Transition: a concept of significance to nursing and health care professionals

The concept of transition has growing significance within the healthcare settings. Healthcare professionals’ encounters with patients and family during periods of health-illness transitions in addition to other transitions (e.g., developmental) can be significant. Therefore healthcare professionals should be aware of the meaning and the process of transition, to ensure efficient and competent provision of care. This paper will explore the concept of transition in the context of healthcare, and will suggest strategies to enable professionals to manage transition effectively

The Instructional Design and Evaluation of a Multimedia Program to Help Mentors Develop Skills in Assessing Student Nurses' Clinical Performance

The major organisational change accompanying the introduction of Project 2000 and the incorporation of nurse education into higher education exacerbated perennial concerns over the validity and reliability of student nurses' clinical assessments. Problems identified in the literature review were lack of consistency and poor reliability of ratings, instructor subjectivity, questionable validity of assessment tools, poorly utilised assessment criteria and reluctance of assessors to negatively rate or fail students. These were partly attributed to difficulties inherent in clinical assessment, and partly to the inadequate preparation of assessors. Further analysis of the assessment of clinical practice identified contradictory and confusing terminology, such as competence and performance. The process of assessing practice was found to be devoid of an agreed theoretical basis. The historical origins of mentorship and its introduction to nurse education with Project 2000 were explored, with evidence from the literature suggesting that the attitudes, knowledge, anxiety, and self-efficacy of mentors can influence how well their role is performed, in particular, their assessment of students. Meanwhile, a revolution in learning technology offered multimedia as a potential solution to the logistical difficulties of providing a quaility preparation for mentors. Evaluative studies suggested that computers had the potential to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of learning, while accommodating different learning styles. Potential advantages such as providing consistency in educational approach, increasing access to information for those unable to attend formal courses and presenting an educational approach philosophically consistent with liberal curricula were identified. Aims: • To develop and formatively evaluate the multimedia program, 'A Mentor's Guide to Assessing Student Nurses', that facilitates the acquisition of skills in the observational assessment of student nurses' performance. • To evaluate the educational effectiveness of this program through comparing the multimedia method with the traditional teaching method in a randomised controlled trial. Discussio: The 'novelty value' of the computer program may have positively influenced the effectiveness of the educational intervention for the experimental group. This was argued to be a motivational factor integral to multimedia, distinguishing it from traditional teaching methods. The failure of self-efficacy improvement to reach statistical significance between groups was considered a function of instrument design and small sample size. It was concluded on the basis of the questionnaire results and telephone interview findings that the program improved mentors' assessment potential, most evident in the statistically significant improvement in attitudes. The research design was satisfactory in providing a representative sample to study and the 'assessment potential' questionnaire was user-friendly, producing data of value. In developing the computer program, the inexact science of performance assessment and the difficult nature of mentoring were affirmed. Problems with clinical assessment were difficult to completely resolve, but it was possible to achieve a balanced approach based on the available literature. The computer package developed and tested in this study shows that assessment can be effectively taught to mentors using a 'stand-alone' package and that this approach should be included in the range of methods used for teaching mentors how to assess. This is different to computer-mediated communication that typifies networked applications, where learning is a function of the vagaries of the student-teacher relationship. In standalone programs, an instructional design can be created with proven capability in achieving high levels of human-computer interaction that can deliver repeated quality assured learning in a way that computer-mediated communication approaches couldn't. There is potential for convergence, achieving the best of both worlds: computer-mediated communications courses have been introducing more 'e-tivities' in a departure from sole reliance on dialogue and stand-alone applications can link with readily updated webpages and web-tools such as discussion groups. The second approach was taken with the latest version of 'A Mentor's Guide to Assessing Student Nurses'. Recommendations Nurse Education • Implementation of 'A Mentor's Guide to Assessing Student Nurses' now by marketing it to mentors and lecturers, packaging as part of a level three Scotcats module, and using it as the basis of a UKCC course for mentors on assessing students. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)

Migration, ethnicity, occupation and residence in contrasting West of Scotland settlements: the case of the Vale of Leven and Dumbarton:1861-1891

The Social Geography of Britain's 19th century towns and cities has tended to find its focus, with a few notable exceptions, in the larger English industrial towns. Residential differentiation and population mobility have been favourite them In contrast, this study is a broad based one highlighting smaller Scottish settlements over the 1861 to 1891 period. Residential differentiation and population mobility, at the mezo - rather than the micro-scale, are considered but so are the Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven were chosen as subjects, being spatially close and yet historically and industrially very different. Dumbarton, a Royal Burgh since 1222, industrialized very rapidly in the period considered here, in the second an The main primary source for this study has been the census enumerators books for the years 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891. The total sample consisting of 3,800 census families (400 from Dumbarton, 400 from the Vale of Leven for 1861; 500 from either After a consideration of previous work on 19th century towns, particularly that on residential differentiation and on migration (Chapters 2 and 3) local context is provided through use of the printed census reports for Dumbarton and the Vale of L Industrial and occupational structures are the subjects of Chapters 8, 9 and 10. A major contrast being the differing role of the sexes in the employed sector of each community. The changing social structure, through time and at either locationn In the industrializing West of Scotland population was very mobile. Migration was vital to the growth of industrial towns and it is a major theme here. Net inflows and outflows of `local' and `non-local' born adults are discussed in paral The Irish were the most distinct ethnic group from outwith the study area and its regional setting. Their reception, assimilation, migrational trends and their occupational and social structures are contrasted with those of the `nearby Scot Finally Chapters 16 and 17 examine residential differentiation by occupation, social status and ethnic group. Both within these chapters and in the concluding chapter (Chapter 18) attempts are made to separate the particular from the genera

