Di Marks-Maran

Factors that enhance rates of completion: What makes students stay?

BACKGROUND This study was one of four projects commissioned by NHS London to examine the readiness for work of nurses upon completion of their pre-registration programmes. The study examined the factors that contribute to students completing their nursing programmes. OBJECTIVES The objectives of the study were to explore understanding the factors that influence the attrition and completion rates of year 2 students on the adult field of a pre-registration nursing programme. DESIGN An ethnographic case study methodology was employed in two large London NHS Acute trust hospitals, both partnered with the same Higher Education Institution. Data was collected between 2010 and 2011 through a combination of document review, non-participant observation in practice settings, focus groups and interviews PARTICIPANTS A self-selected group of 50 year 2 student nurses from a total population of 200 participated in this study. All students were from the same cohort group at one London-based university who undertook practice learning experiences at two NHS Acute Trust hospitals. RESULTS The study found a number of factors that impacted on retention which included student identify and the organisation, fostering resilience and clinical support. In addition the Higher Education Institute does not appear to be the most significant factor in a students decision to continue on the programme, but that practice placement mentors and clinical placements have the greatest impact on student retention. CONCLUSIONS The study is important in that its findings contradict much of the literature on student nurse attrition and retention in that the clinical placement experiences emerges as the most important factor in whether a student chooses to stay or leave the course.

Implementation and evaluation of peer assessment of clinical skills for first year student nurses

Enabling student nurses to learn and develop evidence-based clinical skills is the cornerstone of nursing education programmes. This article describes the implementation of a peer assessment scheme for clinical skills within a skills laboratory in a university school of nursing, and the link between peer assessment and clinical skills development. This was a qualitative evaluative study that used questionnaires for data collection and was undertaken on one cohort of students. Findings showed that nearly half of all the statements made by students were about the positive impact of PACS on their skills learning. Students identified giving and receiving peer feedback, reflection and working with peers in small groups as being particularly valuable in clinical skills learning. Increased confidence was also a dominant finding as was the value of repeated practice in a simulation setting on skills development. This study supports some of the previous literature related to use of simulation and peer assessment but the discussion presented in this article also highlights that the findings of this study contradicts other findings in the literature. What makes this study unique is its contribution to the literature is the link that was established by students between the peer-assessment process and clinical skills learning.

Diversity, fulfilment and privilege: the image of nursing

AIM To explore the image that nurses have of nursing and the image of nursing held by the public to determine the difference between the two and the impact of this on nurse recruitment. BACKGROUND Recruitment and retention nurses are important to the Strategic Health Authority for London (NHS London) who commissioned a study to explore the image of nursing. METHOD Qualitative survey research was used. Data were collected from nurses and from the public. RESULTS Three themes emerged related to the image of nursing held by nurses. These were diversity, fulfilment and privilege. However, the public image of nursing does not reflect these. The public appear ill-informed of what nurses do, purporting to respect nursing but would not recommend nursing as a career choice for themselves, their children or their pupils. This study could have been enhanced through the use of questionnaires to gain quantitative data about the image of nursing. CONCLUSIONS The public image of nursing appears positive but also has negative aspects. The public image is different from nurses image of nursing and is based on myth, misconception and stereotype. This may influence recruitment of nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT The results of this study offer a way forward to develop recruitment strategies that target changing the publics image of nursing.

Using simulation in a vocational programme: does the method support the theory?

Use of simulation is well established as a way of learning and assessing skills in vocational disciplines. In many institutions the use of simulation with student nurses is being tested as a way of helping them learn clinical skills, problem‐solving, clinical assessment and decision‐making. This paper explores the value of simulation as a learning tool through the presentation of findings from an evaluative research project into the use of simulation in nursing education. The focus of this paper is how students perceive that simulations help them learn and suggests that simulation may play a part in how students perceive learning that is meaningful to them. A literature review on the use of simulation is presented together with literature related to the learning theory that underpins simulation. The methodology, data collection and findings of the evaluative study are then presented followed by a discussion of the findings. Although the original research did not set out to examine how students perceived that simulations influenced their learning, the analysis indicated that this was a significant issue for them. Conclusions are drawn about how learning theory and simulation can be brought together to enhance student learning.

Promoting Social and Academic Integration into Higher Education by First-Year Student Nurses: The APPL Project.

The Academic, Personal and Professional Learning (APPL) model of support for student nurses was developed and implemented as a pilot project in the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences of a university in response to a number of internal and external drivers. The common theme across these drivers was the enhancement of the social, academic and professional integration of students into the university and the nursing profession. This article describes the APPL model and presents the findings of an evaluative research study of the pilot that was undertaken during 2006–2007. This is a unique study for two reasons. First, the evaluative study employed a rarely used research approach in education – Appreciative Inquiry (Ai); and second, the APPL project set out to promote academic and social integration in first‐year students by bringing together academic, professional and personal support, and peer learning. The intention was to explore the research question: What is the impact of the APPL groups on students and their learning? The findings of the research are presented and discussed, conclusions drawn and recommendations made. The research design was that of a descriptive case study. Multi‐modal data‐collection methods were employed and qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analysed from students (n=73). Methods included a questionnaire and a focus group. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS; qualitative data were analysed using an adaptation of the Framework Method. The APPL group meetings are perceived by students to have a positive impact on their social, academic and professional integration into university. A number of recommendations are made to enhance and embed the APPL model in the wider model of student support.

