A comparison of creativity in nursing undergraduate and and graduate students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in 2014

Introduction: Creativity is an essential component of nursing practice. Failure to encourage nurses into creativity may hinder innovations in nursing practice and science. Thus, it is important to explore methods for developing it in nursing education. This study aimedto compare creativity in undergraduate and graduate nursing students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in 2014. &nbsp;Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on the undergraduate (n=172) and master students of critical care nursing (n=42) according to convenience sampling. The Abedi&prime;s Creativity Tool including 60 questions in four sub-scales (fluency, elaboration, originality, and flexibility) was completed by students. Internal consistency for Creativity Test was assured by Cronbach's alpha =0.83. Result:&nbsp; The results showed that 64.5% of the students were female (n=91) and 35.5% of them were male (n=50). Creativity mean score was 129.5&plusmn;13.74 and 134.9&plusmn;15.1 in undergraduate and master of science students, respectively.&nbsp; 77.3% of students reported their creativity moderate and the rest (22.7%) high. There was not any significant difference between the two groups in total score of the creativity, but there were significant differences in the flexibility subscale in master students (p<0.05). Conclusion:Since creative thought is simulated interaction with environment, in order to minimizing distance from appropriate level of creativity at universities, it is necessary to create a supportive educational environment. It is suggested that teachers use specific methods such as brain storming, research skills, exploratory learning, creative study method to enhance creativity level of their students

An Assessment of the Learning Method of Clinical Skills from the Viewpoint of Midwifery Graduates

Introduction: The promotion of clinical education quality requires the continuous investigation of the current status, identifying its strong potentialities, and modifying its weak points. The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical education status at Tehran University of Medical Sciences form the viewpoint of students of nursing and midwifery. Method : In this descriptive study, all the senior BS students of nursing and senior post diploma students of midwifery studying in the last semester including a total of 250 subjects were asked to fill in a self-administered 36-item questionnaire. The data were analyzed by SPSS using frequency distribution. Results : The most important strong points of clinical education were: instructors' proper treatment and approach toward students, punctual attendance of trainers, instructors and students, observing the prerequisites for practical training, following the stages of clinical education, instructors' complete support of students, and sufficient supervision on the course of clinical education, respectively. The most significant weak points of clinical education included: lack of use of teaching aids in the clinical environment, lack of sufficient facilities, lack of instructors clinical evaluation by students, lack of harmony between theoretical and practical courses. Conclusion : Though some aspects of clinical education are in an excellent state, reinforcing and improving the strong positive points and removing the weak points can function as an effective step in promoting the quality of clinical education. Through frequent assessments of the clinical setting and comparing the present status to the past, the strong and weak points can be determined and enumerated

A survey on viewpoints of nursing and midwifery students and their clinical instructors at Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences towards clinical education during 2009-2011

Introduction: Clinical environments play a vital role in nursing and midwifery students' learning. The present study investigates the viewpoints of clinical instructors and nursing and midwifery students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences about clinical education status during 2009-2011. Methods: In this cross sectional research data were gathered using a researcher made questionnaire including five domains: educational plan, quality of clinical instructors function, role of clinical professionals in clinical education, educational facilities and space, clinical evaluation and professional satisfaction. The questionnaire was completed by clinical instructors and nursing and midwifery students. Convenient sampling was accomplished. Face validity, content validity and reliability of the questionnaire was assessed and confirmed by test – retest method. Results: Majority of clinical instructors, nursing and midwifery students reported day and evening work shifts more appropriate. Majority of clinical instructors reported the clinical education status pleasant, but 79.8% nursing students and 64.2% midwifery students reported it moderate. Comparing the mean of clinical education status from the viewpoints of clinical instructors didn't show a significant difference in the domain of "the role of the others impressive in clinical education", but there was a significant difference between the nursing and midwifery students in their view points about the domain. Conclusion: Clinical competency is an essential component in providing high quality nursing care, thus the educational planners should continue to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical education. Boosting the clinical learning environment domains such as “successful instructors”, “professional values”, “professional relationship with the members of caring team” and “conflict management” could make the clinical experience attractive and assure students’ satisfaction about their professional life