yes / Background The diversification of nursing and allied health profession (AHP) roles has seen unprecedented growth as organizations have sought to optimize limited health care resources. Within the UK health care system, the nonmedical consultant is viewed as the pinnacle of the clinical career ladder. Yet, nearly 15 years after their introduction, recruitment to these positions remains slow. Criticisms of nonmedical consultant practice include a lack of role clarity, a failure to work across the four domains of consultant practice, a lack of suitable applicants, and poor preparedness of new appointments. Although there is evidence exploring the nature and effectiveness of established consultant roles, little research addresses the development phase of aspiring consultants. Objectives To explore the transitional journey experienced by trainee consultant radiographers as they move from advanced to consultant practitioner within a locally devised consultant development programme. Design Longitudinal qualitative enquiry. Methods and Settings Five trainee consultant radiographers were recruited to a locally devised consultant practice development program within a single UK hospital trust. Semistructured interviews were undertaken at 1, 6, and 12 months with the trainees. Results A challenging journey was recounted involving five key emotional stages that occurred in a consistent and predictable order (ie, elation, denial, doubt, crisis, and recovery). The identified stages had close parallels with Hopson's Life Events model, suggesting that transition to consultant practice is a significant life event rather than a straightforward job promotion. Conclusions Current emphasis on the four domains of practice, although providing a clear framework for expected external role outcomes, overlooks the importance of the internal or subjective career development on the perceived success or failure of the role. Employers, educators, and professional bodies have a responsibility to facilitate aspirational consultants to explore and enhance their internal career development, offering more time to define themselves and their role with support to guide them through the transition journey.

Interest in the influence of emotions on behaviour, decision making, and leadership has accelerated over the last decade. Despite this, the influence of emotions on career advancement and behaviour within radiography and radiotherapy has largely been ignored. The ease of transition from one work role to another within an individual's career may be influenced by previous experience, personal characteristics, organizational environment, culture, and the nature of the role itself. Consequently, the transition from the often well-defined role of advanced or specialist practitioner to the more fluid role of consultant practitioner is associated with changing emotions as reported in the first part of this two-part series. What remains unexplored are the emotional triggers that pre-empt each stage in the transition cycle and how our understanding of these might support the successful implementation of consultant practitioner roles. To explore the emotional triggers that pre-empted each stage in the transitional journey of trainee consultant radiographers as they moved from advanced to consultant practitioner within a locally devised consultant development program. Five trainee consultant radiographers were recruited to a locally devised consultant practice development program within a single UK hospital trust. Semistructured interviews were undertaken at 1, 6, and 12 months with the trainees. Although all trainee consultant radiographers experienced the emotional events described in the first part of this two-part series in a predictable order (ie, elation, denial, doubt, crisis, and recovery), the timing of the events was not consistent. Importantly, four emotional triggers were identified, and the dominance of these and the reaction of individuals to them determined the emotional well-being of the individual over time. This study provides a unique and hitherto unexplored insight into the transition journey from advanced or specialist practitioner. Importantly, the findings suggest that commonly adopted supportive change interventions may, in fact, trigger the negative emotions they are intended to alleviate and disable rather than enable role transition.

Yes / Objectives: Many organisations struggle to clearly differentiate the radiographer consultant role from advanced or specialist practice, with newly appointed consultant practitioners often illprepared for working at this level. This article discusses the design, implementation and validation of an outcomes framework for benchmarking competencies for trainee or new-in-post consultant radiographers. Methods: Five experienced radiographers from different clinical specialisms were seconded to a twelve month consultant trainee post, guided by a locally-devised outcomes framework. A longitudinal qualitative study explored, from the radiographers' perspective, the impact of the outcomes framework on the transition to consultant practice and beyond. Data collection included semi-structured interviews (months 1, 6 and 12), validation via a focus group (month 18) and a group interview (5 years). Results: Early interactions with framework objectives were mechanistic, but as participants better understood the role more creative approaches emerged. Despite diverse clinical expertise, the framework facilitated parity between participants, promoting transparency and credibility which was important in how the consultant role was perceived. All participants achieved all framework outcomes and were subsequently appointed to substantive consultant radiographer positions. Conclusion This outcomes framework facilitates experienced radiographers to successfully transition into consultant radiographers, enabling them to meet multiple non-clinical targets while continuing to work effectively within a changing clinical environment. It is the first validated benchmarking tool designed to support the transition to radiographer consultant practice. Adoption of the tool will provide a standardised measure of consultant radiographer outcomes that will promote inter-organisational transferability hitherto unseen in the UK. / Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust Hospitals

This study investigates the personal experience of newly appointed chief executives in transitioning into the CEO role. Adopting an exploratory qualitative design, data was obtained from two semi-structured interviews with 19 newly appointed chief executives, for a total of 38 interviews. The main contribution of this thesis to the extant literature is to show the ways in which CEOs go through an identity construction process when transitioning into the role, which is characterized in two ways. First, there exists a bi-directionality of influence between the personal identity of the CEO and the organizational identity. Second, this process comprises strong identity demands (lack of specificity of the role and weak situation) and identity tensions (personal identity intrusion and identity transparency) that dispose new CEOs towards an unbalance that promotes individuality. This disequilibrium might hinder the integration of new chief executives into the organization, since the data suggests that new CEOs are responsible for fostering their own integration by connecting aspects of their personal identity with the identity and culture of the organization. The thesis offers a theoretical model of the CEO identity construction process and concludes with a series of propositions that address the ramifications of these findings to our understanding of CEO succession.

