Professional Experience Placement

Practice development and knowledge translation of contemporary nursing information occurs at varying rates. Whether to publish in a scientific or use open access journals for information dissemination has become a vexed question . Digital technologies have provided opportunities for providing speedy access to new clinical information. It has enabled nurses to access hard copy scholarly literature that in the past, may have been difficult to obtain. Nurses can now browse for information anytime or anywhere at a time and place that suits them.

Furthermore, the improved  ehealth access and the advent of mhealth technology  has enabled swifter access to information. Nurses can utilise these technologies to augment their healthcare delivery or learning and teaching.  Clinical educators or professional experience facilitators can take advantage of emerging technology to provide students with a multi media approach that will scaffold their learning and provide students with cues they can revisit once placement has completed.

Encouraging students to become familiar with the information communication technology (ICT) that is used by facilities to diagnose, monitor and document the health trajectory of their patients can also reduce anxiety and assist with confidence building. I have previously mentioned that there is an assumption that the majority of students are familiar with ICT and know how to use it. The results of a study of undergraduate student nurses undertaken in 2010 at the SNM showed that because more than half use social media, the assumption they can effectively research scholarly information or use medical equipment is incorrect. Literature suggests that students  require appropriate guidance and support to facilitate a conducive learning experience and reduce anxiety.  To promote a high quality placement and improve work readiness students need to be orientated to the practice environment, equipment and software.

What strategies do you use to ensure your students are familiar with the environment, equipment or soft ware that they will need to use in your workplace? If you have any tips or ideas for others, post them in the comments section or alternatively email Carey.Mather@utas.edu.au and I can post them for everyone to share.