Introduction It is well-established in research that clinical learning during nursing education is a foundational preparation for future practice. However, the role of academic tasks, such as writing a bachelor's thesis, is less recognized for its contributions to nurses’ working lives and overall professional development. Objective This study aimed to explore registered nurses’ perceptions of the process of bachelor's thesis and its perceived usefulness in professional nursing careers. Methods Semistructured interviews with ten registered nurses was employed. A thematic analysis of the data and the framework of sustainable learning were used. Results The findings showed that the process of writing a bachelor's thesis during nursing education was perceived as a valuable learning experience and a source of continuing development. The main themes, professional knowing and professional agency, demonstrate the knowing applied in the healthcare contexts and for understanding nurse-patient relationships. The nurses stated that professional agency in research dissemination and a critical approach in their daily patient care was important and that the bachelor's thesis had provided a foundation for these practices. Conclusion Writing a bachelor's thesis during nursing education is justified as it may contribute to a critical understanding of nursing phenomena and the care taking place in clinical contexts. Bachelor's theses align with sustainable learning and are one of the prerequisites for readiness for change and development in professional practice.

Aim To explore nursing students’ academic emotions during ongoing learning activities focusing on perceived challenge and competence. Background Emotions plays an important part in learning. Positive emotions can be beneficial while negative emotions can be detrimental to educational outcomes. Optimal experiences are situations when learners simultaneously experience sufficient challenge and competence. Since various learning activities are performed in different learning environments during the nursing program, it is of interest to investigate students’ ongoing emotions in the occurring contexts. Design A longitudinal descriptive study. Methods By using the Contextual Activity Sampling System, data was collected every third week on a three-year nursing program. From August 2015 to January 2020, a total of 2, 947 questionnaires were answered by 158 students. Experiences of positive and negative academic emotions were calculated for the entire program. Optimal experience was calculated for courses where high discrepancy between positive and negative experiences were identified. Results Students self-reported academic emotions varied over time and in relation to learning activities. High ratings of negative emotions were reported during clinical practice in all semesters except the final. Students’ positive academic emotions and optimal experience in clinical practice increased after having deepened their academic knowledge. Conclusion Nursing students had an increased positive experience when they themselves practice a learning activity and it appeared that they benefit from academic preparation prior to entering internship. Nursing students need an academic competence to develop their skills during training in the clinical reality. Increased collaboration between academia and clinic would be beneficial for students’ clinical development.

Nursing education prepares students for both academia and practice; however, the contribution of writing a bachelor's thesis in learning nursing is overlooked. The aim of the present study was to explore the role of a bachelor thesis as a learning tool in nursing. A total of 15 nursing students were individually interviewed using semi-structured questions. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, and the activity theoretical concept of a tool was subsequently applied. The results were reported in accordance with COREQ for qualitative research. The findings identified writing a bachelor's thesis as a ‘ Personal tool’ and a ‘ Systemic tool for learning nursing’. The personal tool was related to ‘ Preparation for patient encounters in working life’ and ‘ Discovering bodily mechanisms of disease or health’. The systemic tool was related to ‘ Enabling to impact on the organization of work and stakeholders’ and ‘ Facilitating knowledge of the links between patient groups and common diseases’. The study discusses and concludes that a bachelor's thesis represents both a personal and a systemic tool that embodies nursing knowledge, preparing students for their future work as registered nurses. An implication for contemporary nursing is that a bachelor's thesis may serve as a boundary-crossing tool that transcends the school, workplace, and even society.

