Midwifery students' experiences of learning clinical skills in Iran: a qualitative study

METHODS

A qualitative study was used. Midwifery students from three universities in Iran participated. The study used a convenience sample of eighteen students. Data for this study was collected using semi-structured interviews (N=12) and focus groups (N=6). Data were recorded on a digital audio recorder and then transcribed. The qualitative data were analyzed using a content analysis approach.

RESULTS

Six broad themes emerged from the analysis: Limited opportunities to experience skills, difficulties with course plan gaps, need for creating a supportive clinical environment, learning drives, confusion between different methods, and stress in the clinical setting. Short verbatim quotations from the participants were presented to provide evidence for the interpretation of data.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study have provided a clear picture of the factors and mechanisms involved in learning clinical skills by midwifery students. This study showed that students had some difficulties and concerns during learning of clinical midwifery skills. The findings of this study suggest that midwifery educators conduct further studies to tackle these issues in clinical skills learning. The findings of this study are subject to some limitations which are discussed.

The influence of role models in undergraduate nurse education

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To explore the concept of role modelling in undergraduate nurse education and its effect on the personal and professional development of student nurses.

BACKGROUND

Effective educative strategies are important for student nurses, who have to cope with learning in both clinical and university settings. Given the contemporary issues facing nurse education and practice in the United Kingdom (UK), it is timely and important to undertake pedagogical research into the concept of role modelling as an effective educative method.

DESIGN

A descriptive narrative approach.

METHODS

Unstructured interviews were conducted with 14 current/recently discontinued students from Adult and Mental Health branches of nursing degree programmes in the north-west region of England, United Kingdom (UK). Data were thematically analysed.

RESULTS

Students valued exposure to positive role models in clinical and university settings and viewed them as beneficial to their learning. Exposure to negative role models occurred, and this provided students with opportunities to consider the type of nurse they aspired to become. In some cases, students' exposure to perceived poor practice had an adverse effect on their learning and led to negative feelings about nursing work. Clinical staff might be perceived as more relevant role models than those in the university setting although there were still opportunities for academic staff to model professional behaviours.

CONCLUSION

The study found that role modelling is an effective way to support learning and led to student satisfaction across both clinical and university settings. The findings support the use of role models in nurse education, and further research about conscious positive modelling of practice is required.

RELEVANCE TO PRACTICE

Exploring the use of role models is important when examining ways in which the quality of nurse education might be developed.

Enabling professional development in mental health nursing: the role of clinical leadership

Clinical leadership is acknowledged as important to the nursing profession. While studies continue to identify its significance in contributing to positive outcomes for consumers, the role that clinical leadership has in enabling and supporting professional development in mental health nursing is poorly understood. This study utilized a grounded theory methodology to explore the characteristics clinicians consider important for clinical leadership and its significance for mental health nursing in day-to-day clinical practice. Individual face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nurses working in mental health settings. Participants described the important role that clinical leaders play in enabling professional development of others through role modelling and clinical teaching. They describe how nurses, whom they perceive as clinical leaders, use role modelling and clinical teaching to influence the professional development of nursing staff and undergraduate nursing students. Attributes such as professionalism and honesty were seen, by participants, as enablers for clinical leaders in effectively and positively supporting the professional development of junior staff and undergraduate nurses in mental health nursing. This paper examines clinical leadership from the perspective of mental health nurses delivering care, and highlights the important role of clinical leaders in supporting professional development in mental health nursing.

Midwifery students learning experiences in labor wards: a grounded theory

BACKGROUND

The labor ward is an important and challenging learning area for midwifery students. It is there the students learn in authentic complex situations, in intimate situations, with potential risk for the life and health of mothers and their babies.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to explore the main concern expressed by midwifery students in labor wards and how they handled this concern.

DESIGN

A longitudinal study based on grounded theory methodology was used. The participants were 10 postgraduate midwifery students, from a University College in Norway. Data were gathered and analyzed throughout the 2-year postgraduate program, in the students first, third and fourth semesters. Every student was interviewed three times in a total of 15 single and three focus-group sessions.

FINDINGS

The grounded theory of "building relationships" explains how students dealt with their main concern: "how to gain access to learning experiences". This theory consisted of three strategies; a) controlling vulnerability, b) cultivating trust and c) obtaining acceptance.

CONCLUSION

Clarifying discussions involving midwives and students may facilitate the process of building relationships and contribute to confident learning. Students appreciate it when the midwives initiate discussions about acute situations and state that a novice may perceive labor and childbirth as more frightening than an experienced midwife would.

Role of the mentor in the theatre setting

Mentorship has been present in healthcare for many years and much has been written about it. This article will explore the role of the mentor in the operating theatre in light of the new standards of mentor preparation.

Are pedagogies used in nurse education research evident in practice?

This paper considers two questions: what pedagogies for teaching nursing are used in nurse education research? Are these pedagogies transferred to learning in the workplace? We argue that there are underpinning pedagogies identified in nurse education research in the area of workplace and work based learning which are broadly qualitative, action orientated and focused on knowledge generation. Such pedagogies are rooted in a philosophy of teaching and learning where learning is seen as active, reflective and socially constructed. We consider possible answers to these questions through an exploration of empirical work by Evans et al. (2009) which has focused on knowledge transfer in the workplace. Their work offers insights into how pedagogies can be applied to nurse education research which in turn may be transferred into the workplace. In particular, they argue that the concept of knowledge transfer is outdated and we should focus instead on how knowledge learnt in one context (the academy) is re-contextualised in another (the workplace). We also draw on Aranda and Law's (2007) paper on the debates concerning the use of sociology in nurse education to explore competing narratives. We conclude that the pedagogies identified in educational research are not transferred to nurse education and practice yet offer an alternative view of knowledge transfer as illustrated by Evans et al.'s work which explores how learning in the workplace may be facilitated more effectively. We conclude that the lack of transfer of nurse education research pedagogies to practice learning undermines the position of nurse teachers within the academy as nurse education becomes a practice or professional discipline without a discrete disciplinary base.