Background Clinical experience is an integral component of preregistration nursing education programs globally. There is a need to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the mentoring experience during clinical placement from the perspective of preregistration nursing students. Aim/objective The aim of this review is to explore preregistration nursing students’ experiences of mentorship during clinical placement. Design Integrative review methodology. Data sources Relevant online databases (CINAHL, Medline, Scopus, and ProQuest) were searched using a combination of keywords, yielding seven studies from peer-reviewed journals between 2014 and 2025 that met the inclusion criteria. Review methods After duplicates were removed, 501 abstracts were reviewed. Twenty articles were identified for full-text review. Of these, seven articles addressed the experiences of mentorship during clinical placement from the viewpoint of preregistration nursing students and were included in the review. Results The review of data generated four themes: (i) Enhancing support for nursing students, (ii) Providing meaningful feedback, (iii) Barriers to effective mentoring, and (iv) Sense of belongingness. Findings indicated that for mentoring to be effective, mentors need to provide support, foster a sense of belongingness in the clinical environment, and provide constructive feedback to students. However, in the clinical setting, factors such as staffing levels, workload, time, level of interest, and nurses’ own responsibilities create barriers to effective mentorship. Conclusion The primary aim of this review was to offer meaningful insights into the dynamics of the mentoring relationship in shaping the clinical learning experiences of preregistration nursing students. The findings highlight the critical role of mentors who are supportive, knowledgeable, and approachable in creating a positive learning environment where students feel valued and supported.

Background:The shortage of experienced nurses within the global workforce has resulted in healthcare systems increasingly relying on inexperienced nurses to meet workforce demands. These demands include the mentorship of undergraduate nursing students by newly graduated registered nurses. However, there is little understanding of how new graduate nurses filling mentorship roles impacts on students' clinical placement experience. Aim:The study explored pre-registration nursing students' experiences of mentorship by new graduate registered nurses (NGRNs). Method:The study used a qualitative descriptive design underpinned by naturalistic inquiry. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with pre-registration nursing students who were mentored by NGRNs. Twelve participants were recruited via social media using purposive and snowball sampling until data sufficiency was achieved. Braun and Clarke's Thematic Analysis framework guided data analysis. Results:Interviews generated three themes and five sub-themes: Theme one - More than placement: A sense of belonging and included two sub-themes (i) Breaking the ice: Being welcoming and approachable and (ii) Cultivating empathy and emotional connection: She never judged me. Theme two - Pedagogical approaches of NGRNs in teaching with sub-themes (i) Collaborative learning in the clinical setting: We are learning together; (ii) The role of time and patience: Do not rush, take your time and (iii) Building confidence and promoting independence: She allowed me to be hands on. Theme three - Barriers to effective student learning. Conclusion:NGRNs formed a positive relationship in the clinical setting by being welcoming, approachable and inclusive with students. This study prompts a reconsideration of established assumptions that experienced mentors provide the most effective mentorship. Relational attributes enhance students' learning and confidence, highlighting the need to re-evaluate current mentorship models and recognise the positive impact these mentors may have on the future nursing workforce.

Aim: To understand the experiences of nurses working in outdoor COVID-19 testing clinics. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant changes in the practices of nurses across healthcare settings. This challenge meant responding to working in completely new environments, such as the COVID19 testing clinics and undertaking work practices never experienced before. Design: A qualitative descriptive design. Methods: Semistructured interviews with 11 nurses recruited and deployed to work in outdoor COVID-19 testing clinics across a Local Health District in Australia. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's guide for thematic analysis. Findings: Six themes were identified from the data: connection to being a nurse in response to the pandemic; the journey working in the clinic; fear of taking COVID-19 home; the influence of the media on personal and professional lives; responding to the community; and becoming one, developing the team. Conclusions: This study shows how responsive and adaptive nurses can be in times of crisis. Despite the fear of facing the unknown, nurses from an array of backgrounds very quickly established clear roles and team cohesiveness to respond to the needs of the community. (c) 2024 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

AIM:To provide insights into the challenges and benefits of being an insider nurse researcher in case study research. To describe strategies used to maintain rigour and trustworthiness when conducting insider research. DESIGN:Case study with insider research methodology was used to evaluate a nurse-led supportive care model for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and their caregivers. METHODS:This paper reports a reflection on using insider research within a clinical context, utilising reflexive techniques such as journaling and discussions with academic supervisors to mitigate subjectivity. Informed consent and confidentiality were maintained to ensure ethical integrity. RESULTS:The study found that insider research offers both challenges and benefits. The established therapeutic relationship with patients and caregivers provided a deep understanding but also posed risks of assumptions, role conflict, and bias toward positive responses. CONCLUSION:Insider research was effective in evaluating a nurse-led model of care, providing unique insights from patients and caregivers. This discussion demonstrates the importance of reflexive practices and maintaining ethical rigour to balance roles and manage potential biases. The paper highlights both the challenges and benefits of insider research that may be helpful for other researchers. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE:This study highlights the value of insider research in a nursing context, demonstrating how nurses can leverage therapeutic relationships to enhance patient and caregiver voices to inform evidence-based practice. It also provides practical guidance for researchers on reflexive practices to manage the potential for bias and role conflicts, and the maintenance of ethical standards to ensure the integrity and trustworthiness of the research process. IMPACT:The study addressed the challenges and benefits of being an insider nurse researcher in the context of evaluating a nurse-led supportive care model for patients with COPD and their caregivers. While insider research can provide unique insights, it also poses risks of assumptions, role conflict, and bias. This paper describes how these can be mitigated through reflexive techniques and integration of outsider perspectives. Established nurse-patient therapeutic relationships facilitated deeper understanding in a research setting; however, they require careful management to avoid bias. Ethical integrity was maintained through informed consent, confidentiality, and reflexive journaling. The research will impact patients and caregivers by improving their access to timely and comprehensive supportive and palliative care and offers valuable strategies for other nurse researchers to enhance the quality and trustworthiness of insider research. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION:The development of the model of care in this study is informed by ongoing evaluation from patients with COPD and their caregivers.

AIM:The overarching aim was to explore women registered nurses' perceptions of gender discrimination in the workplace. DESIGN:A descriptive cross-sectional exploratory survey within a sequential explanatory mixed methods study. METHODS:Between September and December 2023, data were collected from 173 registered nurses who self-identified as women. The survey captured demographic data, attitudes to gender discrimination in society using the 'Contemporary Gender Discrimination Attitude Scale' and perceptions of workplace gender discrimination in nursing across four dimensions, assessed using the 'Perception of Workplace Gender Discrimination for Women Nurses Scale' (PWGD-WN). Descriptive statistics presented as means and standard deviations were used to describe and interpret data. Regression analysis and chi-square tests were employed to examine associations between key variables. RESULTS:The mean score on the Contemporary Gender Discrimination Attitude Scale was 4.56 (on a 6-point scale), indicating that on average respondents agreed that gender discrimination remains an issue in society. The PWGD-WN scale mean scores for the dimensions of gender discrimination (5-point scale) from lowest to highest were: 'Gender bias from other women' (Mean: 3.13, SD: 1.147), 'Interpersonal discrimination' (Mean: 3.30, SD: 1.135), 'Glass escalator' (Mean: 3.77, SD: 0.946) and 'Primary carer' (Mean: 3.86, SD: 0.796); higher scores indicated agreement with items. 'Primary carer' was the strongest predictor of attitude, followed by the 'Glass escalator'. Highest qualification obtained was highlighted as a key predictor of nurses' perceptions of workplace discrimination. CONCLUSION:The results of this study highlight that women in nursing perceive that systemic and multidimensional discrimination exists in the workplace. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION:The results can be utilised to understand how discrimination manifests in the workplace for women in a woman-dominated profession. IMPACT:This research provides the first quantitative measure of perceived workplace gender discrimination for Australian women registered nurses. REPORTING METHOD:We have adhered to relevant EQUATOR guidelines-STROBE. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION:This study did not include patient or public involvement in its design, conduct or reporting.

Purpose of study: The purpose of this study was to explore whether the professional construction of spirituality resonates with the experience and understanding of registered nurses (RNs). Design of study: Fairclough's critical discourse analysis approach. Methods used: Participants comprised three RN Standards for Practice research and development team members and 20 RNs working in hospitals in Australia. Data analysis was conducted through the application of Schneider's ten work steps. Findings: Holistic discourse was found to be a common discourse among both groups of participants. Other discourses which the two groups of participants drew from in their constructions of spirituality were mostly unique to each group. Conclusions: The findings have implications for spiritual care practice in the context of holistic nursing, notably in nursing practice standards and nursing education.