BACKGROUND:A functional interprofessional teamwork improves collaborative patient-centred care. Participation in interprofessional education promotes cooperation after graduation. Individuals tend to use different approaches to learning depending on their individual preferences. The purpose of this study was to explore nursing students' experiences of professional development with a focus on the relationship between attitudes to interprofessional learning and learning styles. METHODS:A longitudinal parallel mixed-methods design. The study was carried out at a Swedish three-year nursing program from August 2015 to January 2020. On enrolment, thirty-four students self-assessed their attitudes to interprofessional learning according to the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale, and their learning style according to Kolbs' Learning Style Inventory. In the final semester the students participated in an interview focusing on their experiences and perceptions of teamwork and they self-assessed their attitudes to interprofessional learning again. RESULTS:Our findings indicated that 64.7% had a predominantly concrete learning style and 35.3% had a predominantly reflective learning style. No significant relationship with internal consistency reliability was identified among the participants between attitudes to interprofessional learning and learning styles. The content analysis resulted in four main categories: Amazing when it's functional; Deepened insight of care; Increased quality of care; Understanding own profession which were summarized in the theme: Well-functioning teams improve patients' outcome and working environment. CONCLUSION:The students' attitudes to interprofessional learning were positive and it was considered as an opportunity to participate in interprofessional cooperation during internship. Transformative learning is a useful strategy in fostering interprofessional relationships due to the interdependence of various professions in interprofessional teams. When students are guided to use reflection to develop new perspectives and meaning structures, they acquire emotional and rational skills beneficial for interprofessional cooperation.

A bachelor’s thesis can be characterized as a proof of basic research and a trajectory of academic writing. This study addresses students’ ways of experiencing the writing process at the halfway stage, a stage that has been ignored in research. In a phenomenographic interview-study design, semi-structured interviews with 15 nursing students were carried out. A phenomenographic analysis of the data represents an outcome space with four categories of ways of experiencing writing: A. Structure, B. Comparison, C. Shift, and D. Relation. The categories of ways of experiencing the writing of a bachelor’s thesis constitute a range of foci, from solitary writing and assurance of the textual structure to a shared understanding, discussion, and transformation. This study confirms that sharing the preparation of texts in groups at the halfway stage can promote academic and relational skills. Conclusions address the nature of academic writing at the halfway stage and discuss potential pedagogical implications of the transformation from writing for oneself to writing for others, across disciplines and beyond academic levels.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate newly admitted nursing students' views on nursing education and their future profession. Background: Students' choice of education can be influenced by societal and familial values and among nursing students' altruistic motives are common. Students', conceptions, expectations and doubts combined with their orientations to learning affect their ability to successfully cope with studies in higher education.Design: A descriptive design using mixed method.Methods: This mixed-method study is based on 126 qualitative semi-structured interviews and 158 questionnaires with newly admitted nursing students. The data collection was conducted during their first six weeks of edu-cation. Collected data were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive statistics. This study was conducted and reported in accordance with the COREQ checklist.Results: The overarching theme: "Making a difference if managing to become a professional nurse", describing students' dichotomous emotions of expectations and doubts in relation to their conceptions, emerged from seven main categories. Students' ratings of emotions revealed high ambition and motivation. Fears and worries about uncertainty expressed in interviews correlated with ratings of negative emotions.Conclusion: Newly admitted nursing students think highly of the nursing profession and upcoming education. Students put faith in their own ability which is accompanied by doubts derived from uncertainty about forth-coming demands in academic, clinical and personal settings. Understanding of students' conceptions, expecta-tions, doubts and their orientations to learning could be helpful in guiding them to acquire the nurse competencies necessary to become professional nurses that are able to handle complex situations.

BACKGROUND:During education it is essential for nursing students to develop professionalism in nursing. Nurses are placed in situations based on trust, and it is crucial that their patients have confidence in them to provide professional and safe care. A key period in nursing students' development of a professionalism occurs during training when students gain knowledge and skills that separate nurses as professional healthcare workers from laypeople. The purpose of this study was to investigate nursing students' experiences of professional competence development during education.METHODS:A longitudinal study was carried out using qualitative content analysis with a manifest inductive approach. Thirty-four students enrolled in a Swedish three-year nursing program, from August 2015 to January 2017 were interviewed on four occasions.RESULTS:The results revealed that students' professional role developed gradually. The students' started their education with dreams and a naive understanding of the profession, but their understanding of the complexity of the nursing profession gradually evolved. Students became theoretically equipped at the university and developed clinical skills through practice. Students' focus went from mastering medical technology to a more holistic approach. Before graduating, students felt ready but not fully trained.CONCLUSIONS:Our findings indicate a discrepancy between the content of the theoretical education and the clinical settings since students identified a lack of evidence-based practice. A solid theoretical education before entering clinical training offered students possibilities for reflecting on evidence-based practice and the clinical settings. The realization that there is always potential for professional improvement can be interpreted as an emerging awareness, and development of professionalism. It is clear that students could benefit from increased collaborative work between clinical supervisors and faculty staff at the university.

