Maternalist discourse in nursery nurse training at Wellgarth Nursery Training School from 1911 to 1939: current dilemmas of class and status in historical context

This article explores current dilemmas of status surrounding professional roles for the early years workforce through research into training for nursery nurses at Wellgarth Nursery Training School, London, from 1911 to 1939. It interrogates the issues through the lens of vocational habitus and feminine and emotional capital and draws comparison with contemporary training for Froebel teachers. The data identify maternalist discourse as a common factor in training for Wellgarth and Froebel students, with consequences for a gendered workforce. The research demonstrates that class was the key factor in the ability to pursue a career in nursery nursing or teaching, and shaped unique professional identities. The historical perspective sets current European and English policy on early years professional roles, and the plethora of recent literature on differentiated constructions of professionalism, which problematises conceptions of professional roles as caring or teaching, within a history dating back over 100 years.     

Information Needs Assessment for K-12 School Nurses in Rural Eastern Washington State

School nurses are an often-overlooked population of health care professionals who have great importance in rural communities where access to health care is limited. In order to better serve school nurses in rural eastern Washington, an assessment was conducted to determine their information needs, behaviors, and perceptions. Results indicated this population of school nurses searches for multiple types of health information on a daily basis and navigates obstacles to information access using a variety of resources. While largely confident in their searching ability, they are open to learning more about how to find reliable health information to support their daily responsibilities. These results will guide the development of a workshop for school nurses about using reliable health information resources to improve health care in their rural communities.     

Self-Efficacy and Postpartum Teaching: A Replication Study

Postpartum depression (PPD) occurs in 13% of new mothers internationally, but many do not receive treatment. In the Western world, hospital-based perinatal nurses have extended contact with new mothers and are in a unique position to teach them to recognize symptoms of and seek treatment for PPD. In this replication study framed by self-efficacy theory, teaching new mothers about PPD was predicted by a nurse’s self-efficacy related to PPD teaching, expectations for teaching from supervisor, PPD continuing education, teaching experience on other topics, and experience with observing other nurses teaching patients about PPD. The results of the study demonstrate the importance of the climate created by the nursing supervisor in which teaching about PPD is expected and facilitators of effective patient teaching are available.     

Recognising Prior Learning: Understanding the Relations Among Experience, Learning and Recognition from a Constructivist Perspective

This article discusses the relation between experience and learning in the context of recognition of prior learning (RPL) and from an experiential constructivist perspective. The study is based on a case of in-service training, based on RPL, in the care sector for elderly people. The data consist of interviews with actors in this process, which have been analysed with a qualitative interpretative approach. The results show how prior learning plays a central role in the training process, both on an individual and a collective level. The participants’ prior learning is taken as the starting point, particularly in learning conversations where prior learning is made visible and used, and where participants learn from each other. Further, new learning is taking place as a consequence of the recognition process, and the study particularly highlights how prior experiences could be the basis of new learning in a process of reflection and discussion.     

Integrated Practical Education for Nurses

This project is an investigation into effective technology-based education in the field of nursing. A recognized problem with nurse education at present is the lack of an appropriate and adequate practical component. In addition, the education system has, in certain key areas, been unable to keep up with developments in the fields of information technology and the demands created by the changing needs of the health service. There is a need to implement an up-to-date and technologically advanced education system, one that matches the changing social and demographic needs of South Africa today and in the future. Such a system can come only from a systematic investigation into the opportunities offered by new technology. It will not arise from sporadic, isolated, and unplanned interventions. This paper describes and analyses the results of an experiment to assess the value of using specialized hands-on equipment in nurse training and education, as an addition to current CBT systems.     

Harmonising the Efforts of School Nurses and Teachers in Health Promotion in Schools

A vital facet that adds value to schools is the partnership between the departments of education and health at national level. At the heart of making this partnership effective in order to achieve its potential is the need for synchronisation of the roles of school nurses and teachers to mitigate sustainability risks. In order to investigate the harmonisation of these roles, an explorative qualitative study was conducted with school nurses and teachers in three district municipalities in two provinces of South Africa. The aim was to determine the perceptions of these two groups of their respective roles and the possibility of harmonising these roles. The administrative task, which included obtaining the consent of parents for their children's immunisation provided an opportunity for sharing responsibilities. However, the roles of school nurses - health screening and immunisation - and the roles of teachers - screening for barriers to learning - could not be harmonised due to a lack of understanding of health promotion and a tendency to work in silos because of a lack of trust and openness. This was compounded by the school managers’ inability to provide guidance and leadership.     

月嫂多种家政技能培训内容和方法

随着我国经济的发展和人民生活水平的提高,社会对家政服务的需求也不断提高。家政行业在我国是一个新兴的行业,这个行业正面临着很大的机遇,同时也面临着巨大的挑战。它的服务需要向正规化、细致化、专业化发展,但是由于中国传统思想理念的禁锢,现在的家政服务人员一般都是文化水平、综合素质与技能水平低下,与现代化的市场需求不符。所以,加强家政服务人员的文化素质和技能培训是现在家政行业面临的主要问题。本文主要从月嫂的角度出发,浅谈家政技能培训的方法。     

Computer-based instruction for improving student nurses’ general numeracy: is it effective? Two randomised trials

In response to concern over the numeracy skills deficit displayed by student nurses, an online computer programme, “Authentic World®”, which aims to simulate a real-life clinical environment and improve the medication dosage calculation skills of users, was developed (Founded in 2004 Authentic World Ltd is a spin out company of Glarmorgan and Cardiff Universities, Cardiff, Wales UK.). Two randomised controlled trials were conducted, each at a UK University, in order to investigate the impact of Authentic World® on student nurses’ general numeracy abilities. All first year nursing students who gave consent were randomised equally into an intervention or control group. The intervention group were given access to Authentic World®. The primary outcome measure was the students’ scores on a general numeracy test. The Intention to Treat (ITT) analysis in both trials revealed a small negative effect of Authentic World® on general numeracy, which was statistically significant in one trial. However, compliance with the intervention was very low in both trials, with only 24 and 12% of students allocated to the intervention groups spending more than 15 minutes using the programme. Providing nursing students with access to Authentic World® is not an effective use of resources since use of the programme appears to be very low.     

四川男护士工作满意度及其影响因素分析

目的：了解四川地区男护士对自身工作的满意度情况及其影响因素,让管理人员减少男护人员的流失,提高工作绩效。方法：为保证问卷的效度和信度,采用护士自身工作满意度测评工具的编制与检验（Development and test of nurse＇s job satisfaction evaluation tool）制作护士工作满意度调查表,用SPSS17.0软件进行统计学分析。结果：临床男护士工作者对工作满意度普遍不高,本科学历满意度6.31±1.79,高于本科以下学历。本科及以下学历在管理因素、工作成就感、工作环境之间存在差异,差异具有统计学意义（P〈0.05）。学历为回归方程,标准化回归系数为0.365,标准方程：工作满意度=0.365＊学历。结论：临床护士工作满意度不高,不同工作年限和学历的主要影响因素也不同,管理者应当从现实出发,进行人性化个性化管理。