Description:
Drawing on the findings from studies in Australia and Norway that explored the use of laboratories in the preparation of nursing students for entry to practice, this article identifies the pedagogical challenges for the undergraduate education of nurses. The findings from both countries are compared and, in spite of distinct differences in the level of financial investment, there are striking similarities between the ways in which laboratories are used in the two countries. The laboratories were designed to predominately represent acute care hospital environments. The participants demonstrated a high level of commitment and strongly held beliefs in the laboratory as a safe place to facilitate self-paced learning and as an environment where students can practice until they become competent and confident. However, at the same time, there was a striking lack of evidence to support these views. The participants in both countries reported a common approach to instruction: a proce! ss of teacher demonstration, followed by student repetition and practice. Variability in students' motivation also was reported and the participants especially expressed concern for those students with a low level of interest in the basic skills associated with personal care. The possibilities and limitations of using skill laboratories as part of the practical preparation for nursing are discussed, using the metaphor of laboratories as "fiction".
Description:
Caring is characterized by close and fragile relations between nurses and patients. At times, even with good intentions, nurses cause unintended harm of patients. We argue that the dominance of economic discourses in health care and their subsequent influence on service delivery and health care practices has the potential to increase unintended patient harm. Similar techniques and practices can result in either desired outcomes or harmful outcomes. We explore the notion of unintended harm and some of the ways it arises in nursing practice. We argue there is a clear link between the dominance of economic discourses and an increased risk of unintended harm. As a consequence of the dominance of economic rationalist discourses and the subsequent systems of control introduced, the practice of nursing has been significantly influenced. The challenge for nurses and the nursing profession is to develop strategies to refuse to give in to the dominance of economic interests over the need to prevent harm.
Description:
Caring is characterized by close and fragile relations between nurses and patients. At times, even with good intentions, nurses cause unintended harm of patients. We argue that the dominance of economic discourses in health care and their subsequent influence on service delivery and health care practices has the potential to increase unintended patient harm. Similar techniques and practices can result in either desired outcomes or harmful outcomes. We explore the notion of unintended harm and some of the ways it arises in nursing practice. We argue there is a clear link between the dominance of economic discourses and an increased risk of unintended harm. As a consequence of the dominance of economic rationalist discourses and the subsequent systems of control introduced, the practice of nursing has been significantly influenced. The challenge for nurses and the nursing profession is to develop strategies to refuse to give in to the dominance of economic interests over the need to prevent harm.
Description:
Nursing, as a new discipline in the academic world, has to combine scientific traditions with its identity as a clinical profession. Joint clinical professorial appointments have been established in order to combine these two worlds.
Description:
Aim. This Norwegian-based study investigates how and to what extent the idea of the nursing home as a home has been realized. Background. For the last two decades, Norway, as other Western Country has had an explicit national policy that nursing homes should become more like homes. The research literature indicates that residents in nursing home seem to lack the opportunities to maintain a private sphere. Design. A field study design was conducted. Methods. Data were collected in 1999 in two long-term units in a traditional nursing home by using participant observation and interviewing the residents. A phenomenological hermeneutic analysis strategy was used to get an impression of the residents' everyday life. Results. The residents spend most of their time in the common living room. The common living room has an ambiguous boundary between the public and private spheres, unlike the clear boundaries characterizing a home. The relationship among the residents is fragile, and the residents who can, withdraw from the common living room. Conclusions. Despite having single rooms and more home-like interior decoration, the residents in nursing home still have reduced opportunity to develop a private everyday lifestyle. The long-term unit examined in this research had a forced relationship between the residents, and the residents with best health resources systematically withdraw from the common area to control both where and with whom they wish to spend their time. Relevance to clinical practice. This study lays the foundation for rethinking daily routines in long-term units in nursing homes. One way to realize the idea of the nursing home as a home could be to define the living room as a clear public area and to give the residents a chance to develop a more private lifestyle by alternating between their private rooms and a public common living room.