The transition from the comfort of a familiar role, that of teacher, to the discomfort of a new role, that of school administrator, is a transformative process. Transforming oneself requires leaving what is known and venturing into the unknown. Researchers have illuminated women's struggle to attain school leadership positions, but the transformation of females making this change in professional roles is seldom addressed in leadership literature. Although context cannot be ignored, there are some challenges common to many women undergoing this transformation. Situated in the elementary education setting, this study investigated the perspectives of female, early-career administrators who recently experienced the transition from teacher to administrator. The purpose of the study was to describe and explain selected female leaders' perspectives on the transition from teacher to school administrator. My exploratory questions that guided the study were: 1.What elements constitute the perspective of the participants? 2.What variables influence women's perspectives as they make the transition from teacher to administrator? 3.What barriers and challenges do women encounter as they move from teacher to administrator? 4.What variables contribute to resiliency and agency for female administrators? The theoretical framework of this study was feminist phenomenology. Employing qualitative research methodology, this researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with five purposefully selected participants. The interviews yielded several shared perspectives on the transition from teacher to administrator, including a focus on: work/life balance; unfreezing from the teaching role; refreezing into the administrative role; resiliency; mentorship; considerations of gender's effects on the transition. Essential elements of meaning that emerged from the early career administrator's data were: unpleasant surprises; a sink or swim induction; surviving and thriving in the new role. Implications for leadership preparation and induction were described. Although these five women developed adaptive behaviors and persevered in the role despite challenges, formal mentors and more purposefully designed induction programs would have benefitted them. They also would have benefitted from more integration of theory and practice during their preparation programs. The study contributed to development of a fuller phenomenological understanding of the perspectives of female, early career school leaders as they make the transition from teacher to administrator.

Nurse education is continually adapting to meet the requirements of employers to develop increasingly autonomous practitioners who can provide evidence-based, high quality care. The work-based project examines the support available to mentors, known as practice teachers, in their role as assessors of nursing students in higher level practice. A qualitative study: the project employs a grounded theory approach to the analysis of data elicited from practice teachers and academics. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups alongside regular reviews of the literature are utilised to elicit data, and via an inductive process, categories emerging from the analysis are constructed to present new insights and understanding of the subject under scrutiny. Whilst it is clear that a degree of support is available to practice teachers in response to a rudimentary understanding of their role in higher level practice, it is also clear that this support is limited by a number of factors. The product of practice assessment for the employer is a newly-qualified practitioner who is able to carry out a role based on a specified set of competencies. For the educator, whether within the higher education institution or in practice, the process of education is ongoing; producing a practitioner with the capability to utilise higher level practice in ever-changing contexts and situations. Support for the practice teacher can only be enhanced if recognition of the role is promoted. This requires a shared understanding of the importance of developing both competence and capability for higher level practice. Only then will the vital contribution made by the practice teacher in the student’s development be understood by those supporting them. Converging rather than competing philosophies of training for competence and educating for capability are necessary to maintain the status and commitment of the practice teacher and consequently the rigour required of assessment in practice.

This study investigates the personal experience of newly appointed chief executives in transitioning into the CEO role. Adopting an exploratory qualitative design, data was obtained from two semi-structured interviews with 19 newly appointed chief executives, for a total of 38 interviews. The main contribution of this thesis to the extant literature is to show the ways in which CEOs go through an identity construction process when transitioning into the role, which is characterized in two ways. First, there exists a bi-directionality of influence between the personal identity of the CEO and the organizational identity. Second, this process comprises strong identity demands (lack of specificity of the role and weak situation) and identity tensions (personal identity intrusion and identity transparency) that dispose new CEOs towards an unbalance that promotes individuality. This disequilibrium might hinder the integration of new chief executives into the organization, since the data suggests that new CEOs are responsible for fostering their own integration by connecting aspects of their personal identity with the identity and culture of the organization. The thesis offers a theoretical model of the CEO identity construction process and concludes with a series of propositions that address the ramifications of these findings to our understanding of CEO succession.

