Background: Involving family members in the care process leads to higher-quality patient care. However, this requires collaboration among various healthcare professionals. At interprofessional training wards, healthcare students learn to work together across different disciplines. However, there is limited knowledge about family members’ involvement in the patient care process during interprofessional education in clinical settings. Aim: This study aimed to explore family members’ experience of involvement in the patient care process on an interprofessional training ward. Method: An inductive content analysis was applied on data from individual interviews with 19 family members of patients admitted to an interprofessional training ward.Results: Family members experienced that they had to be involved in the patient care process to bridge knowledge between the patient and the interprofessional student team in order to influence healthcare and have control over the situation. Moreover, they wanted to be acknowledged as family members and needed transparency in the patient care process. Family members’ involvement was governed by the patient’s needs and influenced by the degree of trust in the interprofessional student team. Conclusion: Interprofessional education activities should focus more on family members’ involvement in the interprofessional training ward.

Twenty-first century transformations have taken place within the framework ofglobalisation of the economy, the spread of information technology and global migrationresulting in increased cultural diversity in many societies. This qualitative studyinvestigated perspective transformation in 18 research students, from Australia, HongKong SAR, and Sweden, participating in an international online course by using Mezirow’stheory of perspective transformation and Kiely’s six forms of transformativechange (intellectual, moral, political, cultural, personal, and spiritual). The approach tolearning facilitated global networking and a commitment to support growth in thestudents’ research practice. Validating the link between research students’ learningexperiences and perspective transformation theory encourages educators to developfuture online educational materials to promote cognitive flexibility and reflexivity andincrease students’ cultural awareness to inform their research practices.

The value of health care delivered via effective interprofessional teams has created an imperative for interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaborative practice (ICP). To inform IPE strategies, we investigated differences in perceived self-efficacy (SE) for competence in ICP among health professions students. Study data was collected between 2015-2019 from students from 13 different programs (N=3,496) before an annual institutional interprofessional program. Students completed the IPECC-SET, a validated instrument evaluating perceived SE for competence in ICP, and rated their 1) amount of previous contact with, and 2) perceived understanding of the role of different health professions.  Student groups were compared using parametric statistics. Regression analyses explored factors influencing SE for competence in ICP. Findings revealed significant differences in perceived SE for competence in ICP between programs (p<.05). Specifically, health information management/health informatics, dental, medicine, and nursing students expressed relatively higher SE, whereas physical and occupational therapy students expressed relatively lower SE. Perceived understanding of the role of health care professions (p<.01) and gender (p<.01) contributed significantly to predict perceived SE for competence in ICP, while amount of previous contact with other health professions did not (p=.42).  Findings highlight the value of IPE designed with consideration of specific learner needs.

Background: Being a significant other (SO) to a person with borderline personalitydisorder (BPD) affect their health. High incidence of substance use disorder, posttraumaticstress disorder, stress, fear, anxiety, depression, family burden and griefare common. Some specific therapies for BPD, have included support to SOs, howeverresources are scarce and to participate in the support it assumes that the personwith BPD is included in these therapies. Although the SO support has been shown tobe helpful, they all have a similar structure, and only a small exclusive group of SOshave access to the support.

Aim: The aim was to describe experiences and need of support for significant othersto persons with borderline personality disorder from the perspective of themselvesand of health care workers.

Methods: Data was collected via two focus groups. One with five SOs to personswith BPD, one with five health care workers. Two interview sessions in each groupwere conducted and data were analysed with qualitative content analysis. The studywas approved by the research ethics committee of Lund (2016–1026).

Results: The results revealed four themes; not being seen by health care professionalscreates hopelessness, being seen by healthcare professionals creates trust, experienceof support - helpful or shameful and the step from loosely structured supportto a structured support group. Both groups expressed a need for further support as acomplement to already existing support.

Conclusions: The need of support is extensive. The results suggest a professionalcoordinator intended for SOs and peer support groups not linked to a particular psychiatrictreatment yet offering support in a structured way. Further studies examiningthese complements to existing support, is therefore recommended.

Background: Nurse practitioners (NPs) play a crucial role in healthcare by providing person-centred and high-quality care. Their contributions encompass enhanced accessibility to healthcare and reduced hospital admissions and cost-effectiveness. They usually hold a master's degree in nursing, incorporating expanded clinical skills to manage patients in different settings and address both nursing and medical needs. Despite the global development of the role, its implementation varies, presenting challenges related to role clarity, regulation and acceptance by other healthcare professionals.

Aim: To explore how nurses who are or have been employed as NPs describe their experiences of transitioning to and working in the NP role in Sweden.

Design: A qualitative interview study.

Method: This study explores the experiences of 15 NPs in Sweden, using a snowball sampling strategy and semi-structured interviews. The data were collected through interviews in April and May 2022 and analysed with inductive content analysis.

Findings: The present study explores the experiences of NPs as they transition from experienced nurses to NPs, emphasising motivations, educational challenges, acceptance and autonomy. Transitioning into the NP role initially brought isolation that evolved into acceptance. They recognised their strength in integrating medical and nursing competencies for holistic care. Leadership was pivotal, with managerial support crucial for the successful implementation of the role. Autonomy-related challenges, such as prescription rights and dependency on physicians, underscored the need for a protected professional title and national guidelines.

