Contribution of a residency specialization program to professional know-how

Abstracts

Objective:

Analyze the contribution of a Nurse residency specialization program to the graduates’ professional know-how.

Methods:

Qualitative research, involving 40 nurses graduated from a residency specialization program. Interviews were held, transcribed and analyzed using thematic content analysis.

Results:

The information was grouped according to similarity in two categories: (1) development of professional know-how and (2) deductive/inductive education. Based on the first, it was identified that the course provided the following contributions: theoretical foundations in the accomplishment of the practices, safety in the development of work and professional identity. The second showed the course’s contributions as an expanded view on care beyond the biological and the preparation of a trained professional.

Conclusion:

The course contributed to the development of the graduates’ professional knowledge by deepening the technical-scientific knowledge in a rational, critical and reflexive manner, based on deductive/inductive education.

Specialization; Education, nursing, graduate; Education, nursing; Intership and residenct; Education, professional

Objetivo:

Analisar a contribuição do curso de especialização em Enfermagem, sob a modalidade de residência, para o saber profissional de egressos.

Métodos:

Pesquisa qualitativa realizada com 40 enfermeiros egressos do curso de especialização sob a modalidade de residência. As entrevistas foram realizadas, transcritas e analisadas conforme análise de conteúdo temático.

Resultados:

As informações foram agrupadas por similaridade em duas categorias: (1) desenvolvimento do saber profissional e (2) formação dedutiva/indutiva. A primeira permitiu identificar as seguintes contribuições proporcionadas pelo curso: embasamento teórico na realização das práticas, segurança no desenvolvimento do trabalho e identidade profissional. Já a segunda expôs contribuições proporcionadas pelo curso como visão ampliada da assistência para além do biológico e formação de um profissional capacitado.

Conclusão:

O curso contribuiu para o desenvolvimento do saber profissional dos egressos ao aprofundar o conhecimento técnico-científico de forma racional, crítica e reflexiva, com base na formação dedutiva/indutiva.

Especialização; Educação de pós-graduação em enfermagem; Educação em enfermagem; Internato e Residência; Educação profissionalizante

Introduction

In the age of knowledge, professional know-how and the new competency-related approaches in the labor world, marked by the increasing demand for professionals who compete for a place in the market, have changed the organizations’ human resource management policies and practices, besides broadening the required professional profile in the selection and hiring process.

This view drives towards the need for the professional profile capable of taking responsibilities and making decisions, in search of problem-solving ability in complex situation, building and reconstructing know-how.

It is important to understand that “know-how” and “knowledge” are distinct terms. Know-how is an objective and communicable product, which is transmissible and shareable, while knowledge is subjective, personal and non-transmissible, resulting from experiences in the cognitive sphere. For professional know-how, there needs to exist a relation between one individual and the other, with professionals, team and with the knowledge, and learning involves the personal history, references, life conceptions, images, fantasies, illusions, objectives and significations.(¹)

Theoretically, there are two significant factors in the acquisition and development of knowledge for professional nursing practice. The first factor refers to learning by experience and the second represents formal learning, with implications for practice and the organizational policy.(²) In that policy, professionals who are capable of solving problems, sharing ideas and visions becomes essential in the organization.(³)

Therefore, they need to gain core competencies in the field of the work context, which involve specific knowledge, skills and attitudes compatible with the situations that emerge for decision making, in the individual and collective spheres.

To respond to this reality, residency specialization programs stimulate newly graduates to continue studying; they offer an opportunity to deepen the technical-scientific knowledge: they permit training for head and leadership functions; expand opportunities in the job world; and follow the technological innovations.(⁴,⁵) To make this program modality feasible, agreements and partnerships were closed with public and private hospital organizations, which assumed the grants for the residents and the training areas with tutorship. These agreements offer direct and bilateral advantages by permitting systemized professional maturing and facilitating the newly graduates inclusion in the market, reducing the organizations’ turnover.(⁶,⁷)

The program enriches the newly graduated nurse’s passage to the specialist level.(⁶) Besides offering technical, management and teaching qualification in specific areas,(⁴,⁸) the program stimulates the students, in a full-time dedication schedule, to serve as the subjects of their learning, integrating theory and practice, promoting the participation in seminars and scientific events and developing group activities, research and cases studies under the advice of faculty members and/or tutors. The training is developed in the form of a turnover at a public and private institution, under the supervision of one nurse for every three residents.(⁸,⁹) Therefore, training in this program is considered ideal for newly-graduates, as it provides for training in the actual job context, enhancing employment opportunities. It should be highlighted that, in this course modality, the learning is collective, based on experience processes, interpersonal relations and individual knowledge sharing, which is enriching. Based on these ideas, it can be inferred that the know-how deriving from experience suppose continuity between the acquired culture and the new know-how.(¹⁰)

The knowledge produced and learned during the program allows the graduate nurses to apply their know-how, which can result in essential changes in the organizational development by guaranteeing competencies in a given knowledge area in service delivery. Consequently, it is known that the Nursing services working with qualified staff offer a high-quality standard in client care.(¹¹)

The objective in this study was to analyze the contribution of the nurse residency specialization program to the graduates’ professional know-how.