Bakgrund: Erfarna sjuksköterskor upplever att nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskor har svårigheter att arbeta självständigt, hantera det höga arbetstempot, planera sitt arbete och delegering. Dock anser sjuksköterskestudenter att utbildningen förbereder dem för sjuksköterskerollen, samt att de är kompetenta nog att klara arbetet som sjuksköterska. Sjuksköterskestudenter menar även att yrket är mer komplext än de tidigare trott. Metod: Kvalitativ, systematisk litteraturstudie med beskrivande syntes. Analys av 13 artiklar. Syfte: Att beskriva nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskors upplevelser av att vårda. Resultat: Resultatet består av två teman och sju subteman. Att vara nybörjare inkluderade upplevelsen av att inte vara redo, att ha höga förväntningar, att erfara det oväntade samt att uppleva ett behov av stöd och handledning. Att bli ett med sjuksköterskerollen handlade om att sjuksköterskorna upplevde sig mer självsäkra, var mer tillfreds i sjuksköterskerollen samt hade fått en bättre förståelse för sjuksköterskerollen. Slutsats: Nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskor upplevde första tiden som oroväckande och svår. Sjuksköterskerollen kändes överväldigande men med tiden blev den lättare att hantera. Nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskor upplevde att de fått en bättre förståelse för arbetet, var mer självsäkra samt höll en högre kvalitet i vårdandet. Resultatet skulle kunna vara till nytta för erfarna sjuksköterskor, arbetsgivare och nyutexaminerade sjuksköterskor. / Background: Experienced nurses experience that newly qualified nurses have difficulties in working independently, coping with the high work rate, planning their work and delegating. However, nursing students thinks that nursing school prepares them for the nursing role, and that they are competent enough to handle the work as a nurse. Nursing students also mean that the work is more complex then what they originally thought. Method: Qualitative, systematic literature review with a descriptive synthesis. Analysis of 13 articles. Aim: To describe newly qualified nurses’ experiences of nursing. Results: The result was built out of two themes and seven subthemes. To be a beginner included the experience of not being ready, to have high expectations, to experience the unexpected, and to experience a need for support and preceptorship. To the nurses, becoming one with the nursing role meant becoming more self-confident, to be satisfied with the nursing role and had gotten a better understanding for the role of nursing. Conclusion: Newly qualified nurses experienced the first period, as nurses, to be disquieting and hard. The nursing role felt overwhelming but got easier with time. The newly qualified nurses experienced that they had gotten a better understanding of the profession, had become more self-confident and kept a higher quality of care. The results could be of use for experienced nurses, employers and for newly qualified nurses.

Background: Studies have demonstrated that new graduate nurses' (NGNs) transition experience is complex and often negative leading to dissatisfaction with nursing and increased attrition. Many existing studies of NGNs' transition experience are small, qualitative, concerned with NGNs experiences in the West. No study has been conducted to date examining NGNs' transition experience in any of the developing countries where the cultural context and nursing education and practice are different to those in the West. Aim: To explore the experience of NGNs during their transition period in one of the developing countries, the Sultanate of Oman. Method: Qualitative case study utilising an embedded-single case design was conducted to investigate the transition experience of baccalaureate NGNs graduating from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and working at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH). Data were collected from the perspective of NGNs and also from the perspective of other key informants using triangulated methods. This includes individual and focus group interviews, observation and documentary analysis. Results: Four over-arching themes are identified from NGNs' transition experience in the Sultanate of Oman. These are 'Studying Experience'; 'Role Transition'; 'Working Conditions' and 'Status of the Nursing Profession'. This study showed that nursing is not an attractive choice for Omani students to study and pursue as a future career because of its low status. During the transition period, NGNs experienced reality shock which mainly resulted from a theory-practice gap. NGNs had limited practical experience but a high level of theoretical knowledge, which they were unable to utilise in practice. They found the working environment to involve many competing priorities resulting in task-orientation and compromised patient care. This study showed that many NGNs resented their involvement in basic nursing care, which they believed should not be part of their role as degree nurses. Despite the challenges of the transition period, many NGNs remarked that nurses play the most important role at the hospital and they are proud being nurses. Conclusion: Omani NGNs' transition experience is complex and similar in many respects to NGNs experience in the West. However, there are distinctive challenges Omani NGNs faced due to the Omani culture, working environment and the status of nursing in Oman.

The nurse practitioner (NP) role transition is difficult and ill-supported before and after graduation. Although preceptorships are essential in supporting a NP's role transition, there is a paucity of data on student and novice NPs' experiences with their role transition and how it is supported through preceptorships. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand and describe the meaning of NPs' role transition experiences while in a preceptorship before and after graduation. Schlossberg's transition theory and the cognitive apprenticeship models were used to guide the exploration of concepts of role transition and preceptorship. One face-to-face, 3 Skype, and 12 phone interviews were conducted with NPs who were currently practicing in the NP role (>3 months but <5 years) in those states that require collaborative practice agreement. Transcribed interviews were coded using Van Manen's analysis strategies. Findings suggested that NPs' difficult transition to practice was related to their preceptorship support in NP school and in NP work settings. The data showed ill-supported preceptorships when in NP programs. Lack of preceptorships after the graduation was accompanied by employers' expecting novice NPs to function at an expert level, frequently with minimal guidance. Understanding how NPs transition to practice and how their role transition is supported through preceptorships can be used to inform NP educators and organizations that hire NPs of the changes needed to strengthen NPs' role transition. These findings may promote positive social change by guiding stakeholders to improve the NP role transition, which could, in turn, increase NPs' autonomy, retention, and job satisfaction.