Evaluation of teaching and learning course in the nursing baccalaureate curriculum in one University Teaching Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan

AbstractThe Generic BSC Nursing four years degree program is a great achievement of Pakistan Nursing Council (PNC). It was developed in collaboration with HEC (Higher Education Commission). There is an unprecedented shortage of nurse educators in the country. The course entitled NU361: Teaching and Learning: Principles and Practices, forms the foundation for educating students about teaching theory, principles and practices. There is discussion at the PNC level that a one year teacher training program for nurses will be established. However, till this program comes into existence this is the only course offering for potential nurse educators. The teaching learning course will be described as one medium to educate a cadre of nurse educators in the country. This paper will describe the existing HEC/PNC course for NU 361: Teaching and Learning: Principles and Practices as it presents itself in the curriculum. Changes were made based on the prevailing nurse educator situation in Pakistan. Course content was added to reflect current trends in nursing education. This paper will highlight how the given course in the national curriculum was reviewed for curriculum alignment, strengths and limitations. In addition, a new teaching pedagogy of moodle was introduced in the course. It is envisioned that this course will enable student nurses’ to utilize appropriate teaching learning strategies in their future settings

Students’ perspectives regarding clinical preceptors (CPs) in the baccalaureate undergraduate nursing programme in Karachi, Pakistan

Introduction: Clinical practice is considered an integral part of nursing education. It is in the clinical area that the students integrate the theory learnt in the classroom into practice. An enabling clinical environment with the assistance of a clinical preceptor (CP) ensuresthat student nurses become independent practitioners and competent in their roles and responsibilities.Design : A comprehensive study was undertaken to explore the emerging role of CPs in Pakistan. This research has been reported in the literature. This paper will deal exclusively with the perceptions of nursing students when working with CPs in the four-year undergraduate baccalaureate program at a private school of nursing (SON) in Pakistan. Through focus group discussions, the perceptions of undergraduate students were explored.Results: Four main themes emerged. These included the creation of a conducive clinical environment, development of competencies, engagement in patient care, and personal and professional development.Conclusion: Based on the study findings, recommendations for strengthening the role of CPs in supporting undergraduate nursing students in their clinical practice arepresented

Experiences of adopting blended pedagogies in health assessment course in post RN baccalaureate program of nursing in Karachi, Pakistan

Purpose: There is little known about whether faculty and students in a resource constricted context experience a change in learning due to the adoption of blended learning (BL) pedagogies in a lab based course. The study aimed to understand the experiences of faculty and students’ related to the adoption of BL pedagogies in health assessment course.Design: An action research design was used in this study to integrate planning, action and research in the setting where the change is required. The study sample consisted of year 1 Post RN BScN students enrolled at the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery, and the faculty assigned to teach in Health Assessment course. Of the 83 Post RN BScN students and the 6 nursing faculty invited, 53 students and 6 teachers (n= 59) consented to participate in the study. Data was collected using focus group discussions.Results: Findings revealed five major categories; Students’ readiness, motivation and self- directedness; Teacher competence, commitment, and comfort; Use of blended strategies; Resources; and Contextual factors & challenges.Conclusion: This study was the first of its kind in Pakistan. The findings of the study indicate towards the ways that can improve the use of BL in a resource constrained context

Comparison of undergraduate educational environment in medical and nursing program using the DREEM tool

Introduction: Educational environment (EE) in a health educational institute can bring about an enduring impact on the students\u27 motivation, knowledge, critical thinking along with their social life. Therefore, identifying strengths and the need for change in the education environment is vital for the enhancement of the students\u27 learning.Objective: This study aimed to compare the perceptions of nursing and medical students about their EE in a private university, Karachi Pakistan.Methodology: Data from two cross-sectional studies of 884 students from both medical and nursing schools of Aga Khan University was acquired and analyzed. EE was measured by a well-known inventory i.e. \u27Dundee\u27 Reading Educational Environment Measure (DREEM). The scores were constructed using standardized guidelines. Mann-Whitney U test and two way ANOVA were used in statistical analysis.Results: With 84.1% average response rate, the mean + SD DREEM score was measured as 126 ± 20.3. Nursing students regarded more positive perception about their EE (127.3 ± 19.3) as compared to medical students (124.6 ± 21.3) and was found to be statistically significant (P = 0.027). Medical students scored higher in the domain of Perception of Atmosphere (PoA); whereas, nursing students scored higher in Academic Self Perception (ASP). Both of the groups have rated lower scores on the domain of Perception of Teaching (PoT).Conclusion: Both medical and nursing students appreciated the EE pertaining to Perception of Learning (PoA), Academic Self- Perception (ASP), Perception of learning (PoL) and Social Self-perception (SSP). The study showed that nursing students\u27 perception on their EE was relatively more satisfactory than medical students. However, both medical and nursing students identified areas of improvement in the domain of Perception of Teaching (PoT). This finding indicates dire need to devise innovative teaching strategies both for medical & nursing education

