Biomedical subjects

P A Crookes

Publications and source records attributed to P A Crookes.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Developing information literacy: a key to evidence-based nursing.

This report describes the evaluation of a curriculum-integrated programme designed to help students develop an awareness of the nursing literature, the skills to locate and retrieve it, and skills required in its evaluation; in other words'information literacy'. Positive changes in student performance on objective measures of information-literacy skills were revealed as well as a significant increase in the levels of confidence of the student in performing those skills. Students who had undertaken the information-literacy programme ('programme' students) performed better on a range of objective measures of information literacy, as well as reporting higher levels of confidence in these skills, than students who had not participated in the programme ('non-programme' students). Evaluation of this programme provides evidence of the potential usefulness of a curriculum-integrated approach for the development of information-literacy skills within nursing education. With these underlying skills, students will be better equipped to consolidate and extend their key information-literacy skills to include research appreciation and application. These are vital for effective lifelong learning and a prerequisite to evidence-based practice.

Education, Nursing↗

PubMed2000

Teaching information literacy skills: an evaluation.

This paper describes an evaluation of a curriculum-integrated information literacy programme in an undergraduate nursing course. The aim of the programme was to provide students with an awareness of the discipline's literature and the skills to locate and retrieve the literature. A multidimensional process for determining nursing students' development was utilised in the evaluation of the programme. Pre- and post-programme questionnaires were distributed to a cohort of students who undertook the programme. A cohort of more senior students who had not undertaken the information literacy programme was utilised as a comparison group. Questionnaire results were analysed using a range of inferential statistics. This paper will focus on two main findings related to objective measures of information literacy skills. These include pre-programme/post-programme change in student performance and differences in student performance between those who undertook the programme and those who did not. The programme demonstrated its effectiveness in developing information literacy skills, however the challenge remains for both academics and students to ensure that these skills are consolidated and extended for effective life-long learning.

Catalogs, Library↗

PubMed1999

Integrating information literacies into an undergraduate nursing programme.

The development of support for a more research-based approach to care has created the imperative for nursing education to tackle the issue of information literacy. Information literacy means the ability to locate, evaluate and apply information in critical thinking and problem solving. This paper outlines and provides a rationale for a curriculum-integrated information literacy programme, implemented in the pre-registration Bachelor of Nursing course at the University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia. It also describes a multidimensional evaluation process for determining nursing students' growth in cognitive and affective domains. Results of the programme evaluation will be featured in a future paper.

Computer Literacy↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Implications of transplantation surgery for theatre nurses: 1.

Transplant donors, although legally dead, arrive in operating theatre departments appearing no different from any other preoperative patient. Some theatre staff may not appreciate, or even be aware, that transplant donors have been certified dead before donor surgery. This article, the first of two-parts, examines the implications of organ donation surgery for the emotional and psychological wellbeing of nursing staff. Other potential problems for nursing staff, related to the process of organ retrieval, are also explored. These include the scheduling of transplant work at times when there is a poor level of skill mix, difficulties in working with unfamiliar staff and equipment, the apparent lack of 'benefit' of surgery for donor patients, and the possibility of identifying with the victims of sudden and perhaps traumatic death. The second article, to be published in the next issue, will discuss ways of ameliorating the stress associated with this work.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Implications of transplantation surgery for theatre nurses: 2.

In the first part of this article (Vol 5(7): 400-3), potential difficulties for theatre staff in relation to organ retrieval for transplantation were explored. This second part examines how the death of patients can be a major cause of stress for nurses. It focuses on work which suggests that lack of peer support among nurses and the perception that nurses should always appear to be 'coping' are common features which can prevent nurses from asking for, and receiving, support. Possible mechanisms are explored for ameliorating some of the stress that staff experience in association with this work. These include the role of managers and transplant coordinators in supporting nurses involved in transplantation work, reiterating (to staff) the benefits of transplantation surgery for recipients, and the possibility of debriefing staff after surgery. It recommends that more thought should be put into preparing and supporting theatre staff involved in transplant work.

Attitude to Death↗