Informing the development midwifery standards for practice : A literature review for policy development
- Authors: Nagle, Cate , McDonald, Susan , Morrow, Jane , Kruger, Gina , Cramer, Rhian , Couch, Sara , Hartney, Nicole , Bryce, Julianne , Birks, Melanie , Heartfield, Marie
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Midwifery Vol. 76, no. (2019), p. 8-20
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- Description: Aim: To critically appraise and synthesise the literature regarding the role and scope of midwifery practice, specifically to inform the evidence based development of standards for practice for all midwives in Australia. Design: A structured scoping review of the literature Data sources: CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE Complete and Cochrane Libraries databases, online and grey literature databases Review methods: Comprehensive searches of databases used key words and controlled vocabulary for each database to search for publications 2006-2016. Studies were not restricted by research method. Findings: There is no substantive body of literature on midwifery competency standards or standards for practice. From 1648 papers screened, twenty-eight papers were identified to inform this review. Eight studies including systematic reviews were annotated with three research papers further assessed as having direct application to this review. To inform the development of Midwife standards for practice, the comprehensive role of the midwife across multiple settings was seen to include: woman centred and primary health care; safe supportive and collaborative practice; clinical knowledge and skills with interpersonal and cultural competence. Key conclusions: Midwifery practice is not restricted to the provision of direct clinical care and extends to any role where the midwife uses midwifery skills and knowledge. This practice includes working in clinical and non-clinical relationships with the woman and other clients as well as working in management, administration, education, research, advisory, regulatory, and policy development roles. Implications for practice: This review articulates the definition, role and scope of midwifery practice to inform the development of contemporary standards for practice for the Australian midwife. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Australian nursing students’ experience of bullying and/or harassment during clinical placement
- Authors: Budden, Lea , Birks, Melanie , Cant, Robyn , Bagley, Tracy , Park, Tanya
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Collegian Vol. 24, no. 2 (2017), p. 125-133
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- Description: Bullying and harassment in nursing are unacceptable behaviours in the workplace. There is a large body of evidence relating this problem, however little of it focuses on the experiences of nursing students. This prospective cross-sectional survey investigated Australian undergraduate nursing students’ (N = 888) experiences of bullying and/or harassment during clinical placement. Half (50.1%) of the students indicated they had experienced this behaviour in the previous 12 months. Younger students were more likely to be bullied/harassed than older students (p = 0.05). Participants identified perpetrators of bullying/harassment as registered nurses (56.6%), patients (37.4%), enrolled nurse's (36.4%), clinical facilitators (25.9%), preceptors (24.6%), nurse managers (22.8%) and other student nurses (11.8%). The majority of students reported that the experience of being bullied/harassed made them feel anxious (71.5%) and depressed (53.6%). Almost a third of students (32.8%) indicated that these experiences negatively affected the standard of care they provided to patients with many (46.9%) reconsidering nursing as their intended career. In the face of workforce attrition in nursing, the findings of this study have implications for education providers, clinical institutions and the profession at large. © 2015 Australian College of Nursing Ltd
Teaching science content in nursing programs in Australia: a cross-sectional survey of academics
- Authors: Birks, Melanie , Ralph, Nicholas , Cant, Robyn , Hillman, Elspeth , Ylona Chun, Tie
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: BMC Nursing Vol. 14, no. 1 (2015), p. 1-9
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- Description: Background: Professional nursing practice is informed by biological, social and behavioural sciences. In undergraduate pre-registration nursing programs, biological sciences typically include anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry, physics and pharmacology. The current gap in the literature results in a lack of information about the content and depth of biological sciences being taught in nursing curricula. The aim of this study was to establish what priority is given to the teaching of science topics in these programs in order to inform an understanding of the relative importance placed on this subject area in contemporary nursing education. Method: This study employed a cross-sectional survey method. This paper reports on the first phase of a larger project examining science content in nursing programs. An existing questionnaire was modified and delivered online for completion by academics who teach science to nurses in these programs. This paper reports on the relative priority given by respondents to the teaching of 177 topics contained in the questionnaire. Results: Of the relatively small population of academics who teach science to nursing students, thirty (n = 30) completed the survey. Findings indicate strong support for the teaching of science in these programs, with particular priority given to the basic concepts of bioscience and gross system anatomy. Of concern, most science subject areas outside of these domains were ranked as being of moderate or low priority. Conclusion: While the small sample size limited the conclusions able to be drawn from this study, the findings supported previous studies that indicated inadequacies in the teaching of science content in nursing curricula. Nevertheless, these findings have raised questions about the current philosophy that underpins nursing education in Australia and whether existing practices are clearly focused on preparing students for the demands of contemporary nursing practice. Academics responsible for the design and implementation of nursing curricula are encouraged to review the content of current programs in light of the findings of this research.
