Linda Honan Pellico

Looking is not seeing: using art to improve observational skills.

This project evaluated the effects of an art museum experience on the observational skills of nursing students. Half of a class of non-nurse college graduates entering an accelerated masters degree program (n = 34) were assigned to a museum experience, whereas the other half (n = 32) received traditional teaching methods. Using original works of art, students participated in focused observational experiences to visually itemize everything noted in the art piece, discriminate visual qualities, recognize patterns, and cluster observations. After organizing observed information, they drew conclusions to construct the objects meaning. Participants visiting the museum subsequently wrote more about what they saw, resulting in significantly more objective clinical findings when viewing patient photographs. In addition, participants demonstrated significantly more fluidity in their differential diagnosis by offering more alternative diagnoses than did the control group. The study supports the notion that focused viewing of works of art enhances observational skills.

Narrative Criticism A Systematic Approach to the Analysis of Story

Research reveals that writing about one’s experiences offers an individual the opportunity to improve function, develop insight, and foster growth. Storytelling and story writing are pedagogical tools used frequently in practice professions. It is reasonable to see these writings as a rich source for research. They are vehicles for understanding human experience and aesthetic knowing. This article presents an innovation in the method used for analysis of stories. It is a blending of two established methods, those of narrative analysis as described by Riessman (1993), and aesthetic criticism by Chinn, Maeve, and Bostick (1997). The merging of both methods, termed narrative criticism, allows for a rich level of insight into unique human experiences.

Looking is not seeing and listening is not hearing: effect of an intervention to enhance auditory skills of graduate-entry nursing students.

ABSTRACT Inspection/observation and listening/auscultation are essential skills for health care providers. Given that observational and auditory skills take time to perfect, there is concern about accelerated students’ ability to attain proficiency in a timely manner. This article describes the impact of music auditory training (MAT) for nursing students in an accelerated masters entry program on their competence in detecting heart, lung, and bowel sounds. During the first semester, a two‐hour MAT session with focused attention on pitch, timbre, rhythm, and masking was held for the intervention group; a control group received traditional instruction only. Students in the music intervention group demonstrated significant improvement in hearing bowel, heart, and lung sounds (p < .0001).The ability to label normal and abnormal heart sounds doubled; interpretation of normal and abnormal lung sounds improved by 50 percent; and bowel sounds interpretation improved threefold, demonstrating the effect of an adult‐oriented, creative, yet practical method for teaching auscultation.

A model preschool vision and hearing screening program: students and faculty serve a community.

AJN ▼ June 2005 ▼ Vol. 105, No. 6 http://www.nursingcenter.com Vision. During the first six months of life, the visual pathways develop rapidly. However, the myelination of the central visual pathway continues until a child is four years of age, and the development of the visual cortex is not complete until the child is 10. During this time, undiagnosed alterations of the normal course of development put the child at risk for long-term visual loss. According to Mills, “normal visual development requires that a focused image form in each eye that can be fused (superimposed and integrated) by the brain into a single image.” Interference with this process can cause amblyopia, a reduction in vision that “results from altered visual development within the central pathways.” According to the National Eye Institute, amblyopia is the “most common cause of visual impairment in childhood,” affecting “approximately two to three out of every 100 children.” Unless detected within the first few years of life, irreversible loss of vision occurs. Hearing. Although universal newborn hearing screening is a community norm, other conditions, such as adverse effects of medications and noise levels, can pose threats to hearing. Otitis media (OM), one of the most common reasons for acute care visits among young children, causes temporary hearing loss, and otitis media with effusion (OME; a frequent sequela of OM) is the most frequent cause of conductive hearing loss in young children. 9 In the first year of life, 85% to 96% of all children have at least one episode of OME, and by three years of age at least one-third of children have experienced multiple bouts. Children with hearing loss resulting from persistent OME have difficulty understanding speech under adverse listening conditions such as noisy environments. They may have problems paying attention, and their school performance and behavior can be affected. Studies have demonstrated that the major variable that affects language development in children with hearClinical experiences that educate nursing students while they’re serving communities have become more widespread in nursing curriculums. This article describes one such initiative: a hearing and vision screening program for preschool children created and implemented by faculty and Graduate Entry Prespecialty in Nursing students at Yale University School of Nursing. Substantial evidence indicates low rates of preschool hearing and vision screening, even among children connected to primary care services. 5 An opportunity to address this issue came about in 1997, when the Connecticut legislature passed the School Readiness initiative, which required evidence of preschool hearing and vision screening for all participating children. To address the gap between service delivery and program requirements, faculty at the Yale University School of Nursing developed a comprehensive hearing and vision screening program for children enrolled in preschool programs. Nonprofit and publicly funded child care programs participated, and the New Haven Board of Education School Readiness program funded the instruments, materials, and salaries for faculty preceptors. Children received essential services, primary care providers were informed of results, and our faculty and students were seen as active, caring, and capable professionals within the community.

Newly Licensed RNs Describe What They Like Best about Being a Nurse

About 25% of newly licensed registered nurses (NLRNs) leave their first job within two years, but only 2% leave the nursing profession in this same timeframe. Therefore, the researchers sought to discover what new nurses like best about being a nurse, in hopes of gaining information that might help facilities to reduce turnover rates. Data were collected between January and March 2009 from 1,152 NLRNs licensed in 15 US states. Krippendorffs method was used to analyze survey responses. Five themes emerged: “providing holistic patient care,” “having an autonomous and collaborative practice,” “using diverse knowledge and skills to impact patient outcomes,” “receiving recognition,” and “having a job that is secure and stimulating.” Strategies are discussed that organizations might employ in helping NLRNs to realize what they best like about their work, which might lead to improved retention rates.

Negotiation and Assessment as Tools for Tailoring Anatomy Courses to Allied Health Programs

Every healthcare discipline, from paramedics to physicians, has its own requirements for anatomical knowledge. Nonetheless, there is little standardization for what an anatomy course should provide. In this chapter, we discuss our experience with graduate nurses, physician assistants, and medical students. Rather than dwell on our solution to questions of what to teach and how to teach it, we discuss how we researched the questions and negotiated with stakeholders in our educational setting, so that you might develop the solutions that work best at your institution. By identifying and assessing the needs of all who have a stake in your course, you can devise the course goals and assessments that will convince stakeholders that your course is successful. Skillful negotiations and assessments will guide the development of your course through its early years and insure it integrates with your institution’s educational programs.