Developing advanced rural nursing practice: A whole new scope of responsibility
- Authors: Cant, Robyn , Birks, Melanie , Porter, Joanne , Jacob, Elisabeth , Cooper, Simon J.
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Collegian Vol. 18, no. 4 (2011), p. 177-182
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- Description: Rural registered nurses' experiences of advanced clinical nursing practice were explored whilst they were enrolled in an advanced primary care course of study. Thirty-two nurses employed in rural health services in Victoria, Australia, studied advanced practice nursing by distance education with a clinical component. At course conclusion, focus groups and a quantitative on-line survey were conducted to explore outcomes. Nurses reported positive self-perceptions of their educational preparation with scores of >7/10 for competence, confidence, preparedness for advanced practice and job satisfaction. Focus group discussions concurred with positive survey results. The course was valuable in developing skills and knowledge, enabling more holistic patient care. The main themes that emerged related to the advancement of the nurse as a professional, and enhancement of patient care. Within their scope of practice, nurses assessed, diagnosed and treated minor patient illness presentations either independently or collaboratively with medical advice. The context of rural health services dictated practice and levels of autonomy. Nurses perceived the new role reduced an overload of medical work, whilst increasing patients' access to care. As a result of the course 24% of participants reported a change in their work role. Nurses employed in rural health services reported positive potential for advanced collaborative practice in rural health care, in association with medical professionals. Defined role boundaries, role responsibilities and dedicated advanced practice positions will be required to achieve implementation of the role. © 2011 Royal College of Nursing, Australia.
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.
“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 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.
How should science be taught to nurses? Preferences of registered nurses and science teaching academics
- Authors: Ralph, Nicholas , Birks, Melanie , Cant, Robyn , Chun Tie, Ylona , Hillman, Espeth
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Collegian Vol. 24, no. 6 (2017), p. 585-591
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- Description: Aims and objectives: To identify how science should be taught to nursing students, and by whom. Background: An understanding of foundational science and its role in supporting safe and effective nursing practice is an important part of student learning. The well documented challenges in teaching this content are compounded by a lack of evidence regarding educational strategies that lead to improved educational outcomes. Design: The study employed a cross-sectional design using online surveys. Methods: Two surveys were conducted in Australia involving (i) academics who teach science in undergraduate nursing programs and (ii) registered nurses (RNs). Participants were asked to respond to a range of questions around how science should be taught to nurses. There were n = 30 and n = 1808 respondents respectively. Results: Findings indicated a need to better integrate science content throughout nursing curricula. Participants were supportive of a discrete science subject in the foundation year and the integration of science content throughout the remainder of the curriculum. Participants across both surveys were ambivalent about whether the depth of science teaching was adequate for nursing practice. Most nurse academics and RNs thought that nurses should teach science, while non-nursing science teachers were less certain. Conclusions: Existing consensus clearly values the delivery of science content as an initial and ongoing priority of learning throughout the undergraduate nursing program. Relevance to practice: Improving the ways in which students learn sciences will impact on nursing practice, with the potential to improve patient care. 2017 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd.