Podcasts and videostreaming: Useful tools to facilitate learning of pathophysiology in undergraduate nurse education?

Nurses require an understanding of pathophysiological processes to support safe practice in the clinical area. A review of the literature indicates that nursing students have traditionally found this to be a challenging element of the course. The increasing availability of newer technology in higher education such as videostreaming and podcasting provides the opportunity to utilise a variety of approaches to cater for a wider range of learning styles. In view of this, lecturers developed multimedia resources to incorporate into a pathophysiology module. An evaluation of students' views on the use of ICT to facilitate understanding of pathophysiology was undertaken. The majority of students appeared to welcome the incorporation of alternative teaching approaches into the module. Interestingly despite the opportunities which technology offers to enhance learning many of the students also highlighted the importance of maintaining significant face-to-face contact with lecturers. This supports the findings of the literature which indicates that students find hybrid learning strategies that combine traditional teaching with more innovative methods particularly beneficial.

Addressing medication errors--The role of undergraduate nurse education.

Medication errors are a persistent problem in today's National Health Service (NHS). Many factors contribute to drug incidents occurring, from the initial prescription stage through to administration and arise from both individual and system failures. The literature identifies the multi-disciplinary nature of the problem and highlights the important contribution that nurses make with regards to ensuring medication safety. However limited evidence exists in the literature regarding the extent to which the current content of undergraduate pharmacology education prepares nurses for their role in the prevention of errors. The report "Building a safer NHS for patients-improving medication safety" [Department of Health, 2004. Building a Safer NHS for Patients: Improving Medication Safety. The Stationary Office, London] concludes that it is now imperative that undergraduate education should emphasise the issue of medication safety. An educational initiative was therefore introduced to address this problem. A "Medication Safety Day" which focused on the causes of medication errors was implemented to highlight how and why drug incidents may occur. This initiative recognises that nurse education should not only ensure adequate theoretical knowledge of pharmacology but should also equip students with an awareness of how many diverse factors may contribute to the occurrence of medication errors.

Relocation stress in critical care: a review of the literature.

1. Transfer to the ward following a period in intensive care may cause stress for patients. 2. A review of the literature reveals that this phenomenon has been described in a number of different ways, such as transfer stress, transfer anxiety, translocation syndrome and, more recently, relocation stress. 3. This paper reviews the various concepts before arriving at a more operational definition of the phenomenon. 4. It attempts to reveal what causes this phenomenon and to what extent it exists. 5. Patients' responses to transfer are identified and the physical and psychological problems that have been associated with discharge from intensive care are discussed. 6. Lists of interventions that the literature suggests may reduce or prevent this phenomenon from occurring are reviewed. 7. Recommendations for practice development and further research are made.

Leaving the intensive care unit: a phenomenological study of the patients' experience.

Discharge from intensive care (ICU), is said to pose difficulties for patients; a phenomenon referred to as "relocation stress". However, this phenomenon has not been fully examined, particularly from the critical care patients' perspective. This study, therefore, explored the lived experience of transfer from ICU to the ward. Phenomenology, based on the interpretative Heideggerian approach was used to guide the study. A purposive sample of six participants was selected. Open interviews were used to collect data. Participants were interviewed twice; once in ICU, prior to transfer, and once in the ward following transfer. The findings revealed that pre-transfer, participants were mainly accepting of their impending transfer. Participants discussed a desire for normality and identified that leaving the ICU staff was the most negative component of transfer. In the post-transfer period, findings revealed mixed feelings regarding the actual transfer. Participants were still suffering from physical complaints, which led to feelings of despondency. Differences between ICU and the ward were also highlighted. Finally, the enormity of the ICU experience appeared to have an impact post-transfer. The results of this study indicate that transfer from ICU can be problematic for some individuals. However, caution is required regarding the use of the nursing diagnosis of relocation stress without obtaining an individual perspective on experiences. Recommendations include the need for greater continuity of care for those recovering from critical illness.