Practice development
Practice development Innovations
Assessing the use of simulated wounds in nurse education
In the past, nursing students only had access to classroom theory to develop their wound care knowledge. In the project detailed here, simulated wounds were developed to teach nursing students at the University of Salford about tissue viability management, as part of a Vice Chancellor’s funded project. The aim was to design a collection of simulated wounds that accurately replicated the features of actual wounds, including realistic wound beds, periwound areas and exudate. While being overseen by clinicians, nursing students were tasked with developing essential skills and competencies using these models. This project was evaluated through regular feedback from the perspective of both lecturers and students.
INTRODUCTION According to Dugdall and Watson[1]
Authors: Melanie Stephens, Davy Jones
, nurses
with training in tissue viability, as well as link nurses or those who have achieved a higher-level academic qualification, have the potential to achieve positive outcomes for wound care patients. However, despite this Beeckman and Duprez [2]
suggest that
inadequate wound management is still prevalent, often due to misunderstandings around the implementation of tissue viability guidelines and policies.
Educational consistency AIn 2006, the NMC [3]
reviewed the fitness
for practice of newly qualified nurses at registration. Detailed competencies were then added to the Standards for Proficiency Outcomes [4]
as issues were raised about
consistency in relation to programme content and outcomes, as well as the ability of newly qualified nurses to ‘perform essential skills safely and effectively’. Wound management was considered one of these essential skills. Although the NMC’s Essential Skills Clusters [5]
addressed
wound management education at pre- registration level through structured clinical assessments of practice, Beldon [6] argues that the drivers to develop qualified nurses’ wound care knowledge remained
dependent on local policies, agendas and training. However, tissue viability practices are now high on the Good to Great agenda [7] targets set through High Impact Actions [8] Outcome Measures [9]
, with , , the Commissioning
for Quality and Innovation payment framework [10]
from the Patients Association [11] .
and information requirements , Care
Quality Commission and National Patient Safety Agency for England [12]
Trusts and organisations are now
compelled to ensure there is an evidence base to underpin nursing practice in wound care.
Classroom learning versus simulation Although clinical skills training is frequently used at the author’s centre to underpin classroom theory in pre-registration nurse programmes [13]
, the content of the tissue viability module was purely theoretical.
According to NHS Education for Scotland [14]
, clinical skills are defined as ‘any action
performed by staff involved in direct care of patients, which impacts on clinical outcomes in a measurable way’, and include: n Cognitive or ‘thinking’ skills, such as clinical reasoning and decision-making n Non-technical skills such as team work
References
1. Dugdall H, Watson R. What is the relationship between nurses’ attitudes to evidence-based practice and the selection of wound care procedures? J Clin Nurs 2009; 18(10): 1442–50
2. Beeckman D, Duprez V. The journey to evidence-based practice? Br J Nurs 2011; 20(15): 3
3. NMC. Supporting Direct Care Through Simulated Practice Learning in the Pre-registration Nursing Programme. 2007; (NMC Circular 36/2007). Available at:
http://www.nmc-uk.org/ Documents/Circulars/2007circulars/ NMCcircular36_2007.pdf (Accessed 24th January 2012)
4. NMC. Requirements for Pre- registration Nurse Programmes. 2004; NMC, London
5. NMC. Essential Skills Clusters (ESCs) for Pre-registration Nursing Programmes Annexe 2 to NMC Circular 07/2007. 2007; NMC, London
www.woundsinternational.com www.woundsinternational.com
35
35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64