Pre-amble:
Nurses have a continuing obligation to be politically present and capable. In lobbying for our own workers' rights, or in defending the safety of those we care for, a need for political astuteness is obvious should we hope to be successful. But how do educators set up nurses to occupy a political arena? This presentation will discuss the results of a scoping review that a explored the effectiveness of teaching political activism to undergraduate nursing students and share the implications on education.

Abstract:
Objective: The aim of this scoping review was to explore and synthesise published literature reporting on the effective teaching of political activism to undergraduate nursing students.

Introduction: As frontline healthcare professionals, nurses are well-positioned to address complex sociopolitical issues that influence the healthcare landscape. Nurses have a history of activism, including advocating for and acting to change policy that improves healthcare access, health justice and patient outcomes. Activism requires astuteness to be enacted successfully, therefore it is essential to understand how nursing education can develop activist capacity effectively to prepare graduates to meet this demand.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted according to PRISMA-ScR and JBI guidelines. CINAHL, MEDLINE, ERIC and EMBASE databases were searched. Included papers analysed inductively, with findings presented narratively.

Results: Of the 401 studies, eight met the inclusion criteria. Varied approaches for teaching politics and political activism to nursing students were reported in the included papers, with key outcomes including knowledge acquisition, attitudinal change and increased confidence. Few of the papers described rigorous evaluation methods, with only two using validated instruments to measure effectiveness and three having conducted formal data analysis.

Conclusions: Political activism education is reported to be effective in developing undergraduate nursing students’ political astuteness. However, more rigorous research is needed to support this assertion and to inform curricula.