Widening participation in subjects requiring data handling skills: the MathsAid Project

MathsAid was established in 2001 as a university‐wide resource for students enrolled on programmes at Kingston University that contain a mathematics or statistics component. Its broad aims are to provide a set of non‐threatening remedial and motivational opportunities in maths and statistics through one‐to‐one tutorial support, peer‐assisted learning (PAL) and ICT products managed through the BlackBoard learning management system. An evaluation of the MathsAid program has found it to aid some students in both their short‐ and long‐term learning objectives but has raised questions of whether it could be adjusted to reach more of the most vulnerable students. This article outlines the MathsAid programme and the evaluation results.

Students' Perceptions of Foundation Degrees.

In 2008 there were 87,339 people enrolled on foundation degrees (FDs) in the UK (Foundation Degree Forward, 2009), and educational institutions in the UK offered 1700 different foundation degrees in over 25 subjects, with nearly 900 more in development (Action on Access, 2010). In addition, student views are seen to be of importance, as demonstrated by the National Student Survey and the notion of the student as consumer. This paper reports on a study of the views of students undertaking FDs in one university. A mixed-methods evaluation approach was used. Data were collected from students through questionnaires, interviews and focus groups. This was an ambitious project that yielded a vast amount and range of qualitative and quantitative data across multiple cohorts of seven different foundation degrees. Overall, students’ perceptions are positive, although some findings vary from one foundation degree to another. Across all subjects, students were agreed on their positive rating on five of the key elements of FDs. There was also agreement that employers did not, on the whole, value the foundation degree qualification. This paper presents the findings of this study and conclusions are drawn that add to the literature about FDs that will be of relevance to those involved in the development and delivery of FDs.

Widening participation in nursing through progression agreements between a university and two further education colleges: a case study

The School of Nursing, part of the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences within Kingston University/St Georges, University of London, has undertaken a number of initiatives to address the widening participation agenda. The student life‐cycle underpins the framework for the universitys widening participation strategy and activities. This article provides a case study of the development and implementation of one such initiative, a Progression Agreement project between the School of Nursing and two colleges of further education (FE). The FE colleges provide Access to Nursing/Access to Health and Social Care Professions courses and the university, in partnership with these colleges, has drawn up Progression Agreements to enable successful completers of these access courses to be admitted onto nursing programmes at the university. The article explores the policy issues and literature related to widening participation, how these influenced the development of Progression Agreements, the evaluation of these initiatives and how Progression Agreements have contributed to changes in admission processes for nursing programmes in the university.

Student nurse selection and predictability of academic success: The Multiple Mini Interview project

BACKGROUND With recent reports of public enquiries into failure to care, universities are under pressure to ensure that candidates selected for undergraduate nursing programmes demonstrate academic potential as well as characteristics and values such as compassion, empathy and integrity. The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) was used in one university as a way of ensuring that candidates had the appropriate numeracy and literacy skills as well as a range of communication, empathy, decision-making and problem-solving skills as well as ethical insights and integrity, initiative and team-work. OBJECTIVES To ascertain whether there is evidence of bias in MMIs (gender, age, nationality and location of secondary education) and to determine the extent to which the MMI is predictive of academic success in nursing. DESIGN A longitudinal retrospective analysis of student demographics, MMI data and the assessment marks for years 1, 2 and 3. SETTINGS One university in southwest London. PARTICIPANTS One cohort of students who commenced their programme in September 2011, including students in all four fields of nursing (adult, child, mental health and learning disability). METHODS Inferential statistics and a Bayesian Multilevel Model. RESULTS MMI in conjunction with MMI numeracy test and MMI literacy test shows little or no bias in terms of ages, gender, nationality or location of secondary school education. Although MMI in conjunction with numeracy and literacy testing is predictive of academic success, it is only weakly predictive. CONCLUSIONS The MMI used in conjunction with literacy and numeracy testing appears to be a successful technique for selecting candidates for nursing. However, other selection methods such as psychological profiling or testing of emotional intelligence may add to the extent to which selection methods are predictive of academic success on nursing.

A programme to reduce acquired pressure ulcers in care homes

Prevention of pressure ulcers is a major health concern, especially for older people. Much of the literature related to prevention of pressure ulcers focuses on hospital-acquired pressure ulcers. There is less literature related to prevention of pressure ulcers in care homes. This article presents a review of the literature related to prevention of pressure ulcers in care homes and an ambitious project undertaken by one care home provider to raise awareness of pressure ulcers, provide training in prevention and monitor and evaluate pressure ulcers in over 200 care home across the UK. Known as MI SKIN, the project involves ongoing training to all levels of care staff, a robust system of monitoring pressure ulcers and a mechanism to investigate and learn from any incident of pressure ulcer using root cause analysis.