title: Academic learning for specialist nurses: a grounded theory study.
abstract: The aim was to explore the major concerns of specialist nurses pertaining to academic learning during their education and initial professional career. Specialist nursing education changed in tandem with the European educational reform in 2007. At the same time, greater demands were made on the healthcare services to provide evidence-based and safe patient-care. These changes have influenced specialist nursing programmes and consequently the profession. Grounded Theory guided the study. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire with open-ended questions distributed at the end of specialist nursing programmes in 2009 and 2010. Five universities were included. Further, individual, pair and group interviews were used to collect data from 12 specialist nurses, 5-14 months after graduation. A major concern for specialist nurses was that academic learning should be "meaningful" for their professional future. The specialist nurses' "meaningful academic learning process" was characterised by an ambivalence of partly believing in and partly being hesitant about the significance of academic learning and partly receiving but also lacking support. Specialist nurses were influenced by factors in two areas: curriculum and healthcare context. They felt that the outcome of contribution to professional confidence was critical in making academic learning meaningful.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, Science and Technology, Department of Health Science, Nursing Science, Karlstad University, SE-651 88 Karlstad, Sweden. Electronic address: lena.german-millberg@kau.se.
authors.forename: Lena German
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Millberg
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Care Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, P.O.Box 457, SE-40530 Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: linda.berg@fhs.gu.se.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Care Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, P.O.Box 457, SE-40530 Gothenburg, Sweden; Division of Intervention and Implementation Research, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: elisabeth.bjork.bramberg@gu.se.
authors.forename: Elisabeth Björk
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Brämberg
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, Science and Technology, Department of Health Science, Nursing Science, Karlstad University, SE-651 88 Karlstad, Sweden; Faculty of Public Health, Department of Nursing, Hedmark University College, Elverum, Norway. Electronic address: gun.nordstrom@kau.se.
authors.forename: Gun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nordström
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Care Sciences and Centre for Person-Centred Care, University of Gothenburg, P.O.Box 457, SE-40530 Gothenburg, Sweden; Palliative Research Centre, Ersta Sköndal University, Ersta Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: joakim.ohlen@fhs.gu.se.
authors.forename: Joakim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ohlén
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017145:Models, Educational; D009720:Nurse Clinicians / Q000193:education*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Bologna process; Grounded theory; Higher education; Specialist nurses