While much has been explored about notions of both place and belonging in regard to community health of various populations, little is known of the phenomena specific to suburban dwelling seniors. More and more seniors are living in suburban neighborhoods, communities that do not tend well to the belonging needs of this population. This qualitative study sought the perspectives of suburban dwelling seniors about the role of belonging and community connection to their health and wellbeing. Informed by strengths-based approaches to community development and health, the study engaged people from three community groups of older adults in a Canadian suburb (a seniors’ recreational/social group, and two cultural groups) in group interviews concerning the topic. Discoveries included an understanding of belonging as both personal and social, and identification of facilitators and barriers to belonging at personal and systemic levels. Belonging was experienced through connection, contribution and cooperation. These findings are important to shape community engagement with seniors and to inform decision-making and program developments in areas of recreation, leisure, health services, community policing, city planning and other services.

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BACKGROUNDNursing students in Canada are typically enrolled in a four-year bachelor degree program that provides students with the necessary skills and knowledge to enter a highly demanding and challenging workforce. Strong critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and clinical judgment skills are essential skills for safe nursing practice. Therefore, educational institutes and their mentors are mandated to teach and assess these skills. In addition, nursing programs operate under an apprenticeship model, which entails the fulfillment of practical experience during which students are expected to develop and refine their skills in critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and clinical judgment.PURPOSEThe purpose of this scoping review of the literature is to assess the available evidence of how higher-level thinking, including critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and clinical judgment are evaluated in undergraduate nursing students in clinical settings.METHODSThe inclusion criteria consisted of quantitative research articles published in the last 10 years. Search databases accessed included CINAHL Plus (EBSCO), Medline, and PubMed.RESULTSSeven articles that fit the inclusion criteria became the focus of this scoping review. Four tools to evaluate higher-thinking processes in clinical settings were located and scrutinized: Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric (LCJR), Script Concordance Testing, and Yoon’s Critical Thinking Disposition Instrument.Relevance to practice: The scoping review will provide direction and contextualize future studies that focus on the appraisal of nursing students’ critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and clinical judgment in clinical settings.