Biomedical subjects

Kathy L Rush

Publications and source records attributed to Kathy L Rush.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Nurses as imperfect role models for health promotion.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover ways in which nurses describe themselves as health-promoting role models. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with nurses working in a variety of settings. Transcribed interviews were analyzed thematically. Nurses defined themselves as role models of health promotion according to the meaning they gave the term, their perceptions of societal expectations, and their self-constructed personal and professional domains. The term role model evoked diverse interpretations ranging from negative perceptions of the idealized image to a humanized, authentic representation. Nurses perceived that society expected them as role models to be informational resources and to practice what they preached. Nurses defined themselves independently of societal expectations according to personal and professional domains. Valuing health, accepting imperfections, and self-reflecting were aspects of the personal domain, whereas gaining trust, caring, and partnering were facets of the professional domain.

Health Promotion↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The RN-BSN distance education experience: from educational limbo to more than an elusive degree.

This study describes a qualitative study designed to gain an understanding of professional growth as experienced by RN-BSN students taking their program by distance delivery. A convenience sample of senior students enrolled in an RN-BSN program, taking their classes either by live televised broadcast or by online instruction, volunteered to participate in the study. Data were collected through the use of online student discussions that took place over a 2-week period. The discussion was guided by the use of a semistructured interview schedule and facilitated by one member of the research team. Interview questions were posted every 2 to 3 days; additional questions were posted as threads as discussion board comments warranted. RN-BSN students described their pursuit of a BSN as a journey of being and becoming a professional. Although students already felt "professional," the impetus for the journey could be traced to the overriding theme of "falling short as a professional." RN-BSN students described their beginning journey toward the baccalaureate degree as an "educational limbo," out of which they moved with discovery of the RN-BSN distance program. What began as pursuit of an elusive degree that was expected to produce minimal change became more as RN-BSN students evolved as professionals along many dimensions. The implications of these findings for the development and design of curricular and pedagogical approaches to better serve the needs of this unique group of learners will be addressed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Empowered learning on the inside: an externship experience.

The purpose of this multiphasic qualitative research study was to obtain an in-depth understanding of how students experience a nonterminal summer externship program. Baccalaureate and associate degree nursing students participated in the six-week externship developed through a partnership between a regional hospital and a school of nursing in the southeastern United States. Data were collected before, during, immediately following, and six months after the externship experience using a combination of focus groups and interviews with student-preceptor dyads. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using constant comparative methodology. Findings from the study indicated that the core process characterizing the experience was "empowered learning on the inside." In contrast to traditional instructor-led experiences, students were positioned on the inside and acculturated to the world of nursing. As insiders, students related to others and experienced nursing in new ways. Implications of the findings for nursing education are addressed.

Adult↗