The growth of the Vale of Leven, 1841-1891

This thesis is concerned with the growth of the Bleaching, Printing and Dyeing Industry of the Vale of Leven (Dunbartonshire) in the second half of the 19th Century. Three main facets of this development are examined, namely the industrial growth, the corresponding urban growth and the evolving structure of the rising population. To set this period in perspective, and to lay the foundations of detailed analysis, progress prior to 1840 is also considered. The thesis thus begins with an account of the rural background prior to industrialization, the locational attractions which were paramount in bring the industry to the Vale of Leven, and of early industrial and population growth. Urban growth is analysed through a study of large scale maps which trace developments from 1777 to 1899. The 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey Maps of 1864 and 1899 are used for a detailed examination of the urban morphology. Earlier, smaller scale maps provide information on the evolution of the townscapes up to the beginning of the second half of the 19th Century. The population structure is analysed by using 10% samples drawn from the Household Schedules in the unpublished Census Enumerators' Books for the years 1851, 1871 and 1891. For each of these years the Age/Sex Structure, Household Sizes, Occupations and Origins of the population are considered in the main, and explanations for the changes which occur in the structure over this 40 year period are discussed. The post 1891 decline of the Industry is then briefly examined

Simulated learning in rural community environment: Pushing the boundary

Experiential learning through simulation can play a very significant role, not only in hospital settings but also in community contexts (Lubbers and Rossman, Nurse Educ. Today 48:140-144; Wheeler and McNelis, Nurs. Educ. Perspect 35:259-261). This paper discusses the concept of creating a novel simulated village set-up within a modern simulation center, to effectively deliver contemporary learning outcomes. It also highlights the challenges and risks of developing a simulated village set-up and strategies to counteract them. Furthermore, it describes the role of simulation specialists as innovators and explicates the gamut of expertise in education, management, and technologies that are required to deliver excellence in simulation-based education

SonoGames: Sounds of the right kind introducing gamification into radiology training

Background: Radiology as compared to other fields of medicine has lagged, in incorporating modern training modalities such as gamification and simulation into its teaching curriculum.Objective: This study aims to evaluate effectiveness of simulation-based teaching in collaboration with gamification. Bandura\u27s conception of self-efficacy was used to provide qualitative assessment of participants\u27 learning process through training event. Modified competitive game-based teaching methodology was utilized in an experimental study conducted for radiology residents. Workshop was divided into two sessions, first being three interactive didactic lectures followed by three competitive rounds. All participants were required to fill pre and post-self-efficacy questionnaire along with an activity evaluation form.Results: Significant self-efficacy scores were calculated for simulation-based stations of knowledge assessment and hands-on stations. Whereas significant association was also found between gender and knowledge assessment in communication skill (0.054), Professionalism (0.004), and general knowledge (0.018). Similarly, noteworthy correlation was found between gender and all hands-on skills. In conclusion, study reported an overall increase in knowledge of post-test scores compared to pre-test scores due to use of gamification in combination with simulation-based teaching which shows a positive role in clinical training. However, further consideration is needed to improve process of integrating simulation in clinical training of participants

Scenario planning for the Edinburgh city region

This paper examines the application of scenario planning techniques to the detailed and daunting challenge of city re-positioning when policy makers are faced with a heavy history and a complex future context. It reviews a process of scenario planning undertaken in the Edinburgh city region, exploring the scenario process and its contribution to strategies and policies for city repositioning. Strongly rooted in the recent literature on urban and regional economic development, the text outlines how key individuals and organisations involved in the process participated in far-reaching analyses of the possible future worlds in which the Edinburgh city region might find itself

Asymmetric organocatalysis of the addition of acetone to 2-nitrostyrene using N-diphenylphosphinyl-1,2-diphenylethane-1,2-diamine (PODPEN)

The highly enantioselective addition of acetone to 2-nitrostyrene, using N–diphenylphosphinyl-trans-1,2-diphenylethane-1,2-diamine (PODPEN) as catalyst, is described

The correlation between reading and mathematics ability at age twelve has a substantial genetic component

Dissecting how genetic and environmental influences impact on learning is helpful for maximizing numeracy and literacy. Here we show, using twin and genome-wide analysis, that there is a substantial genetic component to children’s ability in reading and mathematics, and estimate that around one half of the observed correlation in these traits is due to shared genetic effects (so-called Generalist Genes). Thus, our results highlight the potential role of the learning environment in contributing to differences in a child’s cognitive abilities at age twelve