A central part of the nursing profession is the performance of practical skills. In order to provide adequate care, maintain patient-safety, and feel comfortable in the profession, registered nurses (RNs) need to be equipped with requisite skills. Overall aim: To explore and describe how learning and development of practical skills occurs during the preparatory phases and within the nursing profession. Method: Qualitative (I, III, IV) and quantitative methods (II) were used. Data were collected through individual interviews (I, IV), questionnaires (II) and participant observations, including informal talks (III, IV). Results: Both students and new RNs expressed a need to learn and develop practical skills (I, II, III, IV). Less than half of the new RNs had access to a clinical skill laboratory (CSL), where they could learn and practice practical skills (II). The students described that learning at a CSL had been meaning for their clinical practice. They also expressed a great need for continuing learning in real patient situations (I, III, IV). During clinical practice, preceptors and students took different approaches which affected student’s learning processesö (I, III, IV). There was a tension between learning at a CSL and learning in clinical practice sites because students perceived differences in the performance of skills. Students described that they understood that performance of skills could be done in different ways without injuring patients. However, the data also showed deviations in performances that could jeopardize patientsafety. In these situations, student’s behavior differed (I, IV). One third of new RNs deviated from evidence based guidelines when they performed practical skills which they were unfamiliar with (II). Both students and new RNs reported that reflection in connection with the performance of practical skills was not common (I, II III, IV). Conclusions: Cooperation between university CSLs and clinical settings must be intensified in order to enhance the understanding of learning processes regarding practical skills. A consensus regarding academic approaches should be reached. Universities need to support preceptors in educational issues where the importance of reflection is clarified and exemplified. Increasing patient-safety requires that new RNs receive opportunities for training in artificial environments, and that a culture that reinforces the use of guidelines and a reflective stance is cultivated.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:oru-55828 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Ewertsson, Mona |
| Publisher | Örebro universitet, Institutionen för hälsovetenskaper, Örebro : Örebro University |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary, info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Örebro Studies in Care Sciences, 1652-1153 ; 70 |
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