Biomedical subjects

M Lloyd Jones

Publications and source records attributed to M Lloyd Jones.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

The implications of contact with the mentor for preregistration nursing and midwifery students.

AIM OF THE PAPER: To examine the extent to which preregistration nursing and midwifery students have contact with their named mentor, and the implications of this. BACKGROUND/RATIONALE: Mentorship has an important part to play in enabling preregistration nursing and midwifery students to gain the maximum benefit from clinical placements. Previous research has indicated that the benefits of mentorship to learners are related to the number of occasions on which the student and mentor work together. DESIGN/METHODS: A research project commissioned by the Sheffield and North Trent College of Nursing and Midwifery (now the University of Sheffield School of Nursing and Midwifery) provided an opportunity to examine the extent to which their named mentors were available to Project 2000 students, and the implications of this. Students and their named mentors were asked to keep an activity diary for 1 week. The main objective was to collect activity data to inform an analysis of the costs and benefits of clinical placements to service providers. This cost-benefit study has been published elsewhere. However, the data also cast light on the extent to which mentors were available to students, and the implications of this, and it is these findings which are presented here. RESULTS/FINDINGS: Students frequently worked shifts without their named mentors even though unrostered students often worked weekends, evening and night shifts in order to maximize time spent with their mentors. In the mentor's absence, other members of staff covered for some of their activities (in particular, direct and indirect supervision of students). However, students whose named mentors were absent spent significantly less time than other students working with a qualified member of staff as a partner in giving care. CONCLUSIONS: It is suggested that the extent to which named mentors are unavailable to Project 2000 students may be detrimental to the education and professional development of those students.

Education, Nursing↗

PubMed2000

Practical considerations in case study research: the relationship between methodology and process.

This paper explores the extent to which the design of a research study is influenced by pragmatic as well as theoretical considerations by describing the authors' experience of conducting multiple case studies in the context of a policy-orientated research project. The case studies in question formed part of a collaborative project exploring the development of innovative roles in nursing and the professions allied to medicine. The researchers adopted Yin's approach to the conduct of multiple case studies to explore issues relating to the effectiveness of new roles, their resource implications and educational issues surrounding their development. They address the fact that methodological decisions have practical implications and also explore the effects of practical and ethical issues on research design. Three purposively selected acute National Health Service Trust hospitals in England formed the case study sites for the work recorded in this paper. In each Trust, three nursing roles were selected, making nine cases for study. A variety of data collection strategies were used including semi-structured interviews with post-holders and other stakeholders (n = 51), non-participant observation of meetings, collection of audit, financial and statistical data and review of relevant documentation. This paper describes some of the dilemmas which arose during the course of the study, the rationale for methodological decisions taken to resolve these dilemmas and the steps taken to enhance rigour. In particular, the authors discuss the problems associated with obtaining informed consent in the context of qualitative research and with member validation of transcripts in a context where confidentiality was crucial. The decision to present findings thematically rather than as individual cases is justified both in terms of the nature and purpose of the research and in relation to the particular importance of anonymity and confidentiality in this study. Finally, the degree of reciprocity between researcher and researched is discussed.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed2000

Should service providers be paid for providing pre-registration clinical placements?

The authors have argued elsewhere that second- and third-year student nurses and midwives on ward-based clinical placements make a service contribution which is of significant value to the service provider. The value of the service contribution made by students in community-based clinical placements is lower, not least because such placements cannot free staff time in the same way as on the wards, and thus the presence of students appears to form a cost to the service provider. It is clear that there is no case for introducing a system of payments for ward-based placements, but in community-based placements the position is less obvious. The argument hinges upon the perceived value to the service provider of the qualitative benefits associated with the presence of students on placement. Other studies have suggested that these benefits are such as to outweigh the associated costs. Because the presence of students on clinical placement is associated with both costs and benefits, efforts should be made to ensure that both ward-based and community-based placements are distributed as fairly as possible between locations so that no one location is unduly advantaged or disadvantaged by the number of students which it receives.

Accreditation↗