{"title":"Understanding SCPHN students' experience of practice educator-led peer support groups.","authors":"Paula Elliott, Graham Ormrod","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Specialist community public health nursing (SCPHN) students are expected to develop significant skills and competencies in practice, whilst also achieving academic success. This workload can be very stressful for students, particularly as their placements with practice educators can isolate them from other students, reducing the valuable support that peers can provide. Practice educator-led peer support groups were established in an attempt to ameliorate student stress and improve wellbeing by providing peer support, whilst simultaneously delivering opportunities for learning and promoting preparedness for qualification. A service evaluation was subsequently conducted using focus group methodology to explore students' experience of the peer support groups. This was to ascertain their effectiveness in supporting learning within practice placements and improving student wellbeing. Data analysis identified three key themes: peer support and emotional nourishment; and filling the theory-practice gap; with a further theme focusing on group organisation and planning. Findings indicated that the support groups were a valued and important element of SCPHN training for the student cohort involved in this service evaluation, engendering an improved sense of wellbeing and an enhanced educational experience.</p>","PeriodicalId":53682,"journal":{"name":"Community Practitioner","volume":"89 11","pages":"42-45"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36258758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Laura Beaton, Emma Coles, Andrea Rodriguez, Ruth Freeman
{"title":"Exploring the benefits of Smile4life training: Findings from a pilot study.","authors":"Laura Beaton, Emma Coles, Andrea Rodriguez, Ruth Freeman","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Smile4life is Scotland's national oral health improvement programme for people experiencing homelessness. Following an oral health and psychosocial needs assessment of 853 homeless people across Scotland, the Smile4life intervention was developed and rolled out across all NHS boards. Dental health and health and social care practitioners were invited to attend a training event at the launch of the Smile4life: Guide for Trainers - a training guide for practitioners working with homeless people. This paper presents results from HoPSCOTCH, a pilot study that took place in four NHS boards to examine the benefits of training for practitioners regarding their awareness of homelessness and the oral health needs of homeless people. Dental health (baseline: 10; follow-up: 8) and health and social care practitioners (baseline: 13; follow-up: 12) completed questionnaires about their knowledge, attitudes and behaviours. The results showed that there were increases in practitioner knowledge, confidence and motivation to help service users access dental care, to provide oral health education and to use motivational interviewing. The authors recommend that future training for practitioners who work with homeless people should include communication skills and advice on how to deliver tailored interventions, with the aim of strengthening practitioners' confidence and motivation to deliver the Smile4life intervention.</p>","PeriodicalId":53682,"journal":{"name":"Community Practitioner","volume":"89 10","pages":"40-5, 47"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36257372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Retinoblastoma: Can you see it?.","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53682,"journal":{"name":"Community Practitioner","volume":"89 10","pages":"26-8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36257379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maria Tighe Clark, Alison Lewis, Caroline Bradbury-Jones
{"title":"Critical reflections on early career research development in public health nursing.","authors":"Maria Tighe Clark, Alison Lewis, Caroline Bradbury-Jones","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Clinical academic careers for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals are gaining recognition internationally and nationally, yet public health nurses appear underrepresented. The purpose of this paper is to share our learning through a clinical-academic partnership. We critique our experiences and in the context of public health nursing, share some of the challenges we experienced. We aim to build on a capability framework for early career research development, applying it specifically to public health nursing. In so doing, we hope to provide insight and motivation for public health nurses seeking to engage with research through clinical academic career opportunities. Our experience shows that the framework can be useful in identifying strengths, but also capabilities that need to be developed. We recognise that uncertainties about public health nursing roles may limit individual wherewithal for continuing professional development. Nonetheless, we recommend public health nurses consider clinical academic careers to advance research in practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":53682,"journal":{"name":"Community Practitioner","volume":"89 10","pages":"36-39"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36257375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Giving a little extra support.","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53682,"journal":{"name":"Community Practitioner","volume":"89 10","pages":"20-22"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36258890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}