Negotiating the university environment : how first year students learn about university processes

This paper is an attempt to make sense of the literature about how new university students develop an understanding of those university processes that are essential to their academic success. Whereas traditionally there has been a tendency to regard students as deficient if they had transition difficulties, such an approach fails to recognise the complexity of the process and the role of the habitus, as explored by Bourdieu (1993), in rendering this task even more difficult for some students. The literature highlights the need for further research. We suggest the need to do so with regard to the complexity of students' experiences and the need to better appreciate the role of emotional or affective influences to that end. We also suggest that Bourdieu's concepts, especially those concerning habitus, would provide a sound foundation for the suggested research.

Unpacking academic practices: international students in management and education disciplines

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative case study that explores how international students in different disciplines struggle to interpret their disciplinary requirements. The study shows the emergence of five main forms of unpacking academic expectations that individual students in the study employed. It will be argued that these international students appear to be active and capable of drawing on various strategies and problem‐solving skills in order to take control of their academic life and enable them to participate in the academic practices of their discipline. The students' experiences also indicate that the interaction and dialogue they establish with their lecturers plays a significant role in their success in the course.

Different shades of the collective way of thinking: Vietnamese and Chinese international students' reflection on academic writing

Investigating ELF/ESL students' experiences in constructing their academic written texts seems to be of great significance in EFL/ESL writing syllabus design and teaching. The case study reported in this paper explores the underlying factors which shape students' ways of supporting ideas in academic essays in English. Drawing on Lillis' (2001) framework for exploring student writing, the study examines the writing experiences of students from Vietnam and mainland China at an Australian university. Based on the students' reflection on their different ways of meaning making, this paper argues for the need to challenge the tendency to essentialize cultural rhetoric patterns and their effects upon Chinese and Vietnamese students' writing in English as a foreign or second language. Several implications for teaching EFL/ESL writing have also been drawn from the findings of this study.

Evaluating objective structured clinical assessment (OSCA) in undergraduate nursing

The aims of this mixed methods study were to gain insight into how individual assessors determine an Objective Structured Clinical Assessment (OSCA) result for undergraduate nursing students and identify whether individual assessor perceptions and professional characteristics have an impact on students' results. Results from 25 participants showed that although less than half (44%) of the participants were teaching in the course that they were assessing, the participants were highly experienced clinicians and nearly three-quarters (72%) had completed formal teaching qualifications. There were wide variations in pass rates (16.7–90%) between assessors. The widest disparity was observed between assessors with and those without critical care experience (66% versus 39%), as well as assessors who were teaching the course and those who were not (68% versus 49%). Qualitative analysis revealed three dominant themes within participants' transcripts. The themes focused on determining student safety, and the use of personal perceptions and clinical experience to determine competency. Findings indicate that assessors' individual perceptions and clinical experience have the potential to influence and determine undergraduate nursing students OSCA results. Development of criteria standards and objective assessment may be enhanced by greater involvement of assessors and thorough education and training within the context of student assessments.

Opportunity lost? The major in mental health nursing in Australia

The ongoing difficulty in educating and sustaining an adequate nursing workforce in mental health settings has been identified throughout the world. Different strategies have been implemented internationally to deal with this situation. In Australia major streams in mental health nursing were introduced in some Australian universities to promote mental health nursing as a viable career choice for nursing students. Fourteen universities had implemented or planned to implement a major stream in mental health nursing. From a survey of these programs a lack of consistency in the structure and content of programs was evident. For most programs the intakes had been relatively small, although retention rates appeared promising.

Developing professional attributes in critical care nurses using Team-Based Learning.

Australian nurses prepare for specialty practice by undertaking postgraduate theoretical and clinical education in partnership models between universities and hospitals. In our global healthcare system, nurses require advanced critical thinking and strong communication skills to provide safe, high quality patient care. Yet, few education programs focus on developing these skills. Team-Based Learning (TBL) is a specific educational strategy that encourages and rewards students to think critically and solve clinical problems individually and in teams. The aim of this study was to investigate critical care nursing students' perceptions and experiences of TBL after it was introduced into the second half of their postgraduate specialty course. Following Ethics Committee approval, thirty-two students were invited to participate in an extended response questionnaire on their perceptions of TBL as part of a larger study. Data were analyzed thematically. Postgraduate students perceived their professional growth was accelerated due to the skills and knowledge acquired through TBL. Four themes underpinned the development and accelerated acquisition of specialty nurse attributes due to TBL: Engagement, Learning Effectiveness, Critical Thinking, and Motivation to Participate. Team-Based Learning offered deep and satisfying learning experiences for students. The early acquisition of advanced critical thinking, teamwork and communication skills, and specialty practice knowledge empowered nurses to provide safe patient care with confidence.

Encountering the ‘other’: interpreting student experiences of a multi-sensory museum exhibition

The Immigration Museum Melbourne, Australia, launched the Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours exhibition in 2011. Aimed primarily at secondary school students, this long-term installation seeks to foster reflection on identity and belonging, as well as dialogue about racism, through an interactive, immersive museum experience. This paper describes a multi-method research project, which included narrative interviews, focus groups and video diaries with 47 Year 11–12 students from three secondary schools in Victoria, Australia, and discusses each method's contribution to an overall empirical understanding of the installation's impact on students' experiences. Emerging findings suggest the ways in which the exhibition space supports students to encounter and engage with individual stories and experiences, thus moving beyond an abstract tolerance of cultural diversity by unsettling the self and destabilising stereotyped and prejudiced interpretations of the ‘other’. The paper concludes by discussing the potential for triangulated qualitative approaches to provide rich emic perspectives on multi-sensory exhibitions.

Assessment of simulated clinical skills and distance students: can we do it better?

Australian universities have traditionally been able to supplement clinical education, for undergraduate nursing courses, delivered on placement with weekly clinical teaching in the simulated environment. The Objective Structured Clinical Assessment (OSCA) tool has been used in this simulated environment to assess clinical skills. Recently, however, online delivery of undergraduate nursing courses has become more common. The move from an internal mode of teaching to an online external mode is seen worldwide and poses challenges to staff and students as well as changing the teaching and learning culture of institutions (Philip and Wozniak, 2009). This cultural shift and the resulting diminishing timeframe for students to acquire and practice simulated clinical skills imply that it may become necessary to rethink assessment forms such as the OSCA assessment. This study examines whether or not the OSCA tool developed by Bujack et al. (1991a) is the best tool to be used in this new context, where online teaching is supplemented by very short, annual, intensive periods of study. Skills acquisition theories dictate that time is required to produce an ideal skills acquisition environment (Quinn, 2000) but the time constraints placed on students in such intensive periods of study could influence skills acquisition. This cross-sectional qualitative study used semi-structured interviews and focus groups to collect data. 65% of the nursing faculty participated in the study. The teaching of the Bachelor of Nursing (BN) occurred on two campuses and staff from both areas participated. This group of nurse academics was employed across the range of academic levels (from lecturer to professor) at the University. Data analysis followed a generic thematic analysis framework. Findings in this study show that there are a variety of attitudes and underpinning beliefs amongst staff in relation to the OSCAs. Doubts were raised in regard to the suitability of the use of the OSCA tool in this setting. It also became apparent during this study that the OSCA tool possibly serves purposes other than an assessment tool.

Use of videos to support teaching and learning of clinical skills in nursing education: A review

Information and communications technology is influencing the delivery of education in tertiary institutions. In particular, the increased use of videos for teaching and learning clinical skills in nursing may be a promising direction to pursue, yet we need to better document the current research in this area of inquiry. The aim of this paper was to explore and document the current areas of research into the use of videos to support teaching and learning of clinical skills in nursing education. The four main areas of current and future research are effectiveness, efficiency, usage, and quality of videos as teaching and learning materials. While there is a clear need for additional research in the area, the use of videos seems to be a promising, relevant, and increasingly used instructional strategy that could enhance the quality of clinical skills education.

Adaptation and validation of a survey instrument measuring perceived preparedness of nursing graduates

BACKGROUND: In Australia, a significant percentage of bachelor of nursing students are employed in the aged care sector, or in aged care settings, as assistants in nursing (AINs) or personal care assistants. However the value of aged care in nursing education is often overlooked. AIM: To outline the adaptation and validation of a survey, originally developed for medical graduates, for use with nursing graduates. DISCUSSION: Adaptation of the instrument was undertaken as part of a doctoral study that aimed to explore whether employment as an undergraduate assistant in nursing (AIN) in aged care prepares new graduates for clinical work. CONCLUSION: Outlining each step of the modification process can help nurse researchers who want to adapt existing instruments to meet their research objectives. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Undergraduate AIN employment has the potential to supplement clinical learning without the restrictions inherent in the student role. Furthermore, it has the potential to enhance recruitment and retention in the aged care sector.

Role of knowledge and ability in student nurses` clinical decision-making

Little is known about the acquisition of decision-making skills in nursing students as a function of experience and academic ability. Knowing how experience and academic skills interact may help inform clinical education programs and formulate ways of assessing students' progress. The aims of the present study were to develop a problem-solving task capable of measuring clinical decision-making skills in novice nurses at different levels of domain-specific knowledge; and to establish the relative impact on decision-making of domain-specific knowledge and general ability as determinants of the acquisition of decision-making skills. Three types of clinical problems of increasing complexity were developed. Sixty second-year and third-year student nurses with high and low academic scores were studied in terms of their ability to generate hypotheses for a hypothetical case, recognize disconfirming information and the need to access additional information, and diagnostic accuracy. The results showed that general academic ability and knowledge function partly independently in the acquisition of expertise in nursing. Academic ability affects decision-making in low complexity tasks, but as case complexity increases, domain-specific knowledge and experience determines decision-making skills. There are important differences in the way novices with different levels of knowledge and ability make clinical decisions and these can be studied by systematically increasing the complexity of the decision task. These results have implications for the way in which clinical education is structured and evaluated.

From the comforts of print to the possibilities of digital media: leading the way in teaching political leadership in a faculty of arts

Since it inception, Deakin University has been committed to the delivery of innovative, high quality course materials to its off campus students. Until recently these packages were predominantly print based, although augmented with audio-visual materials delivered in cassette format. Ironically, with the advent of information and communications technologies (ICT), and some select computer assisted learning and multimedia packages, there was an overall decline in the use of audio and video as important means of enhancing learning. Like many other universities, Deakin has moved to a strong, centralised approach to the provision of its digital and online corporate technology environment. With investment in these technologies has come a renewed interest in the ways in which text and audio-visual materials in digital form can enhance students' learning experiences. Moreover, the ways in which a variety of digital media supported by online developments can create new models and approaches to teaching/learning has figured prominently. This paper presents a case study of how this challenge has been taken up in a unit, Political Leadership, in the Faculty of Arts. The academic teacher's intentions in moving to a completely digital approach are examined along with students' experiences of learning in the subject. Issues are considered from the experience.

Health professionals' attitudes toward caring for people with hepatitis C

An estimated 170 million people worldwide have hepatitis C, which is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Therefore, health professionals (HPs) are likely to care for people with hepatitis C at some stage in their careers. However, little is known about HPs' attitudes towards treating people with hepatitis C. An analytical, cross-sectional survey was conducted to explore the inter-relationship among HPs' hepatitis C knowledge and attitudes towards treating people with hepatitis C and their self-reported clinical behaviour: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 3675 complementary therapists, dentists, medical practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, undergraduate medical and nursing students and people with hepatitis C in Victoria, Australia. Forty-six per cent responded (n = 1510). Only HP (complementary therapists, dentists, medical practitioners, nurses and pharmacists) data is presented (n = 1347).

Most HPs demonstrated adequate hepatitis C knowledge, but some displayed intolerant attitudes toward people with hepatitis C. Their self-reported compliance with infection control practices indicated that they frequently treated people with hepatitis C differently from other patients by using additional infection control precautions while treating patients with hepatitis C. In addition, fear of contagion and disapproval of injecting drug use emerged as barriers to their willingness to treat people with hepatitis C.

The results suggest that focusing education strategies on changing HPs' attitudes toward people with hepatitis C, injecting drug users, and infection control guidelines rather than concentrating solely on medical information might ultimately improve patient care.

Mapping postgraduate nurse education in Australia 2001-2002

Workforce planning at a national level within nursing and midwifery has been largely fragmented and uncoordinated with health-care organisations, state health authorities, peak nursing organisations and the tertiary sector often engaging in independent decision making and planning. In order to gain an increased understanding of the complexity of contemporary nurse education and to quantify the number of graduates of nursing education courses into categories that are meaningful for workforce planning, the federal Department of Education, Science and Training commissioned a national study in 2002. The aim of this study was to map and quantify current and projected numbers of Australian domestic nursing postgraduate students within their respective specialisation according to each State/Territory. All Australian universities offering postgraduate courses in nursing were electronically surveyed (n=30). Two non-university providers of postgraduate nursing education were also asked to participate, but only one responded. Data were gathered on the number of domestic postgraduate nursing students enrolled in 2002, the number of course completions in 2001 and projected completions for 2002. Of the 13 broad band specialty categories developed for the study, the specialties of Midwifery and High Dependency were dominant in both student enrolments and course completions, including projected completions. The range of specialties that were offered varied by State/Territory, as did the number and percentage of students enrolled, completing and projected to complete each specialty program. Generic courses (without listed specialisations) continue to complicate the process of attempting to tease out and quantify accurately the number of enrolled and completing postgraduate students according to area of specialty practice.

Clinical environment : a source of stress for undergraduate nurses

The clinical area is an important learning environment for undergraduate nursing students. Unfortunately, it can also be a source of significant stress and anxiety for students and there are a number of reasons for this. Much can be done to help alleviate this stress and create a positive learning environment for students. This paper explores the literature to ascertain the common sources of stress for undergraduate students in the clinical area. It also reviews strategies for improving the quality of the learning experience.