The transition from student nurse to staff nurse can be an overwhelming experience (Kumaran & Carney 2014). This is especially so in specialist areas such as the operating department where newly registered nurses must not only adapt to their emerging role as professional practitioners, but also to the challenges and demands of this unique setting (Brown et al 2018).
To assist novice nurses overcome these challenges we designed and developed a bespoke blended “Foundation Programme in Perioperative Nursing”. Multi-modal methods of teaching and learning are used to ensure that intended learning is achieved at a time, place and pace that suits students best. The multi-modal approach to content delivery caters to the learning needs and personality types of different students and helps bridge the gap between undergraduate and postgraduate education.
The teaching strategies used reflect the fact that theatre nursing is a practice-based profession that requires a sound theoretical underpinning. They include clinical practice placements, independent online activities, and study days with online pre-study day preparation, pre and post-study day knowledge assessments using an Audience Response System (ARS), face-to-face lectures, and practical workshops. Assessment strategies include an online workbook, case study and presentation, and a clinical portfolio. Online content is delivered using the Beaumont Online Resource for Interactive Study (BORIS), a Moodle-based learning management system.
These diverse teaching and learning strategies combine to provide a cohesive programme that ensures that students know and understand fundamental concepts of care, and more importantly, can apply them in their day-to-day practice. As such, this blend of clinical, classroom and online learning provides new graduate nurses with the essential knowledge and skills required for practice in this setting.
References
Brown, L., Belgard, D., Washington, N. &Grueso, S (2018). Operating room nurse residency and specialty educators: Paramount in the success of novice nurses retention. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice 8 (5), 20-25
Kumaran, S. & Carney, M. (2014). Role transition from student nurse to staff nurse: Facilitating the transition period. Nurse Education In Practice, 14(6), 605-611. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2014.06.002
Topics: Continuing Professional Development , Topics: Innovations and Design in Online and Blended Learning