Methods

Qualitative research, developed at a public university in the city of Salvador, state of Bahia, in the Brazilian Northeast.

The study population consisted of 40 nurses who had graduated from the residency specialization program between 1996 and December 2009. Among the nurses in the sample, 38 were women and all of them were working in the Nursing area.

The inclusion criteria adopted were as follows: course conclusion between 1996 and 2009 and living in the city of Salvador. The number of participants was determined based on the exhaustiveness criterion of new information.

The information collection instrument was a semistructured interview script with two blocks: one with the participants’ characteristics and the other with the guiding questions.

The interviews were held at private rooms, defined by the participants, and took about 40 minutes. They were fully transcribed for the purpose of thematic content analysis.

The study development complied with Brazilian and international ethical standards for research involving human beings.

Results

The information was grouped by similarity in two categories: (1) development of professional know-how and (2) deductive/inductive education.

Based on the category “development of professional know-how”, it could be identified that the course offered the following contributions: theoretical foundations in the accomplishment of the practices, safety in the development of work and professional identity.

As regards the second category, the course’s contributions showed to be an expanded view on care beyond the biological and the preparation of a trained professional.

Discussion

The limitations in the obtained results were inherent to the method, as the empirical material demanded reports from participants in a specific program and in the hospital context.

This study is applicable in the context of the course itself as well as in other higher education institutions in Nursing, stimulating new projects and granting visibility to its quality through the graduates’ reports about the program’s contributions to their professional life.

In the presented reports, the category “development of professional know-how” emerged when the participants reporting on the program’s contributions.

Professional knowledge is essentially pragmatic as it is modeled and focused on solving problems that demand, from the professionals, reflection, discernment and understanding to organize decision making.(¹²) In that sense, to accomplish procedures and act safely in problem situations, the nurses need knowledge, skills and attitudes coherent with the needs of the situation, when their competency is evidenced. In Nursing, management and care aspects for clients and families in health organizations can be mentioned.

In that sense, the nurses graduated from the program had the opportunity to develop theoretical and practical know-how, the latter defined as the know-how gained at work that allows professionals to solve problems based on their theoretical know-how and experiences. This professional know-how involves the understanding of what to do and the articulation of know-how to plan and execute work, based on socially shared technical-scientific principles.

When developing specific know-how in the area, the professionals apply their knowledge in their actions, in a rational, reflexive and critical manner, and transform the contexts of their professional practice, raising their self-esteem, satisfaction and safety in developing their work.(¹²,¹³)

The graduates affirmed that they reconstructed their professional identity by providing work as one form of knowledge acquisition. This identity is important for good performance at work and for the ascent of one’s professional image.(¹⁴)

The course improved the socialization and enhanced the professionals’ feeling of valuation and identity reconstruction, important reasons for good performance at work and, consequently, for a distinguished professional profile.

In the category “deductive/inductive education”, the nurses referred that the course offered an expanded view on care beyond the biological, reflected in the broad contextual view, in which the perspective can go beyond the physical issue and the disease affecting the client, contributing to the development of practical know-how that allowed them to solve problems, reflect on attitudes, ideas and feelings and to redefine relations based on practical scenarios. Hence, it is clear that this “professional know-how” developed during the course, involving the mobilization of individual repertoires in different contexts, became effective in their action.

In that context, using logical, deductive and inductive arguments in the understanding and application of the knowledge allowed the nurses to develop their professional know-how. This knowledge, mobilized and constructed in practice, co-belong, co-evolve and are transformed.(¹³)

By using methods of logical thinking, constructing, projecting, testing, describing and explaining their work process, which precede the analysis, judgment and decision, after systematic and/or non-systematic observations, the nurses expand their knowledge and develop their professional know-how.

In professional activities, the productive activity depends on knowledge and on the ability to think critically, reflexively,(¹⁵,¹⁶) creatively and on acting and adapting to the rapid changes in society, in which employability is associated with technical competencies, decision-making ability, oral and written communication and teamwork. In addition, mainly the skill to establish relations and assume leaderships is valued.(¹⁴)

During the Nurse residency specialization program, the nurses had the opportunity to enhance their knowledge with a view to the development of essential know-how and competent actions in their profession, transforming their way of thinking and acting in the work environment.

Conclusion

The Nurse residency specialization program contributed to the development of the graduates’ professional know-how, based on deductive/inductive education, by providing theoretical foundations for the accomplishment of practices, for the safe accomplishment of work, for the professional identify and the expanded view on care beyond the biological, qualifying the development of their activities in practice contexts.

Acknowledgements

Research undertaken with funding from the Brazilian Scientific and Technological Development Council (CNPQ) process number 303875/2013-5.

Corresponding author Rosana Oliveira Silva Auristides street, 2, Salvador, BA, Brazil.Zip Code: 40210-340 [e-mail]

Conflicts of interest: no conflicts of interest to declare.

Collaborations

Silva RMO; Cordeiro ALAO; Fernandes JD and Teixeira GAS contributed to the conception, elaboration of the project, data collection and analysis, writing of the paper, review for publication and final approval of the version for publication. Silva LS cooperated with the transcription of the data and the formatting for publication.

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  Aug 2014

History

• Received
  3 Apr 2014
• Accepted
  2 June 2014