Background: Despite trends towards greater professionalisation of the nursing profession and an improved public image in certain countries, studies also show that large proportions of the public still do not fully appreciate nurses’ competencies. Mapping differences in the societal and professional recognition of nurses allows for benchmarking among countries. Aim: To investigate the level of societal recognition of the nursing profession in nine European countries, and the level of professional recognition perceived by European nurses themselves; to compare levels of recognition between countries; and to identify influencing factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Through an online survey, the study surveyed both the general public and nurses from various healthcare settings across nine countries between December 2022 and June 2023. The instrument used was a combination of self-developed questions on societal and professional recognition, the Work Motivation Scale and an adapted version of the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale. Data were analysed using SPSS v.29.0, with socioeconomic prestige scores for the public and work environment/work motivation scores for nurses calculated accordingly. Results: A total of 1618 adult citizens and 2335 nurses participated. The public predominantly characterised nurses with attributes such as friendliness, warmth, empathy and compassion. The mean socioeconomic prestige score assigned to nurses was 7.2/10 (SD 1.9), with Portugal having the highest score (M 7.5/10, SD 2.0) and Norway the lowest (M 5.8/10, SD 1.4; p < 0.001). Professional recognition experienced by nurses was generally low (54% indicated rather low, 17% very low). Slovenia, the Netherlands and Belgium had slightly higher mean scores (all M 1.4/3) compared to other countries (p < 0.001). High professional recognition could be predicted for 33% by work environment score (OR = 1.21; 95% CI [1.19–1.24]), work motivation score (OR = 1.02; 95%CI[1.01–1.02]), expertise outside the hospital (OR = 1.57; 95% CI [1.25–1.97]) and work experience (OR = 1.01; 95% CI [1.00–1.02]) corrected for country. Conclusion: The study highlights the need for targeted interventions to improve the professional and public image of the nursing profession while addressing disparities in professional recognition between countries. Longitudinal studies are recommended to monitor changes in public perception and professional recognition among nurses.
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From the article: "The vast amount of previous research on project management competence does not provide a basis for educational needs. Analyzing previous research poses two challenges: the lack of a uniform list of competences, necessitating a taxonomy, and the use of importance as a criterion, favoring general important competences. Criticality is introduced as the competence a project manager adds to the team. Validation research using criticality and the taxonomy among experienced Dutch project managers is more comprehensive and provides a less focus on general important competences than previous research. Criticality focuses more on the essence of the profession."
MULTIFILE
This article aims to provide an insight into how students construct their professional knowledge and what the content and nature of personal professional knowledge is through the concept of PPTs (personal professional theories).
Students in Higher Music Education (HME) are not facilitated to develop both their artistic and academic musical competences. Conservatoires (professional education, or ‘HBO’) traditionally foster the development of musical craftsmanship, while university musicology departments (academic education, or ‘WO’) promote broader perspectives on music’s place in society. All the while, music professionals are increasingly required to combine musical and scholarly knowledge. Indeed, musicianship is more than performance, and musicology more than reflection—a robust musical practice requires people who are versed in both domains. It’s time our education mirrors this blended profession. This proposal entails collaborative projects between a conservatory and a university in two cities where musical performance and musicology equally thrive: Amsterdam (Conservatory and University of Amsterdam) and Utrecht (HKU Utrechts Conservatorium and Utrecht University). Each project will pilot a joint program of study, combining existing modules with newly developed ones. The feasibility of joint degrees will be explored: a combined bachelor’s degree in Amsterdam; and a combined master’s degree in Utrecht. The full innovation process will be translated to a transferable infrastructural model. For 125 students it will fuse praxis-based musical knowledge and skills, practice-led research and academic training. Beyond this, the partners will also use the Comenius funds as a springboard for collaboration between the two cities to enrich their respective BA and MA programs. In the end, the programme will diversify the educational possibilities for students of music in the Netherlands, and thereby increase their professional opportunities in today’s job market.
The pressure on the European health care system is increasing considerably: more elderly people and patients with chronic diseases in need of (rehabilitation) care, a diminishing work force and health care costs continuing to rise. Several measures to counteract this are proposed, such as reduction of the length of stay in hospitals or rehabilitation centres by improving interprofessional and person-centred collaboration between health and social care professionals. Although there is a lot of attention for interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP), the consortium senses a gap between competence levels of future professionals and the levels needed in rehabilitation practice. Therefore, the transfer from tertiary education to practice concerning IPECP in rehabilitation is the central theme of the project. Regional bonds between higher education institutions and rehabilitation centres will be strengthened in order to align IPECP. On the one hand we deliver a set of basic and advanced modules on functioning according to the WHO’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and a set of (assessment) tools on interprofessional skills training. Also, applications of this theory in promising approaches, both in education and in rehabilitation practice, are regionally being piloted and adapted for use in other regions. Field visits by professionals from practice to exchange experiences is included in this work package. We aim to deliver a range of learning materials, from modules on theory to guidelines on how to set up and run a student-run interprofessional learning ward in a rehabilitation centre. All tested outputs will be published on the INPRO-website and made available to be implemented in the core curricula in tertiary education and for lifelong learning in health care practice. This will ultimately contribute to improve functioning and health outcomes and quality of life of patients in rehabilitation centres and beyond.
In recent years, ArtEZ has worked on a broadly supported strategic research agenda on the themes New Ecologies of Matter (ecological challenges), Social Equity (social-societal issues), (Un)Learning Practices (educational innovations) and (Non)CybernEtic Fabric (technological developments). Building on these strategic themes, the ArtEZ Research Collective as developed an international research strategy to become a valuable partner in the relevant Horizon Europe (HEU) areas of Environment, Industry and Social science and humanities. With its specific knowledge position and approach from arts and creativity, ArtEZ is convinced that it can play a distinctive role in European consortia to tackle various challenges in these areas, in particular from the perspective and research topics of the professorships Fashion and Tactical Design. To achieve its ambitions and goals in its targeted research topics, ArtEZ is convinced that a combination of international connections and local applications is key for successful impact. Building upon existing relations and extending the international research position requires extra efforts, e.g., by developing a strong international framework of state-of-the-art research results, impacts and ambitions. Therefore ArtEZ needs to (further) build on both its international network and its supportive infrastructure. With this proposal ArtEZ is presenting its goals and efforts to work on its international recognition as a valuable research partner, and to broaden its international network in cutting-edge research and other stakeholders. With regards to its supporting infrastructure, ArtEZ has the ambition to expand the impact of the Subsidy Desk to become a professional partner to the professorships. This approach requires a further professionalization and extension of both the Subsidy Desk organization and its services, and developing and complementing skills, expertise and competences to comply to the European requirements.
