Web-based collaboration for terminology application: ICNP C-space.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the ongoing evolution of a nursing terminology that involves users in all aspects of the terminology lifecycle. A terminology will not succeed until and unless it benefits users and contributes to improved client outcomes at the point of care. Since the release of ICNP®Version 1 in 2005, users have been necessary partners in research and development, dissemination and education, and, to some extent, in terminology maintenance and operations. ICNP C-Space was launched in 2008 as a platform for collaboration among users and the ICNP team. C-Space applications include, but are not limited to, the ICNP browser, a multi-lingual browser, catalogue development pages, and group discussion pages. Future uses may include work related to ICN research and networks. C-Space adds value to ICNP, ICN, and nursing worldwide by ensuring that terminology users can contribute their expertise to finding workable solutions and developing important products related to ICNP.

Going paperless.

While progress to electronic patient records has been slow, they have huge potential for patient care.

Collaborative development of clinical templates as a national resource.

There is growing interest in the development of standards which structure information round discrete clinical concepts, in a way that supports system development and interoperability. Most notable are the openEHR Archetypes and Templates, and HL7 Templates. A project is described which explored the potential for these to engage and support clinical practitioners in developing clinical information standards in an open and accessible way. The project defined a clinical template as a clinical information model, which could be used to define the content of a form in a health record system, for example a continence assessment. The project followed three phases: professional development, including networking for content development; library implementation, including modelling and processes for managing content and relating to information standards; and implementation in working systems in a manner that is professionally acceptable. The project findings are encouraging although there remain some important issues to be explored in further work. The topic has now emerged as an important area of standards development, and a useful focus for international cooperation.

A feasibility study on clinical templates for the National Health Service in Scotland.

There is growing interest in the development of standards which structure information round discrete clinical concepts, in a way that supports system development and interoperability. Most notable are the openEHR Archetypes and Templates, and HL7 Templates. A project is described which explored the potential for these to engage and support clinical practitioners in developing clinical information standards in an open and accessible way. The project followed three phases: professional development, including networking for content development; library implementation, including modelling and processes for managing content and relating to information standards; and implementation in working systems in a manner that is professionally acceptable. The project findings are encouraging although there remain some important issues to be explored in further work. The topic has now emerged as an important area of standards development, and a useful focus for international cooperation.

eLearning techniques supporting problem based learning in clinical simulation.

UNLABELLED: This paper details the results of the first phase of a project using eLearning to support students' learning within a simulated environment. The locus was a purpose built clinical simulation laboratory (CSL) where the School's philosophy of problem based learning (PBL) was challenged through lecturers using traditional teaching methods. THE SOLUTION: a student-centred, problem based approach to the acquisition of clinical skills that used high quality learning objects embedded within web pages, substituting for lecturers providing instruction and demonstration. This encouraged student nurses to explore, analyse and make decisions within the safety of a clinical simulation. Learning was facilitated through network communications and reflection on video performances of self and others. Evaluations were positive, students demonstrating increased satisfaction with PBL, improved performance in exams, and increased self-efficacy in the performance of nursing activities. These results indicate that eLearning techniques can help students acquire clinical skills in the safety of a simulated environment within the context of a problem based learning curriculum.

Using Elearning techniques to support problem based learning within a clinical simulation laboratory.

This paper details the results of the first phase of a project that used eLearning to support students' learning within a simulated environment. The locus was a purpose built Clinical Simulation Laboratory (CSL) where the School's newly adopted philosophy of Problem Based Learning (PBL) was challenged through lecturers reverting to traditional teaching methods. The solution, a student-centred, problem-based approach to the acquisition of clinical skills was developed using learning objects embedded within web pages that substituted for lecturers providing instruction and demonstration. This allowed lecturers to retain their facilitator role, and encouraged students to explore, analyse and make decisions within the safety of a clinical simulation. Learning was enhanced through network communications and reflection on video performances of self and others. Evaluations were positive, students demonstrating increased satisfaction with PBL, improved performance in exams, and increased self-efficacy in the performance of nursing activities. These results indicate that an elearning approach can support PBL in delivering a student centred learning experience.

Formal nursing terminology systems: a means to an end.

In response to the need to support diverse and complex information requirements, nursing has developed a number of different terminology systems. The two main kinds of systems that have emerged are enumerative systems and combinatorial systems, although some systems have characteristics of both approaches. Differences in the structure and content of terminology systems, while useful at a local level, prevent effective wider communication, information sharing, integration of record systems, and comparison of nursing elements of healthcare information at a more global level. Formal nursing terminology systems present an alternative approach. This paper describes a number of recent initiatives and explains how these emerging approaches may help to augment existing nursing terminology systems and overcome their limitations through mediation. The development of formal nursing terminology systems is not an end in itself and there remains a great deal of work to be done before success can be claimed. This paper presents an overview of the key issues outstanding and provides recommendations for a way forward.