Background: Numerous international policy drivers espouse the need to improve healthcare. The application of Improvement Science has the potential to restore the balance of healthcare and transform it to a more person-centred and quality improvement focussed system. However there is currently no acc…
Background: There has been some ground-breaking research on self-directed learning (SDL) in nursing education which reveals the superiority of SDL to traditional learning methods in terms of students' academic performance and the development of positive attitudes toward the learning process on the p…
Background: The measurement of competence in evidence-based practice (EBP) remains challenging to many educators and academics due to the lack of explicit competency criteria. Much uncertainty exists about what specific EBP competencies nurses should meet and how these should be measured. Objectives…
Objective: To determine the elements of quality clinical and field placements through the eyes of paramedic instructors. Design: Qualitative study. Settings: Two large paramedic services in two countries where the entry to practice qualification for paramedics has been set at the Bachelors degree le…
Background: The development of nursing research capacity and interactions with cultural and structural issues is at various stages throughout Europe. This process appears to be remarkably similar irrespective of the country. Sweden has developed this capacity since the 1990s, whereas France is exper…
Background: Although separate studies among nurses have been conducted into their continuing professional development (CPD) motives, importance attached to CPD, conditions deemed needed for CPD, and actual CPD activities undertaken, these variables have not yet been investigated at the same time, on…
Background: Concern about the process of identifying underlying competencies that contribute to effective nursing performance has been debated with a lack of consensus surrounding an approved measurement instrument for assessing clinical performance. Although a number of methodologies are noted in t…
Introduction: Healthcare systems are evolving to feature the promotion of interprofessional practice more prominently. The development of successful and functional interprofessional practice is best achieved through interprofessional learning. Given that most paramedic programmes take an isolative u…
The aim was to identify a set of competences for the Flemish academic Master of Nursing and Obstetrics degree that answer perceived needs in health care. The competency model was to demonstrate a degree of consensus among key nurses.The study was conducted in all Flemish hospitals registered to have…
Clinical learning experiences have always been considered a hallmark of nursing education. Introduced in 2004, the ten-week paid internship is a fourth year summer course offered to select students who have demonstrated strong academic and clinical performance. The purpose of this paper is to report…
This paper discusses the interaction between healthcare policy at the European, UK and Scottish levels and the funding of education that underpins specific health policy priorities. Stroke is used throughout to illustrate the relationship between a designated European and UK health priority and the …
Educators have long considered assigning a grade in the assessment of s tudent clinical practice performance as too variable, too subjective, or educationally inappropriate. Consequently, most undergraduate nurse education programs have maintained non-graded pass/fail criteria assessment for evaluat…
In 1987 the English National Board (1987) made it clear that it supported a move towards an andragogical approach to nurse education. Recently such moves have been questioned as has the validity of andragogy (Darbyshire 1993). In response to such challenges this paper extends some of the arguments m…
We are witnessing the most significantchanges in the nature of the relationship between nursing education and higher education. However, there has yet to be a more philosophical explanation of what it would mean for our aims and practices as nurse educators if we were to take seriously the notion of…