While performing various academic work, such as writing a bachelor's thesis, are known to be challenging for university students, less is known about students' expectations in this regard.AIM:The aim was to describe students' expectations of the upcoming process of writing a bachelor's thesis.DESIGN:The study employed an explorative, qualitative approach with a single, written open-ended question design.METHODS:The data were collected consecutively 2013-2016 in class. A total of 93 final-year students volunteered and provided hand-written accounts which were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.RESULTS:The students' accounts revealed three generic categories of expectations: Gaining professional knowledge and competency, Planning and organizing the work, and Taking stock of personal resources. Writing a bachelor's thesis was a new challenge for most of the students and the answers testify to mixed feelings about the upcoming work and its supervision.CONCLUSIONS:The nursing students' expectations included present and future competencies, skills and abilities. In promoting development of transferable skills and knowledge, educators of future health-care professionals would be well advised to invite students to reflect on and discuss, their expectations prior to writing a bachelor's thesis and similar academic student papers. This study adds to the research on students' studying and learning in nursing education by bringing to the fore students' expectations of academic learning tasks as an important aspect to consider in higher education contexts, both nationally and internationally.

Background: Students’ reasons for choosing nursing and their expectations of education and future career might have an impact on how they manage their studies. During upcoming training, the students need to acquire certain skills and competencies to become professional nurses able to handle complex situations. Therefore, it is of interest to understand students’ perceptions of upcoming education and their ideas about future occupation. This study aimed to investigate newly admitted nursing students’ viewpoints about training to become a professional nurse.Methods: A descriptive cohort study was designed using interviews and questionnaires undertaken at one university in Stockholm, Sweden August 2015 to June 2017. All students starting the program were invited to participate. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected by using individual interviews (n=126) and questionnaires (n=158). Content analysis of the transcribed interviews was used to identify a theme. Sample percentages, mean score and standard deviation were calculated for data from questionnaires using descriptive statistics.Results: Seven main categories were identified, 1. Nursing as role model, 2. Self-confidence in a new environment, 3. Develop nursing attitudes and skills, 4. Opportunities to impact the future, 5. Stimulating hands-on teamwork, 6. Don´t manage the task, 7. Surrounding factors prohibiting success. Additionally, students generally rated higher for positive emotions, and lower for negative on a 7 graded Likert scale. The finding indicated that the newly admitted nursing students in general had a strong intrinsic social orientation to learning.Conclusion: As findings suggests, students put faith in their own ability and want to make a difference by altruistic reasons when entering the training. It is essential for educators to gain a deeper understanding of the visions of newly admitted students to nurture and empower their enthusiasm during training.

This paper draws on ongoing work into student learning in higher education to consider a basis for conceptualising students’ experiences of understanding in medicine. Starting with a modest overview of research on the nature of students’ experiences of understanding the paper goes on to consider research on students’ personal understandings in terms of knowledge objects. Linking on to research on students’ epistemological beliefs the paper forges connections to recent research on threshold concepts and related research on conceptual change. Against the background of this brief overview the paper surveys the research on medical education, and then draws on interview data, currently being collected in a Swedish research project, to offer a preliminary conceptualisation of students’ experiences of understanding in medicine.

This study investigates parents' lived experiences of having a child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The aim was to explore parents' meaning-making processes in relation to their children's ADHD with a focus on understanding the impact that receiving a diagnosis had on the parents' perceptions of, and ways of managing, their children's challenging behaviours. Drawing on data collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 parents, we carried out a content analysis of the parents' accounts, producing a range of categories describing different aspects of the parents' meaning-making processes in relation to their child receiving an ADHD diagnosis. Five conceptual categories were identified, describing components of a process of adaptation through which the parents - using the diagnosis as a tool - were able to transform feelings of distress over their difficulties in managing their child's challenging behaviours into feelings of being able to cope with these challenges of integrating the ADHD diagnosis into everyday family life. This research suggests that understanding the long-term processes involved in parents' meaning-making of an ADHD diagnosis is important and can open up a pathway to developing initiatives to support parents in dealing with their child's challenging behaviours in everyday life.

