denness, Kayla; Carr, Eloise; Seneviratne, Cydnee; Rae, Janice; Sawhney, MonakshiThe experience of acute pain is highly subjective, and poor pain management contributes to a multitude of harmful conditions. Examining the context in which pain management occurs is important in formulating plans for improvement. The aim of this focused ethnography was to explore the factors orthopedic surgery nurses consider when deciding whether to initiate opioid analgesia for patients who have received a nerve block following total knee arthroplasty. Ten nurses participated in semi-structured interviews using a case study vignette. The overarching factors affecting pain management decision-making in this study relate to the culture of the unit, the self-concept of nurses, and nurses’ perception of patient assessments. Nurses are challenged to provide quality patient-centered care in a fast-paced clinical environment where efficiency and a brief length of stay are prioritized. Supporting informal nursing leaders and facilitating patient-centred care while maintaining efficiency may improve the unit culture and, in turn, pain management practices.
- ItemOpen AccessFrom apprehension to advocacy: a qualitative study of undergraduate nursing student experience in clinical placement in residential aged care(2018-03-01) Moquin, Heather; Seneviratne, Cydnee; Venturato, LorraineAbstract Background Undergraduate nursing placement in aged care is forecast to grow in importance with the increasing aging population, and to help to reverse trends in student lack of interest in gerontology careers. However, there is a need to better understand undergraduate nursing students’ experiences on placement with older adults, as well as key features of quality learning within residential aged care. The aim of this study was to explore how nursing students understand learning within residential aged care. Methods This qualitative study used a participatory action research approach, and this paper reports on the thematic analysis of data from one cycle of undergraduate nursing placement in a Canadian residential aged care setting, with two groups of 7–8 students and two university instructors. Staff and residents at the research site were also included. Researchers interviewed both groups of students prior to and after placement. Instructors, staff and residents were interviewed post placement. Results Students commenced placement full of apprehension, and progressed in their learning by taking initiative and through self-directed learning pathways. Engagement with residents was key to student learning on person-centred care and increased understanding of older adults. Students faced challenges to their learning through limited exposure to professional nursing roles and healthcare aide/student relationship issues. By placement end, students had gained unique insights on resident care and began to step into advocacy roles. Conclusions In learning on placement within residential aged care, students moved from feelings of apprehension to taking on advocacy roles for residents. Better formalizing routes for students to feedback their unique understandings on resident care could ensure their contributions are better integrated and not lost when placements end.
- ItemOpen AccessReadiness for Interprofessional Education (IPE) and Interprofessional Practice (IPP): A Mixed-Methods Study of Healthcare Practitioners at Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar(2016-02-19) Mrus, Kristen Jennifer; Jacobsen, D. Michele; Johnson, Bradley; Patterson, Margaret (Peggy); Seneviratne, Cydnee; Jaques, Lorne; Diack, H. LesleyThere is considerable interest, from the healthcare and education domains, for Interprofessional Education (IPE) and Interprofessional Practice (IPP) as means to reform the way in which healthcare professionals are educated and prepared for practice, and to generate shifts in the delivery of care. Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), the leading healthcare provider in Qatar and employer of over 14,000 healthcare practitioners, is seeking to advance uptake of IPE and IPP amongst its clinical workforce. Organization Development (OD) approaches suggest that organizational change results from collective individual behavioural change. Prior research has shown that individual readiness for change is an important precursor to behavioural and organizational change, and advanced exploring attitudes – how one thinks and feels – as a means to understand readiness. This research seeks, therefore, to understand readiness for IPE and IPP amongst HMC’s practitioners through the lens of their attitudes towards IPE, IPP and healthcare teams, and receptivity for organizational change. Using a mixed-methods sequential research design, the researcher collected quantitative data (n = 792) through the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS), Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale (ATHCTS), and Organizational Change Recipients’ Belief Scale (OCRBS) – and qualitative data (n = 39) through uniprofessional and interprofessional focus groups. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics methods including Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using Principal Components Analysis (PCA), and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with post-hoc tests. Qualitative data was analyzed using Thematic Analysis. The findings from the research suggest that HMC’s practitioners have strong positive attitudes towards IPE, moderately positive attitudes towards IPP and healthcare teams, and demonstrate considerable receptivity for engagement in organizational change, through individual positive attitudes towards change and perceived organizational support for change. The findings also provide insights into existing IPE and IPP initiatives at HMC and perceived enablers for, and challenges towards, greater uptake of IPE and IPP within the organization. The study’s results establish a baseline for an unexplored area of research in Qatar, providing the first glimpse into attitudes towards IPE and IPP amongst practicing clinicians. Recommendations for stakeholders from HMC and Qatar’s healthcare and health professions education domain are also discussed.
