Tips for nursing students who are starting their studies
Nursing professor Jan Draper welcomes this year's cohort of nursing students
14 Sep 2018
Jan Draper
Planning for a nursing workforce after Brexit
With just over a year to go before the UK leaves the European Union, nurse leaders need a new approach to recruiting and retaining the nursing workforce
27 Feb 2018
Tips for a successful transition from student to newly qualified nurse
Making the transition from student to registered nurse can be a stressful time. Open University professor of nursing Jan Draper offers some hints and tips to help you navigate this process as smoothly as possible
08 Jan 2018
Managers’ role in maximising investment in continuing professional education
Healthcare organisations face the challenge of delivering care in increasingly complex environments. To do so they depend on competent professionals, and continuing professional education (CPE) plays a major part in ensuring that staff maintain and develop their knowledge and skills. However, there is limited evidence of the effect of CPE on healthcare outcomes, and an emphasis on outcomes has overlooked the contribution of the processes that underlie effective CPE. This article reports the results of a study that explored a range of stakeholders’ perceptions of the processes that maximise the positive effects of CPE on practice. Analysis of results shows that CPE can help improve care when supported by positive organisational cultures, effective partnership working between stakeholders and supportive learning environments that enable individuals to maximise their learning. This article discusses how managers play a pivotal role in creating positive cultures in which CPE can flourish by being role models and change agents, ensuring organisational strategic objectives are aligned with personal development plans, and by working collaboratively with education colleagues to ensure that learning from CPE is embedded in practice.
01 Feb 2016
Ethnography: principles, practice and potential
Ethnography is a methodology that is gaining popularity in nursing and healthcare research. It is concerned with studying people in their cultural context and how their behaviour, either as individuals or as part of a group, is influenced by this cultural context. Ethnography is a form of social research and has much in common with other forms of qualitative enquiry. While classical ethnography was characteristically concerned with describing ‘other’ cultures, contemporary ethnography has focused on settings nearer to home. This article outlines some of the underlying principles and practice of ethnography, and its potential for nursing and healthcare practice.
06 May 2015
The evidence base for gerontological nursing practice. Part 2: Making sense of the...
This is the second of two articles exploring the meaning of ‘evidence-based practice’. The first, in last month’s issue, considered what is meant by ‘evidence’. This month, Jan Draper examines how literature reviews can help nurses make sense of the variety of evidence available to them.
01 Oct 2004
The evidence base for gerontological nursing practice. Part 1: What do we mean by ‘...
In recent years, ‘evidence-based practice’ has featured increasingly in the lexicon of healthcare practitioners. But what does it mean and how is ‘evidence’ gathered, graded and described? In the first of two articles, Jan Draper explores the issues.
01 Sep 2004