Managing Challenging Situations in Practice: a new program developed to meet the specific needs of nursing students.

Health care workers, nurses, and nursing students face a high risk of workplace aggression and violence. Potential adverse consequences oblige health care providers and educators to protect the safety of everyone in the health care setting. It is broadly agreed that health care personnel should receive education and training in the management of work-related aggression and violence. However, there are no training programs designed to meet the specific needs of nursing students. In the absence of Irish or international policies or guidelines, an evidence-based training program for first-year undergraduate nursing students was developed. Its focus was to enable nursing students to recognize potential problems and develop the skills necessary to appropriately handle situations that may arise during their clinical nursing practice. This article outlines the development and delivery of a training program for first-year nursing students, entitled Managing Challenging Situations in Practice.

Problem-based learning in children's nursing: transcending doubts to exceeding expectations.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is well established in health education. It is regarded as a constructionist approach to education that emphasizes students' active engagement with the learning process, self-direction, and learning in a meaningful context. This article details the experiences of nurse lecturers in one university in the Republic of Ireland during the introduction of a PBL module to students enrolled in a higher diploma in children's nursing program. All lecturers attended a three-day training program on the principles and processes of PBL. The lecturers, all experienced nurse educators, had no prior experience in implementing PBL. Data collection involved the use of reflective journals and group meetings. Thematic content analysis revealed key themes that chart the journey from transcending doubts to exceeding expectations of the PBL process.