Actor-Network Theory as a sociotechnical lens to explore the relationship of nurses and technology in practice: methodological considerations for nursing research.

Actor-Network Theory is a research lens that has gained popularity in the nursing and health sciences domains. The perspective allows a researcher to describe the interaction of actors (both human and non-human) within networked sociomaterial contexts, including complex practice environments where nurses and health technology operate. This study will describe Actor-Network Theory and provide methodological considerations for researchers who are interested in using this sociotechnical lens within nursing and informatics-related research.

Nursing students' understanding and enactment of resilience: a grounded theory study.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore nursing students' understanding and enactment of resilience.

Background: Stress is considered to be a major factor affecting the health, well-being and academic performance of nursing students. Resilience has been extensively researched as a process that allows individuals to successfully adapt to adversity and develop positive outcomes as a result.

Clinical instructors' perceptions of structural and psychological empowerment in academic nursing environments.

The study purpose was to explore clinical instructors' (CIs') perceptions of empowerment in academic nursing environments. Clinical instructors, often part-time faculty, facilitate learning in professional practice environments. However, they also need to function within the academic environment to learn about the curriculum and how students are to be evaluated.

The mandala: first-year undergraduate nursing students' learning experiences.

The mandala is a circular art form used by psychologists to access subconscious thought through symbolism and it has recently been adopted by nurse educators as a learning strategy for self-awareness. The lived experiences of six first-year undergraduate nursing students who completed a mandala assignment for emotional learning were explored using hermeneutic phenomenology. Participants experiences diverged from their original expectations that the mandala assignment would allow for a fun and free expression of 'self'.