Increasing research evidence in practice: a possible role for the consultant nurse

Aims: To determine the extent to which clinical nursing practice has adopted research evidence. To identify barriers to the application of research findings in practice and to propose ways of overcoming these barriers. Background: Way back in 1976, nursing and midwifery practice started adopting research evidence. By 1990s, there was some transparency of research evidence in practice, but more could have been done to widen its adoption. Many barriers were identified which could hinder implementation of the evidence in practice, and the effort to remove these remains weak. Evaluation: 25 research articles from across Europe and America were selected, and scrutinized, and recommendations analysed. Findings: Many clinical practitioners report a lack of time, ability and motivation to appraise research reports and adopt findings in practice. The clinical environment was not seen as research friendly as there were a general lack of research activities and facilities locally. There was a clear lack of research leadership in practice. Implication for nursing management: This paper reviewed the research evidence from several published research papers and provides consultant nurses with practical suggestions on how to enhance research evidence application in their practice. It recommends how consultant nurses can make their practice more research transparent by providing the required leadership, creating a research-friendly organization, developing a clear research agenda and facilitating staff develop a local research framework for reading research and implementing research evidence in their practice.

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.

Are adolescents/young people and their families getting the best service when being cared for by young adolescent student nurses?

The purpose of this presentation is to highlight issues that exist for student nurses who embark on a career in children's nursing at a very young age and subsequently find themselves in a situation where they are expected to deliver high quality care to young people and their families. An introductory sentence indicating the purpose of the presentation: Currently in the UK under the Making a Différence Curriculum (DOH 1999) students can enrol on a single registration programme for Children's Nursing as young as 17.5 years. Children are admitted to hospital onto the children's wards between the ages of 0-16 years (occasionally older). Using Viner's (2003) définition of adolescence as being that period between the ages of ten and twenty-five years when biopsychosocial maturation leads to functional independence in adult iife demonstrates the possibility that both the patients and the nursing students could be undergoing very similar transitional experiences. Historically, in the 1940-50's children were admitted to childrens wards between the ages of 2-12 years. Nurse education at that time tended to be undertaken for first or second level registration in the first instance, followed by post-registration training for specialist areas. Subsequently, the phenomenon of adolescent paediatric nursing students being required to care for adolescents and their families on the children's wards did not exist some 60 years ago. A brief description of the highiights of the présentation: This présentation will focus on adolescent transitions with particular reference to issues that could arise when young students are required to care for young people and their families, particularly when there is a diagnosis of self harm or substance abuse. A summary of findings and/or other relevant information: Preliminary findings have indicated that very young student nurses find caring for adolescents to be particularly challenging. Health issues pertinent to young people appear to présent particular challenges for the students which raises questions in respect of the quality of care that the young people and their families may receive. A conclusion and implications: The following need to be further explored: i) Support within the clinical areas and adequate de-briefing strategies, ii) The efficacy of single registration to children's nursing, iii) Young people and their family's perception of the quality of care they receive from very young students.