Babies and machines that go 'beep' : first-year nursing students' preferred areas of future practice
- Authors: Birks, Melanie , Missen, Karen , Al-Motlaq, Mohammad , Marino, Emma
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International journal of nursing practice Vol. 20, no. 4 (2014), p. 353-359
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- Description: Students of nursing enter their programmes of study with preconceived ideas of what a career in their chosen profession will entail. The literature suggests that images from the media and past experiences contribute to these perceptions. Although it is positive images of the profession that will usually attract an individual to a career in nursing, often more negative perceptions will direct students away from potentially rewarding areas of specialization. This paper describes career projections of nursing students enrolled in the first year of four preservice nursing programmes at the rural campus of one Australian university. Part of a larger study, the data reported here indicate that most respondents intend to practice in the areas of midwifery, paediatrics and emergency nursing. Oncology, community nursing, aged care and mental health nursing all ranked poorly across three rounds of surveys. These findings have implications for practicing nurses and nurse educators who seek to dispel inaccurate images of these important specializations. © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.
Perceptions of hand hygiene amongst health care workers in Sibu, East Malaysia
- Authors: Birks, Melanie , Coyle, Meaghan , Porter, Joanne , Mills, Jane
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Infection Control Vol. 8, no. 1 (2012), p. 10-13
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- Description: The importance of hand hygiene in preventing the spread of disease is universally accepted. Nonetheless, many health care professionals, in spite of acknowledging the significance of this practice, are not always vigilant in carrying out hand hygiene. The purpose of this paper is to report on a study of the perceptions of health care workers in relation to hand hygiene. This study employed a quantitative survey design to ascertain the perceptions of hand hygiene amongst health care professions in the unique location of Sibu, East Malaysia. A modified World Health Organisation questionnaire was used to gather data that was subjected to descriptive analytical techniques. The outcomes of this research indicated that those sampled recognise the importance of performing hand hygiene both for themselves and others. Participants rated a number of activities as of particular value in promoting hand hygiene. The findings of this study reinforce much of the literature, particularly in relation to need for education, resources and supportive measures in ensuring good hand hygiene practices. Recommendations from this study suggest the need for future larger research studies that explore additional socio-cultural factors and employ more diverse methods to enhance the validity of the findings.
The use of physical assessment skills by registered nurses in Australia: Issues for nursing education
- Authors: Birks, Melanie , Cant, Robyn , James, Ainsley , Chung, Catherine , Davis, Jennifer
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Collegian Vol. 20, no. 1 (2012), p. 27-33
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- Description: The purpose of pre-service nursing education programs is to prepare competent graduates who are able to function as safe, professional registered nurses. An extensive element of these programs is the teaching of physical assessment skills, with most programs educating students to perform over 120 such skills. Previous research from North America suggests that the majority of skills taught to nurses in their pre-service programs are not used in practice. As part of a larger study, an online survey was used to explore use of 121 physical assessment skills by Australian nurses. Recruitment occurred via mailed invitation to members of the Australian Nursing Federation. Data were extracted from 1220 completed questionnaires returned by nurses who were mostly employed in New South Wales, were female and experienced nurses. Respondents indicated that they used only 34% of skills routinely. Results reinforce evidence found in the literature that many of the skills taught to nurses are either not used at all (35.5%) or are used rarely (31%). These findings have implications for the teaching of physical assessment skills in pre-service nursing programs, and raise questions about the value of extensive skills teaching in the context of contemporary health care. Further research into barriers to the use of physical assessment skills in nursing and the need for comprehensive skills preparation for the generalist nurse is likely to offer some solutions to these questions. © 2012 Australian College of Nursing Ltd.
