Differences in ethical attitudes between registered nurses and medical students

In this study we compared the ethical attitudes of a group of experienced, predominantly female, registered nurses (n = 67) with those of a group of final year, mixed sex, medical students (n = 125). The purpose was to determine the basis of differences in attitudes that could lead to ethical disagreements between these two groups when they came to work together. A questionnaire developed to explore ethical attitudes was administered and the responses of the two groups were compared using t-tests. Because of the preponderance of females among the nurses an analysis of variance of the gender-adjusted scores for each group was also carried out. On comparing the responses, the nurses differed significantly from the medical students in a number of ethical domains. A potential source of conflict between these two groups is that the nurses were inclined to adopt the perspective of patients but the medical students identified with their profession. When corrected for the effects of gender, the differences persisted, indicating that it was discipline that determined the differences. We recommend that students of nursing and medicine receive ethics education together, and that more open dialogue between doctors and nurses with respect to their different ethical viewpoints is needed in the work setting. This article will be of interest to educators of students of medicine and nursing, as well as to doctors and nurses who are eager to improve their professional relations and thereby improve patient care.

'I never imagined I'd have to teach these children': Providing authentic learning experiences for secondary pre-service teachers in teaching students with special needs

This article describes a collaborative and cross-curricula initiative undertaken in the School of Education at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. The project involved developing an integrated approach to providing professional year pre-service secondary teacher education students with experiences that would assist them to develop their knowledge and skills to teach students with special needs in their classrooms. These experiences were undertaken in the authentic teaching and learning context of a post-school literacy program for young adults with intellectual disabilities. In preliminary interviews pre-service teachers revealed that they lacked experience, knowledge and understanding related to teaching students with special needs, and felt that their teacher education program lacked focus in this field. This project was developed in response to these expressed needs. Through participating in the project, pre-service teachers' knowledge and understanding about working with students with diverse learning needs were developed as they undertook real and purposeful tasks in an authentic context.

Improving research supervision in nursing

In this paper, four experienced researchers from the UK, China and Australia offer guidance in research supervision based on their experiences and the recent document, Improving standards in postgraduate research degree programmes [Higher Education Funding Council for England, 2003. Improving standards in postgraduate research degree programmes. Formal consultation. Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland, Higher Education Funding Council for England, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, HEFCE, London]. Supervision is an important aspect of not only the development of the neophyte researcher, but of academic staff and research activity in general. With increased academic accountability, good supervision should be an integral component of a quality research governance framework and resourced as such. Recommendations include: adoption of these standards; rigorous selection of research students and supervisors and development of projects; development of departmental procedures for monitoring, feedback and intellectual property; and transparency, rigour and fairness in examination procedures. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Comparison of Paediatric Occupational Therapy University Program Curricula in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada

Comparisons were made of the paediatric content of professional entry-level occupational therapy university program curricula in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada using an ex post facto surveymethodology. The findings indicated that in Australia/New Zealand, paediatrics made up 20% of the total curriculum, but only 13% in Canada. Canadian reference materials were utilized less often in Canadian universities than in Australia/New Zealand. Theories taught most often in Australia/New Zealand were: Sensory Integration, Neurodevelopmental Therapy, Client-Centered Practice, Playfulness, and the Model of Human Occupation. In Canada, the most frequent theories were: Piaget’s Stages ofCognitive/Intellectual Development, Neurodevelopmental Therapy, Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development and Sensory Integration. The most frequently taught paediatric assessment tools in both regions were the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency and Miller Assessment for Preschoolers. Paediatric interventionmethods taught to students in all three countries focused on activities of daily living/self-care, motor skills, perceptual and visual motor integration, and infant and child development. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: Website: ©2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]