Staff training in the mental health needs of people with learning disabilities in the UK

This paper gives a general overview of some of the factors involved in the training and knowledge of learning disabilities staff relating to mental health. Early indications from research have shown that training may be effective as a way of addressing these problems, but further research and clear guidance on best practice in implementing staff training are needed in this important area.

The assessment and development of drug calculation skills in nurse education: a critical debate

The drug calculation skill of nurses continues to be a national concern. The continued concern has led to the introduction of mandatory drug calculation skills tests which students must pass in order to go on to the nursing register. However, there is little evidence to demonstrate that nurses are poor at solving drug calculation in practice. This paper argues that nurse educationalists have inadvertently created a problem that arguably does not exist in practice through use of invalid written drug assessment tests and have introduced their own pedagogical practice of solving written drug calculations. This paper will draw on literature across mathematics, philosophy, psychology and nurse education to demonstrate why written drug assessments are invalid, why learning must take place predominantly in the clinical area and why the key focus on numeracy and formal mathematical skills as essential knowledge for nurses is potentially unnecessary.

Can effective teaching and learning strategies help student nurses to retain drug calculation skills?

Student nurses need to develop and retain drug calculation skills in order accurately to calculate drug dosages in clinical practice. If student nurses are to qualify and be fit to practise accurate drug calculation skills, then educational strategies need to not only show that the skills of student nurses have improved but that these skills have been retained over a period of time. A quasi-experimental approach was used to test the effectiveness of a range of strategies in improving retention of drug calculation skills. The results from an IV additive drug calculation test were used to compare the drug calculation skills of student nurses between two groups of students who had received different approaches to teaching drug calculation skills. The sample group received specific teaching and learning strategies in relation to drug calculation skills and the second group received only lectures on drug calculation skills. All test results for students were anonymous. The results from the test for both groups were statistically analysed using the Mann Whitney test to ascertain whether the range of strategies improved the results for the IV additive test. The results were further analysed and compared to ascertain the types and numbers of errors made in each of the sample groups. The results showed that there is a highly significant difference between the two samples using a two-tailed test (U=39.5, p<0.001). The strategies implemented therefore did make a difference to the retention of drug calculation skills in the students in the intervention group. Further research is required into the retention of drug calculation skills by students and nurses, but there does appears to be evidence to suggest that sound teaching and learning strategies do result in better retention of drug calculation skills.

Ethnic variations in the experiences of mental health service users in England: results of a national patient survey programme

Background: Minority ethnic groups in the UK are reported to have a poor experience of mental health services, but comparative information is scarce. Aims: To examine ethnic differences in patients’ experience of community mental health services. Method: Trusts providing mental health services in England conducted surveys in 2004 and 2005 of users of community mental health services. Multiple regression was used to examine ethnic differences in responses. Results: About 27 000 patients responded to each of the surveys, of whom 10% were of minority ethnic origin. In the 2004 survey, age, living alone, the 2004 survey, age, living alone, detention and hospital admissions were stronger predictors of patient experience than ethnicity. Self-reported mental health status had the strongest explanatory effect. In the 2005 survey, the main negative differences relative to the White British were for Asians. Conclusions: Ethnicity had a smaller effect on patient experience than other variables. Relative to the White British, the Black group did not report negative experiences whereas the Asian group were most likely to respond negatively. However, there is a need for improvements in services for minority ethnic groups, including access to talking therapies and better recording of ethnicity.