The dedicated education unit in nursing as a community of practice

This chapter provides an historical analysis of the pedagogical imperatives and priorities for nursing education that triggered interest in the Dedicated Education Unit. The authors discuss how the transition from hospital to university nursing education demanded new partnerships between universities and healthcare organisations, a variety of new student clinical learning models and research into students' clinical learning. They use a theoretical framework for workplace learning to discuss the Dedicated Education Unit in terms of concepts such as the invitational quality of the learning environment, student agency and identity and the pedagogies of teaching and assessment in clinical education, focusing on curriculum design, feedback and meeting competencies. They also explore the value of community of practice theory to promote knowledge learnt through experience in the Dedicated Education Unit. The chapter ends with identification of four key areas for further research: curriculum design, pedagogies, stakeholder engagement and the Dedicated Education Unit as a learning organisation.No Full Tex

A Test of Kangaroo Care on Preterm Infant Breastfeeding

OBJECTIVE: To test the effects of kangaroo care (KC) on breastfeeding outcomes in preterm infants compared to two control groups and to explore whether maternal-infant characteristics and the mother’s choice to use KC were related to breastfeeding measures. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a multisite, stratified, and randomized 3-arm trial. The treatment groups used KC, auditory-tactile-visual-vestibular (ATVV) intervention, or preterm infant care information. SETTING: Neonatal intensive care units from 4 hospitals in the United States from 2006–2011. PARTICIPANTS: Racially diverse mothers (N=231) and their preterm infants born weighing < 1750 grams. METHODS: Mothers and their infants were enrolled once the infants were no longer critically ill, weighed at least 1000 grams, and could be safely held outside of the incubator by parents. Participants were instructed by study nurses; those allocated to either KC or ATVV were asked to engage in these interactions for a minimum of 3 times a week in the hospital and at home until 2 months adjusted age. RESULTS: Feeding at the breast during hospitalization, the duration of post-discharge breastfeeding, and breastfeeding exclusivity after hospital discharge did not differ statistically among the treatment groups. Regardless of group assignment, married, older, and more educated women were more likely to feed at the breast during hospitalization. Mothers who practiced KC, regardless of randomly allocated group, were more likely to provide their milk than those who did not practice KC. Breastfeeding duration was greatest among more educated women. CONCLUSION: As implemented in this study, assignment to KC did not appear to influence the measured breastfeeding outcomes