Perceptions of nursing students of educational environment at a private undergraduate School of Nursing in Karachi

Ojective: To assess educational environment at a nursing school..Methods: The cross-sectional survey was carried out from May to October 2016 at Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery, Karachi, using the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure tool. The scores were obtained by merging five sub-scales of the inventory. The average scores of the scale and sub-scales were compared in terms of age, year of study, and living status using Mann-Whitney U test, and among years of study by Kruskal Wallis test..Results: Of the 442 students, 228(51.6%) had age below 20 years. Overall, 131(29.1%) subjects were in the first year, 152(33.8%) second year, 91(20.2%) third year and 76(16.9%) fourth year. The average Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure score was 129.92±19.97 with reliability of 88.9%. Students aged 20 years and less had more positive perceptions than students over 20 years (pConclusions: Scores reveal better perception from younger nursing students, as well as those living in the hostel and those who were in their initial years of nursing education

Content validity of a tool measuring medication errors.

The objective of this study was to determine content and face validity of a tool measuring medication errors among nursing students in baccalaureate nursing education. Data was collected from the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery (AKUSoNaM), Karachi, from March to August 2014. The tool was developed utilizing literature and the expertise of the team members, expert in different areas. The developed tool was then sent to five experts from all over Karachi for ensuring the content validity of the tool, which was measured on relevance and clarity of the questions. The Scale Content Validity Index (S-CVI) for clarity and relevance of the questions was found to be 0.94 and 0.98, respectively. The tool measuring medication errors has an excellent content validity. This tool should be used for future studies on medication errors, with different study populations such as medical students, doctors, and nurses

Emerging Role of Clinical Preceptors (CPs) at a Private University, Karachi, Pakistan

Clinical preceptors (CPs) play an integral role to prepare skilled, competent and caring student nurses to perform their future roles as members of the health care team. The aim of this study was to explore processes and effectiveness of the new role of clinical preceptors (CPs) in a low income country. A case study using Tellis (1997) approach was used. Data was collected from different viewpoints including, nursing administration, nursing services, co-faculty and students. The findings of the study will contribute to an in-depth understanding about the emerging role of CPs and operationalization of this role within the undergraduate nursing programme in Pakistan. The study findings endorse that CPs support clinical education of the nursing students’ provided there is mentorship and a program for teaching and learning. Through this case study the authors demonstrated the complexities and challenges of introducing a new role. Additionally, factors like institutional support, resources and mentorship are vital elements to support the new emerging role of CPs. It is envisioned that this new role can be replicated in other health care disciplines locally and regionally

Peso materno em gestantes de baixo risco na atenção pré-natal

Objectives: To evaluate the nutritional status of low-risk pregnant women during prenatal, characterize the sociodemographic profile and quantify the patients with inadequate weight. Methods: Observational, prospective in low-risk pregnant women in Aracaju health centers, Sergipe, from March to June 2014. The evaluation followed the nutritional standards recommended by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and was conducted in three consultations consecutive, where the body mass index (BMI) was calculated by the researcher. Socioeconomic and gestational data of the patients were placed on a special form. Statistical analysis was performed using the EPI-INFO software, made distribution tables of frequencies and performed association testing variables. Results: 188 pregnant women were selected, of these 150 were eligible. The average age was 26 years, with standard deviation of 6.53. The average pre-pregnancy weight was 56.3 kg (± 20.8), average weights in the first, second and third reviews were 65.17 kg (± 12.8), 67.56 kg (± 12.9 ) and 69.97 kg (± 12.6), respectively. The pregnant woman’s card filling was incomplete in 63% of cases. In the pre-pregnancy period, 14% were malnourished and 14% obese. A significant association between BMI identified in the consultations and the inadequacy of pre-pregnancy BMI (p <0.01). Conclusions: Most of the women had BMI changed during the evaluations. Prenatal card filling proved inadequate, but there was no association with BMI during pregnancy. The factor related to pregnancy BMI change was the pre-pregnancy BMI inappropriate

The educational use of social networking sites among medical and health sciences students : a cross campus interventional study

Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to all students who actively participated in both phases of the study and provided valuable data for this research. Funding None.Peer reviewedPublisher PD