Factors that make the health care professions an attractive career option in East Malaysia
- Authors: Birks, Melanie , Coyle, Meaghan , Porter, Joanne , Mills, Jane
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Singapore Nursing Journal Vol. 38, no. 1 (2011), p.18-22
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- Description: A shortage of health care professionals, particularly nurses, has led to the development of strategies to increase recruitment to these disciplines. This paper describes the findings of a study of factors that attract nurses and related health care professionals to their chosen discipline. A survey design was employed, in which a questionnaire was administered at a research seminar with the intent of demonstrating the conduct of research in real time. Seventy-six health care professionals participated in this survey. Most respondents were female and employed as nurses. The mean age of participants was 39 years. The ability to help others, training being provided and job security were rated highly by respondents as factors attracting them to their profession, along with the ability that to combine work and family commitments. While the findings reported here reflect some similarities with those of earlier studies, the demographically different sample may account for many of the differences.
“I don’t want to become a scientist” : undergraduate nursing students’ perceived value of course content
- Authors: Birks, Melanie , Cant, Robyn , Al-Motlaq, Mohammad , Jones, Jan
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal Of Advanced Nursing Vol. 28, no. 4 (2011), p. 20-27
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- Description: Background: In the development and delivery of pre‑registration baccalaureate nursing programs, universities must address both the needs of industry and the registering authorities that regulate health professional practice. Balanced with this, providers of education at this level also wish to deliver an experience to students that they both value and enjoy. Objective: This paper describes the findings of a study examining these factors in the first year of four pre‑registration programs at a rural campus and outreach centre of one Australian university. Design: A descriptive, exploratory survey was employed in this research, which is drawn from a larger study into entry pathway, success and academic experience. Results: Results indicate that students found units such as fundamental nursing subjects and law most enjoyable and valuable. Units with a sociological foundation were considered less enjoyable and valuable. Overall, students recognised the value of the bioscience units while contrarily not expressing enjoyment of this aspect of their studies. Conclusions: These findings have implications for nurse educators in respect of the content and delivery of pre‑registration nursing programs. As first year students, the participants may have been focused on learning fundamental nursing tasks, lacking an understanding of the breadth of knowledge required for their professional role. Future research into aspects of nursing studies found to be most valuable may provide a different perspective if conducted in the period post graduation.
Australian rural and remote registered nurses' experiences of learning to provide antenatal services in general practice : A pilot study
- Authors: Mills, Jane , Birks, Melanie , Francis, Karen , Miles, Maureen , Jones, Janet
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Nursing Practice Vol. 16, no. 4 (2010), p. 319-325
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- Description: This article reports on a pilot vocational study programme for provision of antenatal services in the general practice environment. The concurrent evaluation study assessed practice nurses' experiences of undertaking the pilot programme, the level and applicability of the content, and the mode of delivery. General practitioners' understanding of the role of the nurse in providing antenatal services, and the actual and potential impact of this new role on models of service delivery and care were also investigated. Women receiving care from practice nurses within this new model of service delivery and care were also of interest in this study. Findings showed that the current role of the general practice nurse in caring for pregnant women is restricted to assisting the general practitioner to complete their assessment of clients. Organizing clinical placement with a midwife was a major barrier to completing the pilot programme.