Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Heather Campbell.
Given how important care processes are to the nursing profession, it is imperative that nurses take a lead role in building capacity for nursing research and that they make a strong contribution to building the body of knowledge in the area of patient safety. The authors present an overview of a current nursing-led patient safety study in which building capacity for research is a core component.
Most literature on staff-family relationships has come from studies of long-term care settings, has focused mainly on the families' perspectives on factors affecting their relationships with staff, and has included scant findings from the staff's perspective. No studies that examined staff-family relationships in complex continuing care (CCC) environments from the perspective of staff were found in the literature. A qualitative study that draws on a grounded theory approach was conducted to explore staff-family relationships in CCC, and the findings presented in this article illuminate the unit manager's role. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with nine unit managers and a follow-up focus group with five unit managers who work in three CCC facilities. Three categories reflecting the unit manager's role with family members of clients in CCC settings were derived: establishing supportive entry; building and preserving relationships; and closing the loop. Implications of the findings for practice and future research are presented.
Health care professionals moving from general care to specialist cancer and palliative care face many challenges during their role transition. Mentorship has been identified as an effective support mechanism during role transition and the Macmillan National Institute of Education devised and piloted a mentorship training programme to enable established specialist practitioners to support new practitioners through their transition into specialist practice. The 12-month programme consisted of a two day workshop and continued support for mentors using action learning groups. The pilot programme was evaluated to identify whether or not it was meeting the needs of mentors and mentees. Using a self-report questionnaire comprising open and closed questions the programme was evaluated from the perspective of mentors, mentees, line managers and Macmillan service development managers. Results demonstrated that there was a shared belief that the presence of a mentor was important during role transition, and that the programme was effective in preparing and supporting mentors for their role. As new practitioners were supported in role transition there were identified benefits for service development. The programme was evaluated positively in respect of both the two day workshop and the action learning groups.
Reminiscing is an intervention that has been used independently in nursing with different populations for many years. A critical analysis of the literature on reminiscing was carried out in 3 stages: identification of the studies to be included, review of the studies to ensure that they were research-based, and critical appraisal of the studies. The analysis resulted in clarity regarding the operational definitions of reminiscing and life review. Of the many studies reviewed, only a handful were research-based. The others were valuable in other respects, such as providing guidance for the design of imaginative and age-related reminiscing and life-review programs.