Project Summary
Difficulty recruiting and retaining early career nurses (ECNs) was a priority issue for nurses attending the U21 Health Sciences Annual Meetings in 2018 and 2019. There appears to be a disconnect between student nurse expectations and the reality shock and culture found on entering the world of work as registered nurses (RNs), leading some to become disaffected, burnt out and leave the profession.
Since U21 HSG meeting in 2019 the PI (Jacobs, NZ) and Co-PIs (Ferrer [Chile] and Topping [UK]) have been designing a longitudinal multi-country programme of research incorporating appreciative inquiry and positive organizational scholarship principles to co-create solutions with healthcare organizations. The theoretical framework combines Joy in Work (Perlo et al., 2017) with the Social Embeddedness of Thriving at Work (Spreitzer et al., 2005) models. This proposal is part prequel and proof of concept for this future work.
First, we seek to better comprehend the expectations of final year student nurses about the healthcare workplace gained during their pre-registration education. Second, we want to test our research design, particularly how to build the skill set of participants to engage in appreciative inquiry and co-production in meaningful ways. This research will contribute to our U21 HSG driven proposed programme of research and over the long-term assist nurse managers, educators and early career nurses to co-create supportive workplace environments.
This funding will assist us to (1) undertake a small multicentre study to test the concept and capture student nurse conceptualizations of what they perceive will enable them to flourish in the workplace on registration, and 2) Inform other U21 HSG Schools of Nursing and encourage collaboration in the next stage of research. This study is particularly timely, as attention worldwide has been placed on the healthcare workforce due to the Covid-19 pandemic. All final year nursing students from three Universities (Auckland, Birmingham and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) will be invited to participate in the survey ( a copy can be supplied if required). A purposive (sub-group) sample (considering gender, age, ethnicity, identity, etc.,) will also participate in three to four focus groups (12-20 participants). (3) Data will first be analyzed by country and then comparatively. Focus group data will be transcribed, translated (Chile) and analyzed supported by NVivo. The survey data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics. This funding will support collaboration, transcription, data sharing, and dissemination.
We will hold an event connected virtually with participants from the three countries to provide feedback and celebrate their contribution. Our proposal would be presented the U21 Health Sciences Annual Meeting – Nursing Group in 2020 and findings in 2021. Operationalizing this project will identify and resolve delivery challenges, generate outputs, and lay the foundations for a long-term research partnership with potential for spread and engagement with other U21 collaborators. A scholarship will be offered to PhD students from each country, to engage with our research group as the first step to building on the findings in their PhDs. There are already candidates. They could undertake some of their fieldwork in other U21 countries.
Who’s involved?
Dr Stephen Jacobs, University of Auckland
Professor Annie Topping, University of Birmingham
Professor Lilian Ferrer, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: