Evaluating the objective structured long examination record for nurse education.

An objective structured long examination record (OSLER) is a modification of the long-case clinical examination and is mainly used in medical education. This study aims to obtain nursing students' views of the OSLER compared with the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), which is used to assess discrete clinical skills. A sample of third-year undergraduate nursing students (n=21) volunteered to participate from a cohort of 230 students. Participants undertook the OSLER under examination conditions. Pre-and post-test questionnaires gathered the students' views on the assessments and these were analysed from a mainly qualitative perspective. Teachers' and simulated patient views were also used for data triangulation. The findings indicate that the OSLER ensures more holistic assessment of a student's clinical skills and particularly essential skills such as communication, and that the OSLER, together with the OSCE, should be used to supplement the assessment of clinical competence in nursing education.

An evaluation of a critical care course for undergraduate nursing students.

AIM: The aim of this paper was to evaluate a 2-day critical care course (CCC) delivered to a cohort of adult branch nursing students. BACKGROUND: In today's health care system there is an increase in the number of critically ill patients being cared for in a ward environment. As a result, nurses require the knowledge and skills to effectively manage this patient group. Skills such as prompt recognition of the sick patient, effective communication and performing basic management care skills are necessary. METHODS: The CCC was provided to final year adult branch nursing students (n = 182) within a university in the UK. On completion of the course, participants were invited to undertake a Likert scale questionnaire. The questionnaire also contained a free response section to elicit qualitative information. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 17.0 and descriptive statistics produced. Qualitative responses were analysed thematically. RESULTS: There was a 73.7% (n = 135) response rate. Overall, there was a positive evaluation of the course. Students (89.6%; n = 121) reported a perceived increase in confidence when caring for critically ill patients following the course and 88.2% (n = 119) felt that their knowledge and skills had improved at the end of the 2-day course. CONCLUSION: This study supports the implementation of critical care training for undergraduate nursing students. There are implications for the development of specific modules, aiming to improve undergraduate nursing students' recognition, assessment and management of the critically ill patient. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: There is a shortage of critical care practice placements for undergraduate nursing students. It is essential that an undergraduate curriculum incorporates critical care teaching so that critical care skills are evident at the point of registration.

The immediate life support course: implementation into an undergraduate nursing programme.

AIM: The aim of this paper is to outline how the immediate life support (ILS) course was incorporated into an undergraduate nursing curriculum in a university in Northern Ireland. It also reports on how the students perceived the impact of this course on their clinical practice. RATIONALE AND BACKGROUND: The rationale of the course was to develop the student's ability to recognize the acutely ill patient and to determine the relevance of this to clinical practice. Prior to this, the ILS course was only available to qualified nurses, and this paper reports on the first time undergraduate nursing students were provided with an ILS course. METHODS: The ILS course was delivered to 89 third-year nursing students from the adult branch pathway of the BSc (Hons) programme in Nursing Sciences. Each course was taught to 10-12 students and was completed over eight 7.5 h sessions within a 2-week period. Recognized advanced life support (ALS) instructors, in keeping with the UK Resuscitation Council guidelines, taught the students. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Student feedback reported that the ILS course helped them understand what constituted the acutely ill patient and the role of the nurse in managing a deteriorating situation. Students also reported that they valued the experience as highlighting gaps in their knowledge.