- ItemOpen AccessRecognition and Assessment of Geriatric Depression in Residential Care Facilities in Alberta: A Mixed Methods Study of Perspectives and Practices of Regulated Nursing Staff(2016) Azulai, Anna; Hall, Barry; Walsh, Christine; Hirst, Sandra; Konnert, Candace; Seneviratne, Cydnee; McCleary, LynnGeriatric depression is under-detected in residential care facilities. There is a paucity of Canadian and Alberta-specific research on how this mental health condition is recognized and assessed in residential care settings. The purpose of this exploratory study was to learn about the perspectives and practices of regulated nurse professionals on the recognition of geriatric depression in long-term care (LTC) and designated supportive living (DSL) facilities in Alberta. The research questions focused on: 1) relevant knowledge, beliefs, and education of participants; 2) the relationship between the level of knowledge and types of facilities; 3) depression assessment process and methods; 4) barriers to the recognition and assessment; and 5) perceived strategies for the effective detection of depression. The study employed a convergent parallel mixed methods design, including a survey (N = 635) and qualitative interviews (N = 14). Findings suggested a risk for social exclusion of residents with geriatric depression from mental health services in Alberta. While considering the assessment of depression important, participants reported multiple challenges to its identification in facilities. One of the main challenges included specific socio-cultural beliefs about geriatric depression among staff, residents, and public, such as ageism, the normalization and the stigmatization of geriatric depression. Other challenges related to a less than optimal clinical knowledge of participants about geriatric depression, scarcity of resources, complicated and unclear assessment protocols, inconsistent use of assessment methods, poor communication between all stakeholders, and marginalized priority of the mental health care in facilities. These inter-connected structural and agential barriers on micro, mezzo, and macro levels served as constraining conditions in the depression assessment process. The perceived improvement strategies targeted addressing this complex constellation of barriers to enable successful detection. Recommendations included actions to alter views about geriatric depression, such as public awareness campaigns and enhancing depression-specific education, as well as increasing resources, elevating the priority of mental health in facilities, and advocating for the legislative changes to support effective regulations and policies for mental health provision in these care settings.
- ItemOpen AccessThe Shape of Seeing: An Ethnography of Phytolith Analysis(2023-04-28) Thomas, Kelly; Mather, Charles; Mercader, Julio; Seneviratne, Cydnee; McKay, Ben; Pavelka, MaryPhytolith analysis is the study of microscopic silica fossils which often take on the shape. of the plant cells in which they form. This thesis proposes that in order to understand the phytoliths’ original plant context, researchers conduct cycles of phytolith analysis consisting of six stages – collection, processing, microscopy, analysis, interpretation, and inscription. However, there is not one consistent object of inquiry that is present during all six stages. Instead, researchers enact each stage around a different simulacrum which serves as a partial representation, or proxy, of the original plant context. Combining data from ethnographic methods with theory such as semiotics, enactment, and Actor Network Theory, this thesis proposes a model of decontextualization and recontextualization to explain how phytolith researchers translate meaning from one simulacrum to the next. In this model, analysts remove all non-essential context from one simulacrum, reinterpret the reduced form, and in doing so create a newly enacted simulacrum. Decontextualization and recontextualization occurs between each stage of analysis as well as over the course of a full cycle of research.
- ItemOpen AccessUnderstanding Pre-Registration Employment and Transition to Practice for the Newly Graduated Nurse(2017) Reimche, Ruthanne; Hirst, Sandra; Seneviratne, Cydnee; Walsh, Christine; Premji, ShahiroseBackground Transition from nursing student to a registered nurse is fraught with difficulties such as gaining acceptance and knowledge on the unit, and obtaining comfort and confidence. Approximately 20% of newly graduated nurses (NGNs) leave the profession in the first year often due to difficulties in the transition phase. The focus of this research was understanding direct paid pre-registration employment and transition to practice for the NGN. Methods A study with a descriptive qualitative design was conducted. Nine participants, between three months and one year after completing their nursing program, were interviewed. Thematic analysis was conducted on the data. Findings The main themes emerging from the data were support, vulnerability, de-stress, becoming comfortable, and gaining confidence. Contribution to Nursing Practice Interviewing NGNs with paid pre-registration employment will assist employees’ understanding of the transition experience of new graduates, which may assist with retention of new hires.