INTRODUCTION:Trans youth experience significantly higher rates of societal violence and ill-health compared to their cisgender peers. Although recent clinical guidelines for trans young people in health have paved the way for revolutionizing care, many trans young people still experience adversity in clinical settings. This discursive literature review provides a novel approach in exploring why trans young people experience violence in health care despite the availability of evidence-based resources and guidelines.DESIGN:Databases (CINAHL and Scopus) were systematically searched to identify qualitative literature on the experiences of trans young people (<18 years) in health care settings.METHOD:Rather than synthesizing and presenting the literature, Fairclough's (2001) CDA methodology was used to critically analyze the literature as texts in a data corpus. The authors engaged with the data from a critical social theory perspective.RESULTS:Fifteen qualitative articles and one report (n = 16) on the experiences of trans young people (3-24 years) in health care settings were included. Two key discourses were identified in the literature. First, discourses that constituted the trans young person were identified in the definitions of 'trans' as a pathological incongruence and as alternate, self-determined ways of being. Further discourses were identified in the constitution of trans young people as victims, extra-pathological, and alternatively problematised as socially dysphoric. Second, discourses in health provider responses were identified in dismissive, gatekeeping, regulatory, and respectful practices.DISCUSSION:The discursive constitution of the trans young person as incongruent, vulnerable, and pathological is constituted and generated by dismissive, gatekeeping, and regulatory practices of health care providers. The analysis reveals how trans young people are considered pathological and deemed treatable (at the site of the body), in the interest of 'protecting' them from a perceived abject future of trans adulthood. The logic and violence of cisgenderism is uncovered as the foundation of these dominant discourses, whereby growing up cisgender is often presented as the only option in health care settings. The dominant discourses that constitute the trans young person in health care as incongruent, pathological, and vulnerable, alongside the reifying health care responses of dismissal, gatekeeping, and regulation contribute to the erasure of the young trans person.CONCLUSION:This paper identified key discourses in the literature in how trans young people are constituted and regulated in health care. This review highlights an urgent need for further critical scholarship in trans health by trans researchers, from critical perspectives. Furthermore, it provides a starting point for critical reflection of health care provider and researcher practices and the re-imagination of trans-futurity for all young people in health care.CLINICAL RELEVANCE:Nurses are situated at the forefront of health care delivery and play a crucial role in the advocacy and provision of culturally safe care. With this ideal proximity to clients, nurses can powerfully affect change through better understanding and reflecting on how regulatory practices constitute and position trans young people in health care. Nursing knowledge, such as cultural safety, can offer novel approaches in working towards safer ways of meeting the needs of trans young people.

Aim: To evaluate a nurse-led model of supportive care in a COPD outpatient service from patient and caregiver perspectives.Design: Case study methodology.Methods: Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with patients (n = 12) and caregivers (n = 7) conducted between April 2020 and September 2022. A purposive sampling strategy was used. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using content analysis with an inductive approach. COREQ guidelines informed reporting of this study.Results: Eight categories were identified from the data evaluating of the model of care relating to the most helpful aspects of COPD supportive care and suggested improvements to the model of care. The categories were: guidance with managing symptoms; participating in advance care planning; home visiting; expert advice; continuity and trust; caring; caregiver support and improvements to the model of care.Conclusion: In a nurse-led model of COPD supportive care, what patients and caregivers valued most was expert advice and guidance with symptom management, flexible home visiting, participation in advance care planning, caring and continuity within an ongoing trusted therapeutic relationship. Understanding what patients and caregivers value most is essential in designing and delivering models of care that meet the needs of patients living with chronic, life-limiting illness.Implications for the profession and/or patient care: Nurses can lead effective models of supportive care that offer valuable support to patients living with COPD and their caregivers.

AIM:This study aimed to gain a better understanding of nursing/midwifery students' perspectives on a pedagogy of caring and online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, it aimed to determine if the COVID-19 pandemic impacted students' perceptions and experience of online learning and students' desire to enter the nursing/midwifery workforce. DESIGN:Mixed methods. METHODS:A multi-centre cross-sectional survey of Australian nursing and midwifery students was undertaken to explore students' experience of learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS:There are several key findings from this study that may be relevant for the future delivery of undergraduate health education, students transitioning to practice and healthcare workforce retention. The study found that although students were somewhat satisfied with online learning during COVID-19, students reported significant issues with knowledge/skill acquisition and barriers to the learning process. The students reported feeling less prepared for practice and identified how clinical staff were unable to provide additional guidance and support due to increased workloads and stress. The textual responses of participants highlighted that connection/disconnection, empathy and engagement/disengagement had an impact on learning during COVID-19. CONCLUSION:Connection, engagement and isolation were key factors that impacted nursing students' online learning experiences. In addition, graduates entering the workforce felt less prepared for entry into practice due to changes in education delivery during COVID-19 that they perceived impacted their level of clinical skills, confidence and ability to practice as new graduate nurses/midwives. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION:Not applicable. IMPACT:Attention must be given to the transition of new graduate nurses and midwives whose education was impacted by pandemic restrictions, to support their professional career development and to ensure retention of future healthcare workforce. Connection, engagement and isolation were key factors that impacted nursing students' online learning experiences. Educators should consider how connection and engagement can be actively embedded in the online learning environment.

