RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Mentors play an important role in the practical education of critical care nursing students in intensive care units, yet little is known about the mentoring competencies of critical care nurses. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess Norwegian critical care nurses' competence in mentoring students in intensive care units. DESIGN: This study has a descriptive, cross-sectional design, utilising a self-administered online survey. SETTINGS: The study population consisted of critical care nurses who mentor students in Norwegian intensive care units. PARTICIPANTS: 178 critical care nurses participated in the study. The participants were recruited by contacting the units directly, through social media, and at a national critical care nursing conference. METHODS: The study utilised the Mentors' Competence Instrument, a self-evaluation tool for evaluating mentoring competence. RESULTS: The Norwegian critical care nurses generally evaluated their mentoring competence as middle to high level. The "reflection during mentoring" dimension was rated as the highest and "student-centered evaluation" as the lowest competence dimension. The critical care nurses who had formal mentoring education reported significantly higher mentoring competences, but the other demographic characteristics were not related to mentoring competence. Regardless of previous mentoring education, most participants reported a need to further develop their mentoring competencies. CONCLUSIONS: Employers should collaborate with educational institutions to establish a system for continuous competence development for critical care nurse mentors.
Asunto(s)
Enfermería de Cuidados Críticos , Unidades de Cuidados Intensivos , Tutoría , Estudiantes de Enfermería , Humanos , Estudios Transversales , Noruega , Tutoría/métodos , Femenino , Enfermería de Cuidados Críticos/educación , Adulto , Estudiantes de Enfermería/estadística & datos numéricos , Estudiantes de Enfermería/psicología , Masculino , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Mentores/estadística & datos numéricos , Competencia Clínica/normas , Competencia Clínica/estadística & datos numéricos , Bachillerato en Enfermería/métodos , Persona de Mediana EdadRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Relevance to clinical practice The findings from the study highlighting family involvement, high-quality communication and flexible visiting policy as central aspects of family care may inspire clinicians to identify aspects of everyday family care in their ICUs calling for further improvement. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To describe family involvement, communication practices and visiting policies in adult ICUs. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. METHOD: A questionnaire consisting of 11 sections was developed, pilot tested and e-mailed to 196 ICUs. The participants were intensive care nurses in adult ICUs in four Nordic countries. RESULTS: The survey was conducted in October to December 2019. The response rate was 81% (158/196) of the invited ICUs. Most of the units had fewer than 11 beds. Family participation in patient care, including involvement in ward rounds and presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, varied between the countries, whereas most families in all countries were involved in decision-making. Family conferences were generally initiated by staff or family members. Children under 18 did not always receive information directly from the staff, and parents were not advised about how to inform their children. Although most respondents described open visiting, restrictions were also mentioned in free-text comments. CONCLUSIONS: The level of family care in ICUs in the four Nordic countries is generally based on nurses' discretion. Although most Nordic ICUs report having an open or flexible visiting policy, a wide range of potential restrictions still exists. Children and young relatives are not routinely followed up. Family members are included in communication and decision-making, whereas family involvement in daily care, ward rounds and family-witnessed resuscitation seem to be areas with a potential for improvement.