Registered nurse mentors' experiences from co‐creation in higher education targeting enhancement of mentorship practices in nursing homes: A qualitative study

Abstract

Aim To explore registered nurse (RN) mentors' experiences of participating in the co‐creation of a digital educational resource intended to enhance mentorship practices of first‐year nursing students in clinical placement in nursing homes. Design An interpretive, descriptive qualitative study design. Methods Data were collected through two focus group interviews with 15 RN mentors (n = 15) participating in co‐creative workshops. The co‐creative process entailed four co‐creative workshops conducted over a 17‐month period (June 2019 to end of Oct 2020). Focus group interviews were conducted following the second and third workshops (i.e., in Dec 2019 and in Oct 2020) and data were analysed using thematic analysis. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) checklist was used to report the findings. Results The analysis identified three themes: (1) co‐creative reflective dialogues contributed to knowledge development and increased motivation among mentors; (2) the co‐creative approach facilitated and validated the nursing academic‐practice tripartite partnership; and (3) effectiveness of workshop structure in facilitating collaboration and mitigating power inequities. Conclusion A co‐creative process provides notable opportunities to advocate for mentorship needs and to enhance mentorship practices in nursing homes. Impact Our study adds to the evidence on co‐creation in nursing education, providing insights on the co‐creative process and methodology. Higher Education Institutions are uniquely positioned to act as a co‐creative arena for the academic–practice collaboration and for the development of educational resources within nursing education. Co‐creation may facilitate stronger academic–practice partnership that may more effectively impact mentorship practices in nursing homes and health care system effectiveness. Public Contributions The RNs included in the study were involved in the co‐creative process as active contributors informing the digital educational resource content and design.

Co‐creating digital educational resources to enhance quality in student nurses' clinical education in nursing homes: Report of a co‐creative process

“…The pilot study aimed to evaluate the educational resource (DigiViS) and inform the final development of the full‐scale interactive digital educational resource targeting all stakeholder groups (student nurses, nurse educators and registered nurse mentors) and quality dimensions (supervision and assessment competencies, student nurses' reflective thinking skills and learning experience, tripartite communication and collaboration). The pilot study and evaluation have been documented and reported elsewhere (Frøiland et al, in review; Laugaland et al, in review).…”

“…This is surprising because 50% (90 ECTS) of bachelor nursing programmes involve clinical placements. The inclusion and active engagement of registered nurse mentors with diverse backgrounds allowed new perspectives and essential insights to emerge in the co-creative process, representing critical perspectives informing educational initiatives (Frøiland et al, 2023). Previous studies have emphasized the need to strengthen collaborations between academic educators and registered nurses in clinical settings to learn from each other's practice, reduce theory-practice divides and decrease the hierarchical separation between academic educators and clinical practitioners (Dev et al, 2020).…”

“…They ensured the systematic mapping of problem areas and highlighted solutions. We gathered significant insight, and stakeholders were motivated and learned from each other (Frøiland et al, 2023; Laugaland et al (in review). The homogenous workshops with various stakeholder groups conducted during phase 2 built trust and enabled thorough mapping of each stakeholder's problem areas without the effects of internal tensions or power imbalances, which can hamper effective contribution in co‐creation processes (Könings et al, 2021).…”

“…The homogenous workshops with various stakeholder groups conducted during phase 2 built trust and enabled thorough mapping of each stakeholder's problem areas without the effects of internal tensions or power imbalances, which can hamper effective contribution in co‐creation processes (Könings et al, 2021). The heterogeneous workshops enabled all stakeholders to participate in discussions in which divergent viewpoints were aired openly (Frøiland et al, 2023; Laugaland et al, in review). To address hierarchy and power imbalances, our approach was informed by previous studies (e.g., Martens et al, 2020) suggesting that researchers must consider the nurse educator to student and registered nurse mentor ratio during heterogeneous workshops to ensure inclusiveness and facilitate valuable conversations and discussions.…”

A digital educational resource to support and enhance effective mentorship practices of nursing students in nursing homes: a qualitative study

“…nursing students and nurse educators) to ensure a resource in better alignment with the needs and perspectives of RN mentors [ 30 ]. The co-creative developmental process has been previously detailed by [ 23 ] and [ 31 ]. The DER was designed to support and enhance the mentorship practices for first-year nursing students during clinical education in nursing homes.…”