Current Status of Women's Health Nursing Practicum and Direction

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study was done to examine current status of women's health nursing practicum and identify necessary core nursing skills in this practicum area. Moreover, one syllabus and evaluation sheets for women's health nursing clinical practicum at one university were reviewed. METHODS: A survey design was used with 81 educators who were teaching maternity or women's health nursing and its practicum. RESULTS: Most clinical sites for practicum were university hospitals (43.0%), women's hospitals (32.7%), or general hospitals (17.3%); but the majority (77.8%) of educators expressed difficulty in finding appropriate practicum places. Common teaching and learning methods were clinical guides for practicum (44.6%), e-learning content (30.2%), and simulation (23.6%). Core nursing skills for this practicum included assessment of stages of labor, preparation of uterine-fetal monitoring devices and interpretation of results, monitoring uterus and fetal activity, and performing Leopold's maneuver. For postpartum care, the following were included; postpartum fundal massage, assessment of breast engorgement, fundus height, and episiotomy sites, inserting urinary catheter, and teaching the use of patient-controlled analgesia. CONCLUSION: To improve the quality of clinical practicum, development of a clear course syllabus, standardized clinical guidebook, and core nursing skills is required and should be shared with all relevant nurse educators.