Nurse education today
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Nurse education today · Oct 2007
What is the impact of theoretical knowledge on children's nurses' post-operative pain management practices? An exploratory study.
Despite the availability of the evidence to guide pain management practices, practices are often sub-optimal with children experiencing moderate to severe pain post-operatively. Limited theoretical knowledge about managing pain has been suggested as one reason for this. Several studies have identified gaps in nurses' theoretical knowledge. ⋯ Nurses did not appear to routinely apply theoretical knowledge in practice. This may explain, at least in part, why pain management practices remain poor despite the evidence to guide practice being readily available. The hypothesis, put forward in other studies, that increasing nurses' theoretical knowledge about pain will improve practices may be overly simplistic.
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Nurse education today · Oct 2007
ReviewMethodological considerations of undertaking research with clinical mentors in the UK: a critical review of the literature.
The subject of this paper is critical review of the reported research approaches used when undertaking clinical mentor research in the UK. The term 'Mentor' is used to denote a clinical practitioner who is responsible for the teaching, assessing and supervision of student nurses undertaking clinical practice. Imperatives such as new quality assurances in the UK are cited as part of the rationale for conducting the review. ⋯ It was found that most studies used postal survey approaches. Methodological weaknesses were found to relate to such things as questionnaire design, sampling and poor response rates. It is concluded that the study gives further insights into the debate about the rigor of nursing research and particularly nurse education research and therefore is of interest not only to nurse education researchers but also to nurse researchers generally.
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Nurse education today · Oct 2007
ReviewFrom passive subject to active agent: the potential of Citizens' Juries for nursing research.
The nursing profession needs to have a greater appreciation of how techniques such as Citizens' Juries can be used in nursing research. This paper explains the concept of Citizens' Juries and how it is being used as a form of social research, that can simultaneously increase public participation in policy making. Participation has become a key component of the discourse in policy making, and public participation initiatives can be one way of bridging the democratic deficit. ⋯ The jurors listen to expert witnesses, examine the evidence, deliberate on the issues and arrive at a policy decision or set of recommendations. In this paper we argue that any ordinary person given the opportunity, enough time and the necessary resources can make decisions about complex policy matters. Key findings from two Citizens' Juries on genetics in Wales are offered as case studies.
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Nurse education today · Oct 2007
Independent extended supplementary nurse prescribers, their prescribing practice and confidence to educate and assess prescribing students.
No other country in the world has such extended prescribing rights for nurses as the United Kingdom. Concerns surround the move of nursing towards a medical model of care, and the level of medical practice support required by trainee prescribers. ⋯ Appropriately qualified nurse prescribers might be best placed to support trainee prescribers. Exploration of the low uptake of supplementary prescribing and access to continuing professional development is required.
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Nurse education today · Oct 2007
Evaluating nurse prescribers' education and continuing professional development for independent prescribing practice: findings from a national survey in England.
The number of nurses able to independently prescribe medicines in England has risen steadily in recent years. ⋯ This first national survey of the education and professional development experiences of nurse independent prescribers in England provides evidence which highlights areas in which national policy is working well, and also points up issues which may need addressing as the roll out of nurse prescribing continues. The study also highlights characteristics and issues that health care policy makers and nurse educationalists internationally may wish to consider in developing and refining their own nurse prescriber education programmes.