The aim of this study was to explore challenging encounters experienced by registered nurses (RN) during their first year in the emergency medical service by using the social learning theory of communities of practice. During the first year in a new professional practice, a new RN experiences a transition during which the new professional identity is being formed. This is a challenging and demanding period of time. According to the learning theory of communities of practice by Lave and Wenger, individuals’ learning and development in a new professional practice occurs through participation in social activity and is influenced by context. This study is based on the qualitative data from semi-structured interviews. Thirty-two RNs working in the Swedish emergency medical service were interviewed via telephone during the spring of 2017. A qualitative content analysis with deductive reasoning of the interviews was used. The analysis process generated the main category; New RNs participation is challenged by unpredictability and uncertainty in practice . The main category was based on three generic categories; Loneliness in an unpredictable context, Uncertainty about the team, and Uncertainty in action . The challenges new RNs encounter during the first year relate to all three dimensions of a community of practice; mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoire. The encountered challenges also relate to the EMS context. Taking into account all these aspects when designing support models for RN’s professional development may be advantageous for creating positive development for RNs new to the EMS and/or similar practices.

BackgroundWorking in the emergency medical service (EMS) can be extremely varying and sometimes physically and psychologically demanding. Being new in this context can be a great challenge. This study aim to describe what ambulance nurses consider to be important support during the first year in the EMS.MethodsThree hundred and eighty-nine eligible participants that had graduated from the prehospital emergency care program were identified via university registrations office in Sweden. The eligible participants received a study specific questionnaire via mail consisting of 70 statements about support during the first year. The perceived importance of each statement were graded on a 7-point Likert scale. The gradings were analysed using descriptive statistics and frequencies, mean and SD were calculated.ResultsTwo hundred and thirty questionnaires were returned fully completed, giving a response rate of 59%. Fourteen statements regarding desirable support were rated with mean values >6.00 and SD<1.00 and considered as being the most important during the first year in the EMS. The important supports regarded; colleagues and work environment, management and organisation, experience-based knowledge, introduction period, practical support, and theoretical support. Most statements regarded culture and climate and the way the newcomers wanted to be treated.ConclusionIt was concluded that an important way to support newcomers in the EMS is to treat them nice'. This can be achieved by creating an open climate and a welcoming culture where the new professionals feel trusted and treated with respect, created ways to work structurally, have applicable medical guidelines, and for newcomers to receive feedback on their actions.

This combined interview and survey study explored the relationship between interview data and data from an inventory describing engineering students' ratings of their approaches to studying. Using the 18-item Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) students were asked to rate their approaches to studying in relation to particular statements. A subsample of nine first-year engineering students participated in subsequent interviews exploring their experiences of studying and learning. The students' views were examined and interpreted into inventory scores which were compared to the students' actual ratings. The interviews confirmed the scales measured in the inventory and provided illustrations to them. While students who were extreme in either approach were easier to interpret, others provided a good example of the complex combination of approaches that can exhibit itself in one individual. The study illustrates how combined data sets can contribute to achieve a holistic understanding of student learning in its context.

BackgroundHow students go about studying, including the learning activities that students engage in both during and between classes, is not easily understood. Previous research indicates that critical student features, such as approaches to learning and decisions of how to organise studying activities, develop in bidirectional interactions between personal and learning environmental factors. However, attempts to influence students' studying activities in certain directions by manipulating the learning environment often prove unsuccessful. A deeper analysis of the student perspective is needed, since students' subjective perceptions of the learning environment to a great extent will influence their individual ways of going about studying and learning. In particular, we need to clarify which aspects steer students towards focusing on certain studying activities in a particular course context.PurposeThis study aimed at elaborating the student perspective of the process of selection of studying activities. It did this by searching for similarities in references to factors perceived as guiding this process among students representing very different combinations of approaches to learning.Sample, design and methodsStudents' approaches to learning were evaluated with the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) in two successive psychology introductory courses (N=261). A random (N=5) and a purposive (N=6) student sample was then selected and interviewed. Seven of the students also took part in follow-up interviews six months later. The qualitative analysis aimed at mapping and extracting similarities in students' perceptions of, and dealing with, the selection of studying activities.ResultsDespite considerable differences in students' approaches to learning and reported studying activities, all students interviewed referred to a common set of reference points perceived as guiding their ways of studying, i.e. their perception of (1) previous studying experiences, (2) course recommendations, (3) learning outcomes, (4) assessment demands and (5) time and effort spent on studying.ConclusionsWe suggest that students' selection of studying activities may be seen as a process of negotiation based on input from certain reference points. In the course context under study, the targeting process resulted in a general homogenisation of studying activities and permitted students to feel they were studying efficiently. Although possible generalisation of the results remains to be investigated, it is suggested that understanding students' perceptions of reference points and general understanding of the targeting process could contribute to a better grasp of how student factors, course contexts and students' perceptions of these, interact.