Workplace gender discrimination as perceived by women in nursing, is currently under researched. The aim of this article is to outline the development and validation of a scale designed to measure the perception of workplace gender discrimination for women nurses. The instrument was developed following a three-stage process, consistent with recommendations for scale development. Twenty-nine items were derived from two comprehensive literature reviews and interviews with 10 women nurses. Exploratory factor analysis (principal axis factoring) with varimax rotation was conducted for identifying the dimensions underlying the data set. All 29 items loaded onto a factor. Each factor included at least four items and all item loadings were well above the acceptable minimum value (> 0.40). The four factors collectively account for 71.27% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha of the 29 items (0.964) showed good internal consistency. It is our hope that this research tool will not only be used within nursing, but also with some modification, in other women dominated professions.

AIM:To explore general nurses' experiences of modifying and implementing contextually suitable Safewards interventions into medical and surgical hospital wards. DESIGN:Qualitative action research was used working with nurses as co-researchers. METHODS:Pre-implementation focus groups were conducted in April 2022 to understand and explore the current strategies nurses utilized to avert, respond to or decrease violence. Following this, two Safewards interventions were modified by the nurses on the wards. Post-implementation focus groups were conducted in October 2022, to explore the nurses' experience of implementing Safewards interventions and the effect on their nursing practice. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's framework for thematic analysis. RESULTS:Three themes emerged from the analysis of the pre-implementation focus groups that reflected the type of violence experienced by these nurses and the context within which they occurred: 'the space is hectic'; 'it can feel like a battlefield'; and 'the aftermath'. These themes encompass the nurses' experience of violence from patients and their visitors. Following the implementation of two modified Safewards interventions, the analysis of the focus groups reflected a change in nursing skills to avert or respond to violence: 'Safewards in action'; 'empathy and self-reflection'; and 'moving forward'. CONCLUSION:Safewards interventions can be successfully modified and used in general hospital wards and influence nursing practice to manage patient and visitor violence. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION:In the interests of safety, successful interventions to reduce violence towards general hospital nurses should be a priority for managers and healthcare organizations. Averting, mitigating and managing violence can decrease the negative professional and personal effect on nurses and ultimately improve well-being, job satisfaction and retention rates. Furthermore, decreasing violence or aggressive incidents leads to a safer patient experience and decreased number of nursing errors ultimately improving patient experiences and outcomes. Understanding nurses' experiences of violence and working with them to explore and develop contextually relevant solutions increases their capacity to respond to and avert violent incidents. Contextually modified Safewards interventions offer one such solution and potentially has wider implications for healthcare settings beyond the specific wards studied. IMPACT:This study addressed the implementation of modified Safewards strategies in medical and surgical wards to prevent violence. Three themes emerged from the analysis of the pre-implementation focus groups that reflected the type of violence experienced by these nurses and the context within which they occurred. Following the implementation of two modified Safewards interventions, the post-implementation focus groups reported positive changes to their practices using the modified resources to prevent violence from patients and their visitors. Mental health interventions, such as those used in the Safewards model can be modified and provide a tool kit of interventions that can be used by medical and surgical nurses. REPORTING METHOD:This paper has adhered to the COREQ guidelines. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION:No patient or public contribution. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER CONTRIBUTE TO THE WIDER GLOBAL CLINICAL COMMUNITY?: This paper outlines and discusses the action research approach undertaken to work with general hospital nurses to modify mental health nurses' Safewards interventions into their clinical practice. This paper provides evidence of the 'real world' application of Safewards interventions by medical and surgical nurses in general hospital wards. This paper presents qualitative findings based on focus group methods to highlight the narratives of general nurses and their experiences of violence.

AIM To critically synthesise the literature that explores the experiences of workplace gender discrimination from the perspective of registered nurses. DESIGN Integrative review. REVIEW METHODS Primary research articles reporting on the experience of workplace gender discrimination towards registered nurses in any setting were eligible for inclusion. Studies were critically appraised for methodological quality using a modified Critical Appraisal Skills Program list. The six phases of thematic analysis proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006) were used to guide the analysis. Data were extracted and coded, and themes were identified according to the review aims and significant findings of each study. DATA SOURCES CINAHL, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, Cochrane Library, published between January 2012 and June 2022. RESULTS Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria. Major themes identified were (1) career progression, (2) career interruption, (3) positioning of men in nursing and (4) positioning of women in nursing. CONCLUSION This review shows that both men and women in nursing experience workplace gender discrimination; however, the forms and consequences of this discrimination differ substantially by gender. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION It is important that the pursuit of greater numerical representation of men in nursing does not result in further reinforcing patriarchal advantage. Professional development for nurse leaders in managing gender issues is recommended. IMPACT This integrative review presents current issues on workplace gender discrimination for men and women in nursing. The findings suggest gender roles and norms have an effect on the careers of both men and women in nursing. The time has come to alter restrictive gender norms and to challenge notions of hegemonic masculinity and femininity. REPORTING METHOD We have adhered to relevant EQUATOR guidelines-PRISMA. NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION For this literature review on workplace gender discrimination for registered nurses, we did not engage members of the patient population, nor the general public.