Denise McGarry

Child and adolescent psychiatric nursing and the 'plastic man': Reflections on the implementation of change drawing insights from Lewin's theory of planned change

Child and adolescent psychiatric nursing (CAPN) as a discipline has been remarkably slow in the uptake of high fidelity human patient simulation (HFHPS) as an education tool. Assuming HFHPS has potential use, and the issue is one of change management, this paper speculates about how Lewin’s paradigm for Planned Change might provide guidance to the specialty discipline of CAPN in development of strategies to promote adoption of HFHPS to education of pre-registration nurses. Kurt Lewin (1890–1947) was a seminal theorist of change, whose pioneering work has had significant impact across many disciplines. His theory of Planned Change has four components – field theory, group dynamics, action research and the three-step model of change. Each component is considered briefly and then combined within an example of application.

Survey of Australian Schools of Nursing Use of Human Patient (Mannequin) Simulation

Rapid adoption of high-fidelity human patient (mannequin) simulation has occurred in Australian Schools of Nursing in recent years, as it has internationally. This paper reports findings from a 2012 online survey of Australian Schools of Nursing and builds on findings of earlier studies. The survey design allowed direct comparison with a previous study from the USA but limited its scope to the pre-registration (pre-service Bachelor of Nursing) curriculum. It also included extra mental health specific questions. Australian patterns of adoption and application of high-fidelity human patient (mannequin) simulation in the pre-registration nursing curriculum share features with experiences reported in previous US and Australian surveys. A finding of interest in this survey was a small number of Schools of Nursing that reported no current use of high-fidelity human patient (mannequin) simulation and no plans to adopt it, in spite of a governmental capital funding support programme. In-line with prior surveys, mental health applications were meagre. There is an absence of clearly articulated learning theory underpinnings in the use of high-fidelity human patient (mannequin) simulation generally. It appears the first stage of implementation of high-fidelity human patient (mannequin) simulation into the pre-registration nursing curriculum has occurred and the adoption of this pedagogy is entering a new phase.

Identifying student knowledge and perception of what is valuable to professional practice: A mixed method study.

BACKGROUND Bachelor of Nursing programmes are designed to prepare Registered Nurses for professional practice. The Bachelor of Nursing curriculum under discussion was shaped by the conceptual framework of primary health care philosophy, including themes of social justice, Indigenous health, caring philosophy, and the advancement of the discipline through research, scholarship and application of nursing knowledge and evidence-based practice. OBJECTIVES This study was designed to identify what students and graduates found valuable in a Bachelor of Nursing curriculum conceptual framework and what value they placed on a conceptual framework and underpinning themes. DESIGN A small study was designed to identify the student perceptions of themes which may be valuable to the new curriculum of the Bachelor of Nursing. A mixed methodology was selected as being appropriate to allow students to indicate the value that previous and completing students placed on each of these items and to explore their perceptions. SETTINGS The setting for this small study was a regional university in NSW, Australia. PARTICIPANTS Previous and completing (final year) students were invited to complete the online survey and any who were willing to be interviewed were asked to provide their contact details. METHODS The research was conducted via a questionnaire through Survey Monkey, using a Likert scale and open responses and follow up interviews were conducted with willing participants. RESULTS A total of 128 responses to the survey were received and ten were interviewed. Overall responses were positive. Students were aware of and valued all aspects of the current and proposed conceptual framework. There were some themes; however which were better understood than others. CONCLUSIONS The majority of graduated students indicated that they were well prepared for the workforce. All aspects of the conceptual framework of the curriculum were valued by the majority of students.