New nurses and nurses new to a professional practice go through a transition where they adopt a new professional identity. This has been described as a challenging time where peer support and limited responsibility are considered necessary. Little is known about the experience of nurses being new to the ambulance service where support is limited and the nurse holds full responsibility of patient care. The aim of this study has therefore been to explore nurses' experiences during their first year of employment in the Swedish ambulance service. Data was generated from semi-structured interviews with 13 nurses having less than 12 months of experience of work in the ambulance service. The nurses represented nine different districts in Sweden. Analysis was a latent inductive qualitative content analysis. The analysis resulted in the main category, "Striving for balance during the transition process in the ambulance context". Transition in the ambulance service was experienced as a balance act between emotions, expectations and a strive for professional development. The balance was negatively affected by harsh, condescending attitudes among colleagues and the lack of structured support and feedback. In striving for balance in their new professional practice, the nurses described personal, unsupervised strategies for professional development.

Investigating nursing students' transition from novice to motivated undergraduate students using CASS as a reflective tool

The aim of the research reported in this paper was to explore students' journey' towards conceptual understanding during an undergraduate course. The task that medical students face - to learn a substantial quantity of detailed knowledge and integrate into a coherent whole in a limited time frame - is demanding. Seven students were interviewed in a group, and 17 students gave their reflections in writing. Data was gathered from both groups on five separate occasions. The findings suggest that students seek different kinds of understandings as they get to grips with their studies. The forms of understanding were: understanding as knowing the language', knowing the map', knowing the catalogue' and experiencing an integrated whole'. Students first appeared to focus on the first two forms, and later in the course, as they learned more, they focused on the catalogue' or the integrated whole'. The findings point to potential pathways students might take towards gaining deeper understanding.

Introduction: The study describes issues that facilitate collaboration in teams of learners in an interprofessional education unit in intensive care.Methods: A descriptive qualitative study design was applied using semi-structured interviews based on the critical incident technique and qualitative content analysis. Nineteen participants, eight learners in their specialist training, nine supervisors and two head supervisors in Sweden identified 47 incidents.Result: Teams of learners having control was the core issue. Motivation, time, experiences and reflection were central issues for facilitating collaboration.Conclusion: Efficiently training teams how to collaborate requires learners having control while acting on their common understanding and supervisors taking a facilitating role supporting teams to take control of their critical analysis.

This study aimed to explore student teachers' experiences of learning in teacher education, with a focus on how students describe their ways of thinking about their own learning in relation to their future professional role as teachers and how these descriptions relate to emerging cosmopolitan visions for student learning in teacher education. Data were collected through qualitative interviews with a small sample of student teachers at two Swedish universities. Thirty student teachers writing their final exam papers were invited to participate in an interview. Of these, 14 volunteered for audio-recorded, individual interviews exploring the students' experiences of studying and learning. The analysis drew on a conceptual framework developed in research on students' approaches to studying and learning and focused on how students described their experiences of learning in the course of studying, with an emphasis on the ways in which students reflected on their own emergent understandings of knowledge that they believe to be central to the process of becoming a professional teacher. These reflective accounts were subsequently analysed with a focus on the ways in which they connect to current philosophical ideas of cosmopolitan learning in teacher education. While the student teachers did not explicitly link their own understandings of what is involved in becoming a teacher to any cosmopolitan views raised in their teacher education, their ways of thinking about their own emergent professional understanding of teaching revealed a certain reflexive potential that can be linked to ideas of cosmopolitan learning in teacher education. This study contributes to educational research by linking an empirically derived conceptualisation of student learning in higher education to broader philosophical visions of higher education specifically addressing the challenges that teacher education faces in the light of the globalisation of society as a whole.