Conclusion: This study enriches the evolution of the NP role in Sweden, offering vital insights into the ongoing national-level dialogues on NP role development in Sweden.

Impact: The paper's relevance extends globally by providing valuable perspectives on NPs practicalities and fostering international understanding and advancement.

Reporting method: Standards for reporting qualitative research.

Patient or public contribution: Not applicable.

Interprofessional education aims to foster healthcare students’ ability to collaborate in interprofessional teams with the patients at the center of care as active participants. However, little is known about how patients experience this collaboration. Therefore, this study aimed to explore patients’ experiences of being involved in the interprofessional team of healthcare students at a clinical training ward in Sweden. A descriptive design with a qualitative approach was used. Data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews with 22 patients. Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis was used. The main finding was that patients were only included as passive participants. Although most patients wanted to be involved, they were hindered due to their health condition or excluded from care planning and decision-making. The patients needed family members’ support to be involved. However, this need was not recognised by the interprofessional team of healthcare students. Patient involvement must be highlighted as an important component of interprofessional education initiatives. Further research is needed to explore family members’ perspectives on involvement in interprofessional training ward settings.

Collaboration for nursing is a core competence and therefore educational interventions are essentials for collaborative skills. To identify such interventions, we carried out a study to understand nursing students' collaborative process. A narrative inquiry method was used to explore the collaborative process of first-year undergraduate nursing students. The analysis was conducted on field notes from 70 h of observation of 87 nursing students' collaboration during skills lab activities. It also included transcriptions of four focus group discussions with 11 students. The results are presented as a sequential process of (1) navigating in unfamiliar territory, (2) navigating together to cope, and (3) navigating together towards independency and the future nursing profession. We identified a transition from teacher-led assistance and guidance to student interdependency and reciprocal learning, ending with student-led assistance supporting independency. In line with Vygotsky's theory of zone of proximal development, different scaffolding interventions are needed depending on where the students are in the collaborative process. 

Background: The nurse practitioner role has become important globally in handlingthe growing healthcare needs of older adults with chronic diseases. Nevertheless,research shows that introducing the role is a complex process, and more studies areneeded to prepare for its introduction into different healthcare contexts, such as municipalhealthcare.Aim: The aim is to investigate what Swedish stakeholders identify as the preparatorywork needed before introducing the nurse practitioner role into municipalhealthcare.Methods: Data were collected through four focus group interviews conducted virtuallyon the TEAMS digital platform, with three to six participants in each groupand 18 participants total. The transcribed interviews were analysed using a six-stepthematic approach: familiarisation with the data, coding the data, generating initialthemes, reviewing themes, defining and naming the themes and producing thereport.Findings: The findings are divided into two main themes, each with two sub-themes.In the first, clarifying why the nurse practitioner role is needed, participants stressedthe importance of having a clear intention for introducing the role. The second, ensurea national framework to bolster the introduction at the local level, demonstratesthe need for collaboration among national actors to clarify the role's mandate andauthority before its introduction.Conclusions: Adding the nurse practitioner role to municipal healthcare can helpincrease the supply of nursing competence and the quality of patient care, but preparationfor introducing the role requires extensive work. The development of thenurse practitioner role requires decision-makers and leaders to take primary responsibilityfor its introduction. This study can support countries in the early phase ofdeveloping the nurse practitioner role by identifying both best practices and pitfalls.

Registered nurses with a doctoral degree are important for the quality of care, nursing education, and nursing research. Still, postgraduate career paths are criticized for being too vague. To enable career path development, mapping of the current situation appears fundamental. The objective was therefore to chart the current professional positions and work conditions and to explore the future career aspirations of registered nurses with a doctoral degree in Sweden. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted including 118 participants, all nurses with a doctoral degree earned between 2016 and 2022. This study is reported in accordance with STROBE. The participants reported a significant change from hospital-based positions before doctoral studies, towards university-based positions after graduation. This is clearly in contrast to their expressed aspiration to hold a shared position, remaining in contact with the clinical context. In conclusion, a national collaboration is needed and wanted regarding career opportunities for registered nurses with a doctoral degree in Sweden. Furthermore, career paths within nursing science need to be established within the clinical context.

There is a lack of clinical placements for bachelor nursing students (BNS). Due to this, stringent educational models for clinical practice need to be developed. The aim was to describe bachelor nursing students’ and main preceptors’ experiences of the clinical learning environment during peer learning. This mixed method study was based on a joint project between the Karlstad University and the Region Värmland, Sweden, where peer learning was launched in two geriatric clinical education wards. A total of 23 bachelor nursing student and four main preceptors participated. The data were collected in parallel, qualitative data through focus group interviews and reflective journals, and quantitative data with the CLES + T scale between November 2017 and February 2018. A directed content analysis of all results was performed. The COREQ Checklist was used. The student–patient and the student–main preceptor relationships were important for the students’ development. The students described the educational atmosphere as comfortable and safe and that the staff were knowledgeable about them. Peer learning with close interaction between patients and all staff can create authenticity, which in turn drives the BNSs’ professional development. All staff should be involved in the supervision of the students and include them as members of the nursing team.