Postgraduate Students' Experience of Using a Learning Management System to Support Their Learning: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

INTRODUCTION: Educational institutions worldwide have implemented learning management systems (LMSs) to centralise and manage learning resources, educational services, learning activities and institutional information. LMS has mainly been used by teachers as storage and transfer of course material. To effectively utilise digital technologies in education, there is a need for more knowledge of student experiences with digital technology, such as LMSs and especially regarding how LMSs can contribute to student engagement and learning. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to gain knowledge about postgraduate nursing students' experiences with the use of LMS in a subject in an advanced practice nursing master's programme. METHODS: A qualitative method with a descriptive design was employed. Two focus group interviews were performed with eight postgraduate nursing students from an advanced practice nursing programme at a university college in Norway. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Three themes emerged from the data material: 1) A course structure that supports learning; 2) LMS tools facilitate preparation, repetition and flexibility; and 3) own responsibility for using the LMS for preparation before on-campus activities. CONCLUSION: The course structure within the LMS seemed to be important to enhance postgraduate students' ability to prepare before on-campus activities. Implementation and use of LMS tools can facilitate preparation, repetition and flexibility, especially when postgraduate students study difficult topics. Postgraduate students seem to have different views regarding their own responsibility for using the LMS to prepare before on-campus activities.

Patient acuity and nurse staffing challenges in Norwegian neonatal intensive care units.

AIM: To describe fluctuations in patient numbers, patient acuity and the need for nurses in neonatal intensive care units based on population data. BACKGROUND: Neonatal intensive care units are difficult to staff appropriately due to fluctuations in patient volume and acuity. Staffing guidelines have been developed and applied in some countries to offer the neonatal population safe patient care. METHOD: National data were used to describe patient load and acuity for two consecutive years. The need for nurses was calculated by combining these data with guidelines for nurse staffing. RESULTS: A total of 11.3% of all neonatal patients in Norway were categorised as intensive care patients. There were no differences in the need for nurses in weekends vs. weekdays or during summer holidays vs. days in the rest of the year. Small units have increased variability in staffing needs, and sufficient staffing is more challenging compared to that of larger units. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Planning for reduced staffing for weekends and summer seasons is ineffective. Staffing planned for most of the days in a year instead of the median need for nurses will result in a greater increase in the need for nurses in small units compared to larger units.

Pulse oximetry performance in mechanically ventilated newborn infants.

Pulse oximetry is widely used to target oxygenation in newborn infants. In a retrospective chart review of 138 mechanically ventilated infants, pulse oximetry overestimated blood oxygen saturation compared to arterial blood gas analyses. Despite improvements in pulse oximeter technology, pulse oximetry performance in sick newborns should still be under scrutiny.

Nursing assessment during oxygen administration in ventilated preterm infants.

AIM: To document nurses' opinions about their assessments of oxygen requirements in ventilated preterm infants receiving oxygen supplementation. METHODS: Survey design with descriptive statistics. The sample consisted of 111 nurses employed in clinical positions in neonatal intensive care units within Norway's five regional hospitals. The questionnaire included questions about physiological and clinical observations used when assessing oxygen administration in ventilated preterm infants. RESULTS: A major finding was the gap between the criteria laid down in professional and research literature, vs the criteria nurses perceived they were using when they assessed the oxygen requirements of preterm infants. The respondents stated that they used oxygen saturation to assess the infants' oxygen requirements when adjusting oxygen supplementation. Only 17% of the nurses used the oxygen-haemoglobin dissociation curve in their assessments. Those who responded that they used the curve did not use it correctly. CONCLUSION: Assessment of O2 requirement is based on insufficient information and calls for evaluation of local, national as well as international education. Close collaboration between doctors and nurses is essential in planning care for individual patients.