PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Wigens

Publications and source records attributed to L Wigens.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Issues surrounding educational preparation for intensive care nursing in the 21st century.

Major changes in intensive care provision, nursing and nurse education over the last ten years mean that it is a crucial time to take a look at the effectiveness of the post-registration intensive care nursing course [ENB 100]. This article examines whether nurse education is able to meet the current and future challenges. A call for more research regarding the effects of nurse education courses on participants' clinical practice is advocated. Key factors examined include teaching and learning strategies, the identification of common threshold core and specific competencies, and the assessment of practice. Post-registration assessment of practice within the writers' own educational institution is evaluated. Valid and reliable assessment which differentiates between the level of skills attainment of students and identifies the stage of development of the nurse (Benner 1984) is recommended. The question of who benefits from the current provision of ENB 100 courses is considered. It is argued that clinical and educational staff should work together to ensure nurses who undertake ENB 100 courses emerge 'fit for purpose' (DoH 1997a).

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1997

The conflict between 'new nursing' and 'scientific management' as perceived by surgical nurses.

Nursing on surgical wards is a major area of employment for nurses, but the literature is sparse in relation to this group. Dramatic alterations in surgical care have occurred over the past few years, including the introduction of day surgery on a major scale, increased technical equipment and faster 'throughput' of patients. This has led to Nicholas Fox describing 'a conveyor belt of surgery'. These changes are occurring alongside major evolution within the nursing profession. Nurses are encouraged to give holistic, individualized care in what has been termed the 'new nursing' movement. This study addresses the problem of how nurses resolve these two conflicting discourses. Following an initial phase of participant observation, 10 registered surgical nurses were interviewed using the techniques of career biography, critical incident analysis and informal interviews. Different interpretations by the key members of the 'new nursing' discourse have been identified. These have been termed the professional project discourse, the modernist discourse, and the traditionalist discourse. Various strategies are adopted by nurses to reduce cognitive dissonance caused by the two conflicting discourses. The most commonly used being rationalization about the need for emotional labour.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Specialist practice and the professional project for nursing.

This article examines the implications of the UKCC's (1994) decision to determine a sphere of practice for specialist practitioners. It coincides with the move towards professional status within nursing. It is argued that a specialization strategy for nursing has obvious advantages for those who wish nursing to be successful in its professionalization. However, unless managers use long-term planning the potential of specialist nursing practice may not be realized. It is suggested that the professionalization of nursing (professional project) is strongly linked to the fact that nursing remains a predominately female occupation (Witz, 1992), and initiatives, such as specialization, should be viewed from this standpoint. Clinical leadership is crucial to the success of specialism within nursing over the next few years. Opportunities need to be taken to reappraise specialist practitioner roles, and allow innovation to occur. Financial and educational support needs to be available and responsive; the clearer the message is regarding a clinical career structure for nursing, the more likely the 'professional project' is to succeed.

Career Mobility↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A staff support mechanism: the transformational partnership.

There have been many changes in nursing over the past decade, e.g. the movement of nursing education into higher educational sectors and the generation of many new nursing roles. The development of senior roles within nursing could potentially lead to isolation and, consequently, there may be calls for complementary support mechanisms. A transformational partnership is advocated, whereby nurses working in different organizations/specialties can provide mutual support. Existing support mechanisms for senior nursing can be variable and a transformational partnership can complement these as well as providing mutual clinical support. There are many advantages to this form of partnership which include professional and personal development as well as time out to reflect on practice. It requires commitment to the validity of the concept of professional support across traditional boundaries. A framework based on Holt's (1994) change theory is suggested as a method of implementing this initiative more widely within neighbouring organizations.

Cooperative Behavior↗