Interpreting the value of feedback: Older adult voices in nursing education.

As patients, older adults are often involved informally with the teaching of nursing students in clinical environments. This involvement is recognised as valuable; however, the role of the patient is often passive. In recent years there has been recognition of the value that real people's lives, and health experiences can bring to student education, so much so that many programs now incorporate real patients into the formal education of students. In this educational initiative, older adults, from a Residential Aged Care Campus (RACC), participated as simulated patients in scenario based clinical learning activities, providing feedback to nursing students on the carative aspects of the learning activities. The aim of this study was to contribute toward the body of knowledge in engaging older adults in simulated clinical activities, specifically in the provision of feedback to nursing students. A qualitative interpretive methodology was applied to capture the older adults' experiences of providing feedback as simulated patients. This included the collection of data through participant observation, recording of field notes, collection of a written feedback form and semi-structured interviews with the participants. Thematic analysis was undertaken to identify emergent themes in the data. Findings from this study have emphasised the value of including the patient voice in nursing education. The provision of feedback by older adults during direct care interactions supports and nurtures student awareness of the patient and the caring process of nursing. Unique to this study, was the finding that although the participants received no formal training in the delivery of feedback, all utilised a clear process recognised within the literature. A recommendation linked to this finding is that a feedback training program would be of benefit in reducing some of the feelings of uncertainty expressed by the older adults when giving feedback and better equipping them to deliver constructive feedback.

Interprofessional learning in ambulatory care.

BACKGROUND: Interprofessional practice amongst health care professionals can facilitate effective collaboration and can improve health outcomes for patients. Interprofessional clinical placements have mainly been established within inpatient settings; however, ambulatory care settings can also provide interprofessional education. This study evaluates an interprofessional placement in ambulatory care for medical and nursing students. METHODS: Medical and nursing students undertook a 2-week interprofessional placement in respiratory, diabetes and chronic pain clinics, as well as within the patient's home. An electronic post-placement survey including 14 fixed-response and five open-ended questions was conducted to evaluate the students' experiences. RESULTS: Ninety-two students undertook the interprofessional placement: 74% were medical students and 26% were nursing students. The overall response rate was 81%. Students strongly supported the model of clinical supervision with the nurse educator and teaching registrar working collaboratively to facilitate the placement. Both medical and nursing students felt that the placement facilitated the development of interprofessional principles, with 78.7% agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement 'the clinical placement allowed me to reflect on interprofessional learning and practice'. In terms of future practice, 67% of medical students and 81% of nursing students agreed that 'this placement has altered how [they] will practice as a professional in the future'. Interprofessional practice can facilitate effective collaboration and can improve health outcomes for patients DISCUSSION: Medical and nursing students found that the ambulatory care setting facilitated a mix of learning opportunities that complemented learning from the inpatient setting, and the interactions with other health professionals provided a valuable learning experience that contributed to their understanding of interprofessional practice.

Shifts in nursing and medical students' attitudes, beliefs and behaviours about interprofessional work: An interprofessional placement in ambulatory care.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES: To examine students' beliefs, behaviours and attitudes in relation to interprofessional socialisation, and their expectations and experience, before and after a 2-week clinical placement in ambulatory care. BACKGROUND: Interprofessional clinical placements for students are important for developing an understanding of interprofessional collaboration and identity, for the benefit of patient care. Ambulatory care environment involves collaborative management of complex chronic problems. This educator supported placement that enabled final-year nursing and medical students to work together. DESIGN: A descriptive matched before-after study was conducted. METHODS: Students' completed an online questionnaire before and after their clinical placement. The questionnaire comprised of three sections: demographic information, the Interprofessional Socialisation and Valuing Scale and open-ended questions. Descriptive analysis and paired t-tests were conducted for the three subscales, and thematic analysis of qualitative responses was conducted. RESULTS: Sixty-two of the 151 students between 2011-2014 completed both surveys. There was a significant increase after placement in the overall Interprofessional Socialisation and Valuing Scale scores. The change was greater for nursing students compared with medical students, although for both groups the change was small. The majority had a good-to-very good experience learning each other's and their own professions and identified the nurse educator and teaching registrar as key to success. CONCLUSION: A clinical placement in an ambulatory setting for nursing and medical students resulted in an increase in self-perceived ability to work with others and in valuing working with others. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Interprofessional clinical placements are essential for students to understand interprofessional practice for better patient outcomes and developing their own perspective of future work within an interprofessional team. Ambulatory care is an ideal environment for nursing and other health professional students to engage in interprofessional clinical placements.

Demystifying aged care for medical students.

BACKGROUND: Residential aged care environments can provide valuable learning opportunities for health professional education. An aged care community-university partnership developed the Beyond the Teaching Nursing Home: Community Partnership of Learning and Care (BTTNH: CPLC) programme, where older adults volunteer in learning activities with health professional students. This article describes medical students' experience of participating in a clinical learning activity as part of the broader programme. METHOD: Fourth-year medical students (enrolled in a 6-year medical degree) on geriatric medicine rotation participated in a half-day clinical visit as part of the BTTNH: CPLC programme. Medical students participated in an interview activity with an older adult from the aged care facility. A survey was administered to evaluate medical students' experience of the structured clinical visit to a residential aged care facility. Residential aged care environments can provide valuable learning opportunities for health professional education RESULTS: Medical students valued the learning experience of interacting with older adults, observation of the residential aged care environment and learning about the needs of older adults living in residential aged care. CONCLUSIONS: Providing meaningful learning opportunities for medical students in residential aged care environments may contribute to a better understanding of residents, aged care environments, development of communication skills, professional role and clinical decision-making skills that are relevant for the care of older adults not only in aged care but also in other care settings.

Expanding the Caring Lens: Nursing and Medical Students Reflecting on Images of Older People.

In changing higher education environments, health profession's educators have been increasingly challenged to prepare future health professionals to care for aging populations. This article reports on an exploratory, mixed-method research study that used an innovative photo-elicitation technique and interprofessional small-group work in the classroom to enhance the reflective learning experience of medical and nursing students. Data were collected from pre- and postquestionnaires and focus groups to explore shifts in perceptions toward older persons following the reflective learning session. The qualitative data revealed how using visual images of older persons provides a valuable learning space for reflection. Students found meaning in their own learning by creating shared storylines that challenged their perceptions of older people and themselves as future health professionals. These data support the use of visual methodologies to enhance engagement, reflection, and challenge students to explore and deepen their understanding in gerontology.

Using the Technology: Introducing Point of View Video Glasses Into the Simulated Clinical Learning Environment.

The introduction of learning technologies into educational settings continues to grow alongside the emergence of innovative technologies into the healthcare arena. The challenge for health professionals such as medical, nursing, and allied health practitioners is to develop an improved understanding of these technologies and how they may influence practice and contribute to healthcare. For nurse educators to remain contemporary, there is a need to not only embrace current technologies in teaching and learning but to also ensure that students are able to adapt to this changing pedagogy. One recent technological innovation is the use of wearable computing technology, consisting of video recording with the capability of playback analysis. The authors of this article discuss the introduction of the use of wearable Point of View video glasses by a cohort of nursing students in a simulated clinical learning laboratory. Of particular interest was the ease of use of the glasses, also termed the usability of this technology, which is central to its success. Students' reflections were analyzed together with suggestions for future use.