Experiences of service users involved in recruitment for nursing courses: A phenomenological research study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to gain insight into service users' experiences of participating in recruitment for Adult, Mental Health and Child nursing studies at the authors' university; to establish potential motivations behind such participation; and to make suggestions for improved future practice. The involvement of service users in nurse education and recruitment has for some years been required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, but there is a dearth of publications on the meaning of that involvement to participating service users. It is hoped that this study will contribute to this body of knowledge. A phenomenological approach was selected, field-specific focus groups of service users being facilitated using a semi-structured interview format; these were audio recorded and transcribed. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. Participation was subject to the service users having been involved in recruitment to nursing studies at the authors' university and the focus groups took place either at the university or at the child participants' school. Themes identified demonstrated largely positive experiences and a sense of meaningful involvement for all concerned. Findings indicated a close link between the values of the participants and those of the wider NHS, benefits to a sense of wellbeing and achievement, as well as the need for greater ownership of the recruitment process by service users. Potential lessons for academics wishing to promote greater service user involvement in student recruitment are articulated.

Academic Staff Perspective of the Perceived Impact of Patient and Public Involvement in Nursing and Social Work Education

“…Our findings about issues during delivery of patients and public involvement are consistent with previous studies [22,23]. It can be assumed that if these issues are not address it may subsequently result in academic staff having low confidence in involving patients/public.…”

Developing an Initiative to Involve Service Users in the Recruitment of Student Midwives

“…Participating was clearly a positive experience for all the service user respondents, who were able to talk about topics or experiences that were important to them, enjoyed the fact that the candidates were genuinely interested in what they had to say, and/or gained satisfaction from contributing to the recruitment process: 'Great to feel like we were helping to support midwifery as a profession, candidates were lovely and personable, nice to tell our story and share our experiences!' Service users' sharing of stories has been identified as helping them come to terms with living with compromised health (Stevens et al 2017). Similarly the re-telling of birth and care stories by our service users appeared to trigger a therapeutic release of emotion and help them make sense of what happened to them.…”

“…Another commented that the marking categories could be made clearer to facilitate this. In their exploration of the meaning to service users of involvement in adult, mental health and children's nursing programmes, Stevens et al (2017) identified the issue of power dynamics when assessing interview candidates' performance. Although being treated as an equal was important to Stevens et al's (2017) participants, they were quick to defer to the judgement of faculty staff.…”

“…In their exploration of the meaning to service users of involvement in adult, mental health and children's nursing programmes, Stevens et al (2017) identified the issue of power dynamics when assessing interview candidates' performance. Although being treated as an equal was important to Stevens et al's (2017) participants, they were quick to defer to the judgement of faculty staff. Our participants clearly wanted an element of autonomy in marking the candidates, with clear guidance to follow, and not to be led by the observing academic.…”