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Exploring nursing expertise in residential care for older people: a mixed method study
Author(s) -
Phelan Amanda,
McCormack Brendan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of advanced nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.948
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1365-2648
pISSN - 0309-2402
DOI - 10.1111/jan.13001
Subject(s) - nursing , focus group , excellence , context (archaeology) , data collection , psychology , agency (philosophy) , gerontological nursing , qualitative research , nursing care , medicine , sociology , paleontology , social science , anthropology , political science , law , biology
Aims To explore the expertise of Registered Nurses in residential care for older people. Background As older people in residential care have many complex dependencies, nursing expertise is an essential component of care excellence. However, the work of these nurses can be invisible and, therefore, unrecognized. Thus, additional attention is required to illuminate such nursing expertise. Design A mixed method design was used in this study. Methods The research took place in 2012 in the Republic of Ireland. Twenty‐three case study nurses were recruited from nursing homes. Each case study nurse involved five data collection methods: shadowing, interview with a colleague, interview with a resident, a demographic profile and a director of nursing survey. The study was also informed by a modified focus group. Qualitative data were analysed using directed content analysis using a conceptual framework generated from the literature on nursing expertise. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS and presented in descriptive statistics. Findings The findings from the case studies and the modified focus group are presented in seven themes, which represent nursing expertise in residential care of older people: transitions, context of the nursing home, saliency, holistic practice knowledge, knowing the resident, moral agency and skilled know how. Conclusion Nursing expertise in residential care of older people is a complex phenomenon which encompasses many aspects of care delivery in a person‐centred framework. By rendering this expertise visible, the need for appropriate and adequate skill mix for a growing residential care population is presented.